As soon as Lauren was inside the car, I sped off in pursuit.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to follow him to the ends of the Earth if I need to.” I grabbed my phone from my pocket. How it hadn’t fallen out during the fight was beyond me, but I was glad for it. I needed it now more than ever. “Here, dial Cruz’s number. Put it on speaker.”

“What’s your passcode?”

“0425,” I answered.

“That’s the day I moved into the house…” she whispered, looking at me.

“Now’s not the time to get sentimental. Please. Dial his number. I’m going to need all the help I can get. This little car won’t be able to keep up with him once we’re on the highway.”

She nodded, going through my contacts until she found Cruz. “Putting him on speaker,” she announced, holding out the phone so that it would be easier to hear.

Ring… ring… ring…

The air inside the car grew tense. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my eyes still locked on the black Mercedes in front of me. Pedestrians jumped out of the way, but some were not so lucky. I regretted all of the lives that would be endangered by our recklessness, but this was something that needed to be done. I couldn’t let this man get away. Allowing him to would be much, much worse.

My car kicked as it struggled to shift into a higher gear. I pressed on the gas, lurching forward, tapping his bumper.

Lauren flew forward in her seat, nearly banging her head against the dashboard. If it hadn’t been for my hand reaching out to support her, she would have.

Dean swerved, crashing into a fire hydrant. Water shot into the air.

After a small delay, he regained traction and continued down the road, cutting dangerously into a side street.

With a squeal of my tires, I did the same.

“Hello?” Cruz’s muffled voice came from underneath Lauren’s seat.

“The phone,” I urged her.

“Right.” She seemed to snap out of her daze, grappling for the phone, which was just beyond her reach. With a grunt, she extended herself just a little further, managing to wrap her fingers around it.

“Hello?”

“Yes. Yes. I’m here. I need your help again. It was all a trap. Dean just wanted to corner me.”

“So there was no bomb?”

“No, just a recording. Listen. He’s trying to get away. I’m following him, but this beat-up car isn’t going to do much. I need you to come out here and stop him. We can’t let him get away.”

“I’ll get Ned to track down your car, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

With that, the call ended. I adjusted my position, every muscle in my body tense with adrenaline. I glanced over at Lauren. I knew it was incredibly dangerous for her to be in the car with me. One wrong move, and we would both be dead.

I reached out and grabbed her hand, locking our fingers together. I felt like this was the last time I’d ever get a chance to tell her how I really felt. “Lauren…”

She squeezed my hand in acknowledgment.

“I just wanted to apologize. I know things between us haven’t exactly been… normal. I can’t say I ever expected a pregnant woman to come knocking on my door in the middle of the night to tell me she was pregnant, but I’m glad you did. Even though some of your habits annoy and infuriate me, overall, I like having you around. Gina loves you… and so do I…”

I heard her sniffle. “I love you, too, Franklin, but don’t make this a goodbye. We have to get through this. We have to raise our son together. After everything we’ve been through, we can’t let some madman stop us.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “And when this is all over, I want things to be different between us. No more holding back. No more hiding our feelings.”

I nodded. She was right. For far too long, I had been suppressing the feelings that had been growing stronger with each passing day. There was no doubt that this woman was meant to be in my life. I would be damned if I lost her now.

With this newfound resolve, I once again bumped into Dean’s car.

This time, however, he slammed on his breaks.

We crashed into him, the front of our car collapsing like an accordion. In a blur of white, the airbags were released, blocking my vision. All I could hear was Dean getting away.

I screamed in frustration, slamming my fists into the steering wheel. Before I could come up with a new plan, however, someone opened my door. A second later, the airbag deflated.

Cruz pulled me out of the car, thrusting a pair of keys in my hand. “Go on, keep chasing him. I’ll take Lauren back to safety.”

“No. I’m going with him,” Lauren protested as she was helped out of the car. From what I could tell, she had sustained no major injuries.

“You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m going,” she repeated.

Cruz looked at me. “I don’t think you stand a chance of convincing her otherwise. I’ve seen that look before.”

I sighed. “Lauren… please reconsider. At least if I don’t make it, Frankie can still have a mother. Please, for our son.”

She answered by getting into the passenger seat of the new car and buckling herself in. With no other choice, I followed her.

I didn’t hesitate to drive off, leaving Cruz in my wake.

We had lost enough time as it was.

“Franklin, are you there?” Ned’s voice came through the car’s speakers.

“Yes.”

“Sending you an update on Dean’s location. You can still catch up to him if you take a shortcut through the Steel District. The streets are narrow and easy to miss, but they will bypass a lot of traffic.”

“I don’t care. Just show me how to catch that bastard.”