Chapter 7 - Highway Ambush
Before Julian could answer, he jammed his thumb against the red disconnect icon and tore the GPS navigation console straight out of the dashboard with a savage pull of brute strength, ripping the wiring completely loose.
“Hold on!” Julian barked, slamming his foot down on the gas.
The SUV surged forward, breaking away from the safety of the two tractor-trailers. Up ahead, the highway carved through the dense, fog-covered pines of the state border.
In the cracked side mirror, Julian saw them: two sets of high-intensity Xenon headlights closing in fast, tearing through the mist like predators. Dennis hadn't come alone. Victoria had mobilized the family's private security team.
“Can they track your personal phone?” Hannah asked, clutching Leo tightly to her chest.
Julian cursed under his breath. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his smartphone, rolled down the driver’s side window an inch, and hurled it out into the roaring dark.
Behind them, the lead pursuer—a heavy black pickup truck with steel brush guards—pulled alongside the SUV. Through the tinted glass, Dennis’s cold eyes locked onto Julian. Without warning, Dennis yanked his wheel hard to the left.
CRUNCH!
The metal impact violently shoved the SUV toward the highway’s guardrail. Spark showers lit up the rain as steel scraped against galvanized steel. Leo shrieked in terror, the noise bouncing inside the enclosed cabin.
“Keep your head down!” Julian shouted, fighting the steering wheel to keep the vehicle from flipping.
Dennis backed off slightly, preparing for a second, deadlier ramming maneuver that would send them tumbling down the steep forested ravine on the highway's shoulder.
Julian didn't wait for the hit. Ahead, barely visible through the thick rain, was an unmarked logging access road—a narrow strip of mud and crushed rock disappearing into the black trees.
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“Hang on!” Julian slammed on the brakes with both feet.
The ABS system shuddered violently. The pursuing pickup truck, anticipating another swerve, shot past them at eighty miles per hour. Julian released the brake, cranked the wheel, and plunged the SUV off the highway and into the pitch-black maw of the logging trail.
