Jordan climbed on behind him in a blur of motion, gripping Askai's shoulders as the bike shot forward. The force of acceleration punched through them both, the wind slashing across their faces as the machine growled through the empty streets like a furious beast.
Under normal circumstances, Askai would have taken the West. It was a maze he knew intimately—crowded lanes, shadowy markets, blind corners where a man could vanish in moments. But tonight, even the West felt hostile, too awake, too full of listening ears.
Downtown, information moved faster than bullets.
Every whisper was bought. Every rumor sold.
And the moment someone breathed that Kai was back, the entire city would hum with it by sunrise.
"Where to?" Jordan shouted, leaning in as the wind tore his voice away. Then louder, more desperate, he suggested: "My hideout across the docks?We can catch a boat, leave Nolan before anyone reaches the coast!"
Askai shook his head, taking a sharp turn that sent the bike skidding dangerously close to the curb.
"West is risky! We don't own those streets anymore!" he yelled back. "I know a place in the East. They'd never think to look there."
Jordan didn't argue—trust had been carved into their bones long before tonight.
But as Askai veered onto the next street, everything exploded at once.
Headlights flared. Engines screamed.
Cars came at them from every direction—sleek black sedans, police vehicles with sirens blaring in warning, and dark-clad riders on bikes weaving through light traffic like wolves closing in on prey.
It was as if the city had been crawling with them and someone had just alerted them to their target - them.
Askai cursed under his breath, leaning hard to the side as one of the sedans almost slammed into them. Jordan's fingers dug into his shoulders, holding on for dear life.
Suddenly, they were dodging between three converging vehicles, the night filled with the shriek of tires and the beating pulse of sirens that seemed to claw closer with every heartbeat.
This was insane! It was not as if he had assassinated the fucking President. The entire city of Nolan seemed to be hounding him. Cars poured onto the road from impossible directions, the wailing sirens had almost numbed his senses.
But Askai's instincts surged—raw, honed, furious. He cut through an alley so narrow Jordan's knee nearly scraped the wall. He ducked beneath a low bridge, tires kicking sparks. He swerved through a half-constructed roundabout with inches to spare, leaving their pursuers scrambling to adjust.
For the first time in a very long while—
Askai felt something terrifyingly close to helplessness.
No matter how sharp his reflexes, no matter how clever his turns or unexpected his routes, the cars kept coming. Their formation tightened like a noose. They weren't chasing—they were herding him and never in his life, he had met men trained like that.
"Kai, it's the Police cars!" Jordan's voice cracked behind him, fear lacing through the shout.
"I see them," Askai muttered through clenched teeth, though his chest tightened in a way he refused to name. The streets he once dominated now turned against him, offering no cover, no escape.
And then—one impossibly sharp turn and he killed the engine, coming to a halt so sudden as if they had never moved. They finally reached.
Jordan recognized it instantly.
His breath froze. His fingers went numb around Askai's shoulders.
But neither said a word.
Jordan slid off, feet unsteady, heart pounding so hard he thought it might splinter his ribs. The sirens echoed in the distance, closing in like a storm cresting the horizon.
"Askai—come on," Jordan whispered urgently, turning to pull him along. "They'll be here any second. We can hide—"
But Askai didn't move.
He stared ahead, jaw tight, eyes distant—as if already choosing a path that Jordan would never reach.
Jordan's throat began to burn, dread pouring into his veins like ice water.
"Kai?" he whispered, his voice barely holding together. "Don't—don't do something stupid. Please."
Askai finally looked at him.
And Jordan knew—before the words even fell—that this was goodbye.
"Remember," Askai said, voice low but steady, "Kael needs only one of us."
Jordan's breath hitched. His world tilted.
"Kai—no—"
But the bike roared under Askai's hands before Jordan could finish. The sound ripped the night apart.
"GO!" Askai shouted, eyes fierce with a heart-breaking resolve. Then he shot forward, the machine leaping ahead like lightning, drawing every gleam of headlights and every scream of sirens after him.
Jordan stumbled back into the shadows, hands shaking violently as the night swallowed the bike's trail. His tears fell unchecked—hot, helpless drops carving down his cheeks—as he pressed himself against the cold concrete and listened to the storm chase the only family he had left.