by Tanya Stowe
No one on a fun weekend would be racing their engines and risking an accident in the dark.
A freezing blast hit Drina in the face when Cal pulled the rock away from the door. If not for the tug of his hand, she might have tumbled back into the booth.
The moon had disappeared behind a cover of black, billowy storm clouds. Drina raced across the asphalt road with Cal. Icy wind pierced through her jacket as they slip-slid down the bank and onto the quad.
Her heart skipped a beat as Cal hit the ignition. The motor ground without turning over. He turned the handle twice, pumping the gas, and still the engine wouldn’t ignite.
“Hop off!” Cal yelled over the whistling gusts. He pushed the quad out from the protection of the boulders and rocked it back and forth.
“It’s got plenty of gas. That’s not the problem.” He scooted back on and pumped the gas handle again.
Drina shifted from foot to foot and looked down the dimly lit streambed. She couldn’t see anything, but that meant nothing. The men on those quads could be right around the corner, hidden in the dark.
“Please. Please. Let it start.”
The whispered words were torn from her lips and lost in the wind...but the engine turned over and revved. Wincing with relief, she climbed on the back and Cal gunned the gas, spraying sand behind them as he took off upstream.
He said something but she couldn’t make it out over the wailing wind. Something about headlights. He must have said he didn’t want to risk turning them on. She looked behind again but saw only inky blackness. The men following them must be traveling without lights, too, but she heard the ever-increasing hum of their engines.
Cal guided the quad steadily down the riverbed, swerving to avoid rocks and tree limbs, some half-buried in the sand. He hit a deep cleft and almost bounced Drina off the back. Suppressing a grimace of pain as her bottom bounced on the metal bar at the back, she pulled herself forward and held on tighter.
She couldn’t look back now without turning and loosening her hold, but she could see ahead. High in the mountains above, lightning flashed across the ebony sky, followed by the boom of thunder.
The wind faded momentarily and Drina heard Cal counting between the streaks of lightning and cannon-like thunder.
“That storm is closer than it looks.”
Drina nodded. The air vibrated with the overwhelming power of the thunder. Even the boulders seemed to shiver with each clap. And in the momentary silence after each boom, they heard the engines close behind them.
The higher they climbed, the larger the rocks in the streambed became. Cal was having a hard time guiding the quad between them. Drina slid from one side to the other and bounced until her teeth rattled. She clung to Cal, wishing they could find a path out of the ravine, but the sides were steep and lined with boulders.
Then Cal hit a deep rivulet and the quad came to a dead stop, nearly toppling both of them over the handlebars.
Cal was off in a flash. “Help me rock it out.”
Drina climbed behind and tried to push the big quad. She couldn’t even budge it.
“We have to work together. On my count. One...two...three...pull.”
Her feet slid out behind her. Her backpack was tugging her off balance. She slid it off her shoulders and hooked it on the seat.
“Ready?”
She nodded. Cal counted. This time the quad rocked. “Again, Drina. We’re getting it.”
“One...two...”
Another sound rose over the wind, halting Cal midcount. They looked around.
“What is that?”
Cal didn’t answer. He stood still, poised.
The noise came from upriver. It sounded closer and whooshed...like water.
“It’s a flash flood. We have to get out of this streambed. Now!” Cal ran toward the boulder-strewed incline. Drina froze, her gaze fixed on the quad, their only means of escape.
“Leave it, Drina. Run!”
She didn’t move.
Cal lunged back and grabbed her hand just as a ten-foot wave of muddy brown water surged around the corner. As Cal dragged her toward the bank, Drina looked behind. She’d left her backpack on the seat of the quad.
She couldn’t risk letting it wash downriver straight into the hands of the men following them. Jerking free, she ran back for it.
Drina’s feet skidded in the sand. The wave was thirty feet away, traveling with the force of a train. She jerked the backpack loose and bolted for the side of the river.
Already halfway up the riverbank, Cal motioned her to hurry. She could see his lips moving, but she couldn’t hear over the roaring water.
He stretched out his hand. With one last leap, she jumped toward the bank. A warm, strong grasp pulled her up just as the edge of the wave swept her feet out from beneath her. She screamed as her body pulled downstream along with the rush of mud and water. If not for Cal’s grip on her hand...
A frantic peek over her shoulder revealed their quad, tumbling end over end down the riverbed.
Cal braced his feet and gave another hearty tug.
“Give me your other hand.”
She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, as the freezing water tore at her shoes, trying to pull her down into the swirling miasma. But she shook her head. No way was she letting go of her computer.
Cal made a frustrated sound and jerked her upward. Drina’s arm felt like it might come out of its socket, but she wouldn’t let go of the laptop.
She felt a rock beneath her foot and pushed, surging upward. Cal cupped beneath her armpits and pulled her all the way up and over his body, completely out of the water. She lay on top of him, both of them gasping.
At last, Cal released her, but Drina wasn’t ready to let go. She gripped his jacket with her now-free hand and buried her face against his chest. He was so warm. So strong. So safe.
So angry. She could feel it in the taut tension of his body. He didn’t speak for a long while. When he did, fury colored his tone an angry red.
“That was stupid, Drina. Those plans are not more valuable than your life.”
She looked up. His eyes flashed blue silver like lightning. His jaw was tight, and a pulse throbbed on one side of his neck. He was furious and all she wanted to do was bury her face in the curve of his neck and feel life beating through him.
But her plans were more important than her life. Her plans for that weapon would save so many lives, lives much more valuable than hers. But she didn’t say the words out loud. Didn’t speak...couldn’t speak at all. After a few moments he gripped her arms and rolled her to the side.
Cold emptiness washed over her. All she wanted was to crawl back into the warm safety of his arms. But the look on his face stopped her.
Jerking the backpack out of her hands, he opened it, pulled out her powered-down cell phone, the money and the computer, then tossed the backpack into the river.
She reached for it. “Hey! What are you doing?”
Cal held her back with an extended arm. “I should have left it on the floor of the hut. They probably planted a tracker somewhere inside while you were unconscious. Carter wouldn’t have taken a chance on losing the computer or the money. He would have given himself a safety net, a way to track it.”
Taut, frustrated tension filled his tone. But Drina couldn’t tell if it was directed toward himself or her. Either way, she had no intention of pushing him more. She sealed her lips shut even though her wallet, computer power cord and favorite lip balm were floating away on the river of muddy water.
An angry Cal was impressive...kind of like the storm. His low tone made her more aware than shouting. His silent anger should have frightened her but in some crazy way it had the opposite effect. She was drawn to it. He vibrated with power like a force of nature. She wanted to grasp the arm pressed against her waist, to feel that taut, tense strength, but she also feare
d the explosion that type of gesture might bring.
Just hours ago that same power had been unleashed and a man had died because of Cal’s actions. Even though his efforts had saved her life, Drina couldn’t quite reconcile herself to the death. Who she was and everything she did was about saving lives. Taking one—or watching one being taken—rattled her beyond words...and so did the man who had done the killing.
Subdued by her own tumultuous thoughts and reactions, she leaned back on the rock and tried to slow her breathing. Cal did the same but all too soon, he rose.
* * *
Cal stuffed the banded money into his pockets. “We need to get going. If we made it out of the riverbed, those men probably did, too.”
Without looking at her, he strode up and over the edge of the rocky bank. He didn’t look back but he heard her climb to her feet and follow. Each time she took a step her soaked-through shoes and socks squished. Sandy grit had to be grinding beneath her heel and the sides of her shoes.
He waited at the top but still didn’t look at her. One glance at her face, and he might unleash all of his pent-up frustration. He’d destroyed his mission and risked his own life to save hers, and in almost the next moment, she chose to jump in front of a raging flash flood. The woman was beyond his comprehension. He could barely contain his rage. So he kept his gaze focused on the hill in front of them. Only when Drina came up beside him, shoes squishing with each step, did he look down.
“You’re going to have blisters in minutes.” He strode to a nearby rock and sat down. “Take off your socks and wear mine. Your shoes will soak through but at least it will buy us some time. Hopefully we can reach the campground and I’ll decide what to do then.”
Drina dropped to a nearby rock. “What do you mean, decide what to do? Can’t we just ask one of the campers to help us?”
He chanced a glance at her then. Her teeth chattered and she shivered. Cal clamped his jaw tighter, determined not to let her discomfort ease his anger.
“You don’t know Carter and those men. No one has ever been able to identify them because they don’t leave behind any witnesses...ever. If we ask for help, we’re risking that person’s life, too. It’s better just to work on our own.”
“B-but what can we do without the quad?”
She stripped off her shoes and socks, then rolled up her jeans. The pants twisted into a narrow, wet band just below her knees.
Cal tossed her his socks. She caught them midair and quickly slid them over her dainty feet. Angry with himself for noticing, he gritted his teeth and looked away.
“I’ll figure something out.” It would be hard to do considering the fact that he wanted to strangle her. Anger and attraction warred inside him although he didn’t understand how he could be attracted to her. She didn’t even like him. But he would put both emotions aside and figure out their next move. He had to.
Sliding bare feet into his shoes, he stalked away. Moments later Drina followed him.
They crested the hill and Cal paused. A valley maybe ten miles wide lay beneath them. Below, they could just make out the white shapes of various types of campers gathered in four or five groupings across the expanse. Cal spotted large motor homes, trucks and trailers with ramps at the back.
“I’ve never seen those.” Drina pointed to the closest grouping with several of the trailers. “What are they?”
“They’re called toy haulers. They’re designed to provide accommodations for eating and sleeping in the front and an empty back end to load with ATVs.”
Cal headed down the hill, straight for the closest caravan of toy haulers. He didn’t look back but he sensed Drina close behind. The grouped vehicles couldn’t have been more than three or four miles away. Still, by the time they reached the security of some nearby rock covering, daylight had turned the eastern sky gray.
Cal motioned for Drina to sit. She didn’t hesitate—just placed her back against the boulder, slid all the way down, folded her knees up and rested her head against the roll of wet jeans on her knees. He caught a glimpse of her wrists. They were cut and irritated from the zip ties. He suspected she was losing it fast. If she didn’t get some more substantial food and rest soon...
He had to resist the urge to pull her close and shore up her sagging strength. What was it about this woman that triggered all of his protective instincts? She didn’t want his help—and didn’t deserve it, after ignoring all of the safeguards he and everyone else had tried to put in place—but he couldn’t seem to resist the urge to shelter her. If he wasn’t careful those urges would get them both killed.
Besides, he had a job to do. He had to stop the boss and his men. Buddy and too many other people had already lost their lives to this gang. Cal had penetrated further into the group than anyone else. He was close...within reach of discovering the boss’s identity. He absolutely could not let these mixed-up feelings distract him. Gritting his teeth, he focused on the closest toy hauler.
Drina lifted her head from her knees. “Did you come up with a plan yet?”
“Shhh...”
Eyes wide, Drina scrambled to her feet to look over the rock. A door opened with a squeak. A man with jeans and a sweatshirt exited. In the gray light, he walked to the back of the trailer, released the locks and lowered the back-end ramp, revealing a large quad. Along the front wall of the space was a sink, a small table and a bed.
Another man came out of a nearby trailer and joined the first. Cal and Drina were close enough to hear the men’s quiet, sunrise conversation.
“Still going home early, Jake?”
“Yeah. No point in fighting a bad carburetor and the rain. I can’t ride and I don’t expect we’ll be spending much time around the campfire with this weather.”
The other man chuckled. “True. But you’re going to miss some epic mud rides.”
Jake shook his head. “I worked on that carburetor till almost two last night without success. But if I leave early enough, I might be able to get my quad in to Sharkey’s Repair before noon. Hopefully he’ll have it back to me in time to ride next weekend.”
“Good idea. Want me to help you load up?”
“Thanks.”
The two men gathered some lawn chairs and red plastic gas cans. Within a few minutes Jake pushed up the ramp and locked it.
“The wife’s got a pot of coffee on the stove. Can I offer you a cup for the road?”
“Sounds great. Let me get my travel mug.” Jake entered the door of the trailer on the side facing Cal and Drina. After a few minutes he came back out, locked the door and checked it.
Cal pointed to a large creosote bush about twenty feet away. “Do you see that covering?”
Drina nodded.
“When I signal, stay low, move as quietly as possible and make a run for it.”
He waited until Jake rounded the corner of his trailer and disappeared from view.
“Go.” Cal’s harsh whisper sent adrenaline pumping through his limbs. His legs felt like lead and he almost tripped twice as he ducked and ran, swerving around clumps of tumbleweeds and rocks. When he reached the shelter of the trailer, he glanced back. Where was Drina?
Panic made a hot dash through his bloodstream, and his gaze shot around the clearing. She was hunched behind a nearby bush. Mentally kicking himself for wasting time looking for her, he pulled his tools out of his pocket and began to work the lock.
The handle turned and the door opened. Drina gasped. One finger against his lips, Cal motioned her forward. She ducked again and ran toward the trailer. Fortunately, the large toy hauler blocked them from the view of the other campers.
Cal grasped her elbow. “Move carefully. Don’t rock the trailer with heavy steps.”
She nodded, then gingerly made her way in. Cal eased the door closed and motioned to the table booth directly across from them. He pointed to the floor.
“Bra
ce yourself. It’ll be a bumpy ride. Don’t make any sudden movements or sounds.”
Drina nodded again.
In a few moments Jake and his friend approached the trailer, their voices easily understood in the quiet morning.
Drina caught her breath when they stopped right outside the door. Cal grasped her arm and gave a shake of his head.
“Drive safe, buddy. See you Monday.”
“Yeah. Enjoy some of that mud for me.”
The other man laughed and then the truck door opened and the engine roared to life. Drina breathed a sigh of relief, then sucked it back in when the trailer jerked forward. She bounced a foot into the air and landed with a thump.
They both froze, waiting and listening.
Apparently, Jake expected some loud bumps as his toy hauler crossed the rough desert ground because he didn’t stop, even though he couldn’t have missed the noise. Cal and Drina bounced and banged for what seemed like hours but was probably only twenty minutes or so. At last Jake pulled onto a fairly smooth dirt road for another few miles before they hit asphalt and the ride smoothed out even more.
Cal rose and slid into the booth, his movements slow and careful. He eased the curtain slightly open and looked out, then slapped it shut.
“What is it?”
He slid down beside her to whisper. “We’re passing the tollbooth where we stopped last night. Carter’s black SUV is parked by the stream’s edge.”
“Did you see him?”
“No. No one’s in sight, thankfully, or they might have seen me moving the curtain. I guarantee there’ll be another vehicle parked at the intersection of the road and the highway.”
The road curved again, and Drina slid to the side of the booth. She winced and one hand flew to the other arm. Relenting, Cal held her steady with an arm around her shoulder. He tried not to notice how snugly she fit next to him, like she belonged there.
“The motion will ease up once we hit the highway.” And as soon as it does, you’re going back to your side of the bench.
“Do you have any idea where we’re headed?”
He shook his head. “Not a clue, but anywhere away from here is good.”