Chapter 776
Chapter 776:
He had fought for this. He had found the one thing that connected me to a time before the pain, before the K-Syndicate, before the contract.
“Oh wow,” Victoria whispered, peeking at the side mirror. “That’s… that’s a tail right there p>
“It’s a welcoming committee,” Alistair said, his voice barely audible.
The air in the car suddenly felt thin. The Architect wasn’t just letting us leave; he was sending his ghosts to ensure we didn’t reach the sanctuary.
“Which route are you going to take?” Liam asked, the air heavy with the question.
I looked at the desert—the future. I looked at the map—the past, redeemed.
“Off-road,” I said firmly. “We’re going to the canyon. The past stays in the dust p>
Victoria yanked the wheel. The SUV veered off the asphalt, the tires kicking up gravel. I moved to fasten my seatbelt tighter.
Snap.
The sound was small, but in the quiet car, it sounded like a gunshot. The plastic buckle gave way, the metal sliding uselessly.
“No!” Victoria gasped, correcting a skid.
We stared at the broken buckle in my hand.
“Tell me that’s not an omen,” my father whispered from the back, his voice raspy.
“It’s physics,” I said, though my pulse hammered in my throat. “Metal fatigue. It can be fixed p>
“Not in twenty minutes,” Alistair said, checking his watch. “The pursuit is closing. The drones are already passing the ridge p>
I looked at the empty road ahead. Then at the dust cloud behind.
“There’s no choice,” Liam said gently. “Hold on to me. The terrain demands it p>
I grabbed the handle above the door. It was heavy in my palm, warm—unlike the cold metal of the buckle.
“Maybe it is an omen,” I whispered, bracing myself as the car dipped into a dry riverbed. The movement clicked with a definitive sound. The fear rested against my collarbone, a cold kiss from a ghost. “I carry the past so I don’t repeat it p>
𝘊𝗈𝗆𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘁𝖾 𝗰𝗁a𝗉𝘵𝗲𝗿ѕ o𝘯 𝖻𝗲𝗹ո𝘰𝗏e𝗹s.с𝘰𝗺
Miles away, parked on a jagged ridge overlooking the canyon entrance, a heavy-duty tactical rover sat idling. Ethan Vance lowered his thermal binoculars, a cold sneer twisting his lips.
He hadn’t bothered with the hotel. He knew Skye Sterling too well—or rather, he knew the desperation of rats fleeing a sinking ship. He knew they would head for the only safe harbor left: the Summer Home. He had been tracking their transponder signature since they left the city limits, waiting for them to enter the kill box.
“You think you’re clever, Skye,” Ethan muttered, his voice thick with a resentment that had festered for years in Julian’s shadow. “You think destroying the casino saves you? It just herds you right to me p>
He picked up a remote detonator, his thumb hovering over the trigger. The charges were already set along the canyon walls. He wasn’t here to capture them. He was here to bury them.
“Julian always protected you,” he hissed to the empty desert air. “He sent me away to the army to ‘toughen me up’ while he played house with the Sterlings. But Julian isn’t here now. It’s just you, me, and gravity p>
He watched the dust trail of the black SUV entering the pass below. “Goodbye, happy couple p>