Private Rome

Chapter 94

We were racing along the track toward the estate boundary. The driver and another of Antonelli’s men were in the front. Antonelli, Luna and a third man were in the back, and I was in the trunk space on one of the bench seats, being bounced around over every rut and pothole.

“Who’s behind this?” I asked.

Antonelli turned to answer, but his breath became a gasp when dozens of bullets peppered the windshield, shattering it. I looked beyond him to see a team of men strafing the vehicle with machine-guns. They stood behind a low wall that had concealed them as we’d approached. My guess was the earlier gunshots had been the sound of them killing Antonelli’s perimeter guards.

“Get down!” I yelled, pushing him and Luna toward their footwells.

They ducked, but the driver and front passenger weren’t so lucky. Their bodies bucked as the windshield collapsed and they were riddled with bullets. The large SUV veered off the road and I braced for impact as a tree suddenly loomed ahead.

The Land Rover smashed into the trunk at full pelt. I was hurled against the back seat, the impact winding me.

“Is everyone okay?” I asked, the moment I could suck in a breath.

Antonelli and Luna were dazed, and so was the man beside them, but he didn’t have the sense to stay in the vehicle.

“Stop!” I yelled, as he opened the door and staggered out.

I tried to grab him but he was beyond my reach. He stumbled forward, blood oozing down his face from a head wound, fumbling for a pistol in his waistband.

As he drew it, the men who’d forced the car off the road came over the brow of a rise nearby and opened fire.

The third man got one shot away before he danced to the buck and kick of each bullet that struck him.

I didn’t have time to mourn the unfortunate stranger but climbed over the back seat to join the others.

“Do something!” Antonelli pleaded with me.

“If I get you out of this, you will tell me the truth. Everything you know,” I said, before slamming the door shut.

“Yes. Yes!” he exclaimed, his voice almost breaking. “Anything!”

I climbed into the front of the SUV, opened the driver’s door and pushed the dead man out. I jumped in his seat. Glancing in the rear-view, I saw the team of gunmen running toward us and prayed the Defender’s reputation for reliability was justified.

I turned the ignition and the engine spluttered. A volley of shots hit the back door, thudding into the metal with enough force to make the vehicle tremble. I tried the key again, and this time the engine roared.

I found reverse, backed away from the tree, flipped the car into first and stepped on the gas. Dust, grass and stones were flung up by the tires as we raced forward under a hailstorm of bullets.

I drove between trees, racing across the dry earth, heading for a dip.

The car sped down the hillside. Below us, through a small olive grove, I saw a hedge and beyond it a road.

I put my foot down and we gathered speed as we bounced across the steep ground. By the time we hit the hedge we were doing fifty. As we flew through it, I stepped on the brake pedal and turned the wheel.

The heavy tires screeched and the SUV wobbled as we swerved onto the road.

Breathless, veins full of fire and thunder, I glanced over my shoulder and saw clear road behind.

I didn’t relax for a full three minutes, concentrating on putting some distance between us and our attackers. When I looked back again, I saw a shaken Luna and her father had finally begun to breathe more easily.

“I think we’re okay,” I said to Antonelli. “Which means you’re going to keep your word and tell me everything you know.”