The little boy screamed so hard the private jet stopped feeling luxurious.

The armored convoy departed the mountain estate at dusk, heading south toward Philadelphia under a heavy blanket of fog.

Inside the middle SUV, Khloe held Mateo on her lap. The boy was calm now, fascinated by a digital ASL learning app Khloe had downloaded onto an iPad for him. He was rapidly learning signs for animals, tapping his nose for cat and flapping his arms for bird.

Victor sat in the front passenger seat, his eyes scanning the dark highway.

"Ten minutes to the safehouse, Miss Gallagher," Victor reported, checking his side mirror. "Everything clean behind us."

Suddenly, the front windshield shattered.

A heavy sniper bullet punched through the reinforced glass, striking the driver squarely in the shoulder! The driver screamed, losing control of the steering wheel as the SUV swerved violently, smashing into a concrete highway barrier and grinding to a dead halt!

"Ambush!" Victor roared, drawing his weapon as secondary gunfire rattled against the armored side doors like hail!

"They leaked the route!" the wounded driver choked out, slumped over the wheel.

Khloe threw herself over Mateo, covering his body with her own as glass sprayed across the back seat. Mateo, seeing the sparks and feeling the violent crash, panicked, his tiny hands gripping Khloe’s sweater in sheer terror.

Outside, two dark vans blocked the highway exit. A dozen heavily armed men in black tactical gear poured out, surrounding the wrecked SUV.

"Get out of the car!" a voice shouted outside. "Leave the kid!"

Victor kicked his door open, firing two rapid bursts into the darkness, taking down two attackers before a shotgun blast hit his tactical vest, knocking him back against the seat, bleeding heavily.

"Khloe..." Victor gasped, clutching his chest. "Rear door... keycard in my pocket... run for the pedestrian tunnel... under the highway..."

Khloe didn't hesitate. She grabbed the security keycard from Victor’s vest, unbuckled Mateo, and pulled him into her arms.