Tyson threw his thumb toward Derrick. “Your buddy can’t be trusted not to attack my men. So, I’ll tell you how this is going to go.” Tyson smiled. “We will escort you and your group to the other end of town. One of my men will drive Derrick’s truck while Derrick rides with us.” He glanced at Derrick. “Keys in the ignition?”
Derrick listened with growing rage, his eyes narrowing. With duct tape covering his mouth, he couldn’t answer Tyson.
Matt looked Derrick’s way, his face grim. He nodded. “Fine.” Tyson smiled. Matt turned and walked away, leaving Derrick alone.
Someone roughly pulled Derrick to his feet. As much as he wanted to throw a roundhouse kick, with a dozen armed men surrounding him, he smothered his need for revenge and let them lead him to a truck parked off to the side.
While one man gripped Derrick’s upper arm, another man with a scraggly beard and mean eyes opened the rear passenger door of the truck before turning to Derrick. “Get in.” He held his gun steady on Derrick, his expression making Derrick believe he wanted a reason to shoot.
Derrick slid inside. Scraggly Beard ripped the duct tape from Derrick’s mouth, then closed the door behind him. Derrick was left alone.
Swearing under his breath at the sting left by the tape being torn from his face, Derrick glared at Scraggly Beard, who stood outside the door of the truck, his eyes shifting between Derrick and the other activities going on. Derrick watched as the two garbage trucks were backed out of the way, creating an opening wide enough for a single line of vehicles to pass through. He couldn’t see Matt and the rest of their group.
Ten minutes later, Tyson appeared at Derrick’s door, pulling it open with a grin. “Look what I found.” He held up a Glock 21. The same one Derrick had tucked under his seat a few hours earlier. The same one he always carried in his concealed carry holster. It was his favorite gun.
“That’s mine,” Derrick said, his voice deadly calm.
Tyson’s smile grew. “Not anymore. It’s payment for the injury you caused my man.”
Jaw aching from clenching it so hard, Derrick glared at Tyson. “Your man deserved it.”
The smile melted from Tyson’s face. “We don’t condone violence here.”
Tilting his head, Derrick paused, then burst out laughing. “Right.”
Looking offended, Tyson shook his head then turned to leave.
“Hey.”
He stopped and looked at Derrick.
“I’ll expect to get my gun back when we reach the other side of town.”
Tyson narrowed his eyes, then he pursed his lips before closing the door and stalking away.
More livid than ever, when three men got in the truck, including Scraggly Beard, who climbed in back and pointed his gun at Derrick’s head, Derrick had to remind himself to breathe slow and deep.
“Everything okay?” Scraggly Beard asked him, his tone snide.
Sliding his eyes to his back seat neighbor before looking toward the front again, Derrick didn’t reply.
Just then, Derrick’s truck came into view driven by one of Tyson’s men. Tyson sat in the passenger seat.
“Nice ride,” Scraggly Beard said. “I wouldn’t mind owning it.”
Derrick didn’t take the bait, his eyes on Matt and his RV, followed by Emily, then Chris. Jeff wasn’t visible.
The man driving the truck Derrick was riding in pulled into line behind Chris’s SUV. They slowly made their way forward, passing a Welcome to Nevada sign. Just over the border, a casino sat on the left. They drove on, not stopping until they were several miles west of Wendover.
Their caravan came to a halt. The truck Derrick was in passed the parade of cars, pulling to a stop beside Derrick’s truck. Tyson and the man who’d driven Derrick’s truck stood outside.
With his hands bound, Derrick had to wait for Scraggly Beard to get out and come around to open his door. The door swung open and Scraggly Beard pointed his gun at Derrick. “Get out.”
More than happy to comply, Derrick swung his legs out of the door and hopped out. Tyson was walking his way, Derrick’s gun tucked into the front waistband of his jeans. All four of Tyson’s men who had come along stood in a half-circle, guns ready, but aimed at the ground. Derrick was completely outgunned, but this was the only chance he was going to get against these bullies. He wanted to make them pay for their extortion, wanted to make sure they didn’t continue stealing from innocent travelers.
Derrick stared Tyson down. “You gonna undo my hands?”
A smile pulled up the corners of Tyson’s lips. “You’ve been a good boy, so yeah.” Tyson nodded at one of his men, who cut the zip ties from Derrick’s wrists.
Forcing a friendly smile, Derrick held out his hand to Tyson, whose smile widened as his hand came up automatically.
Holding back a grin, Derrick slid his hand into Tyson’s, then abruptly yanked him forward, spinning him around so that his back was to Derrick. At the same time, he snatched his gun from Tyson’s waistband. Using Tyson as a shield, Derrick held the gun to Tyson’s head.
The four men who’d come with Tyson raised their guns and pointed them at Derrick, but they couldn’t shoot him without hitting Tyson.
Tyson trembled, ever so slightly.
“Tell your men to drop their weapons,” Derrick growled in his ear.
“D…drop your weapons.” Tyson stammered the command without a moment’s hesitation, all his bravery gone now that he wasn’t the tough guy holding the gun.
Scraggly Beard narrowed his eyes, his gun still trained on Derrick.
Derrick was so done with these people. “Do it now!”
Tyson nodded. “Do it.”
Looking furious, the men dropped their guns to the pavement.
Derrick softly exhaled. “Kick them over here.”
The men complied.
Matt and Chris joined Derrick, much to Derrick’s relief. Chris pointed his gun at Tyson’s men while Matt collected the guns from the pavement.
With a grim smile at his friends, and with Tyson still in his grip, Derrick looked at Tyson’s men. “All of you, turn around and put your hands on your heads.” They did so before Matt and Chris quickly patted them down, coming up with two knives and another gun.
Matt and Chris stepped back and trained their guns on the men. Derrick released Tyson before shoving him. “Join your men.”
Staggering a bit, Tyson made his way to his men, who stood together several yards away.
Derrick stared at them. “Take off your shoes and socks.”
With fury in their eyes, they did as instructed.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your backs.”
“You’re going to regret this,” Scraggly Beard breathed out.
“Yeah, yeah. Just do it.” Never dropping his aim, Derrick turned to Chris. “Will you search their truck? Look for zip ties.”
Chris grinned. “Glad to.”
Five minutes later, Chris returned with a handful of zip ties along with another gun. “Found this.”
Not surprised, Derrick smirked as he shook his head. He turned to Matt, who was aiming his gun at the five men. “Hold your aim while Chris and I bind their hands.”
Matt nodded. “Will do.”
Once all of the men had their hands tied behind their backs, Derrick opened the gate on the bed of their truck. “Climb in.”
They struggled, but eventually all five were sitting in the bed of the truck.
Derrick closed the gate.
“What are you going to do?” Tyson asked, fear shining from his eyes.
Derrick glanced at the cloudless sky before meeting his gaze. “It’s a lovely day for a drive.”
Tyson’s eyes widened. “Are you going to kill us?”
Derrick wasn’t the kind of person to kill someone in cold blood, but they didn’t have to know that, so he just smiled, then turned to Matt. “Want to go for a drive?”
Matt looked uncertain, but he nodded.
Chapter 17
Matt
Keeping an eye on the men in the bed of the truck, Matt held on as Derrick drove across the open desert. The ground was bumpy, and as uncomfortable as it was in the cab of the truck, seeing Tyson and his men bouncing in the hard bed of the truck brought Matt a feeling of grim satisfaction. These guys had stolen their food under the guise of a tax. How many other travelers had they victimized?
Matt glanced at Derrick, who was concentrating on where they were driving. “How far are we going?”
Derrick grinned. “Far enough that it’ll take them a long, long time to get back to their buddies.”
“So, you’re not going to shoot them?” Because if Derrick was capable of that, Matt wasn’t sure he wanted to be in his group.
Derrick laughed and shook his head. “I know you don’t know me all that well, Matt, but I hope you know I wouldn’t shoot a man unless I had to.”
Matt felt a mix of embarrassment and shame that the thought had definitely crossed his mind. “Right.”
They’d driven several miles before Derrick slowed to a stop. He left the truck running before getting out of the cab. Matt got out as well.
Derrick pulled down the gate on the bed. “Okay. Everyone out.”
“Look,” Tyson said, his voice nearly a whine, “you don’t have to do this. We’ll give you your food back.”
Derrick lifted his gun and pointed it at Tyson. “Don’t make me ask you again.”
Tyson scooted toward the gate. “Okay, okay.” He jumped to the hard-packed dirt and his men followed.
Derrick used his gun to point to an area several yards away. “Move over there.”
The men obeyed and Derrick closed the gate of the truck. He looked at Matt with a grin and motioned with his head to the cab of the truck. “Let’s go.”
They began walking to their respective doors.
“Wait!”
It was Tyson. At the look of desperation on his face, Matt held back a chuckle.
“You’re not going to leave us here, are you?” Tyson asked.
Derrick tilted his head. “If you prefer, I can shoot you.”
“No, no. That’s fine. We can walk.”
“Yep.” Derrick turned and lifted the handle to the driver’s door. Matt got in on the passenger side.
As Tyson and his men faded in the sideview mirror, Matt softly exhaled. That could have gone so very wrong, but it felt good to have bested those jerks.
Eventually they reached the interstate where the rest of their group had waited.
“What happened?” Jessica asked Matt the moment he got out of the truck, her eyes wide.
He couldn’t hold back a laugh as he told her what they’d done.
Looking relieved, she said, “They got better than they deserved.”
He agreed.
“Jessica,” Derrick said, “would you drive my truck for a few miles? I don’t want to leave their truck where they can use it.”
She smiled. “Sure.”
Matt watched Derrick gather the shoes and socks the men had left on the side of the road, tossing them into the bed of the truck, then off they went with Derrick in the lead.
After ten miles, Derrick pulled over, so the rest of them did as well.
Soon enough, Jessica was back in the passenger seat of Matt’s truck. He smiled at her.
“That was clever of Derrick,” Dylan said. “Now those guys won’t be able to catch up with us.”
Matt nodded. He was glad Derrick hadn’t just left them on the side of the road where they could have easily tracked them down.
Cleo rested her head on the console dividing the two front seats. Matt reached over and scratched the top of her head. Cleo lifted her head and panted as she looked at him. He smiled at her. “You’re a good girl.” Her tail thumped against the rear seat.
“Ow! Cleo, calm down.”
Matt smiled at Kayla, who was sitting between Dylan and Brooke and was getting the brunt of Cleo’s enthusiasm. Brooke laughed, but pushed a hand against Cleo’s rump, forcing her to sit.
They drove on without incident, occasionally passing cars traveling west as well.
They’d gone about a hundred and fifty miles when the walkie squawked. “I’m running low on gas. Over.” It was Chris.
“I, uh…” Emily began, “I think Jeff’s running a fever.”
“Oh no,” Jessica said.
Moments later, Derrick pulled to the shoulder of I-80, half of his truck still in the right-hand lane. Matt followed suit. Right after he turned off his truck, everyone got out. The kids took Cleo for a walk while he and Jessica went to Jeff and Emily’s truck, which was right behind them.
“How’s he doing?” Jessica asked Emily.
Worry bracketed Emily’s eyes. “Not good. He’s thrashing around back there and he has a fever.”
“We have Tylenol,” Jessica said with a grimace. “Maybe that will help.”
Emily’s forehead was furrowed. “I’ll try anything.”
If Jeff didn’t get better, they’d be in a world of hurt. He’d proven his value many times already. They needed him whole and healthy. Matt cleared his throat. “I’ll grab the Tylenol.”
Jessica smiled at him. “Thanks.”
He got the Tylenol and a bottle of water out of the RV, then gave them to Emily. “Do you need more gas?”
Emily nodded.
Glad he could do something useful, he smiled. “I’ll get some for you.”
She smiled in appreciation. “Thank you.”
He went to Derrick’s truck where Derrick had several small containers of gas. Derrick was pouring gas into his tank. Chris was doing the same in his SUV. Glad he had the auxiliary tank on his truck, which would take him hundreds of miles further, Matt stopped beside Derrick. “Do you have enough for Jeff and Emily’s truck?”
Grimacing, Derrick nodded. “We have enough to get us to the next town, but we should stop there and fill up if we can.”
Matt glanced toward Jeff and Emily’s truck. “We need to find some medical help for Jeff.”
Derrick looked at Matt sharply. “That bad, huh?”
Matt just shook his head, then he lifted a two-gallon container of gas from the back of Derrick’s truck before walking back to Jeff’s truck and pouring it into the tank. As he poured, he saw Emily coaxing Jeff to drink some water. Jeff struggled, but managed to swallow some.
Once all the gas had been emptied into tanks, they hit the road. After a while Derrick’s voice came over the walkie. “We’re coming up on a small town. We’ll stop there for gas and medical help. Over.”
Matt hoped they could find both.
Chapter 18
Jessica
As they exited I-80 and headed toward the town, Jessica’s gaze shot in all directions. Wary about someone attacking them, she wished they didn’t have to stop at all. But they had to. Jeff needed help—help they couldn’t provide. And the others needed gas.
Sagebrush lined both sides of the road, stretching as far as the eye could see. They drove for nearly two miles before they reached the outskirts of town, and to Jessica’s pleased surprise, there was a gas station right there.
Following Derrick, they pulled into the station.
“Looks like they have diesel,” Matt said as he squinted at the pumps. “We can top off.”
“I need to pee,” Kayla said.
Jessica turned and smiled at her children. “We can all use a pit stop.”
There were only two pumps with two sides to each, so all four of the vehicles were able to stop next to a pump.
Matt shut off the engine and they all got out, including Cleo, who pranced around, happy to be out of the truck.
The mini-mart looked abandoned.
Matt stared at the pump in front of him. “Looks like it’s off.”
Jessica sighed. “Now what?”
Chris was opposite them. “If there’s no generator to run the pump, we’re out of luck.”
“Can I at least use the bathroom?” Kayla asked. He
r eyebrows rose. “Since you don’t want us using the one in the RV.”
“We need to save the water in the RV for drinking,” Jessica said, although she understood Kayla’s complaint. “If we can find water to wash down the RV toilet, we can use it.”
That seemed to brighten Kayla’s mood.
Jessica held back a laugh. The things that made her daughter happy now.
Jessica waited while the men hunted down a generator, but after five minutes they came back with bad news.
“No luck,” Matt said with a frown. “We’ll have to go farther into town and find another gas station.”
“And hope their gas pumps work,” Dylan added.
Matt ruffled Dylan’s hair. “Yep.”
“Hold on a second,” Amy said to Chris as she held her younger boy in her arms. “You were able to get inside the mini-mart, right?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah.”
Amy’s eyebrows rose. She glanced at Jessica. “Well, some of us would like to use the ladies’ room.”
“Oh,” Chris said with chagrined smile. “Right.”
Derrick and Matt kept watch while Chris escorted the rest of the group inside where they not only used the restrooms but gathered several gallons of bottled water.
“We can use it for drinking,” Jessica said to Kayla and Brooke as they walked back to the truck, “or in a pinch, we can use it for washing.”
A few minutes later they were back on the road, heading west through town.
Occasionally they saw someone outside watching them drive by, but the place was eerily quiet.
“I wonder how many people died here,” Brooke murmured.
Jessica didn’t want to think about the dead and dying. They were alive and that was all she wanted to focus on.
They passed several mom and pop restaurants and a couple of small motels. A railroad track ran alongside the road to their right. Eventually they reached the other side of town where they found another gas station, this one much larger than the first. It had multiple pumps, including pumps just for semi-trucks.
One man was standing at a pump, filling his car.
“This looks promising,” Matt murmured.
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