Chapter 2 - The Gray Sedan
We hit the pavement of the adjacent street just as David’s gray sedan screeched around the corner. The passenger door flew open before the car even stopped.
“Get in! Get down!” David yelled over the roar of the engine.
I threw Mia into the backseat and dove in after her, pulling the door shut as David slammed on the gas. The car fishtailed, tires biting into the wet asphalt, before launching us down the suburban street. I pulled Mia to the floorboards, covering her small body with mine.
BOOM.
The sound was deafening, a percussive shockwave that rattled the windows of the sedan. I risked a glance over the back seat. Above the treeline of our perfect, manicured neighborhood, a thick plume of black smoke was billowing into the gray sky.
It was coming from our address.
“Gas leak,” David said, his voice trembling as he gripped the steering wheel. His knuckles were white. “That’s what the news is going to call it. A tragic Sunday morning gas explosion. No survivors.”
My stomach violently hollowed out. “Mark did this? Why?”
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“Because he owes two million dollars to the Volkov syndicate,” David replied grimly, merging onto the highway and pushing the car to eighty miles an hour. “He didn't just lose our company’s money, Elena. He borrowed from people who skin you alive for being late. He took out a five-million-dollar life insurance policy on you and Mia three months ago. You’re his payout.”
I held Mia tighter, burying my face in her messy curls as silent tears finally spilled over my cheeks. The man I had shared a bed with, the man who had kissed my cheek an hour ago, had left us to burn.
