by Sara Orwig
From behind the door, a man stepped toward her, grabbing her, his arm going around her neck. He jammed a pistol against her head as she screamed and tried to break free.
Chapter 15
Jake heard the rustling and yanked up his gun. Rebecca screamed, and he saw a dark shadow move in the doorway. “Freeze!” he yelled, sprinting forward, holding out his pistol and steadying his wrist.
Meskell stepped into the hall. He had his arm around Rebecca’s throat and a pistol at her temple. “You freeze, and drop the damned gun.”
Jake looked at the pistol at her head.
Her blue eyes were wide as she stared at him, and he hated what he had to do, but he had dealt with Meskell before. “If you shoot her, I take you out right now.”
Meskell jammed the gun against her harder, and Rebecca gasped. Jake’s head swam with rage as adrenaline rushed through him.
“Toss her your car keys. I'm taking her with me. Go ahead, do it!” Meskell yelled.
Jake fished out the keys, keeping his gun trained between Meskell’s eyes. He gave them an easy toss, and Rebecca caught them. Meskell grabbed them from her.
“Get back or she’s dead!” he yelled, walking backward. “You call the rest of the bastards. You tell them my gun is at her head. Anyone tries to stop me and she’s dead. Now get back!”
Without hesitation, Meskell walked backward through the house, and Jake remembered the dead bird and knew that Meskell had been all over the house and was familiar with it. He wanted to know how the hell he had gotten into it tonight, but the thought was gone once he looked at Rebecca’s ashen face. He wanted to lunge at Meskell, to shoot him and grab her. But he knew that Meskell would shoot her at the slightest provocation.
The instant they went out the kitchen door, Jake yanked out his radio. “McCauley! Meskell’s got Rebecca and he’s taking my truck!”
Jake sprinted after them, knowing that McCauley would notify the others. The truck motor roared to life, and Jake leaped out the kitchen door and ran toward it. Meskell pulled away as Jake caught the back of the truck. The truck sped down the drive, and his feet bounced.
For a terrifying second, he was afraid he would fall off, but then he got a toehold and rolled into the truck bed. He slid forward, knowing that Meskell had to know he was in the back. He had seen only one head in the brief glimpse he’d had of the cab.
He didn’t dare shoot, because he was certain Rebecca was down on the floor of the passenger side, with the barrel of the pistol against her head.
And he wouldn’t risk a shot at Meskell as long as she was in that position.
Jake pulled up the radio, and in seconds Vance’s voice came on.
“I'm in the truck. He’s got her and he has a gun pointed at her head. I'll give you directions.”
“We're already moving in.”
Jake swore, wondering what had gone wrong, how Meskell had slipped past the surveillance, yet he knew from experience how many things could go wrong, and how quickly. And the longer Meskell could hold her, the more dangerous the situation would become.
“Hang on, honey,” Jake whispered, aching to fire at Meskell and get her, praying she wasn’t terrified senseless. And he knew that she was probably terrified for the girls, afraid they were going to lose their only parent.
Jake swore, remembering his promise to Sissy to protect Rebecca and keep her safe.
The truck swung around, skidding out of control and then righting on the pavement. Jake picked up the radio to give directions. “He’s heading toward town.”
Wind rushed over him, and the roar of the motor drowned out all other noise. He cursed the day he had had a powerful engine put in the customized pickup. Meskell could outrun anyone in a chase, but there wouldn’t be a chase with Rebecca inside.
And what would happen when Meskell stopped? Jake knew that they might end up in a final standoff in the same position they had been in the house, with Meskell pointing a gun at Rebecca and Jake pointing one at Meskell.
Jake closed his mind to that scenario, hoping that Meskell had some money stashed that he wanted to live for.
“Hang on, Rebecca,” he whispered again, in agony for her, clenching his fist and wanting to get his hands on Meskell.
He raised himself up enough to survey his surroundings, knowing Meskell didn’t dare take the gun from Rebecca to shoot him, because she would do something. If she was conscious.
He swore and raised the radio to his mouth. “He’s turning. We're entering I-35, headed south. He’s going for San Antonio or Laredo or the border.”
“We've got you in sight.”
Jake turned and spotted the lights of a chopper off in the distance to the east. It was too noisy in the back of the truck to hear the chopper’s motor, and he didn’t know when they had picked up Lenny’s trail.
“Hang on, honey,” he whispered.
Rebecca was squeezed on the floor, the barrel of his pistol jammed against her throat. Lenny had ordered her to put her hands behind her head, and her arms were getting tired and her legs were aching from being folded beneath her.
Would the police just let him take her away, since he had a gun on her? She shivered violently, knowing it was up to her to get away, because the police could do little as long as Meskell was holding her hostage.
“How’d you get in the house?” she asked.
“Shut up!” he said, jamming the pistol against her, making her choke and cough.
“Get your hands up! Put them behind your neck.”
She locked her fingers together and propped her head against her knee, trying not to think at all.
“I came in through your attic fan.”
Startled, she turned a fraction. The glow of the dash lighted his face. He had black smudged on it, and his hair seemed to have been dyed black, because she didn’t remember it being black in the courtroom. He wore black gloves, jeans, and a long-sleeved black T-shirt. The smell of sweat was overpowering.
“The attic fan?” she repeated, not understanding. The attic fan was above the hallway.
“Came up through the attic fan opening over your porch. Had to wait until the cop wasn’t looking out the window. Then I came down in your closet. I been all over your house that day I was in it. Saw your clothes, your things.”
She shivered and remembered the house creaking, boards creaking in the attic. But the house always groaned and creaked in the dead of night.
“I been in your house for hours, just waiting for you to come back to your room, hearing you and that cop talk. He’s in the truck right now,” he said, his voice sounding sly.
Startled again, she looked up at him. His hair was standing up wildly. He must have worn a cap over it part of the night. He grinned, looking wolfish in the light from the dash, and she shivered.
Jake was in the back of the truck? She couldn’t twist around, but her pulse jumped and hope climbed within her. But common sense made her realize there was little Jake could do.
“Where are we?”
“Heading for Mexico. And when we cross that border, no one can touch us. You and me'll have fun.”
They must be on the freeway. And no one could stop him now. Because he had her as a hostage. She prayed that the fact she had been taken hostage didn’t go out over the news and frighten the girls.
“My arms hurt.”
“Tough. That'll be nothing. Go ahead and cry.”
She clamped her mouth closed and heard him laugh.
The truck sped through the night, and the ache in her arms and legs became unbearable. Her legs became numb, and she wondered what was going to happen. Would they stop him at the border? She looked at the gas gauge. He was going to have to stop and get gas before he reached Mexico. She didn’t want to point that out to him, but when he did, what would he do about Jake in the back?
Jake heard the crackle of the radio and held it to his ear.
Vance’s voice came on. “Just north of San Marcos, we're setting up roadblocks. We expect him to drive ri
ght through them, but he won’t be able to drive through a row of patrol cars. We've shut off the freeway for a stretch there. No one is getting on or off—all the exits are blocked, and we'll have the roadblock in the middle of nowhere. We're going to try to slow him and force him off the road. If he’s on foot, even with a hostage, we can get him.”
Jake felt cold. If Meskell had to go on foot, he would shoot Rebecca. “He might squeeze the trigger if the truck goes off the road.”
“He’s got money waiting. He may want a hostage. He knows he’s dead if he kills her. He can’t get away on foot. He has to keep her. Jake, if he goes off the road, he might put both hands on the wheel.”
Jake drew a deep breath. He knew that was what Vance and the others were hoping for. “All I need is for him to get that pistol away from her for a second.”
“We know that. How much gas has he got?”
Jake tried to remember. “I think half a tank. The motor is powerful.”
“Dammit. At the rate he’s going, we expect him to reach the roadblocks in another twenty minutes.”
Jake glanced at his watch.
“Good luck. The chopper should be in sight, and men are waiting, but it’s going to be up to you when he goes through the roadblocks. We'll stop him there.”
“Right.”
Jake hunched back against the truck. “Hang on, Rebecca. Twenty more minutes, and we'll get the bastard.”
He glanced at his watch, looking at the sweep of the second hand, counting down the minutes, his muscles tensing as he got ready. Everything would happen in seconds. It took only seven or eight seconds to wreck a car, from the first slide until the smashup. Jake closed his eyes and prayed for her safety.
Twenty minutes ticked past, and still Meskell was barreling along. The wind roaring over him, Jake raised up and leaned over the side and saw nothing but darkness and a stretch of empty highway ahead. And then he saw the headlights shining on the orange-and-white boards that stretched across the highway.
The truck didn’t slow, but kept racing toward the roadblock. Jake twisted around, kneeling, bracing his body against the truck, trying to get to where he could raise up and get a shot at Meskell, yet knowing that any second now the truck might go spinning off the road.
“Be ready, baby. Be ready,” he whispered, wishing Rebecca could feel what he was saying.
They smashed through the boards, sending them flying. Jake had no idea how many Meskell was smashing through. Jake ducked as boards fell into the bed of the pickup and came flying over the roof.
Then they went into a sliding skid and Meskell turned. Jake felt the truck lurch, then spin as they wheeled around. He lost his balance, hitting his arm against the truck.
Desperate, he scrambled to gain his balance, kneeling and leaning against the truck as they bounced, trying to steady himself and look through the back window. He saw Meskell turning the steering wheel. He couldn’t see Rebecca, but both of Meskell’s hands were on the wheel.
Jake steadied his wrist and raised his hands.
Suddenly Meskell whipped around, holding his pistol, and fired at Jake. The glass shattered, and Jake felt his shoulder burn.
He squeezed the trigger. His shot hit Meskell squarely in the head. The body slumped down, sliding down in the seat, and Jake felt the lurch of the truck. The weight of Meskell’s body must have pushed down the accelerator. They were off the road, bouncing over rough ground; the truck could roll or smash at any minute.
Jake threw himself across the pickup, trying to reach around to grab the door handle and yank it open, but the truck was bouncing too much.
Headlights waved up and down eerily with each bounce, and directly ahead was a stand of tall, aged oaks, their trunks large and looking as solid as concrete posts. The pickup rushed straight at them.
“Jump, Rebecca! Jump!” Jake bellowed, fighting to grab the door handle.
Chapter 16
Rebecca screamed when the blast of Jake’s gun shattered the back window and killed Lenny Meskell. He slumped down, his body pressing the accelerator.
The truck was bouncing over rough ground. Frantically she tried to wiggle up on the seat. Her legs were numb, and pain shot through her arms. She tugged on Meskell’s body, struggling to shove it away so that she could get to the brakes.
And then she looked up and saw the oaks looming in front of them. There was no way to avoid hitting the trees unless she turned. With the speed they were traveling and the rough ground, if she tried to turn the truck, it would likely roll, and Jake was in the back. Sobbing, she pulled at Meskell’s inert deadweight, trying to shift him away so she could get to the brake. She reached across him and opened the door. Yanking herself across Meskell’s body as the door swung wide, Rebecca scooted back onto the passenger side. She held the seat and the dash and put her feet against him and pushed.
She felt as if she were pushing against a wall.
“Jump! Rebecca, jump!” Jake bellowed.
Sobbing, she shoved. She felt the body shift, and then the deadweight gave and the body slid out of the truck.
“Jump!”
She jammed her foot on the brake and scooted across the seat, throwing on the emergency brake, as well. The truck plowed into the ground. A mesquite hit the windshield and was gone.
Headlights were bright, clearly showing the solid oak that loomed up only yards away now. She kept her foot jammed against the brakes, getting ready to throw herself out the door as the truck slowed.
Suddenly Jake swung into the seat beside her, squeezing in, almost on her lap.
The pickup plowed up the ground while the brakes locked. Dirt flew up around them as they finally stopped. The nose of the pickup was within an inch of an oak.
Rebecca turned, throwing herself into his arms. Jake wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him, showering her with kisses, and his strong arms were the most wonderful feeling on earth to her.
“Thank God you're safe,” Jake said, squeezing her tightly, wanting to hold her forever. “It’s over, honey. It’s all over forever. He won’t bother you again.”
Rebecca tilted her face up to his and Jake kissed her hard, and she returned his kisses.
“I’d like to take advantage of the shock you're in and ask you once again to marry me. I love you, baby.”
“Well, are you?” she asked, running her fingers over his face.
“Am I what?”
“Going to take advantage of me?”
His arms tightened around her, and he knew he would have to ask her again when she had calmed and thought it over, but he wasn’t going to hold out for fair play now. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes, oh, yes! I'll have to ask the girls, but I'm sure their answer will be yes.”
Jake kissed her, hearing voices, knowing the police were about to surround them, but he didn’t give a damn. He didn’t want to stop holding her or kissing her yet. He didn’t know when she had decided she wanted to accept his proposal and all that went with it. If it had been in the past terrifying hour, he would have to let her reconsider.
He tightened his arms around her, feeling certain she wouldn’t change her mind now that she’d decided to marry him. She belonged to him, heart and soul, and nothing in his life had ever seemed so right. And then he stopped thinking and kissed her.
Finally Rebecca realized there were men talking around them. She pushed against Jake and looked around. Uniformed patrolmen, men in black clothing with rifles, cars with flashing lights behind them, were all around the pickup.
“Jake, there are men all over the place!”
A highway patrolman stepped up to the open door, and Jake climbed out. “I think I ruined a damned good pickup tonight,” Jake said as he thrust out his hand. “Jake Delancy. We've been in a bit of a dilemma.”
* * *
They were taken to an emergency room, where Jake’s shoulder was treated. Meskell’s bullet had merely grazed him. Then they were taken to Jake’s condo.
“We'll go o
ut to your place tomorrow,” he said, entering his condo, which had been cleaned and straightened. Things were not the way he kept them, but in order. As soon as he closed the door, he turned to Rebecca to take her in his arms.
“I remember something back there about an acceptance of my proposal.”
She nodded, raising her lips as he bent his head to kiss her. After long moments, she twisted her head. “I'll still have to talk to the girls about it.”
“Sounds great, honey,” he whispered, his hands moving over her hips lightly.
He bent his head forward to cover her mouth with his, his kiss hard and demanding as he held her tightly.
They looked at each other again, and she knew there were no words necessary for what they were feeling. And her decision seemed all the more right.
Jake drew her to him again to kiss her slowly and thoroughly, and Rebecca wound her arms around his neck. Then remembered his wound. She pulled away. “I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?”
He drew her back to him. “Never,” he whispered as he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom.
* * *
The next morning, while she showered, she heard Jake talking to someone. When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself. She wanted to burn the clothes she had worn the night before. While she stood staring at the heap of clothing, Jake knocked on the bathroom door.
She swung it open, and his gaze went over her, desire flaring in the depths of his eyes. “Oh, honey, how I wish!”
“Wish what?”
“That we had all day alone. Unfortunately, we don’t. I have to go to the station to give my reports, but first I'll take you to Sally’s to get the girls, and then I'll take you home.”
“Did I hear you talking to someone?”
“Yes, you did,” he said. He was dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks and he looked handsome and sexy and as unruffled as if nothing had happened the night before. He held folded clothing in his hand. “That was Zach. Sally sent some clothes for you to wear today.”
“Thank heavens! I can’t bear to touch the clothes I wore last night.”