The agents responded that they had been instructed to take shelter and wait for the feds to arrive, or to assist Ben if needed. He relayed the plan about the boathouse, giving the location and asking the men to meet him there, if possible.
The only problem?
It was on the other side of the island.
Brighton stood and Ben thought they were leaving, but the kid moved over to another computer and thrust in a small USB drive.
Ben peered at Chasey and tilted his head in a silent question.
“He’s planting a virus. It’ll destroy the servers so they can’t control anything from here. Once it’s all shut down, they will not be able to reboot.”
“Why didn’t he just do that to begin with?” Ben asked. “Why shut everything down individually first?”
“Brighton has to do things his way and in a certain order.”
Ben nodded that he understood. They dashed out of the security room, and Ben cleared every hallway as they moved until they reached the back door.
“It should open without setting off any alarms now,” Chasey said.
Brighton wrapped his iPad up and placed it under his rain jacket.
“You ready?” Ben looked at each of them. They both nodded. “I parked an SUV around the side. Let’s hope it’s still there. Either way, I’ll try to get us wheels that we can take to the other side of the island.”
Once they opened the door, the wind pressed in, sending the rain lashing at them. Brighton helped Ben pull Chasey forward against the force. Then they had to get the door shut again. If they left it open, someone was sure to find their egress. He pulled on the door. Brighton and Chasey helped him yank it closed.
This was nuts. He knew it, and they knew it, and the men he would meet at the boat knew it. But their other choices weren’t choices at all. Keeping close to the plantation house, they crept to the corner. He peered around and, sure enough, the SUV he’d left remained parked there. The guy was probably still stuck in the back. Ben would like to dump the man, to ensure he wouldn’t make any problems for them, but he couldn’t justify leaving him in the storm to die.
They ran for the SUV.
“There’s a henchman in the back,” Ben explained. “Don’t bother him.”
Ben started the ignition and pressed the gas pedal. The tires spun in the soaked ground and the vehicle struggled to gain traction.
Brighton’s device spoke. “Nobody in the back.”
“Are you sure?”
Brighton nodded.
Ben decided not to worry about it. They had a vehicle now. They were out of the fortress. Now they just had to get to safety.
A vehicle appeared in front of them, heading right for them.
“Uh-oh, Ben. What are we going to do?”
“There’s only one road out of here. We have to keep going.”
Spider cracks instantly appeared as a bullet slammed the windshield.
NINETEEN
Chasey screamed as she ducked. The vehicle swerved off the road but Ben kept steering forward. She held on for dear life. “Brighton, are you hit? Are you hurt?”
She twisted in the seat to peer behind her and found her brother sitting up in his seat.
“Brighton, lie down. You have to duck.”
She unbuckled.
“What are you doing?” Ben asked.
“I’m crawling back there with him.”
“You have to stay down.”
“I have to help him.” Brighton was supersmart in some ways and in others clueless.
She climbed into the back as bullets continued to pelt the vehicle—though they came from behind now, since Ben had swerved around the other vehicle.
She settled near Brighton on the back seat. “It’s going to be okay.”
Her uncle wanted—needed—Brighton for his exceptional abilities, and he would stop at nothing to find him.
Uncle Theo had to know that Brighton was on the run by now. What measures would he take to capture them again?
As the wind buffeted the vehicle, Ben continued to steer them along the bumpy road, straight into the driving rain. Maybe the troops were on their way to arrest her uncle and get them safely off the island, but it would be hours before they could arrive—even if they attempted to come during the storm. The three of them were on their own—and the thought was terrifying. Next to Brighton now, Chasey wanted to hold him, and decided to risk reaching out to him again. She scooted over into the middle and grabbed his hand.
“You did a good job, Brighton,” she said. “We made it out. You shut down their computers, and they won’t be able to find us.” At least, she hoped they wouldn’t. There were only a few roads and she wasn’t sure how many men her uncle had at his disposal to help with the search.
“Do you think help will arrive in time to save us, Ben? Do you think they can get here in this storm?”
“I don’t know.” He raised his voice over the noise of the storm that filled the cab from outside. “Just pray they do.”
“I will. But even if they don’t, I trust you to protect us.” If there was one thing she had learned, it was that the men in her life needed her encouragement.
The men in her life.
She shook her head and pressed her mouth against the top of Brighton’s head. “I’m sorry I went away for so long. I thought it would keep you safe.”
He pulled away from her and twisted to face her, then pointed at his chest. “I...keep you safe.”
She held back her surprise that he’d spoken. The words were sweet. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and he allowed it.
Up front, Ben continued driving, fighting to keep control as the wind tried to push them off the road. In the rearview mirror, she could see that his features were tight and drawn as he concentrated.
Behind them, the vehicle they’d encountered earlier was gaining on them.
She leaned forward. “We’re being followed, and I don’t want us to lead them to the boat. It’s the only boat big enough to take us as far as we need to go.”
“That can’t be true. The villagers need supplies. There must be other boats. Planes, too.”
“No...” Brighton suddenly spoke up, sounding agitated. “We go to boat. Boat, boat, boat. We go to boat.”
Uh-oh. He was getting upset. Before he’d gone totally nonverbal, he had often gotten stuck on repeating the same words or phrases over and over.
“We will go to the boat, Brighton. Do not worry. But we need to shake the men who are following us. We don’t want them to know the boat is special.”
Come to think of it, was there something special about this boat? Why did Brighton insist this was their only way?
Ben slowed the vehicle to a stop.
Chasey glanced over her shoulder at the headlights still approaching. “What are you doing?”
“There’s a fork in the road.”
“The left will take us to the village,” Chasey told him.
“No. The boat.” Brighton started pounding the back of the front passenger seat.
“I have an idea,” Ben said gently, clearly trying to calm her brother down. “Be patient, Brighton. I have a plan.”
“No. My plan. My plan. My plan.”
“Your plan is still in place, Brighton, but we need to take a detour first.” Ben turned left, toward the village.
But Brighton opened the door and jumped out.
* * *
Ben jammed his foot on the brake pedal as Chasey screamed.
As soon as they’d stopped, she jumped out of the SUV to chase after her brother. Ben pulled off the road, wanting the vehicle well hidden before he headed off after them. He drove through the grass until he could pull the vehicle into the rainforest underbrush. The way the wind whipped and rain poured, the men following from the compound would be hard-pressed to s
ee any tracks. By hiding the vehicle, he risked losing sight of Brighton and Chasey, but if he left the SUV in plain sight, their pursuers would know that they were on foot and would have an easier time tracking them down.
The vehicle hidden, he leaped out, slammed the door and took off in the direction where he’d last seen Chasey.
“Chasey!” He called her name as loudly as he could, but even as he did, he doubted she heard his shout over the storm.
Lord, help me!
Finally, blessedly, he caught sight of her red hair whipping behind her as she ran. She was going fast, but she still hadn’t caught up to her brother. Ben hadn’t realized Brighton could be so energetic, or that he could be so adamant about his plan. Why did he think it was so important for them to go immediately to the boat? The question clawed at the back of Ben’s mind as he dodged tree branches, the occasional wooden plank and sand carried on the wind.
He glanced over his shoulder, looking to see if they were being followed—thankful when he saw no one behind him. Maybe they had returned to the shelter of the compound to wait out the storm.
But when he looked forward again, Chasey was no longer in sight. “Chasey!”
“Ben!” Chasey dashed from the woods to his left and sprinted up to him.
He held her at arm’s length. “Where is he?”
She shook her head as tears joined the rain lashing her face. “I don’t know. I don’t know. Please help me. I can’t lose him now. I’ve come too far to lose him.”
He gripped her arms, fearing she might take off again. “Okay, I’ll help you look. But once we find him, we have to get to shelter. We can’t stay out in this.”
Ben pulled her to him and out of the way as a large tree branch whipped passed, emphasizing his words.
“What if we don’t find him in time? Brighton doesn’t understand how dangerous it is out here. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“We’ll find him,” he said, wishing he felt more confident that his words were true. “Let’s go.”
He tugged her away from the woods.
“What are you doing? He went that way.”
“We’re heading in that direction, too, but being in the trees like that could be dangerous.”
He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Brighton!”
Next to him, Chasey did the same.
“If we keep heading in this direction, we’ll end up at the boat, right?” He glanced at her.
She shielded her eyes as she stared up at him and nodded.
“We can’t leave in the boat until the storm is over. Why is he so adamant about going there?”
“I don’t know. He insists he has a plan. Right now, all that matters is getting back together, somewhere sheltered. We can just head to the boat, too, and hope we all make it without getting hurt or running into the wrong people.”
And that was the problem with this plan. The wrong people could already be there waiting.
TWENTY
Chasey had never spent this much time out in a hurricane before. She doubted many people had. So she couldn’t have imagined how much the battering wind and rain would drain her energy. As a runner, she’d built up her endurance, but now she felt as if her body was failing her. A mile. Two miles. Two and a half, and she thought she might fall flat on her face.
Brighton.
He needed her help. Or so she kept telling herself. She couldn’t believe that her brother had actually left her behind in his stubborn determination to make it to that stupid boat.
Pressing her hands over her face, she attempted to shield it from the torturous driving rain and let a few tears fall as she stopped next to Ben. Finally, she dropped her hands as they stood on a rocky outcropping that overlooked the ocean. The wind was to their back, blowing them forward. Eventually, they would get a reprieve as the eye of the storm passed over. But that would be hours from now.
Hours and hours of this.
Ben drew her attention and pointed below them.
A figured, carefully pushing against the wind, was headed for a secure structure out over the water.
The boathouse.
Brighton.
“But, Ben, look.” Chasey pointed to a vehicle winding down the road, also heading toward the structure. It wasn’t the same one that had followed them. This vehicle was grander. In fact, she recognized it as the one that had picked her up from the airstrip. “I think...I think that’s my uncle.”
“Along with another of his henchmen.” Ben turned to her. “The two agents who came with me were supposed to meet us there. Maybe they are already inside. I need to warn them. Stay here. I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll get Brighton. Please wait for me here.”
“What?”
“Arguing with me is wasting time. Let me go after him and get him out of there before your uncle gets him.”
She bit her lip. “What if he doesn’t listen to you? I mean, he didn’t even listen to me when he jumped out of the car.”
“He’s about to be put into a very bad situation. I think he’ll listen.”
She swallowed hard. “Okay. Go. Just...go.”
Ben frowned. “Look, there’s a boulder here. You can duck next to it. That will shield you a little until I can get back. I don’t want to leave you here, but I’ll come for you as soon as I can.”
“It’s okay. Go. Get him. I’ll be fine.”
She watched him climb down the rocks, sliding about halfway down until he was on the road.
She crouched against the rocks, waiting and watching to see if the men she cared about most would come back to her.
Ben hurried across the way and disappeared into the building.
All she could do was pray as she watched and waited. She found a position on the far side of the big boulder, like he’d suggested, and held on to the hope that this would be over soon.
A sound caught her attention. Had she heard gunfire? Gunshots? Chasey stood.
Should she go down to check on Ben and Brighton?
Her brother dashed from the building and rushed along the water’s edge, headed for a rising rocky cliff. Ben didn’t emerge from the building. What had happened to him? Panic swept through her. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
She wanted to go to both Ben and Brighton—make sure they were okay—but she had to choose. She was afraid for Ben, but he was an experienced law officer and she had to trust that he could take care of himself. Brighton, on the other hand, needed her.
Heart pounding, she rushed across the road after her brother. Where was Brighton going? He seemed to be moving toward a ridge. The waves crashed against the rocks much too close. A rise in tide would leave him trapped.
“Brighton!” she continued to call as she crawled over slippery rocks.
“Kel...Kelllley!”
She whipped around. Brighton waved for her to join him in a sea cave she’d passed. She climbed up, and he caught her arm and hauled her the rest of the way into the cave. Inside, the noise of the waves and storm echoed against the walls, but she instantly felt the relief from the wind.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “What happened?”
“Uncle.”
“Did he shoot at you?”
He shook his head.
“Ben?”
Brighton stared at her. Now he clammed up?
“Where’s your iPad?” She looked at his form and realized he didn’t have it tucked away in his soaking-wet jacket. He’d probably left it back in the vehicle when he’d run.
“Brighton, you’re doing great. You were talking before. Please tell me what happened.”
“He’s...”
Fear corded around her neck—it felt like it was choking her. “He’s what, Brighton? Please tell me.”
“Gone. Ben is g-gone.”
Sea spra
y splashed inside the cave, the roar of it startling her. She looked around and confirmed her fears. The tide was rising—either that or the storm surge was moving in. She had a feeling this cave would be under water soon.
“We have to get out of here.”
“Going somewhere?” The sound of her uncle’s voice slithered up her back. She closed her eyes.
“Look out!” Brighton yanked her forward.
Her uncle lunged for her. Anger spilled from his gaze, and she knew he had finally decided what he would do with her.
He would kill her.
* * *
Ben had scrambled up to the cave, feeling battered from his spill into the water, but thankful to still be alive. He’d managed to take out two of Dawson’s men, but the man himself had, in the chaos, gotten the better of Ben, firing off a shot that had knocked him off balance and into the water.
Fortunately, there hadn’t been any damage beyond getting soaked—and maybe a bruise. The gear he was wearing had protected him from the bullet. He was just glad that Dawson hadn’t noticed that, or he might have hung around to make sure Ben was dead. As it was, Ben had managed to get himself out of the water and had seen Dawson heading for this cave. Figuring that he’d find the others there, too, Ben had followed.
When he reached the mouth of the cave, he climbed in, taking advantage of the roar of the storm and the ocean bouncing off the walls to mask the sound of his approach. He crept in close and found Dawson—clearly furious, maybe even murderous—backing both Chasey and Brighton into a corner. Brighton’s gaze found Ben. His eyes widened, which had the unfortunate effect of telegraphing to Dawson that someone was behind him.
Dawson whirled around to face Ben. He expected to see the gun from before, but Dawson must have lost it at some point because he only saw a knife.
A growl erupted as Dawson rushed forward, the sharp edge of his knife leading the way. Ben dodged him and jumped out of path, bracing himself to fight not just for his life but for Chasey’s and Brighton’s lives, too.
Water reached his ankles as the surge quickly rose.
“Chasey!” Ben tried to shout over the noise. “Get Brighton out of here before it’s too late.”
High Stakes Escape Page 17