Chapter 31 - Ambush in the Dust
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Sparks showered against the passenger side window as our SUV scraped the metal guardrail. Julian wrestled with the steering wheel, his jaw clenched, fighting to keep the heavy vehicle from flipping over into the steep desert ravine.
"Keep Grace down!" I yelled over the deafening roar of grinding metal.
Irene shoved herself onto the floorboards, wrapping her body entirely around the baby's car seat. Grace began to wail, terrified by the violent shaking.
The black truck backed off for a split second, then accelerated again, aiming directly for our rear axle.
"They're trying to pit-maneuver us!" Julian shouted. "Roll down your window! Take out their tires!"
I unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbed my rifle, and rolled down the passenger window. The hot desert wind whipped across my face, blinding me with dust and sand. I leaned out of the speeding SUV, bracing my elbows against the door frame.
The masked driver of the truck was raising a submachine gun through his windshield.
I didn't hesitate. I squeezed the trigger, firing three controlled bursts. The deafening cracks of my rifle echoed across the empty highway. My first two shots shattered the truck's windshield, forcing the driver to duck. My third shot found its mark, blowing out the truck's front left tire.
The massive vehicle violently swerved to the left, the rubber peeling off the rim in a cloud of thick, black smoke. The driver lost control entirely. The truck slammed into the concrete median, flipped onto its side, and skidded for fifty yards before bursting into a massive fireball.
Julian slammed on the brakes, bringing our SUV to a screeching halt in the middle of the empty highway.
We sat in stunned silence, the only sound the crackling flames from the wreckage behind us and Grace's soft crying in the back seat.
"Is everyone okay?" I breathed, my hands shaking as I ejected the spent magazine from my rifle.
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"We're alive," Irene whispered, kissing Grace's forehead.
Julian stared at the burning truck in the rearview mirror. "They knew exactly which route we were taking. We have a tracker on this car, and I’m going to find it."
