The Billionaire's Mistake

Chapter 261: Barely escaped

"Incoming hostile, four men giving chase! Nikki, hands at nine and three; we're hauling bloody acc until I give

other instructions!"

With a violent swerve, the sedan lurched across multiple lanes as Wolf depressed the acceleration. Behind them,

the pursuing vehicle mirrored their evasive maneuvers precisely, the passenger-side window exploding in a

shower of glass as it traded fire. "Down, get your head down!" Wolf barked over his shoulder at Hazel. She

immediately flattened herself on the floor in the rear footwell as bullets ricocheted all around, punching through

the chassis and deploying the sedan's side airbags. From his seated position, Wolf twisted at the waist and aimed

a torrent of suppressing fire out the shattered rear window. He watched grimly as his high-caliber rounds

slammed into their pursuers, shattering the reinforced windshield and driver's side window. When his magazine

ran dry, Wolf slapped in a fresh clip and barked a fresh order at Nikki. "We're getting boxed in out here - take the

next available and get us to cover, I'll lay down suppressing fire!"

Nikki's knuckles whitened on the wheel as he wrenched them into a hair-raising turn, rubber painting black

streaks across the asphalt. Wolf used the evasive maneuver as an opportunity to fling open his door and unload

cover fire from a more unorthodox angle. The staccato roar of automatic fire was deafening, brass casings

raining down across Hazel as she huddled into as tight a ball as possible. All around them, civilian vehicles

scattered and swerved to avoid the unfolding chaos.

With their pursuers momentarily pinned, Nikki guided them onto a narrow side street choked with parked cars on

both sides. The rhythmic pounding of tires against the sedan's undercarriage combined with Wolf's continued

strafing gunfire created a disorienting calamity for Hazel. She screamed as a heavy round tore clean through the

rear passenger door, the whine of the projectile passing mere inches over her head. Instinctively, she flinched

away, slamming her skull against the opposite door frame. Stars danced across her vision as she fought to

maintain consciousness.

"I want this shit delivered, you hear me?" Wolf shouted over the din, reloading his sidearm with sharp efficiency.

"Nikki, take the next right on Adler then I'll guide us backroads the rest of the way!"

Up ahead, another ominous blockade caused Nikki to stomp the brakes, chest slamming against the steering

wheel. A black Suburban had pulled across the intersection, completely choking off their escape route as two

armed men piled out to open fire. Wolf answered in kind, his gun hand steadied on the window fras he

unleashed a disciplined burst. One of the new hostiles dropped with bullets perforating his abdomen while his

accomplice scrambled for what little cover he could find. "We're stuck in between, this bird needs clipped wings

before she's going anywhere!" Wolf roared over his shoulder at Hazel. "Stay low, | mean it!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when their vehicle was rocked by a proximity bomb from the rear

pursuers. Flames and shrapnel engulfed the entire backend, the blast shattering windows and sending lethal

debris whizzing in every direction. Hazel felt something warm trickling from her brow and cheek as she futilely

tried to hunker lower, bracing for the inevitable loss of control. True to her fears, the sedan began fishtailing

wildly as Nikki wrestled with the chassis, no longer gripped to the pockmarked pavement.

In what felt like slow motion, Hazel watched Wolf shift his aim towards the blockading Suburban, peppering it

with disciplined bursts until the driver slumped against the wheel, headfirst. With their path momentarily

cleared, she felt Nikki wrench the crippled vehicle into a powerslide that sent them barreling down a narrow

alleyway.

The confined space worked for and against their advantage. On one hand, the close quarters terrain restricted

their assailants’ ability to give effective chase on four wheels. But it also severely limited any real escape route

of their own, turning the chase into a deadly, high- speed gof cat-and-mouse.

Not surprisingly, that geventually reached a dead end - quite literally. As Nikki fought for traction over the

pockmarked surface, veering between towering piles of industrial waste, Wolf unleashed a fresh barrage at their

pursuers. But with one last violent rattle of gunfire, their engine finally gave out completely.

"This is it, we're bailing!" he shouted over the squeal of failing transmission. "Up top with me, Nikki, Madam, you

stick directly between us like we drilled, you hear?"

Hazel didn't bother responding,

simply nodding as the two towering

bodyguards flanked her on either

side. As one, they flung open the doors and bailed from the wreckage, hustling down the narrow alley with

trained precision. Hazel remained glued between Wolf and Nikki, ducking low as their movement kicked up

swirling clouds of garbage and debris.

The sounds of squealing tires and shouted taunts informed them their attackers weren't far behind, slowly giving

chase on foot. Ahead of them, Hazel spotted a rusted chain-link fence separating them from what looked like a

residential

neighborhood. Without breaking stride, Wolf reached into a hidden sheath and produced a tactical tomahawk

that flashed silver in the dying sunlight.

With a guttural shout, he whipped the blade in a precise overhand throw, slicing cleanly through the chain links

and creating a makeshift exit. Moving with the fluid purpose of a combat unit, the tfunneled through the

freshly-made breach and into the cover of an overgrown backyard.

"Keep pushing!" Wolf barked, slapping a new magazine into his sidearm. "Phase two boys, phase two!"

As they tore through the maze of cracked concrete walkways and warped picket fences, Hazel's lungs burned

from the exertion. At times, she stumbled from the strain of it all, her escorts physically hoisting her up and

forward without breaking stride. Eventually, the sounds of pursuit began to fade behind them, either through

evasion or a reluctance for their attackers to chase into the labyrinth of private property. Only when they finally

emerged onto a main road did Wolf finally allow them to slow. "Status?" he barked out over wheezing breaths.

"Shit," Nikki answered tersely. He reached out with a meaty hand to swipe fresh blood from Hazel's cheek, clearly

assessing any injuries.

"We'll get you looked at soon enough," Wolf assured her gruffly before pulling out his phone and punching in a

number. "Resourcea couple of ghosts to retrieve that sedan, | want every inch searched for prints... Yeah,

that was messy as hell back there but package is still secure. Shifting to final phase."

With that, Wolf gestured down the street to where a sleek Cadillac Escalade idled against the curb. "All aboard,

we're taking Ms. Greyson hnow."

As the battered tslid into the heavily-tinted SUV, Hazel couldn't suppress a shudder of relief. But the respite

was short-lived as Wolf leaned forward to address the driver. "Straightest path possible to the main residence. If

we catch even a whiff of further pursuit, you know what to do."

The driver gave a curt nod, already throwing the vehicle into drive and peeling out onto the main road. In the

backseat, Wolf produced a tablet and began pulling up a detailed map while issuing fresh instructions to Nikki -

something involving sweeping their exit paths for anything resembling hostile surveillance.

Though her adrenaline was slowly fading, Hazel remained tensed for further action. She had gone from a quiet

day of data analytics to a harrowing shootout and chase through the city within mere hours. Whatever deep

secrets Marcus was entangled in, it was becoming eminently clear she had beca marked woman by proxy.

As the SUV barreled down the

winding roads leading back towards

Marcus's palatial estate, Hazel couldn't shake the gut feeling that this was just the opening salvo in a much

larger battle ahead. She eyed her stoic protectors grimly, resolving topry every ounce of information from

Marcus about the dangerous world he had dragged her into.

She recalled the taxi driver's words of warning to her the day she picked up the injured Marcus.

She knew it. That driver was a prophet. She should not have picked up a random man on the street.