The streetlight exploded above them, raining sparks.
Emma didn't hesitate—she grabbed Darrick's arm and shoved him down behind the SUV.
"Sniper?" she hissed.
"Yes," Darrick replied calmly, as if discussing the weather.
"They move fast. Faster than I expected."
Emma peeked around the car's bumper.
Across the rooftop of a nearby building, she caught the faint glint of a rifle scope.
Her stomach knotted.
This wasn't street fighting.
This was assassination-level danger.
"Why me?" she muttered. "Why did I say yes to this madness?"
Another bullet sliced past, hitting the car so hard it dented the metal.
"Get in," Darrick ordered.
Emma lunged into the driver's seat.
Darrick slid into the passenger side.
"Seatbelt," she demanded.
He smirked slightly. "I don't usually—"
POP!
Another bullet cracked the windshield.
"Seatbelt!" she snapped.
"…fair point."
He clicked it on just as Emma slammed her foot on the accelerator.
The SUV shot forward, tires screeching as she swerved into the main road.
Traffic blurred past.
Motorcycles honked angrily as she weaved through tight gaps.
Darrick held onto the dashboard. "You drive like a criminal."
"I am a criminal," she shot back. "You hired one, remember?"
A black motorcycle suddenly roared out of a side street—
A rider dressed in all black, helmet tinted, gun raised.
Emma cursed and jerked the wheel.
The bike chased them, weaving effortlessly between cars.
"They're not stopping," Darrick said.
"No shit," Emma replied. "Hold on!"
She spun the SUV around a corner so sharply that Darrick's expensive suit jacket nearly tore on the gear stick.
The motorcycle followed.
"Where did you find these people?" Emma yelled.
"I didn't find them," Darrick said.
"They found me. And they want something I'm trying to secure."
"Which is?"
"A contract worth 600 million dollars… and a secret that could ruin them."
Emma glared.
"You didn't say anything about world-ending secrets!"
"You didn't ask."
Before she could insult him, the motorcycle pulled beside the SUV.
The rider lifted his gun again.
"Down!" Emma shouted.
She grabbed Darrick by the shoulder and forced him below the window as bullets slammed into the passenger side.
Her blood went cold. This was real. Too real.
Then she noticed something—the road ahead curved sharply beside a scaffolding construction site.
An idea hit her.
A crazy idea.
"Hold tight!" she yelled.
Darrick's eyes widened. "What are you about to—"
Emma drifted the SUV into the curve, fishtailing the back of the car directly into the motorcycle's path.
The bike slammed into the SUV's rear with a metallic crack, flipping violently.
The rider hit the ground and rolled into the scaffolding poles, disappearing in a shower of dust.
Emma sped forward until they were blocks away, then finally slowed to catch her breath.
Darrick exhaled slowly.
"That was… impressive," he said.
Emma shot him a look. "That was insane. This whole job is insane."
"You can still walk away," he said quietly.
"But if you do… I can't guarantee your safety. They've already seen your face."
Emma froze.
So it wasn't just his life on the line anymore.
It was hers. James'. Sam's.
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
"I'm not walking away," she said. "You owe me answers. And I'm not dying without knowing who killed my parents."
Darrick's eyes flicked to her.
"You think the same people targeting me…?"
"I know it," Emma said. "James was close to something before they shot him."
Darrick stared at her, surprise breaking his usual calm.
"…Then it seems our enemies are the same."
For the first time, Emma felt the weight of their connection.
Two lives. Two missions. One war.
She looked ahead, engine humming beneath her.
"Fine," she said. "Where to next?"
Darrick leaned back in his seat.
"Abuja," he replied.
"The real hunt begins there."
Emma swallowed.
"Then let's finish what they started."
She didn't notice the way Darrick watched her—
with something new in his eyes.
Respect.
Admiration.
Dangerous curiosity.
And something else neither of them was ready to admit.