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Only then did she jaas pedal hard and peeled away in a hurry

She was free Finally free, with the virus But without Mac

She’d done what she had to do

So why did she feel like hell?

Mac blinked his eyes open Goddamn, he was tired

And his mouth felt like someone stuffed cotton in there

He heard a car Was Toht and clutched his head What the hell was going on? This ti with careful steps to the

It was dark outside Where was Lily?

He walked toward the kitchen Empty, stuff scattered everywhere Dread fell like a boulder in his stomach He quickened his pace down the hall and into Tom’s room, which was a shambles

Jesus Christ The house was a mess Panic cleared his head in an instant

"Lily?"

He did hear a car He wasn’t drea it He ran to the sidein tiate closing behind it

The grogginess, the disorientation… His gaze shifted to the elass on the coffee table, his ether what had happened before he seely fell into a coma

Lily

She wouldn’t…would she? And why?

Unless she had soaze shot to the open vault, confir his worst fears The cabinet was torn open, the vial containing the virus gone

Fuck! He’d completely underestimated her His mind processed a ed his fingers through his hair Okay, he had to think and do it daet to Lily

He slid his hands in his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief His bike keys were still there The first thing he did was grab a high energy drink out of the fridge and guzzle it down, hoping the caffeine jolt would counter effect the drug and help wake hiate at the end of the driveway, he ran out the door and ju a little as he started it up Blinking to clear the persistent fog in his head, he tore down the driveway, stopping only to push the code on the box by the gate to close theht and head west He took off at high speed after her, hoping she hadn’t gotten too far, and that she wasn’t speeding like he was If he was lucky, no cops would be ht

The cool night air helped clear his head a little, but he still felt the effects of whatever Lily had drugged him with

Damn, he couldn’t believe she’d done that to hiured out Tom was the drop point for the virus, but how?

Not that it et the vial back, he was screwed And Lily could be in serious danger

He took a curve at a breakneck speed he wouldn’t recommend for an inexperienced biker Or one under the influence of God-only-knehat But he hts up ahead Could that be Lily? Please let it be her The back of the car looked fa sped up That meant it had to be Lily and she’d spotted his bike

Relief washed over him when he realized it was To dohichto have to find a way to stop her He pushed the bike hard, traveling at a dangerous speed Eventually he pulled up alongside her, waving at her to get her attention She took a glance out the , shook her head, and sped up

Oh, no, baby You’re not getting away He revved the bike and passed her, hoping like hell he didn’t wreck Nohere he had to gaht he did, she wouldn’t jeopardize his life to lose hihtahere he could really punch the speed Finally, he was far enough ahead of her so she’d have time to stop, then he pulled the bike around in front of her The road was narrow He left the bike in her lane, then stood in the other She had nowhere to pass around hi hi that he knew Lily, that he could predict what she’d do

He hoped he wasn’t wrong

In seconds, she was on hierously close Self-preservation kicked in and the urge to get the hell out of the way came with it, but he stood fir as the car skidded, then fishtailed She swerved off the road and into the ditch, the front end sla into a clump of thick brush

Shit! That’s not what he wanted He pulled his bike to the side of the road, then went running down the ditch S out of the car and glaring daggers at hiodda on hirasped her arht?"

She wrenched away fro, Mac?"

He shrugged "I needed you to stop"

"Screw you" She turned away and started back to the road

Fro as she climbed up the side of the ditch, she seemed to be fine

Despite the darkness, he didn’t see any blood on her He followed after her, lifting the bag off her shoulder as they reached the side of the road "I was thinking that I needed to get the virus"

She grabbed for her bag "Give that back!"