Chapter
Fourteen
In the two months since Lee had shown up on her doorstep shot and Cayden had broken his parole, Trixie had been a shell of herself. She felt numb. She worked, she ate, she slept, and then she repeated the next day. Christmas was next week, but there was no holiday spirit to be found within her. If Peggy didn’t stop by with food, she wouldn’t have even bothered with that. Jeff had taken it upon himself to come to the shop late at night to verify that Trixie was in her apartment instead of tinkering in the bay.
Her employees stopped talking to her because she stopped talking back. Business was down, but the truth was that was likely more to do with Trixie than the news of the theft. Their Black Friday sales last month were the lowest they’d ever been since her abuelo had opened their doors.
Roughly a week after Cayden had stolen the Spyder, a manila envelope was found locked in her Firebird. When she reviewed the security tapes, she saw a small glitch and then the envelope’s appearance. Why exactly had she hired Cayden to be a security consultant if he was just going to prove her security was useless regardless of the expensive upgrades?
Inside the envelope was a written note in Cayden’s handwriting.
Keep this and my heart safe for me, C.
It was his criminal informant agreement signed by the District Attorney and the Police Commissioner. Even knowing that Cayden was working on the right side of the law did not bring her any satisfaction or closure or even comfort. She still felt…empty.
Trixie remembered the months following Marco’s murder. She’d been sad, but she’d been functional. When Papá had passed, Abuelo had distracted her with cars and her birthday trip. She’d tried to do the same after Abuelo’s death, but she had really only made it through that dark time by leaning on Jeff, Peggy, and Greg.
Maybe it was because Cayden wasn’t gone, and he was just…not here. Maybe that was why she couldn’t stand their helicoptering. So why wasn’t working on her cars helping? Why couldn’t she remember something as simple as how to change a gasket?
Insurance was still fighting her on the Spyder theft. She honestly didn’t care if they paid her. She just wanted the police out of her parking lot.
Last Tuesday was so slow she sent her employees home and closed shop. They didn’t want to be there anymore than Trixie wanted them there. She was useless to the point of beyond pathetic. When had she become so reliant on a man to be functional? How had Cayden become so important to her in four short months?
Trixie meandered around the showroom for a while. Someone had meagerly decorated, but nothing like they usually had up.
She still hadn’t figured out how Cayden had bypassed the security system without using his employee access codes. L and S also didn’t have an answer. They still called daily to assure her they were working on updating their system. Not that Trixie cared.
Trixie needed to make some decisions soon. Business couldn’t go on this way. She couldn’t go on this way. It had been two months. Lee and Cayden had never told her how long their partnership to take down Carver would take. Cayden could be gone another two months. Or like Lee, he could be gone two years.
Tears ran down her cheeks, surprising her. She thought she’d cried herself out long ago.
Romero’s didn’t deserve to suffer because she didn’t have her shit together. Everyone thought she was feeling guilty over Cayden’s betrayal. They had no idea how terrified she felt every day, not knowing if he was dead or alive, or where he was, or what he was doing, or who he was with.
He’d made his decision to help Lee. She didn’t like it, but she couldn’t allow herself or her business to suffer because of that decision.
Trixie ran a finger over the sales counter, feeling the coat of dust that had never been there before. Her employees were no longer putting in their full effort because she wasn’t. Could she really blame them? How could she ask from them more than she’d been doing herself?
She would do more. She would do better.
Starting now.
First, Trixie ordered a pizza for delivery. She hadn’t eaten since… Well, she couldn’t remember since when, so it was probably a good idea to get some food in her. Next, she went to the janitor’s closet. Her cleaning staff had always been immaculate in their work…until recently.
For the next several hours, Trixie scrubbed, swept, shined, scraped, and buffed the showroom area. She set up the rest of the Christmas decorations, including their pre-decorated tree, mistletoe, garland, and window clings to make it look like they were frosted and it was snowing outside. It was after midnight by the time she finished, and Trixie was exhausted to the point of her eyes blurring. She stumbled her way up to her apartment, and was almost there when she realized she’d forgotten her pizza box on the sales counter. Oops, but she was too tired to go back downstairs.
God, why hadn’t she invested in an elevator by now? There were too many fucking stairs between the first and the second floor. She may have gone overboard with Christmas decor. Guilt certainly was an interesting motivator.
She’d already texted Joey to order coffee and donuts for breakfast delivery for the employees in the morning and to order an apology cake for them for afternoon delivery. If Joey hadn’t told her it was too much, she would have also placed a lobster dinner order. According to him, there was apologizing and then there was butt kissing.
Trixie punched in her code for her apartment and opened the door. She turned on the lights. Stripping off her coveralls, she stumbled her way to the bathroom. A shower would be heavenly right then, but she wanted sleep and a shower would surely wake her up. She’d just shower in the morning and change her sheets. After using the toilet, she exited wearing just her panties and tank. Her jeans were left unceremoniously on the bathroom floor.
Trixie’s head was down as she massaged a tight muscle on the back of her neck, which was the only reason she told herself later she hadn’t seen him standing by her window. Her feet froze and he took a step towards her.
Shadows were cast across his face, blocking his eyes from her, but she had no hesitation. Cayden was dressed mostly in black from his leather cut and ripped jeans to his boots. His t-shirt was red with a cartoon version of Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool looking at comic books while admitting that he had issues. Black eyeliner outlined under the bottom of his mismatched eyes. His brunette hair was spiked with green tips, and his trimmed nails were painted black with the exception of his middle fingernails which were green.
She didn’t pause to count how many earrings he was wearing as she ran to him, but he currently had more adorning his face than she’d ever owned in her life.
Cayden caught her up in his arms when she launched herself at him. Trixie clung to him, filled with joy and fear. He felt real, but God, what if she was dreaming? Please, don’t let me be dreaming…
Either she’d spoken out loud or he truly did know her too well. Cayden picked her face off of his shoulder and held it before him. “It’s me, baby. I’m really here.”
Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She put her hands over his on her face. “I need you to be. It’s going to kill me if I find out you aren’t actually here.”
He graced her with that wicked smile she’d missed every day he’d been gone. “Come on, Trix. You and I both know your dreams aren’t that creative.” He gestured up and down to his new appearance. “You really think you would ever picture me like this?”
Her laugh was also part sob as she looked him up and down. “What is all this?”
He made a face. “Ignore all of this shit. It’s not who I am, not anymore. This was who I was before you.”
She gave him a knowing look. “You got rid of all this before you met me, and you know it. I take no credit in you having never dyed your hair green.” She raised her hand to the tips. “Damn, those are sharp. How much product are you using?”
He didn’t answer that question, nor did he laugh. Instead, he clarified his own statement. “You’re the reason I never wanted to go back to this.”
Trixie squeezed his hands. “I don’t understand. Why are you back? Where’s Lee? Is he okay? Are you okay? And how many earrings do you have?”
She tipped her head to the side to view his right ear. There were three small hoops, a stud, and four spikes in his right ear. On his left were also three hoops. He had a stud through his nose and two hoops in the corner of his bottom lip.
Cayden’s face fell, making her heart skip before he said, “Lee’s fine. That man’s…terrifying.” Trixie swallowed nervously, wondering what memory Cayden was remembering to use that word to describe her brother. She knew he was a former soldier, but she’d never seen her brother in action as a Marine or a cop. He’d always been her gran hermano.
Cayden ran a gentle hand down her cheek. “We’re not done yet. I can’t tell you what we’re doing or what’s going on. I don’t even know how much longer it’ll take.” Trixie’s heart sank. Still, she cradled her face into his touch. “I need you to be a bit more patient with me, baby. We are making progress, I swear to you. I just…” He lifted her fingertips to his lips. “I needed to see you. I was losing myself. I needed a reminder what I’m fighting for.”
Sadness struck her as she realized what Cayden was saying. He had to go back. He wasn’t staying with her. They weren’t going home tonight.
She turned her face away, her tears falling heavier now. She didn’t want him to see her pain. She needed to be strong for Cayden. He was doing this for her, for her family, to get justice for Marco… If what he was doing was so righteous, then why did it have to hurt so much?
Cayden put his hand under her chin, dragging her back towards him. She went, closing her eyes to hide from him. “Are we back to this?” He dipped his head down to her ear. “Open your eyes, baby girl, or I won’t kiss you.”
His words from that night so long ago on the Wynns’ front porch echoed in her ears, and just as they had done then, her eyes flew open.
He smiled. “There’s those chocolate browns I love so much.”
Her chin quavered in his hand. “How much time do we have?”
“About four hours.” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Your cameras are on a loop. No one can know I was here.” He wrapped his other hand around the small of her back. “I waited until after your decorating and cleaning spree to start it, so everything looks quiet.”
Trixie breathed out a long sigh of relief as he pulled her flush up against him. She’d missed him so much. Not just the feel of him, but his smell, his confidence, his heart… A giggle escaped her.
“Do I want to know what just went through your mind?” He ducked to nibble on her ear.
“You’re wearing more earrings and makeup than I ever have in my entire life.”
Cayden picked her up. Trixie’s legs wrapped around his hips under his leather cut. She could feel the bulge in his pants in her most intimate of places. Her hands clung to his shoulders.
“Ignore my armor, baby. You are the only person on this entire planet who knows the real me, who sees the real me, even under this ridiculous getup.” His tongue flicked out, and Trixie caught sight of the silver barb there too before he ran it across her lower lip. Interesting. The barb didn’t feel…bad. She was suddenly curious what it would feel like on other areas of her body. “God, I missed you.”
She ignored her tears that continued to fall. “I missed you too. So much. I feel like you took a piece of me with you.”
“Feels like I left my heart with you. I feel like I’ve been suffocating these months without you.”
She pulled his necklace out from between her breasts. “You took my soul with you.”
Cayden rested his forehead against hers. “I know I told Lee I would help him. I know it is the right thing to try to take down a bastard like Carver. I know doing so will eventually find justice for Marco. But damn, baby, I am having a really hard time remembering right now why the fuck I left the comfort of your arms.”
Trixie knew he believed in his reasons, and as much as it hurt, she couldn’t force him against them. It was the same reason two months ago that she hadn’t given him the ultimatum of her or Lee’s vengeance mission. Cayden deserved the right to choose without her forcing his hand. Because they both knew he’d choose her, and they both knew he’d regret it.
Which is why now, when he was struggling in her arms to remember his reasons, she said, “Because you’re an honorable man, Cayden Russo. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Because you believe in right and wrong. And most importantly, because I love you.”
She felt Cayden’s smile against her face. “Those are some damn good reasons, but the last one is truly my favorite.”
“You said you only had four hours?” He nodded against her. “Are you planning on talking away those hours or making the most of them with me? Because I think this is the longest we’ve ever gone without sex while your hands have been on my ass.”
“What the fuck did you think you were doing?”
Cayden sighed when he entered the apartment he and Lee shared. Wondrous thoughts of Trixie still swirled in his head and nothing gave a man limp-dick like his girl’s pissed off brother. Cayden just wanted to bask in his precious stolen hours with Trixie a little bit longer, but apparently Lee had other plans.
“Clearly you know exactly where I was.”
“And if you were so sloppy that I followed you, others could have too!”
Cayden snorted. “Please. Why would anyone else believe I would return to Romero’s? They all believe that I was either working there while out or running a score that went badly there. Either way, I had to get out fast and took the Spyder to do it. It makes no sense for me to return to Romero’s.”
“Except for her!”
Cayden flinched. It was rare, but the only times Lee truly lost his temper was when the topic of his family rose.
Cayden had yet to figure out if it was who Lee was or if it was who he had had to become while being undercover. Either way, the man standing before Cayden was coldblooded and ruthless. While Cayden believed he was the only person who knew Lee’s weakness, Trixie and AJ, it was still very intimidating to be questioned by him.
It was also only Cayden’s knowledge of Lee’s love for his siblings that kept Lee as a person in Cayden’s mind rather than a robot or a monster. Lee was a hard man to care for, but an easy man to respect. At his core, he was honorable. His morality was facing north. He believed in his mission, which was what kept Cayden going when thoughts of missing Trixie became too painful.
“I needed to see her,” Cayden defended himself. Seeing Trixie again had been uplifting. While sex with her was amazing, it was the least of what he’d missed about her. “I needed… God, Lee, I needed to feel something.”
“This close to the takedown? What if you’d been followed? What if someone put two and two together and realized that Romero’s was a setup?”
Cayden flinched. “It’s because of how close we are that I had to! Don’t you get it?” He gestured up and down himself. “I’m wearing a mask, my armor. Every fucking day, it chips another piece of my soul away until I barely feel like me anymore. I just needed… I needed to feel like me. For just one fucking night.” He let out a long sigh. “I was careful. No one followed me. She knows not to tell anyone, obviously.”
Lee was silent for a moment. “How is she?”
“Thin,” was Cayden’s reply. “I told her she needs to eat better, more, but who knows if she’ll listen.”
Maybe he’d have Paul keep an eye on the feeds to make sure Trixie was eating. He’d contacted his former housemate within hours of breaking his parole. It had taken some convincing, mostly because Paul hadn’t wanted to risk doing anything going back to jail for. Once Lee had spoken to Paul in his official Cop Voice, Paul agreed to monitor the Romero security feeds. It had also been Paul’s doing that had kept L and S from being alerted as he got the Spyder out of Romero’s, and how he’d gotten into Trixie’s apartment this evening without them.
As a thank you for his assistance on keeping an eye on Trixie, Lee had put Paul in contact with a friend of his from the FBI who had agreed to give Paul a job interview with cybercrimes. The damn man seemed to have friends in every corner of the universe and had served with half of them. His captain? A former fellow Marine. His FBI contact? An ex-Navy SEAL. Cayden wouldn’t be surprised if Lee had arranged for the man who had delivered Trixie’s pizza that night to be a former Green Beret.
Maybe it was too much of an invasion of privacy to ask Paul to verify Cayden’s girlfriend was eating three meals a day. A simpler route would be to guilt her into eating. Since she regularly refused the meals Mrs. Wynn brought her, Cayden thought perhaps it was time for something a bit more drastic.
“I get needing to feel alive.” Lee’s words brought Cayden back to the present. “Trust me when I say, I understand that feeling more than you can possibly believe.” For a moment, Cayden saw more raw emotion in the man’s brown gaze than he’d ever seen. But just like that, it was gone. Had that been pain? Fear? No, couldn’t have been. This was Lee. The man didn’t feel such human emotions. “But you can’t be so reckless. If not for yourself, then for her.”
Lee turned his back on Cayden so quickly, Cayden was amazed the former Marine didn’t get whiplash. “Are we all set for the heist?”
Cayden took a deep breath and pushed aside all thoughts of Trixie. “Yes. We’re hitting the garage next Thursday. Once Carver has the prototype, the auction will go live. I have no reason to believe he’ll have me bring the car anywhere else but to his warehouse. From what I’ve managed to figure out, he keeps the extra drug product there too.”
Trixie’s apology to the staff went over better than she’d anticipated. She honestly expected to need to do a bit more groveling, but proving that her people were all good at heart, they forgave her without needing additional gifts or apologies.
Cayden’s impromptu visit the night before left her tired. It hurt to watch him leave again, but it was like their precious stolen hours had plugged the hole in her leaking heart. Trixie still missed him, still worried, but she felt more like herself than she had since his initial departure. She’d been prepared to face her employees that morning, but he’d given her the strength to do it fearlessly. He likely didn’t even realize how perfect his timing had been.
Geordi showed up at the shop a few days later. Apparently, he and Peggy had spent the weekend baking Christmas cookies, and Geordi wanted to share them with Trixie. Trixie had thought Geordi’s offer of the cookies to be so sweet, she gave him a kiss on his cheek as a thank-you. The adult child beamed at her before handing her his final gift: a single red rose.
Trixie took it with shaky hands. Was Geordi’s gift a coincidence or had Cayden somehow orchestrated this? A single red rose from Peggy’s garden had been Cayden’s traditional gift to her but… How could it have been from him? Geordi was too unreliable to keep a secret like seeing Cayden again. But…a red rose?
“Don’t you like it?” Geordi’s face fell when she didn’t take the offered flower from him right away.
Trixie quickly snapped herself back to the present and took the gift. “Thank you, Geordi. It’s beautiful.”
“I clipped the thorns for you,” he said proudly. “Just like I did before, so you don’t prick your fingers.”
Her eyes narrowed. Like he’d done before? For Cayden when the roses had been from him? She wanted to ask but Peggy was too close where she was speaking with Jeff for Trixie to interrogate Geordi, even stealthily.
“Thank you for the Christmas cookies, Geordi.” She reached into the tin and took one out without looking at what type it was. She bit into it, saying truthfully. “They’re really good.”
He beamed. “Thank you, Ms. Trixie!” He turned to go back towards Peggy and then paused. “He said you were too thin, and he’s right, Ms. Trixie. You need to eat more.”
Trixie’s jaw fell open, exposing the piece of half-chewed cookie in her mouth.
“You need to eat more, baby. You’re too thin.” It had been one of the last things Cayden had said to her before he’d left the other night. How the hell…?
Trixie wanted to go after Geordi, but he was already back with Peggy. Fuck. She couldn’t talk to him about Cayden now. How the hell had Cayden gotten Geordi to bring Trixie food?
Geordi was a safe intermediate because he’d been stopping by on and off with Peggy or Greg since Cayden’s departure, but Trixie worried that Geordi wouldn’t be able to keep from talking about speaking with Cayden.
It was risky, but she still had to say something. Everything could fall apart, and Geordi could get into serious trouble if the Wynns learned Geordi had been in contact with Cayden.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the showroom counter. Geordi went easily, happy to follow her. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to word her warning so that Geordi understood but also didn’t think he was in trouble. “I really love the cookies, Geordi. Thank you. I’ll eat them all.” His grin was so wide and innocent, it made her struggle over what she had to say next. “Look, Geordi, when you said that he said I was too thin, did he tell you to be careful not to tell anyone you’ve spoken to him?”
Geordi’s glee dropped into confusion. “No. Why can’t I tell anyone I talked to Paul? I’m allowed to talk to Paul. Mrs. Wynn said so. She said that Paul is going to be working for the FBI now! Did you know that? That’s so cool! Paul says once he’s settled, I can come visit and I can come tour the building! I’d like that because I’ve always wanted to see the FBI building.” Suddenly he scowled. “Does that mean Paul will have a gun? I don’t like guns.”
Trixie stood there stunned during Geordi’s babble. She ignored everything he said after the name Paul. Paul the hacker. The nineteen-year-old parolee she’d sat across from at Sunday dinner seven months ago. The man would be free now, and hopefully living with his wife and daughter. Did Geordi say FBI? Wow, she wondered how Paul had pulled that one off.
Why would Paul tell Geordi she was looking thin? How the hell would he possibly know that? When was the last time he’d seen her?
Slowly, her eyes landed on the black spherical camera in the corner of the showroom behind Geordi. The lens seemed to be fixed on her, though she knew that was only her imagination.
Or was it?
L and S hadn’t figured out how Cayden had gotten past their system. Cayden wasn’t a hacker. He hated computers. His love was cars. The other day, he’d said he’d put the cameras on a four-hour loop. That would have taken time, but he’d been with her.
Son of a selfish bitch, that sly bastard! Cayden had somehow gotten Paul to hack into her security system. The job at the FBI. That had to be Lee’s doing. Paul was a hacker with a record. He couldn’t just fill out an application for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and expect anything more than laughter in return. But if he had a recommendation from a former Marine, from a current cop… Maybe. She didn’t know how that technically worked, but Paul would certainly have a better shot.
Cayden or Lee had been in contact with Paul, who had contacted Geordi, who had shown up today with cookies and a rose, thinking they were his own gifts to her when they were, in fact, Cayden’s. She didn’t know if she wanted to kiss her man or kick him for this elaborate scheme.
She put the heel of her hand to her forehead. She was getting a headache.
Cayden jumped down. He landed with his knees bent, his fingers just barely brushing the floor of the garage to keep him balanced. With how fast his heart was racing, Cayden tried to keep his breath slow and steady. Thoughts of Trixie flashed before his eyes, but he pushed those away. He did not need that sort of distraction now. As much as the idea of Trixie calmed him, she also excited him beyond belief and he needed to concentrate on his task at hand.
This was it. Tonight, they would either have Carver or they wouldn’t.
To say Carver was after a motorcycle was to say the Grand Riyadh was just a hotel. The Raiju —named after the Japanese mythic creature made of lightning— was a slick, high speed electric feat of vehicular engineering that was being prepared to be launched in the next year’s market. Its dual tire system gave it a unique design, and it was rumored to be faster than even the Ninja H2R.
Cayden had to admit. The thought of driving this motorcycle got his blood pumping nearly as hot as the sight of Trixie bent over a dismantled engine did.
For as valuable as the Raiju was, Cayden had been shocked to learn that Carver didn’t plan on keeping her. He planned on selling her to the highest bidder. Opening bid for the auction would start at half a million, though Cayden had no doubt it would quickly break seven, maybe eight, digits. The Neiman Marcus LE Fighter sold for eleven million at auction.
Competing companies would kill for the chance to take the Raiju apart and figure out how she runs, but they wouldn’t be the only ones bidding. Collectors would be too, as well as weapons companies who could care less about the motorcycle and were only interested in the battery technology.
Lee wasn’t with Cayden. He’d been able to convince Trixie’s brother that he’d only be a liability. As protected as the Raiju was, Cayden was better working solo. Having Lee along was a distraction he didn’t need and couldn’t risk having.
Therefore, Lee and Captain Holloway, Lee’s superior officer and former Marine friend, were waiting for Cayden’s signal that Carver had the motorcycle and Cayden had eyes on the drugs, and then they were to swarm Cayden’s location with the locator he had in his shoe.
As much as it irked him, the company who owned and designed the Raiju were aware that Cayden was going to steal it tonight and they’d put a duplicate in her place, so Cayden wasn’t actually delivering the real prototype. Instead, the vehicle he would be driving would be one of the original prototype that hadn’t passed inspection, but Cayden was assured it was still safe to drive.
The police department wasn’t prepared to assume the liability required to guarantee the safety of the real vehicle. Therefore, for them to sanction Cayden committing the crime, it had to be a fake bike.
Never knew stings needed to be this complicated, Cayden had found himself thinking over the course of his undercover work. No wonder criminals get away with so much. The cops are fighting us with their hands tied behind their backs.
Cayden saw too many problems with using a fake, but the biggest one was that Carver was too smart to fall for a duplicate. Additionally, the more people who knew a secret, the less likely it was to remain a secret.
Cayden didn’t like it, which was making his blood spike all the more.
As soon as Cayden entered the garage, he got a sinking feeling in his gut. It only increased the closer he got to the Raiju. So many things could go wrong, but… This was also it. After tonight, he was free. Deal done. He could go back to Trixie and start their life together. Lee swore to Cayden that Carver was leaving tonight in cuffs or a body bag.
Taking down Carver got Lee one step closer to Massey. Cayden understood this, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Lee was seeking justice, but maybe he was going about it the wrong way? Cayden had once asked Lee if he knew who had killed Marco. Marco might have witnessed Massey’s crime, but had he actually been the one to kidnap and torture Marco or had he just ordered it done? Lee had just remained silent, making Cayden think that whomever those men were, they were long dead.
Cayden walked up to the Raiju replica, and rolled his eyes. The company had left him the damn keys. What sort of heist was this? This was no test of his skill whatsoever. If his stomach wasn’t churning so badly, he’d go as far as to call it boring.
He hesitated only for a moment before he took out a small notepad, wrote a quick sentence, and then he held it up to the security camera in the corner of the garage. Paul had done something to the cameras so the guards in the security room couldn’t see Cayden, but Paul still could. Cayden had spent his late teens and early twenties relying on his gut, and something just wasn’t right. What he had to say, he didn’t want the whole of the police department to overhear anyway. What was he supposed to tell Lee anyway? Hey, man, my tummy hurts. Want to call this whole thing off?
Cayden scoffed at his own inner sarcasm that sounded far too much like Trixie to help him keep his focus on the job at hand.
Cayden pulled out of the garage, down the back alleyway, and through the gates that Paul opened for him. Like he said, boring. As soon as he pulled onto the main road, he could tell he was being watched. The cops only had a single unmarked keeping an eye on him. They knew where he was; they didn’t know where Carver’s drugs were and therefore felt it was better to spread out their forces through the city so they could converge once they had a location. Besides, the gaze didn’t feel friendly.
Cayden texted Carver that he had the Raiju and waited for the man to respond with the location of the exchange. As soon as he had it, Cayden destroyed the phone. Carver probably had the phone bugged or something. He passed on the location of Carver’s meeting to Lee through the wire. He felt only slightly better knowing that the cavalry was now also on their way.
Cayden’s eyes glanced at his mirrors. Something wasn’t right, he said to himself just as he merged onto the highway. He barely went a mile before the road was lit up with red and blue flashing lights and the path in front of him was being rapidly blocked by barricades.
“Driver, pull over your vehicle!”
