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disturbing, almost familiar.
"Can you trust this, Megan?' Braden jerked the wheel to the left and headed into a more hilly part of
the desert, toward the canyons that crisscrossed the desert.
"Someone's opened up to me." She continued to input the information into the map. "The information
isn't a trap, but I'll be damned if I know why. They can't be as damned stupid as they're acting."
Perhaps she was stronger. She bit her lip fiercely, disturbed by how quickly the information flooded
her mind, without the pain.
"Tarek's behind us, riding us close. Is he being fed the map?' one of the Breeds behind them snapped
out with a tone of imperative demand.
"As I put it in, they get it."
"What about those bad boys coming up behind us?' Another snarled. "I can see the dust trail behind
us."
"Vehicle to vehicle only." Megan kept tapping, keeping the link to the other vehicle secure against any
attempt to hack. "I know what I'm doing."
At least, she hoped she did. It had been a long time since her uncle Steven and his military buddies
had been out to play. As she kept the communication link between the two vehicles clear, a sudden
burning at the back of her neck had her eyes widening.
"Break off!" she was only barely aware that she was nearly screaming as she felt the sudden order
shoot through her brain. 'They have missiles_
You fuckers!" The blast rocked the Raider as Braden twisted the wheel, snarling as the vehicle
behind them swerved and nearly rammed into them before righting itself.
"Attempted radar lock." The computer voice came through as three furious Breed snarls echoed
around her.
And she swore the link at her ear was filled with the same sound.
"Yeah, snarling is going to help," she yelled back at them, fighting to stay in place as Braden began
twisting the wheel while the computer continued to warn of the attempted lock.
"Canyon ahead." She pointed to the turn on the map. "Two hundred feet. We have a series of roads
through several canyons we can use. It will block the missiles."
"Missile lock."
"Bastards! Where the hell is the speed, Megan?'' he yelled out.
"Empty. We'll make it." She braced for the turn, gritting her teeth as the Raiders took it on two wheels
only seconds ahead of the strike.
The missile exploded into the wall of the canyon entrance as the vehicles shot through it.
"Road's narrow," she warned him as the night-vision goggles she wore picked up the canyon walls.
"Radar is showing no obstructions ahead. That's all we have to watch for."
"How far does this canyon last?" voice snarled in her ear. That voice was just as dangerous as any
Braden had ever used. Pure male fury-laced testosterone.
"Five miles, less than three minutes: but it's a shortcut. There's no way they can keep up unless they
take the canyon, and with any luck they'll have to go a hell of a lot slower." She glanced at Braden's
set face. "I could drive it faster."
He threw her a look of utter incredulity. "I remember your last chase, Megan. Not a chance in hell."
They shot out of the canyon minutes later, Megan hunched over the keyboard as she fought to stay one
step ahead of the bastards chasing them, as well as the psychic impulses rushing into her brain.
"Left." She pointed to the next canyon ahead. "Fuck, I think they're using satellite tracking with GPS.
They have some handy-dandy gadgets, Braden."
"How far are we from town?' He kept his eyes on the narrow path they turned onto, and was forced to
slow their speed to navigate the turns.
"This takes longer than the interstate. We could be a while."
"Jonas will find us before we ever hit town," one of the Breeds behind her snapped out. "Just keep us
one step ahead of those damned missiles and we'll survive."
"Tarek, your Navigator have anything?' Braden suddenly yelled into the
link.
Megan threw him a surprised look. "Navigator?"
If the bastard behind them was driving a Navigator Raider then she was going to hurt someone. The
Navigator was the elite, the best of the best with full satellite links and blocking capabilities.
"Blocking is out," Tarek answered. "And we have bogeys coming up our ass."
"Left." The next turn was sharp, almost hidden, while the main canyon road continued on. It was also
quicker.
"We need to find some speed," she muttered, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she pulled up the
maps she had inputted into the Raider over the past year.
"We can come out here." She pointed to the next turn. "We have to get some speed and get to this next
set." It was close to fifteen miles away.
"If we can get through there we'll be close enough to Broken Butte to call Lance."
"Lance has been notified. The bastard better be on his toes."
Megan turned, staring into the rearview as they sped through the twisting canyon road. Something
wasn't right.
The Raider behind them was in view, but something else was beyond, too close.
"Faster." She snarled. "Put that damned pedal to the floor or we're all going to bum." She knew she
should have made him let her drive, dammit.
He added speed, cursing every breath as the walls of the canyon brushed the Raiders as they raced
through it.
"Radar lock in progress," the computer warned in that damned monotone.
"I'll kill those bastards," Braden yelled.
"Stand in line. Tarek do you have flares?" Megan snapped.
"Flares loaded and on track." The voice was a snarling, growling exclamation that indicated the fury
she could feel pulsing around her.
They shot out of the canyon. Megan was aware of Braden flooring the gas as the computer warned of
radar lock. The flare from the back Raider illuminated the night and seconds later the resulting missile
explosion shook the canyon walls.
That was when they got dirty. The next missile was shot before lock, giving Tarek's people little time
to set the flare. It was close. The next was closer.
"Hold on. Hold on." Megan felt it coming a second before the Raider pitched to the side. She gripped
the roll bar overhead, cursing as the vehicle flipped, righted itself, then came to rest against a
boulder.
"Haul ass. Motor's shot," Braden ordered as he pushed Megan through the door she had only seconds
to open.
"We're on foot. Let's roll."
He grabbed Megan's arm, pulling her into one of the smaller turns that led back into the canyon.
"Spread out. Jonas is less than half an hour away. He'll find us. Full sanctions, shoot to kill."
Megan jerked her pistol from its holster as they entered the rocky, brush crowded path that led back
into the canyon.
Gunfire erupted behind them as she listened to the transmissions of the Breeds in her ear.
She could feel the enemy soldiers in the canyon, a full dozen or more, and one who seemed to see
everything. He was doing nothing to hold
back his thoughts as the soldiers had the other day. He watched, and he thought. They were after her.
Nothing else mattered. Not the Breeds with her; whether they lived or died held no importance. Her
death was uppermost.
"Soldiers are moving in ahead of us," she gasped out as they moved through a thick, bramble-coated
path.
"I hear them." Braden's voice was soft, predatory. "I can also feel your link. He's doing it
deliberately."
"Yeah, I figured that out." She was breathing roughly as he pulled her along behind him. "It's familiar.
I just can't place it."
Gunfire behind them had them ducking quickly, listening to the comm link as Tarek gave his men brief,
coded ' orders. So far, none had been hit. Thank God.
"Cooley is with them." Her finger lay firmly on the trigger of her own weapon as she scanned the area
where they were hidden. "As well as a Coyote. He's determined."
"So am I." Braden's voice was quiet, but the threat of black rage beneath it sent a chill up her spine.
"We have to take out his Coyote," she murmured as she searched for the
best vantage point. She had trained in these canyons with her family from the time she was a teenager.
"We stay upwind of him and we can do that." He began moving again, easing his way through the
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