I turned around. There was a pair of headlights about fifty feet behind us.

I looked at Tommy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Yet. But there might be."

"Why?"

I had a stab of fear that was tied to nothing rational. But I knew… I just KNEW that it was Johnny. I didn't even need to know what it was that had made Tommy suspicious.

"He's been about the same distance behind me ever since we left Center City. When I slow down so does he. When I speed up… the same story."

"Oh God…" I said, and I could hear the fear in my voice.

"It's Waddell, isn't it?"

"I don't know. I really don't."

"He doesn't have a van, does he?"

I turned back around but couldn't see anything that helped.

"Is that a van back there?"

"Yeah."

"T-Bird has one."

Tommy sighed. "Okay… if they want to play rough, we'll play rough."

I felt the car surge forward, and then suddenly it shifted into overdrive and it literally blasted away from them.

But it took only about forty-five seconds for them to catch up… and this time, they moved right up behind Tommy's car.

"Shit," he muttered. "We're still about five minutes from town too."

"But… he wouldn't do anything… would he?" I asked.

Tommy laughed. "You're asking me? Like you expect ME to know?"

"It is pretty stupid, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

That's when the first bullet whizzed past.

"Oh my God. He's shooting at us."

"NO! Johnny wouldn't do anything like that!"

"You tell me who else would be tailgating at this speed."

I couldn't argue with him… but it still didn't seem possible that he would be doing something like that.

Then, another bullet whizzed past, but this one hit the roof as it did so.

"He's just trying to scare us. Well… two can play that game."