Powerhouse

by Rebecca York

  The seconds dragged by, and Matt wondered how long he could keep up this desperate struggle.

  Then, in the distance he heard a noise that made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

  Lord, no!

  He prayed that he was wrong, but moments later, he saw the rental car come skidding up the driveway.

  “Get out of here!” he shouted as Shelley pulled to a stop in back of him.

  She rolled down the window. “Get in!”

  He wanted to refuse, but he had no option now. She was here, and if they didn’t get away, they were both going to die.

  He waited for one more minute, giving the man a blast of psychic energy that would have fried the brain of a normal human being. But Blue was hardly normal. He just stood there looking at Matt with hate-filled eyes.

  Whirling away, Matt jumped into the front passenger seat of the rental car.

  Trevor crouched in the back, wide-eyed as Shelley tried to turn around, her tires skidding on the snow-covered road.

  As she struggled to maneuver them out of the area in front of the cabin, Matt kept his gaze on Blue, willing him to stay where he was. And willing him not to raise his gun.

  After an eternity, Shelley got the car turned in the right direction, then started down the access road. Matt kept his gaze fixed on Blue, who slowly seemed to come out of a trance, shaking his head as he stared after them.

  “Hey. Come back.”

  He ran to the open cabin door, shooting at them while they made tracks down the driveway. As far as Matt could tell, none of the bullets hit.

  He wanted to shout at Shelley that she was a fool for coming back. The purpose of this mission was to rescue Trevor, and she’d gotten what she came for.

  But maybe she heard him inside her head, because she spared him a glance as she made her way back to the public road.

  “I couldn’t leave you.”

  He wanted to say they might all end up dead, but he kept the thought to himself—he hoped—because now was not the time to make things worse.

  Behind them he heard an engine roar, and he knew that Blue had run to his car and started the vehicle. He wasn’t going to let them get away without trying to recover the boy.

  As they turned right onto the highway, he glanced behind him, seeing the SUV barreling down the narrow track behind them.

  “I tried to call the police,” Shelley said as she kept driving. “But I couldn’t get a signal.”

  “Of course not. They’ve been chasing us around for days, but when we need them, they’re unavailable.”

  Shelley increased their speed as the other car turned onto the road and came after them.

  When she started to skid, she eased up on the gas pedal again, and he wished he were behind the wheel because he had more experience driving in the snow, but they couldn’t stop to change drivers.

  Matt kept his gaze in back of them, seeing a hand reach out the window of the other car. Then a hail of bullets came flying toward them.

  Hoping against hope, he pulled out his own cell phone and dialed 911. But like Shelley, he got no signal. They were too far out in the wilderness for their phones to work.

  All they could do was keep driving as the man pursued them.

  Trevor’s gaze fixed on Matt. “Mommy said you’re my daddy.”

  “Yes.”

  “I never had a daddy.”

  “You always had a daddy. I just didn’t know about you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Your mom and I had an unfortunate miscommunication.”

  “What’s a miscommunication?”

  “We’ll talk about it later—when we have more time,” he said, wishing he knew how to be a good father. He’d been focused on rescuing Trevor, but he hadn’t thought much past that. Not in practical terms.

  His own mom had been a lousy parent, and he knew he didn’t want to repeat her mistakes. But he hadn’t gotten much beyond that conviction.

  His thoughts were rudely interrupted by another blast of gunfire. Apparently the man had gotten close enough to them again to think he had a good chance of stopping them.

  “Mommy!”

  “It’s okay, honey. Everything’s okay,” Shelley said in a soothing voice as she kept going.

  “But he’s shooting at us. Like on TV.”

  “We’ll get away.”

  Shelley kept driving, her gaze fixed straight ahead, until she made a gagging sound.

  Fear leaped inside Matt. “What is it? Are you hit.”

  “No. But he must have gotten the gas tank. The gauge is going down to zero. What should I do?”

  Matt craned his neck, looking in all directions. In back of them, the other car was catching up.

  At least they hadn’t burst into flames, like on TV, he thought. That was something.

  Off to the right, through the trees he could see one of the rock formations coming up. “Maybe we can hide from him in those rocks. Pull off the road. As soon as you stop, start running. I’ll grab Trevor.”

  Shelley pulled to the side of the road. “You’ll be right behind me?” she demanded.

  “Of course. I’ll have Trevor.”

  She took off toward the rocks, and he opened the back door, snatched up his little boy, and followed Shelley into the woods.

  The snow was falling harder now, making it almost impossible to see where they were going. But the towering rocks were a landmark they could use.

  Clasping Trevor in his arms, he kept running, hearing the breath hissing in and out of his lungs.

  The boy ducked his head, resting it against Matt’s shoulder.

  Matt couldn’t spare a glance behind him, but he heard another shot ring out.

  Only one. The guy must be conserving his ammunition. Was he running out, or did he just need to reload?

  Through the snow, Matt could just make out Shelley ahead of him, moving as fast as she could.

  When she stumbled, he caught up with her, pulling her up by the arm and steadying her on her feet.

  “Mommy, I’m scared,” Trevor whimpered.

  “We’re okay,” Shelley answered automatically, and Matt prayed that it was true.

  Ahead of him again, Shelley stopped and gasped. Matt caught up with her. “What?”

  She pointed. “This formation must be a plateau. There’s a drop-off up ahead. I would have fallen over it I’d kept going.”

  “Okay.” He peered through the snow and saw a place to the right where natural spires stuck up. “Get behind there. Hold Trevor tight.” He swallowed. “Cover his head.”

  As he handed her their child, she gasped out, “What are you doing now?”

  “I’m solving our problem,” he said, glancing back toward the precipice.

  A look of comprehension bloomed on her face. Holding Trevor tightly, she disappeared behind the barrier.

  Matt watched them go, thankful that they were shielded.

  But he didn’t want the guy going into the rocks and looking for them. Crouching low, he veered away from Shelley’s tracks, running along the edge of the cliff. The ground was treacherous, and he could barely see. When he slipped and almost went over the edge, he slowed down, placing his feet more carefully, hoping Blue wouldn’t see the danger until it was too late. Matt kept expecting the guy to start firing again. When he didn’t, it was further proof that the bastard was out of ammunition.

  Or was it just too chancy to take a shot in this storm?

  Matt moved farther from the two people he wanted to protect most, hoping he wasn’t going to come to a place where the cliff curved inward—because then he was the one who would go over the edge.

  Looking up, he saw Blue was closing in, and he knew it was time to make his stand before the guy realized that the land dropped off sharply just a few feet behind Matt.

  Stopping in the snow, he turned and stood with his back to the precipice, then took a dozen steps forward, waited for the man to spot him.

  Come on. Come and get me. You can get me. You just
have to keep coming after me.

  This time there was no resistance to the push, Blue came charging out of the blinding snow, looked around and spotted Matt.

  “Who are you?” he shouted as the guy rushed forward.

  “You’ll never find out.”

  “You kidnapped my son. Don’t you owe me an explanation?”

  “I don’t owe you squat.”

  So much for conversation, Matt thought, switching back to silent communication.

  Come get me. Come on. You can get me, Matt chanted over and over.

  Then he turned and ran toward the drop-off.

  He heard Blue panting behind him. Praying that his desperate plan was going to work, he pretended to keep running through the blizzard, raising and lowering his legs as he reached the edge of the cliff.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As Matt heard Blue close in on him, he dodged to the side. Running too fast to change course, the other man kept hurtling forward, over the edge of the cliff. He tumbled off into space, disappearing into a swirl of snow.

  His scream echoed up from far below.

  Long seconds passed during which Matt was frozen in place. Then he moved away from the cliff edge and started back toward the rocks where he’d left Shelley and Trevor.

  As he approached, she emerged from behind the barrier holding their son.

  “Is he gone?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  “Yes. He won’t bother us again,” Matt said, his gaze meeting Shelley’s

  When she answered, “Thank God,” he felt some of the tension in his chest ease.

  “What are we going to do now?”

  “We’re going home. Back to the ranch. When we get there, we’ll talk about our next move,” he added, because he knew nothing was settled between them. Not yet.

  They tramped back through the blinding snow, and Matt was thankful that he could see their footprints, otherwise he knew they could easily get turned around.

  They reached the road, and he saw the bullet-riddled car that they’d been driving.

  The other vehicle was pulled in behind it.

  “We’ve got to take his car.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Yeah. But we don’t have a choice.”

  When he reached the other car, he pulled open the driver’s door.

  “Lucky the keys are in the ignition,” he told Shelley.

  They all climbed inside. Shelley sat in back with Trevor. Matt turned the ignition to get the heater going.

  Like Shelley, he hated using Blue’s wheels, but he didn’t see any alternative. They weren’t going to get anywhere in a vehicle with holes in the gas tank.

  “What are we going to tell the rental company?” she asked.

  “That we ran into some nut who started shooting at us,” he replied. “That’s the truth.”

  “Yeah!” Trevor said, finally finding his voice.

  Matt looked over his shoulder. “Everybody okay?”

  “Yes,” Shelley answered.

  Trevor’s gaze was fixed on him. “Are you really my daddy?” he asked.

  A wealth of emotions welled up from the depths of Matt’s soul. He had been so intent on finding this little boy, and now they were only a few feet away. He swallowed hard. “Yes, I am. And I’m really glad to have you in my life.” He glanced at Shelley, still unsure of where she stood.

  “Where were you?” Trevor demanded.

  “I was at my ranch. I didn’t know about you. But I was really happy to find out.”

  The boy continued to stare at him. “Are we going to live with you now?”

  “I hope so.”

  Shelley shifted Trevor on her lap. “How do you feel?” she asked.

  “Good. Now.”

  She glanced at Matt, then back to her son. “Did you get a lot of shots?”

  He shrugged. “Some.”

  Matt broke into the conversation. “I want to get back to Colorado.”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  At least he was thankful they agreed on that. He hoped the rest of it would fall into place. He pulled away from the shoulder and turned the car around, heading back toward Rapid City.

  There was so much to talk about, but this wasn’t the best place. Still, there was something he needed to say.

  “Probably you shouldn’t tell people that you can talk to your mommy—” he fumbled around for a way to put it and came up with “—through the air.”

  “I know,” Trevor said in a low voice. “It makes me weird doesn’t it?”

  “No. It makes you special. But we should keep it a secret. Okay?”

  “Okay,” the boy agreed.

  Matt had gotten only a few miles when he saw a car coming up behind him—fast. As it approached, blue and red lights began to flash.

  He cursed under his breath. “It’s the cops.”

  Another unmarked police car joined the first one and edged them over to the shoulder.

  Matt pulled over and cut the engine.

  “Mommy,” Trevor whispered.

  “It’s okay,” Shelley murmured. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

  Matt wondered if the cops would see it that way.

  Four officers approached them, guns drawn.

  “Out of the car! Hands where we can see them.”

  Knowing it could be fatal to argue, Matt did as he was told.

  Another officer approached the back door and motioned to Shelley and Trevor to get out.

  “Down on the ground. On your bellies.”

  “Please, no,” Shelley gasped.

  “Down on the ground.”

  Matt and Shelley both got down on the frozen ground, and Trevor started to cry.

  “Leave my mommy alone.”

  When he started hitting one of the officers, the man turned and held on to him.

  Another one patted Matt down, then cuffed his hands behind his back. They also cuffed Shelley. And another officer searched the car.

  “What’s this about?” Matt demanded.

  “You’re the man and woman who’ve been making trouble at motels all over Rapid City.”

  “Not us,” Matt said.

  “You have the right to remain silent…” one of the officers began.

  “We haven’t done anything. Our son was kidnapped, and we were rescuing him,” Shelley cried out.

  The officer turned to Trevor. “You were kidnapped?” he asked.

  “Yes!”

  “And who are these people?”

  “My mommy and daddy,” Trevor sobbed out. “Don’t hurt my mommy and daddy.”

  “Who kidnapped you, son?”

  “A man named Blue.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. He disappeared in the snow. I think he was running after my daddy.”

  An officer hauled Matt to his feet. Another man pulled Shelley up. “We’ll straighten this out.”

  Matt raised his head. “If you go back up the road a few miles, I can show you our car. It’s riddled with bullets from Blue shooting at us. He hit the gas tank. We’re lucky our car didn’t explode. This is his SUV.”

  “You mean you stole a car?”

  “You’re not listening to me.”

  “Come along, son,” one of the cops said to Trevor.

  “No! I want my mommy.”

  “You can see your mommy later.”

  “No, please,” Shelley cried out. “He was kidnapped. We just got him back. Let him ride with me.”

  When they still looked doubtful, Matt realized that in the heat of the moment, he’d forgotten he had an advantage. Silently, he began to speak to the men again

  Don’t hurt Shelley and Trevor. Let the boy ride with his mom. He repeated that several times, then added, You know I’m telling the truth. We’re innocent victims. It wasn’t us who trashed those motels. It was the bad guys trying to stop us from finding our son. The FBI has them in custody. He repeated the message several times, then began to speak aloud.

  “Call F
BI Special Agent Perry Owens. He’ll vouch for us,” Matt said aloud.

  “We’ll do that,” one of the officers said.

  “Let my son ride with his mom.”

  The officer relented. “All right.”

  At least he’d accomplished something. Still, they were being treated as suspects. The cops put Matt into the back of one car and Shelley and Trevor in another.

  “Matt,” Shelley cried out.

  “It’s okay,” he shouted back. “It will be okay.” As he said it, he was praying it was true.

  When the car with Shelley and Trevor drove away, he turned to the officers who had him in custody.

  Go back the way we came. At least look at our car. You’ll see he riddled it with bullets.

  Then he said it aloud. “Go back the way we came. At least take a look at our car.”

  The men hesitated, and Matt used the silent push again.

  To his relief, the officer turned the unmarked around. When they came to the rental car pulled onto the shoulder, they stopped, and the officer got out.

  “Bullet holes, all right,” he reported to his partner, then turned to Matt. “You’re lucky the gas tank didn’t explode.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened to the shooter?”

  Matt dragged in a breath and let it out, then gestured with his head. “See those tracks? That’s where we climbed out of the car and made a run for it. The guy followed us, still shooting. There’s a drop-off about a hundred yards ahead. It was snowing so hard that he couldn’t see where he was going. He went over.”

  “And we won’t find out he was shot when we recover the body.”

  Matt kept his gaze steady. “That’s right. We were unarmed.”

  “Because you left your gun in that motel office.”

  Matt shrugged. “Not my gun. It belonged to one of the men who was chasing us.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  The man turned away and started toward the rocks. Matt and one of the officers waited in the car.

  The cop who had gone to investigate was back fifteen minutes later.

  “I can see where it happened,” he said.

  “Then uncuff me.”

  “Not until we find out why you trashed a bunch of motels.”

  “Like I said, it wasn’t us. It was the men following us around.”

  “What is this—a conspiracy against you?”

  “Something like that. We can stop at the cabin where Blue was holding my son.”