The car shot forward like a released spring, tires screaming as Kade jerked the wheel and cut out of the alley. Streetlights flashed past in dizzying streaks of orange and white. Riley’s head slammed against the seat as she clutched the handle above the door, her voice coming out higher than she wanted.

“Do you have something against normal speed limits, or is this just your thing now?”

“Seatbelt,” Kade said flatly.

“It’s on! I’m just waiting for the airbags to make an appearance!”

Mia’s voice broke in, calm but urgent. “South route is compromised. Hostiles are cutting through the intersection near Dock Seven—reroute through Harbor Drive.”

“Copy,” Kade said, spinning the wheel. The Camry fishtailed, narrowly missing a parked truck. Riley’s stomach tried to relocate somewhere in the trunk.

“Did she just say hostiles? As in plural? As in, people who don’t like us? Fantastic. I love being the discount sidekick in a spy movie I didn’t sign up for.”

“Keep your head down,” Kade ordered again.

“Oh, yeah, because bullets are allergic to sarcasm.”

He didn’t even glance at her this time. His jaw was set, eyes flicking between the mirrors and the GPS that definitely looked like something out of a military briefing. The glow from the screen threw faint blue light across his face — calm, unreadable, maddeningly focused.

Mia’s voice came again, sharper now. “You’ve got incoming from your six. One black SUV, tinted windows. They’ve got range.”

“Confirmed,” Kade said, already cutting hard to the right. “We’ll lose them through the underpass.”

Riley pressed her palms to her temples. “Underpass? You can’t even lose a bad Yelp review in this car!”

“Riley,” he said, voice low but solid. “Open the glove compartment.”

She froze. “What? Why? Is there—what, a bomb? A self-destruct button?”

“Just do it.”

With a shaky breath, she popped the latch. Inside: a tangle of wires, a small black device with blinking lights, and a pair of dark glasses.

“Oh, wow, this is comforting. Is this your ‘Welcome to the Witness Protection Program’ starter pack?”

Kade reached over without looking, snagging the device from her hands and slapping it against the dash. The lights flickered, then dimmed. “EMP jammer. Might buy us ten seconds.”

Riley stared. “You have an EMP jammer in a Camry? What even is your life?”

Mia’s voice cracked in again. “Kade, you’re two clicks from the extraction point. Ditch the vehicle at the pier. Backup’s on route.”

“Understood.”

Riley swallowed, still clinging to the door handle. “Pier? As in, the ocean pier? Oh, great. Perfect. Love a good dramatic setting for my obituary.”

“Trust me,” Kade said, eyes narrowing as he downshifted, “I’m trying to keep you out of it.”

“Yeah? Well, newsflash, Agent Moody — I’m already in it!”

The car swerved again, the skyline opening up ahead — neon lights reflecting off the dark stretch of water beyond.