by Tate, Harley
Bear turned around in a circle and whined.
“What is it, boy? You have to go out?” She ran both hands down her face and smacked her cheeks in an effort to wake. Bear had no reason to disturb her unless Keith was unavailable. Had he passed out again? Did he pull open the bandage in the night? She rose up and crossed the diner to where he’d taken up position in a booth near the front door.
“Keith? Are you awake?” Lainey squinted into the dark recess of the booth. “Is something the matter?”
From across the diner, Bear barked. Sharp and high-pitched, it carried an urgency that lifted the hair on the back of Lainey’s neck. She dove forward, ready to shake Keith awake, but landed hard on the seat of the booth instead.
It was empty.
Lainey backed out of the booth and spun around. Had he fallen on his way to the bathroom? Gotten hurt taking Bear outside?
A sharp crack pierced the stillness of the diner and Lainey jerked her head up. Was that a—? She rushed around the dining tables clogging her path and dove for Jerry, shaking him roughly by the shoulder as he slept stretched across four chairs near the kitchen door. As she reached him, another shot rang out.
He groaned and tried to roll over. She shook him harder. “Jerry! Wake up!”
“This better be worth it.” He rubbed at his face with his hands.
“What’s going on?” Owen’s voice carried across the diner. “Is something the matter?”
Lainey spoke loud enough for both Owen and Jerry to hear. “Keith’s missing and I swear I just heard a gunshot.”
Jerry sat up in a rush. “Where’s the dog?”
“Waiting for me to follow him outside.”
He swore and grabbed the pistol off the table. “You should stay here. I’ll check it out.”
“No. We go together.” Without waiting for Jerry to argue, Lainey threaded her way through the tables and chairs and pushed the door to the kitchen open.
Bear darted past her, tearing down the galley-style prep area and straight for the back door. He waited, stamping up and down with all four paws for Lainey and Jerry to catch up.
“We should assume the worst.” Jerry checked to ensure the pistol was loaded before gripping it in his right hand. “Stay behind me.”
Lainey nodded. If what she’d heard really was a gunshot, Keith could be dead, his blood mixing with the dry, desert sand as it cooled in the early morning air.
A chill wind hit Lainey’s face as Jerry opened the door and she shivered. Easing through the opening behind him, she hugged the wall as Jerry braved first one step and then another into the darkness.
Bear snaked around Lainey and out into the night before she could grab his collar to hold him back. “Bear! No!” She hissed the commands, adding a sharp snap of her fingers, but the dog refused to obey. He ran past Jerry, his pale coat disappearing in the dark.
“I can’t see a thing.” Jerry fumbled with something, his voice coming out muffled. “If there was someone out here, we’d be dead already.” His mini-flashlight clicked on and a pool of light transformed the early morning darkness. He cast the light about in all directions, coming up empty.
“I don’t see Keith.” Lainey hugged her arms around her to ward off the cold breeze.
“I don’t see anyone.” Jerry panned across the parking lot.
“Where’s Bear?”
A bark echoed in the darkness and Jerry lifted the flashlight. Lainey squinted. Bear stood across the parking lot, hovering over a shape on the ground. Keith. She took off running.
“Lainey, stop!”
“It’s Keith!” She reached his side a moment later, falling to her knees as she dug in her pocket for a flashlight of her own. She clicked it on and pointed it at his face as she reached for his neck. Her fingers pressed against his cool flesh and she closed her eyes to concentrate. There! A pulse, steady and slow. She leaned over and watched his chest rise and fall in regular rhythm.
He’s alive. She eased the flashlight down the length of him, pausing when she reached his injured leg. Blood soaked his jeans. She groaned. “He’s bleeding all over.”
While Jerry searched, Lainey inspected Keith’s body for the injury causing all of the blood. There was no evidence of a gash in his jeans or a hole where a bullet or a knife passed through. It must have been his old wound from Jerry’s neighborhood. Without a pair of scissors to cut the jeans open, Lainey couldn’t be sure. She didn’t even know if the blood was his, but what else would explain his unconscious state?
She bent forward and smacked his cheek. “Keith, wake up!”
He didn’t move.
Lainey tried again, smacking his cheek harder. “Wake up!”
This time, Keith groaned but didn’t fully wake. At least he was still in there, somewhere. They would need to drag him back to the diner before they could treat the wound or figure out what happened.
“I found the bat,” Jerry called out. Lainey twisted around. Jerry cast a circle of light about the dirt and weeds twenty or so feet away. “Looks like he used it in a fight. The dirt’s all kicked up over here. Hold on.” Jerry bent and dug something out of the dirt with his fingers. “You were right about the gunshot.” He held something up for her to see in a pincer grip.
“Is that a bullet?”
“Probably a forty-five. Casing’s got to be around here somewhere.” He turned around in a slow circle, illuminating the surrounding dirt. After a few minutes, he shook his head. “I can’t find one. Anything by you?”
Lainey twisted back around, scanning the ground around Keith. Something dark peeked out from behind his right side and Lainey stretched over his unconscious form to fish it out. It was a revolver so big, it barely fit in her hand. She held it up for Jerry to see. “Could this be it?”
He approached, whistling as he got close enough to inspect the weapon. “I’d say so.” He held out his hand and she plopped the gun onto his waiting palm. “A Colt Single Action Army. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid.” He turned the weapon over in his hands before ejecting the cylinder and dumping the contents into his palm. “Only two unused rounds left.”
“So what happened?” Lainey turned back to Keith, searching his body again for evidence of a gunshot. “I don’t see a bullet wound.”
“My guess is the round I found was a warning shot.” Jerry lowered the weapon and used the flashlight to pan the area. “Like I said before, the dirt’s disturbed over there. Keith probably got into it with the owner of the gun and somehow bested the guy.”
Lainey swallowed. Who could Keith have possibly fought at five in the morning out here? Why? She twisted around, squinting as she held her flashlight up to see. “Then where is he?” If Keith had managed to steal the gun and fire the shots she heard, did he miss? If so, why would he still have the gun?
None of it made any sense. As Lainey stared out into the darkness, Bear barked, this time so far away, Lainey couldn’t find him. Jerry shone the flashlight in the general direction, walking toward the sound of the dog until his shape emerged from the gloom. Bear stood at the end of the parking lot, snout pointed toward the street.
A chill coursed through Lainey, stronger than before. “You don’t think—”
“Anything’s possible.” Jerry strode closer to the dog and Lainey scrambled up to hurry after him. If someone was still out there, then none of them were safe, especially not Keith. Halfway to the road, Jerry stopped and pointed. “There.”
Two sets of depressions cut through the dirt leading to the road. Lainey bent for a closer look. “Are those tire tracks?”
“Seems that way.”
“So someone was here.”
“And they aren’t anymore.” Jerry let out a puff of air between clenched teeth. “Not good.”
Fear and stomach acid bubbled up the back of Lainey’s throat and she swallowed down the burn as she stood. “What do we do now?”
“Get Keith inside for starters. Figure out where he’s injured and what to do about it.”
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“Then what?” Lainey twisted her hands. If Keith fought with someone and they got away, the chances of them coming back were high. Next time, would they bring more weapons? More people? They had to get out of there. “We can’t leave without gas.”
Jerry turned back to stare at the diner. “Then I guess we hunker down and get ready for a fight.”
She thought back to the house Keith and Lainey sneaked into in Jerry’s neighborhood and how they could have died. She shivered. “Do you really think whoever’s out there will come back?”
Jerry focused on the gun in his hand. “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” He shoved the gun beneath his waistband next to Keith’s pistol. “Let’s drag him inside. We can’t waste any more time.”
Chapter Five
KEITH
Bonnie Rae’s Diner
Yermo, CA
Friday, 8:00 a.m. PST
Cold drops of water ran into Keith’s eyes as he blinked and shook his head. Owen stood in front of him, an empty cup in his hand.
“What the—”
Owen managed a sheepish smile. “Lainey tried everything she could think of to wake you up. I thought this might do the trick.”
Keith wiped a hand down his face and shook the water to the floor. Pain radiated across his thigh, throbbing at the site of his wound. He twisted on the bench to inspect the damage. Someone had cut his jeans open and done their best to clean it, but as he’d assumed, the closure was mangled and pulled apart. It would have to be removed.
He winced just thinking about it. Maybe they’d be lucky and find a stash of liquor somewhere in the diner. He could do with a shot or two before ripping off the super-sticky glue.
“How are you feeling?” Owen slid into the booth across from Keith and set the cup on the table. “You don’t look so good.”
Keith frowned. “Like I’ve been in a fight.” The last thing he remembered was scrapping with a stranger in the dirt over a massive gun and a car speeding away. He checked his watch. A few hours must have passed. Had he been outside until someone woke up? “Did I pass out?”
Owen nodded. “Early this morning, Bear came in, woke up Lainey, and she and Jerry found you outside.”
“With this hefty piece lying in the dirt.” Jerry walked in from the kitchen holding the massive revolver in his hand. “Just guessing this didn’t fall out of the sky, did it?”
Keith shook his head.
Lainey burst through the swinging door with Bear on a leash. The dog strained to reach Keith, but she held him back. “You’re awake!” Relief washed over her face before her eyes landed on his wounded leg. She frowned. “What the heck were you doing out there? I thought we’d agreed to stay in.”
He hedged. “Bear needed to go out.” It wasn’t a full lie. No one needed to know it was Keith’s idea first.
“Why not take the gun?”
“Didn’t think I needed it.” Keith shifted to look at Jerry. “We hadn’t seen another person in miles and it was after four in the morning.”
“So what happened?”
Keith relayed the events outside, ending with the getaway vehicle.
Jerry grimaced. “It’s what I feared. We have to assume they’ll be back.”
“I agree.” Keith shifted and the pain forced his eyes shut. “Please tell me you’ve got another one of those bandages.”
“One, but maybe duct tape would be a better bet. You can’t rip that.”
He forced his eyes open and bent over to inspect the wound closer up. His stomach heaved and he swallowed back a wave of bile. “Duct tape might not be a bad idea.”
“I’ll see if I can find some.” Jerry disappeared again into the back of the diner and the remaining group fell silent.
Lainey navigated Bear to an empty table and pulled out a chair to sit. From the way she bounced her knee up and down and chewed on her lip, Keith could tell she wanted to close the distance between them. But Bear couldn’t get near his wound until it was closed and dressed. One lick from Bear’s tongue and Keith would be at risk for a massive infection.
He was just thankful his dog was safe and sound. Twice now Bear had saved the day. How many more times would the dog put his life on the line for them? Would the next time end up in disaster?
Keith thought over all they had been through and everything Bear had survived up to this point. It was a combination of luck and determination that got them this far; no reason to change that now. He exhaled and leaned back. “So what’s the plan?”
Owen twisted the cup around in front of him, picking at a chip in the white glaze, but saying nothing.
“We’ve talked about it a little, but no one can agree.” Lainey drummed her fingers on the table. “Jerry wants to hunker down and fight it out.”
Owen snorted. “It’s a death wish. We should run while we have the chance.”
“We won’t get more than a few blocks without gas.”
The tension between them was obvious. Keith leaned forward enough to prop his forearms on the table. He waited until he caught Lainey’s eye. “What do you want to do?”
She hesitated, first glancing toward the front door, then back at the store. “I don’t know.”
Footsteps sounded on the tile and Jerry emerged from the store with a roll of tape in his hand. “You’re in luck. Turns out this store really does sell everything.” He deposited a thick roll of duct tape printed with the iconic image of Marylin Monroe holding down her dress on the table.
Keith raised an eyebrow.
“It’s this or the bust of Elvis. Take your pick.”
Keith shook his head and picked up the tape. “Tell me why you want to stay here.”
Jerry glanced at Owen. “Because it’s a known quantity. We can shore up our defenses and take on whoever comes.” He pulled out a chair and eased onto the seat. “Besides, if we don’t find any gas, the conversation is moot.”
Neither option was ideal. But what could they do? Without gas they were stuck. Making the most of the daylight would be key. If that morning’s attack was anything to go by, the wounded man and his friends—however many that might be—would not be coming back until it was so dark Keith couldn’t see them coming.
With the desert stretching on for miles into the distance all around them, a daytime attack would be beyond foolish. For a moment, Keith wondered if the man would even try to reprise that morning’s adventure. He looked over at the revolver glinting as the sun filtered through the windows. Yes, he probably would. Even if it were only for his pride.
Keith shifted, wincing again against the pain. He wouldn’t be able to do anything until he dealt with his leg. He threw out one option. “Is there anywhere nearby we could hide?”
Jerry scoffed.
Owen hedged. “Maybe.” At Jerry’s pointed stare, he backtracked. “I mean, there’s a gas station not too far. We might be able to break in.”
“If it isn’t already looted.” Jerry shook his head. “You know as well as I do, the chances of a gas station still being intact at this point are almost zero.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try.” Owen sounded like a ten-year-old confronted with the impossibility of learning how to fly.
“What about a house? There’s got to be something within driving distance.” Lainey perked up, thinking it over. “If we take the frontage road along the highway—”
“We’d run out of gas.” Jerry stepped closer to the group. “We can’t leave just because we’re afraid of some strangers with guns. As soon as we start doing that, we’ll never quit running. We should stay and take a stand.”
“What if we lose?” Owen pushed his glasses up his nose, his nerves getting the better of him. “If we run, at least we have a chance.”
Jerry open his mouth to argue, but Keith held up a hand. “I think you’re both right.” Jerry and Owen turned, ready to argue, but Keith continued. “It makes sense to look for gas. If we can fill a tank and leave, then that’s the best possible option, isn’t it? No one’s suggesting w
e live here, are they?”
Everyone shook their heads no.
“Then why not look? It won’t hurt us any. If we come up empty, then we stay for now. But we’ll have to expand the search, spread out and look farther afield. It might take a few days. We need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”
“I thought you said you agreed with both of us?” Jerry complained.
“I did. If we don’t find any gas, we need to be ready to defend ourselves and this diner.” Keith sucked in a breath. The more he talked the more a plan formed in his mind. “I vote we split into two groups. One stays here and fortifies the windows, doors, everything we can think of. The other searches for gas. We meet back here at three o’clock to regroup.”
After a moment, Lainey nodded in agreement. “Keith’s right. We need to look for gas and prepare. Best case scenario, we find an old truck with a full tank or a working gas station and we fill up, hit the road, and are miles away before anybody comes looking. But if that doesn’t happen, at least we will be ready.”
Begrudgingly, both Owen and Jerry agreed.
“Who wants to look for gas?” Lainey brightened as she asked the question, happy to finally be moving forward.
Keith scratched behind his ear. “I’m afraid with my leg, I’m not going anywhere.”
Owen spoke up. “I’ll go. It’s my idea to leave anyway.”
Jerry scowled and folded his arms across his chest. “If we’re shoring up defenses, I should stay. With Keith out of commission, someone has to do the heavy lifting.”
The argument rankled Keith, but at least Jerry was honest. If Jerry stayed behind, that meant Lainey and Owen would be out there on their own. The thought sent a shiver through Keith and he cut the older man a glance. “You sure you want to fix my leg again?”
“Nope. But it looks like I don’t have a choice.”
Lainey looped Bear’s leash around a table leg and checked to ensure it was secure before approaching. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
Keith clenched his jaw. He did, more than anything, but Owen couldn’t search for gas on his own.