"There's a boat garage beneath the back deck," Sarah said. "There's no boat, but we could use the rear entrance to get out of here."

"Lead the way then." Out of old habit, Jake touched her arm. When his eyes met hers, and he realized his mistake, his countenance softened and his throat went dry.

"You can't wipe away the past that easy, Jake."

He narrowed his gaze and moved his hand. "What? I wasn't... Now's not the time for this. We have to go... now."

Sarah reached for her suitcase.

"You'll have to leave that. Take only what you can run with."

She picked up her purse and laptop case and gave the handbag to Tony.

"You're kidding?" His eyes grew large.

"Not the slightest."

"The boat garage, please," Jake said.

Sarah walked over and opened a door at the back of the room that appeared to be a closet at first glance. She treaded down a narrow flight of stairs with the flashlight. Jake gestured for Tony to go next, and then closed the door behind him before he joined them at the bottom step.

"Where's the exit to this place?" Tony asked.

Sarah directed the light to the rear wall. "That way."

"I don't see anything," Jake said. "Wait a minute." He took the flashlight and strode across the concrete floor. What appeared to be a normal wall, divided into two wide swinging doors that latched in the middle. "Here it is."

"Right where I said it would be," Sarah replied. "I came down here yesterday morning. It opens under the deck, out to the beach. Outside, steps lead up to the screen room on both sides of the house."

"That means the intruders..." He held up a finger, thinking.

"... would enter the back of the house from the sides, above us." Tony finished the sentence. "Meaning, the beach would be clear for our escape."

"Why do you think I led us down here?" Sarah said.

Jake didn't waver. "We'll have to stick close to the rear wall or they might spot us from above."

Glass crashed upstairs.

Jake flashed a serious glance at Tony and then shifted his gaze to Sarah. He figured two of the men would take the front of the house while the other two would enter through the back. He suspected their plan would be to close a dragnet around them. When they came together, however, the intruders would discover they had been fooled. But they would search the house, find the access to the boat garage and follow their tracks through the sand.

Jake cracked open the doors for a check of their escape route. "It looks clear. Let's get out of here."

Crouching low, he took Sarah by the arm and ventured to the corner of the house. She didn't pull away from him this time. Tony followed them with the purse in hand.

Next to the steps leading to the screen room, Jake peered up and noticed the door swaying back and forth. Its motion wasn't significant, but it revealed the fact that someone had just used it. Light footsteps scuffed across the floor above them, and then another loud crash.

"They'll be on us soon. Come on."

He pulled Sarah across the gap between the neighboring villas. Along the way, she jerked free from his grasp. Two houses down, they snaked along the side of another cottage. When they spotted their jeep, they found it waiting, but not as expected. A vehicle idled behind the Wrangler, lights aglow.

Jake edged back. "We've got two men checking out our ride."

"What's the duo driving?" Tony asked.

"A black SUV. Not sure of the make. Some kind of foreign model."

"It's a Land Rover," Sarah said.

"Whatever it is, we'll need to borrow it," he replied with a faraway look in his eyes, focused on the assassin's vehicle. "I've got an idea."

Jake laid out his plan.

"Sounds good," Tony said, "but what about the guys camping out by our Jeep?"

"We'll need to make our moves count. You still have the knife you carry all the time, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact." Tony dug into the pocket of his shorts. "I do." He grinned, unfolding the small weapon and brandishing its four-inch blade.

While the men leaned under the hood of the Jeep, Sarah and Tony followed Jake to the rear of the Land Rover. He chuckled to himself. They were removing the battery.

Jake held them back. The timing had to be perfect.

After hesitating, he motioned them on with a hand signal. They crept down the driver's side of the Land Rover and opened the door. Sarah and Tony slipped into the idling SUV. Fortunately, the interior light didn't come on, likely disabled by the vehicle's owners for stealth purposes.

Jake had the keys to the Jeep, but decided it'd be necessary to go one step further in case the assassins hot-wired the Wrangler. Staying crouched, he stopped at the rear wheel and jabbed the blade into the tire.

After hustling back to the SUV, he slid in next to Tony. He was about to buckle his seat belt when he glimpsed Sarah's finger pointing toward the Jeep.

"I think they're onto us," she said from the backseat.

The man must have heard the low whistle of air escaping from the tire because he ventured around to investigate. The knife remained stuck in the side wall to lessen the whooshing sound, but the man found the source of the faint noise, appeared puzzled, and then raised his eyes toward the Land Rover.

Jake floored the gas pedal before the man could raise his weapon. He had no desire to kill the guy, but he wanted to keep him from opening fire. Jake jerked the wheel hard to the left. The front of the vehicle whipped around and the bumper struck the man's hip, tossing him aside. The other man stepped out as the SUV blazed by.

There was a slight bump, twice. Jake looked in the rearview mirror to see the man crumpled to the pavement, holding his foot.

As they passed Sarah's rental house, shots rang out around them. Marks appeared on the windows and splintered out in web-like veins.

The glass was bulletproof.

Jake checked the side mirror and saw a cluster of men unloading their weapons on the rear window of the Land Rover.

"Get down," he yelled.

Without protest, Tony and Sarah melted to the floorboard.

The road elevated, and soon they dipped out of sight on the other side of a hill. He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when lights appeared behind them. The assassins were trailing behind them in another Land Rover. They had kept their headlights off until they got close to them. As the vehicle lurched to the left and gunned even with them, windows lowered and rifle barrels emerged. The muzzles opened fire, bullets pinging off the side of the SUV.

Jake zipped around a slow-moving truck, passing the older vehicle on the shoulder of the road like it was standing still. The pursuing Land Rover drew even with them again, gun barrels pointing down at their tires. Jake yanked the wheel and slammed into them, fender to fender. Sparks flew, metal grinding together in a violent clash. He veered back into his lane and watched the enemy swerve away and fall back, but they didn't give up.

The second Land Rover cut behind them, roared forward and smashed into their rear bumper. Jake's head whip-lashed and something hit the back of the seat.

"Are you okay?"

"No, but keep driving," Sarah said.

Men leaned out from both sides of the trailing vehicle, and automatic fire erupted. Jake remembered the rear window. It wouldn't hold up much longer, so he spun the wheel to the left. Bullets stopped assaulting the back glass and started ricocheting off the passenger side as the assailants drew even with them once again. Up ahead, the bay bridge leading to Paradise Island presented itself as a beacon of light.

Jake gained a narrow lead and cut the SUV hard into the other Land Rover's fender well. The move caught the driver off guard... what he wanted. He kept the metal grinding together and pushed the opposing vehicle to the shoulder of the road with the bridge approaching.

He had to end this now before somebody got killed.

He looked past Tony and made eye contact with the man behind the wheel. The whites of his eyes widened as the guard rail neared. The man tried to alter course, but Jake kept him pinned.

The front bumper of the second Land Rover slid over the slanted railing and vaulted over the open channel. It twirled in the air side over side. A moment later, the vehicle smacked the water with a booming impact. Out of the corner of Jake's eye, a plume of ocean spray launched itself into the air.

He shrugged at Tony and settled back in his seat. "Figured it was time to say goodnight."