Chapter 91

The once-bright moon was now hidden behind thick clouds, castng a heavy, suffocating gloom over the capital.

Tristan and Megan hurried out of the convention center.

A sleek black Maybach idled at the curb, where Mr.Brown stepped out and opened the door with a respectful nod.

Just as Megan was about to get in, Tristan slid his arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her passionately.

He leaned in, voice low next to her ear. "There's a secret compartment under the front passenger seat.Full of different handguns. I'll show you how to use them now."

Megan met his gaze, calm and steady. "I already know."

That caught him off guard. The woman in his arms grew more mysterious by the second-like a puzzle he desperately wanted to solve, piece by piece.

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "When did you pick that up?"

"Two years ago. I joined a shooting club," Megan said smoothly, without a flicker of hesitation. "What about you? When did you learn?"

"After you started showing up in my dreams."

Her cheeks turned red in an instant. That line had another meaning she couldn't ignore.

She lightly punched his firm chest. "Can you not?"

"Can't promise that. But I never miss. Dead-on, every time."

Megan shot him a side-eye at the shameless comeback. "Cut the nonsense-I'm getting in."

"I'll be right behind you." As she got into the Maybach, Tristan headed for the Bentley Cameron had brought around.

They both merged swiftly into traffic, fading into the rush of night.

Megan suddenly felt her passenger seat vibrating.Glancing over, she picked up her phone. An unfamiliar number lit up the screen.

Turning on the recorder, she answered.

A distorted, robotic voice came through the line."Lose the car tailing you."

"Who are you?"

"Not important. All you need to know is you're completely under my control now. New address-abandoned lot out east. Come alone, or you'll be picking up what's left of Chloe."

Click. The call ended. No doubt now-someone had eyes on her.

Megan's heart tightened. She couldn't risk Chloe's life. Not for anything.

Two black cars drove about two hundred meters apart.

Megan dialed Tristan's number. "Hey babe, how about a little race? Let's see who's faster on this stretch."

Tristan, his voice relaxed through his earpiece,chuckled. "I'm game."

Both cars took off down the highway like twin shadows,neck and neck.

Then-out of nowhere-Megan took a sharp right at an exit ramp.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?"

Tristan's voice, now anxious, spilled through the speaker. Her nose stung, tears threatening.

She wasn't the emotional type. Not after everything she'd been through in her last life. She'd come to value this second chance at happiness. But she couldn't build her peace on someone else's blood.

Her voice wavered, thick. "Tristan. no matter what happens to me, take care of yourself."

"I'm flipping around right now to come get you."

Her eyes blurred. "Love you."

Then she hung up.

As the highway fed into a quieter back road, Megan pulled over and turned off the engine. Working fast,she took off her phone case and under the car's light, removed the tracking device hidden inside,tossing it out the window.

Just like Tristan had said, she found the hidden compartment under the passenger seat-in it, a stash of high-end firearms.Glock 17, Colt M2000, SIG P229...

Megan picked an M9 and slid in a mag loaded with 9mm Parabellum rounds. The engine roared to life.

The black Maybach shot out like a bullet from a gun.

Tristan stared at the red dot on his phone map,but when he rushed to that location, it was already deserted.

Gripping the steering wheel tight, he instantly realized the little troublemaker had dumped the tracker.

Pulling up an app, he tapped into his smart assistant system to locate Nova Tech.

Because that dumb dog was currently tucked away in Megan's purse.

He hadn't given it to her for fun-he'd planned for moments like this.

Staring at the flickering red dot zipping across the map, a fire sparked in his narrowed eyes.

"Megan, if you're in, we're in this together."

With smooth precision, he shifted gears, stepped hard on the gas in his custom leather shoes, and sped straight toward East Suburb's abandoned car lot.

At the same time, Kevin was pacing furiously-he couldn't find any trace of Tristan or Megan, not even using SkyEye.

No clue what tricks they pulled, but their profiles had gone completely off-grid.

He was getting so anxious, it looked like he might combust on the spot.

Then Kai's call came through-he'd faintly overheard someone mention the Western abandoned lot.

Like a switch flipped, Kevin practically flew out,taking his team straight to the west side.

Cool night wind cut through the dusk, scattering dark clouds, and that glowing silver moon hovered like a dagger in the sky.

In the East Suburb junkyard, rows of scrapped cars stood still, some stacked dangerously like they were ready to topple.

Megan parked exactly where Molly told her-between two rows of rusting wrecks.

She unzipped her purse and out popped Nova Tech.

In its usual baby-robot voice, it chirped, "Goddess,are we, like. walking into our doom?"

Megan grabbed a roll of duct tape and secured the gun snugly against her inner thigh. With a faint smile,she replied,"Scared?"

Nova gave a little shake-well, more like a wiggle."Scared of what? If you're not scared, I'd bea crappy excuse for a guard dog to be!"

Megan let out a chuckle. "You literally are a dog. Who taught you to talk like that-cuss words and all?"

"Zeta Prime did!"

The answer shot out instantly-no hesitation at all.

She flicked its head lightly with her finger. "Hide under my skirt for now." Nova giggled, "If I get a view of my pretty human's glowing white thighs, my master's gonna scrap me for sure!"

She hoisted it up. "Relax, I'll make sure your metal head stays attached."

Lifting her dress, she clipped Nova securely underneath.

As she pushed the car door open, a cold gust mixed with the sting of rust rushed in.

Closing the door behind her, Megan's eyes swept the surroundings, alert as ever.

A drone buzzed overhead, circling around.

Just then, her phone shook.

"Still got guts, huh? Head straight, then take a right at the first intersection, right again at the second,and another right at the first one after that..."

She frowned."Seriously? That's just a full circle."

"Hahaha. So what if it is? If you don't play along, that little tramp gets gang-handled."

Hearing Molly's twisted threats, Megan had no choice but to comply.

After the loop, she found herself right where she'd started.

Molly's voice came again. "Go straight, take a left at the end-there's a warehouse. Get in."

Megan clenched her teeth tight, the tension pressing hard in her jaw.

Then, without hesitation, she darted forward.