The wrong turn

“You okay?” Maya asked gently.

Rhea didn’t move.

“No.”

A few seconds later, Maya tried once more.

“You know… if you want to cry, scream, or even curse every single person who made today miserable, I’m here.”

That earned the faintest smile from Rhea.

“I appreciate it. But… I just don’t want to talk.”

Maya studied her friend for a moment before reaching across the seat and squeezing her hand.

“You don’t have to.”

Rhea squeezed her hand back before letting go. The silence returned, and this time Maya respected it.

***

Alaric kept both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the silver taxi ahead. His plan was simple. Follow the cab long enough to make sure Rhea reached Maya’s apartment safely, then return to the villa and let Melissa know she was safe. Nothing more. He had given Melissa his word that Rhea wouldn’t be alone after everything that had happened, and he intended to keep it.

At first, nothing seemed unusual. Traffic crawled through the downtown streets. Cars stopped at red lights while pedestrians hurried across crosswalks before the signals changed. The taxi remained several car lengths ahead, and Alaric kept a careful distance.

His eyes drifted to the back of the cab. Something caught his attention. The car had a taxi sign mounted on its roof, but there was no company logo on the doors. No fleet number. No identification sticker on the rear windshield. It looked… plain.

His brows drew together. Most licensed taxis carried some form of identification. Maybe it belonged to a small private company, he thought, brushing the feeling aside.

Then the cab turned off the main road.

Alaric followed without giving it much thought. Drivers often took different routes to avoid traffic.

A minute later, it turned again.

Then another.

The city slowly began to disappear behind them. The rows of restaurants and office buildings gave way to abandoned warehouses, empty lots, and long stretches of asphalt. Streetlights grew farther apart, and the steady flow of evening traffic thinned until only a handful of vehicles remained.

Alaric’s grip tightened around the steering wheel.

This wasn’t the direction of any residential neighborhood.

A cold uneasiness settled in his chest.

Something wasn’t right.

****

Inside the taxi, Rhea finally looked away from the window. She had been sitting with her eyes closed, trying to quiet her thoughts while Maya scrolled through her phone.

She frowned. “Maya…”

“Hm?”

“Is this the way to your apartment?”

Maya looked outside. Confusion crossed her face.

“No.”

She leaned forward slightly.

“Excuse me,” she called to the driver. “I think you missed the turn.”

No answer. The driver kept his eyes on the road.

Rhea frowned harder. “Sir?”

Still nothing.

A chill crawled up her spine. She reached forward, tapping the plastic divider behind the driver’s seat.

“Excuse me, you missed our turn.”

The driver smiled. It wasn’t friendly. It was the kind of smile that made her blood run cold.

“I know.”

Rhea and Maya exchanged a look. Every instinct inside Rhea screamed that something was wrong.

The taxi shot forward like a bullet. The speedometer climbed — ninety-eight, one hundred, one hundred and ten. The engine whined under the strain, the tires humming against the asphalt.

“Stop the car!” Maya screamed, clutching the driver’s shoulder with one hand while trying to pry his fingers from the steering wheel with the other.

The driver snarled.

“I said sit down!”

He swung his arm backward. His elbow caught Maya squarely across the cheek. Pain exploded through her face. She cried out as her head slammed against the window a second time, stars bursting across her vision. Warm blood trickled from a cut near her hairline. Still, she refused to let go.

Rhea had both hands locked around the steering wheel, fighting with every ounce of strength she had. The cab zigzagged violently across the empty road. The driver cursed under his breath and grabbed a fistful of Rhea’s hair. She cried out as he yanked her backward. For a split second, her grip loosened. He shoved her away with enough force to send her crashing against the back seat.

Before he could regain full control, Rhea threw herself forward again. This time, she wrapped one arm around the steering wheel while the other reached for the ignition.

“If I can’t stop you…” she gasped, “…I’ll stop the car!”

The driver saw what she was doing. His eyes widened.

“No!”

He grabbed her wrist. The steering wheel jerked sharply to the left. The taxi drifted into the opposite lane.

Behind them, Alaric leaned harder on the horn. The sound echoed through the deserted road.

“Come on…” he muttered through clenched teeth. “Come on, Rhea…”

The dispatcher was still speaking through the car speakers.

“Sir, officers are less than three minutes away. Can you maintain visual contact?”

“Yes.” His eyes never left the taxi. “She’s fighting him. They’re both fighting him.”

The driver looked into his mirror again. He saw the black SUV. He saw Alaric. And something shifted in his expression — fear. He pressed the accelerator to the floor. The taxi surged forward.

“No!” Maya shouted. “We’re going to crash!”

The driver ignored her. Trees flashed past. Road signs blurred. The steering wheel jerked wildly beneath Rhea’s hands as she struggled to keep the car straight.

Then headlights. A massive concrete utility pole loomed directly ahead.

Everything happened at once. The driver tried to swerve. Rhea pulled the wheel the opposite direction. The tires screamed. Rubber burned against asphalt. For one horrifying second, the taxi lifted onto two wheels.

Then—

BOOM!

The front of the cab slammed into the concrete pole with a deafening crash. Metal folded inward like paper. Glass exploded in every direction. The force hurled Maya sideways. Her shoulder smashed against the door before her head struck the window again. The seatbelt locked painfully across her chest.

Rhea was thrown forward with terrifying force. The airbag exploded from the dashboard, but not before her forehead struck the back of the driver’s seat. The world spun. The taxi rotated across the road, screeching to a violent stop in a shower of sparks.

Silence.

For one endless heartbeat… silence.

Then came the hiss of the ruined engine. Smoke curled from beneath. The sharp scent of gasoline filled the air.

Inside the wreckage, Maya groaned. Her ears rang so loudly she could barely hear herself. She blinked through blurred vision. Blood dripped down the side of her face.

“M-Maya…” she whispered to herself, trying to stay conscious. Her gaze drifted beside her. “Rhea?”

No answer. Panic surged through her.

“Rhea!”

Rhea’s head rested against the shattered window. A thin stream of blood traced its way from her temple down her cheek. She didn’t move. She didn’t make a sound.

Outside, tires screeched. Alaric’s car came to a violent stop behind the wreck. He didn’t bother turning off the engine. He shoved the driver’s door open before the vehicle had completely stopped. The emergency operator was still calling his name through the speakers.

“Sir? Sir, can you hear me?”

He was already running. His shoes pounded against the road. His heart hammered so violently he could hear nothing else. Nothing except one thought.

Please don’t be too late.

He reached the wrecked taxi. The front of the vehicle was wrapped around the concrete pole. Smoke poured from the crumpled hood. Through the shattered rear window, he saw Maya first. She looked up at him with unfocused eyes, blood streaking her face.

“Help…” she whispered.

Then his gaze shifted. It found Rhea. She was completely still.

Alaric’s world stopped.

“Rhea!”