All Chapters of The CEO Beautiful Regret : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

*Vivienne*The green Jeep tore down the mountain. The steering wheel jerked violently under my palms every time the tires hit a loose rock on the dirt road.We didn't have doors. The cold wind ripped into the cabin, freezing the sweat on my neck. My left foot pressed down hard on the gas pedal, the open cuts on my heel leaking fresh blood onto the dirty rubber mat."Vivienne, they're not behind us," Clara said. She was looking back over her shoulder, her small hands gripping the rusted metal frame of the passenger seat."They won't use the road," I said, shifting into third gear with a loud grind. "The man in the suit has the coordinates of this vehicle. He knows the Jeep belongs to the border shack. They’ll have a block setup at the main highway junction."The road flattened out, entering a deep pine valley where the trees grew thick and dark. The morning sun couldn't reach the ground here. Everything was a dull, cold gray.Up ahead, a small white sign sat on the shoulder: HIGHWAY 4—

*Vivienne*The fire stayed behind us, but the smoke followed. It crawled through the hemlocks, a gray mist that smelled like burning oil.Martha drove by feel. She didn't look at the road because there wasn't one. The Jeep bounced over fallen logs and smashed through thick blueberry bushes. Every jolt sent a sharp needle of pain straight up my bare leg from my bleeding foot."Where does this trail go?" I yelled over the rattle of the engine."Nowhere," Martha said. Her knuckles were white on the wheel. "It’s an old fire break. It dead-ends at the high cliffs near the power station.""Then we’re cornered," I said."Only if they catch us on the flat," she said.In the back seat, Dominic let out a low groan. His head dropped against the rusted roll cage. Clara was holding his hand, her small face tight with fear. She wasn't crying anymore. She was past that."Vivienne," Dominic rasped. His eyes opened, rolling back slightly. "The tracker. In my pocket." I leaned over the back of my seat

* Vivienne*The heavy iron handle gave way with a loud snap.Deep inside the floorboards, an ancient hydraulic piston groaned. For thirty years, the drainage valve had held back thousands of gallons of stagnant river water in the upper reservoir pipe directly above our heads.The pressure broke instantly.The massive iron ceiling pipe split right down the middle. A wall of black, freezing water crashed down into the room like a waterfall, hitting the metal catwalks first. The mercenary on the high platform was ripped off his feet, his flashlight tumbling through the air as he hit the iron plating below with a heavy thud.The water flooded the room in seconds, rising up to my knees. It was thick with black silt and dead leaves, freezing my legs and making it impossible to stand.The suit didn't fall. He stepped back, his black leather shoes submerged in the rushing dark water. The sudden blast of spray hit his face, but his hand stayed steady. He wiped the water from his eyes with his

*Vivienne*"Clara! Down!" I screamed.I reached through the shattered back glass of the cab, grabbed the hood of her jacket, and yanked her flat against the wooden planks of the truck bed.The heavy rifle round tore through the rear window frame, right where her head had been a second before. Shards of green safety glass showered down onto Dominic’s blanket, tinkling loudly against the metal truck bed.The logging truck was moving too fast now. The brakes were totally useless on the icy moss of the wooden flume. We were a ten-ton sled sliding down a sixty-degree timber trough, the wind howling through the broken windshield like a jet engine.Two more rounds punched through the tailboard. One bullet hit a heavy chain link next to Dominic’s hip, making the iron ring hum with a high, vibrating whine. The other slug passed clean through the back of my driver's seat, burning the skin of my right ribcage before embedding itself in the dashboard.Martha didn't try to shoot back. She couldn't

*Vivienne*The water hit my chin.It was freezing, a heavy weight pressing against my chest, squeezing the remaining air out of my lungs. I tilted my head back, my nose touching the rough, wet concrete of the pipe ceiling. The air pocket was gone. There was only an inch of foam left.Through the rusted iron bars of the gate, Clara was screaming. Her voice was muffled by the roar of the water, her small fingers scratching uselessly at the solid steel."Vivienne! Hold on!" Martha’s face appeared in the narrow slit of daylight on the other side. She was jamming the short iron spike between the bottom bar and the concrete floor, trying to pry the automated gate up.The iron spike snapped in half. The gate didn't budge an inch.Inside the pipe, the flashlight beams cut through the water, turning the pool a murky, glowing green. The suit stood twenty feet back, his boots planted against the current. He kept his pistol leveled right between my eyes."The sequence, Vivienne," his voice bounce