Lights Out In Vegas (Book 4): Line of Fire
Page 16
I turned on my feet.
“Not unless you want another black eye to complete the look,” I said.
I flashed him a small smile, and Steve returned it before withdrawing the keys from his pocket. Seeing him reach into his pocket made me check mine, the usual relief taking hold when I realized Dad’s medal was still back there.
“I’m driving,” I said.
“Come on,” said Steve. “I already know how she handles.”
“You’re a mess, bud,” said Kelly. “Only thing you’re doing is getting comfortable in the backseat.”
“Fine, fine.”
We climbed into the car, Steve lying in the back, Kelly taking shotgun, and me behind the wheel. I slipped in the keys and started the car, the powerful engine roaring to life.
Moments later we were back on the road, heading in the opposite direction of Lake Mead and Esperanza.
“Steve,” I said. “How you doing back there? And no jokes—I want to know for real.”
“The fucker could punch, I’ll give him that,” he said. “But I don’t feel like anything’s broken.”
As we drove, I caught sight of Kelly’s eyes on the rearview mirror, flicking up to it again and again.
“You okay over there?” I asked.
She shook her head, as if snapping out of her thoughts.
“I don’t know,” she said. “All those people back there. What’s going to happen to them?”
It was a good question.
“Hopefully the soldiers get things back under control, and then they appoint someone in charge who isn’t a total tyrant,” I said. “Things looked bad back there, but Esperanza could still come back.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I guess you’re right.”
I didn’t add what I thought next, which was that my scenario was about as hopeful as they came. We’d left right before a riot had broken out, and God knows what lengths the soldiers there would go to in order to keep order. Dozens and dozens, if not more, would be dead by this time tomorrow.
And a sick thought occurred to me as I drove, one that I hated to entertain: Had Mason been right?
Sure, the man had been a prick, and a murderer to boot. But he’d been right about Lambert—he never would have been able to make Esperanza what he’d wanted it to be. Mason was right that there simply weren’t enough resources to provide for every single person who arrived, and between that and the critical lack of manpower, things were eventually going to give.
But Mason’s short rule over the place had been the reason for the riots we’d only barely escaped from. His iron fist was the opposite of Lambert’s style, and neither one was likely to have worked in the long run.
What if civilization like that simply wasn’t possible any longer? It had only taken days after the pulse for society to descend into barbarism. I imagined that if another place like Esperanza were to be set up, then it’d only be a matter of time before word got out and refugees started flooding in. And then whoever happened to be in charge would be faced with some hard decisions.
I put it out of my mind as best I could, trying to enjoy the beauty of the sun rising in the rearview mirror, soft, orange desert light pouring over us.
“Hey, Justin,” said Steve.
“What’s up?”
I glanced back in the rearview mirror to see Steve laying back, his hands folded behind his head.
At the same time, Kelly popped open the glove compartment and searched for something, eventually finding a small package of tissues that she handed back to him. Steve took them and opened them and began wiping the still-wet blood from his face.
“We both started talking like Dad back there,” Steve said.
“We did.”
“Like, I didn’t even think about it. You starting saying the speech, and then I just went into it. It was weird. Like…”
He trailed off, and another glance in the rearview allowed me to see an expression of tight concentration on his face.
“Like…you know how they say when people die they come back and watch over you?”
“Sure,” I said. “Never really put much stock in the idea.”
“Me either,” he said. “But there, saying Dad’s words, knowing we were doing exactly what he would do in that position…it really, really felt like he was there with us. Watching. Proud.”
It was a nice thought, that was for sure.
“I think you’re right,” I said. “When we spoke those words and did what we did, for those few minutes he was with us.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah. I like that.”
More silence.
“We did the right thing, didn’t we?”
“We did.”
We continued on.
“Then…to New Mexico?” asked Kelly.
I’d barely even begun to process the fact that after all we’d been through we’d actually gotten what we wanted. We had a car, a full tank of gas, and nothing stopping us. At least for now.
“To New Mexico,” I said. “Nine hours or so of driving. Gonna have to stop for gas, but we’ll figure that out when we come to it.”
“I like that,” Kelly said with a smile.
With that, she reached over and took my hand, squeezing it softly and leaving it there.
“We’ll figure it out,” she said. “We always do, right?”
“Yeah,” I said with a smile, turning my hand over and giving her a squeeze of my own. “We always do.”
And our hands stayed like that. Steve closed his eyes in the back, looking ready to sleep the entire way there.
For now, we were safe. For now, we were together.
And as we drove under the light of the brilliant desert sun, I swore to keep it that way.
END OF BOOK 4
ALSO BY SEAN PATTEN:
LIGHTS OUT IN VEGAS
BOOK 1: ALL AT STAKE
BOOK 2: DOUBLE OR NOTHING
BOOK 3: FIGHTING CHANCE
SOUND OF SURVIVAL
BOOK 1: CHAOS FALLS
BOOK 2: FIGHT OR FLIGHT
BOOK 3: HOME FREE