Chapter 452
Chapter 452:
The assassin leader was a fraction of a second away from pulling the trigger when something hit him like a wall of wind. Before he could process what was happening, a powerful arm locked around his throat and squeezed — a single, suffocating second that made the world go dark at the edges. Then he felt it: the hard, cold circle of a gun barrel pressed firmly against his temple.
The person who had stepped out of that car was not Kristine.
It was a man.
Vinson watched the shock register on the assassin’s face and let a slow, satisfied smirk form on his lips.
It had been Kristine’s idea.
Back in the car, when she said “I” should be the one driving, she hadn’t meant herself. She had meant one of them — Vinson or Davin — wearing her clothes, playing her role, giving the assassins something to chase.
It wasn’t complicated in theory. Both men could handle a vehicle at speed without thinking. Keeping the convoy’s attention locked on the car was straightforward enough.
The harder part was the deception itself — convincing a group of professional killers, in the middle of a high-speed pursuit, that the person behind the wheel was a woman of Kristine’s build.
The plan was simple and terrifying in equal measure: wait for enough distance, bail out of the moving car, swap clothing mid-flight so that what the pursuers saw were two bodyguards abandoning their charge while “Kristine” kept driving. Speed and chaos would do the rest. At that velocity, in that confusion, no one would have time to notice that the figure in the driver’s seat was taller, broader, built entirely differently.
It was a gamble staked against their lives.
𝖥і𝗻d 𝗇𝗈𝘃𝘦l 𝘗𝘋𝘍ѕ 𝘰𝗻
And judging by the look on the assassin leader’s face, it had paid off.
Vinson leaned in close, completely relaxed, and spoke in a low, unhurried voice. “Tell your men to drop their weapons and step back p>
The leader’s jaw worked. He hated every inch of this. But the gun barrel against his skull left him no room. “Stand down!” he barked. “All units — stand down p>
Vinson’s smirk held.
His part was done.
Now he just had to trust that Davin was having the same kind of luck.
The thought made something flicker across his expression. When they had been working through the plan, Davin — who almost never volunteered for anything — had been the first to say he would stay with Kristine. It had caught Vinson off guard. Drawing the convoy away was dangerous, yes. But staying with the actual target, on foot, hunted? That was the harder assignment. Davin knew that. He was a professional. And he had still chosen it without hesitation.
Vinson filed the thought away and tightened his grip on the gun.
Davin ran with Kristine until the sound of the chase had faded behind them. They covered a long stretch of road before she finally gave out.
“I can’t — I can’t go any further,” she gasped, bending forward with her hands on her knees.
Davin scanned the empty street ahead. The quiet did nothing to reassure him. He could feel the city holding its breath.
“Do you want me to carry you?” he asked.
Kristine looked up at him, completely spent. “Yes. Thank you p>
He nodded, crouched, and she climbed onto his back.