by Sharon Dunn
She was in witness protection, which was maybe one step up from being on the run. He had a good life at The Stables, a settled life. He saw now how untenable a relationship with her would be. It didn’t matter that he loved her.
The thought of life without her sent a stab of pain through his chest. She did matter to him. A big piece of his life would be missing when she was gone.
The fog of sleep invaded his troubled thoughts and he nodded off where he sat. He jerked awake, not knowing if an hour or ten minutes had passed. It was still dark outside. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Something in the atmosphere had shifted, even though he couldn’t see or hear anything that alarmed him.
He rose to his feet. It was hard to see in the dark, but nothing looked amiss through the windows. He stepped out onto the rickety porch. The headlights seemed to come out of nowhere, suddenly appearing on the overgrown road.
Adrenaline coursed through him, and he rushed back inside to get Morgan.
“Wake up—they’re here.”
“What?” She still wasn’t coherent.
He pulled her to her feet. “Does this place have a back door?”
Now he could hear the rumbling of the diesel engine.
Outside, truck doors slammed and voices grew louder.
“I think it’s this way.” Morgan ran through the dark house, bumping into a wall.
He grabbed her hand so he wouldn’t lose her in the dark.
The thugs’ footsteps pounded on the floorboards as one barked orders at the other.
“It’s around here somewhere,” she whispered. She felt along the wall and slipped into yet another room. He saw the doorway before she did. He pulled her through it.
Footsteps pounded behind them as they headed toward an open field. He looked over his shoulder where lights shone. A rifle shot zinged through the air, missing them by quite a bit. At least the darkness provided some cover.
She stumbled and fell. “My foot’s caught.” Panic filled her voice.
He dropped to the ground, unable to see what she’d gotten tangled up in. It looked like wire that was anchored in place, maybe part of an old fence. His hand wrapped around her foot and he tried to pry the wire apart.
Behind them, lights bobbed across the field.
“Go without me,” she said. “This is not your fight. We both don’t have to die.”
This was his fight because he cared about what happened to her. “I’m not leaving you.” He spoke through clenched teeth as he pulled harder on the wires.
The sound of the two men shouting pressed on them. The pursuers spread farther apart, waving the flashlights in broad arcs. His arm muscles strained as he pulled hard on the wire that surrounded her foot.
“There, I think I can get out,” she said.
One of the pursuers was thirty yards from them and closing in fast. They’d been spotted.
He helped her to her feet and they ran. The terrain changed as they came to a grassy field with some bushes. The man behind them was close enough that they could hear his footsteps.
Morgan had slowed down. She must have hurt her ankle. He looked over his shoulder just as the thug grabbed her. She screamed as he put his hands around her neck.
Alex landed a hard left hook to the man’s jaw and another to his stomach. The thug reeled backward, falling on the ground on his behind. The man groaned and then reached inside his coat, probably for his gun.
Alex felt a surge of fear-driven strength as he grabbed Morgan’s hand and bolted. Darkness still provided cover. That was probably why the thug had tried to catch up with them in the first place instead of shooting in the dark with a handgun that didn’t have much range. Morgan lagged behind, favoring one foot. He didn’t let go of her hand. He pulled her ahead of him just as a shot was fired.
He shielded her from the thug until he was sure they had shaken him. The man was big and muscular but not much of a runner. They might be able to stay ahead of him. The other man, the one with the rifle, was younger and in better shape. Hopefully he had gone so far in the wrong direction that he wouldn’t ever catch up.
They came out on a dirt road with a barbwire fence running alongside it. This road looked used, but it was unlikely anyone would be passing this way at this time of night.
Morgan stopped on the road, out of breath and panting. “Should we follow it and see if it leads us to a house?”
Alex glanced around. No sign of the bobbing flashlights anywhere. “Let’s stay off on the side there by that fence. We won’t be so visible.”
The road stretched out before him. Did it matter which way they went? He picked a direction and started walking. Morgan followed.
Hours later, the sky turned from black to charcoal. Dawn could not be far off. He prayed they would make it to see the sunrise.
They heard a distant rumble of a vehicle. Headlights appeared around the bend.
“Get down just in case it’s them.” He pulled her toward the edge of the road.
She plunged down in the grass. “But what if it’s someone who can help us?”
The vehicle drew closer. He lay down in the grass beside her, peering over the top of the road. “It’s not a chance I’m willing to take. I’ll try to figure out what it is before it passes us.” The headlights were higher off the ground, like a truck’s.
The chances of a vehicle that wasn’t their pursuers going by here at this time of the morning was slim. The vehicle was traveling at not more than twenty miles an hour.
The seconds ticked by. The outline of the car became clearer. It looked more like an SUV than a truck. The car crept past them.
Alex jumped up to the road and waved his arms, running toward the car. It slowed and then stopped. A dark figure stepped out onto the road.
Morgan’s footsteps sounded behind him.
“What on earth are you folks doing out here in the middle of the night?”
Alex held out his hand for the man to shake. “It’s a long story, sir, but if you could take us somewhere where we could call...a friend. Or if you have a phone we could borrow.”
“Sure, I can do that. I don’t have one of those cell phones with me. I’m sure we can find an all-night diner or something in the little town up ahead.”
He could see the man more clearly now, short hair, middle-aged. It wasn’t anyone he knew. He turned toward Morgan. “You want to take the front seat?”
Her answer was slow in coming. “Why don’t we sit together in the back?”
“Sure.” She was still pretty shaken up from their near-death experience. Her sitting so close stirred up a mixture of negative and positive emotions. As they slipped into the backseat, he wondered why she had hesitated in answering.
Had she seen something about this guy that set off alarm bells for her?
* * *
Morgan only half listened to the conversation between Alex and their rescuer. Maybe she’d been running for too long and been caught off guard one too many times, but something about this driver felt wrong to her.
The license plates were from out of state. That in itself didn’t make the man guilty. It seemed odd, though, that someone not from here would be driving around in the predawn hours.
“So what brings you to this neck of the woods?” Alex asked. His hands slipped over hers. She didn’t blame him if he was still angry at her, but she was grateful for the calming effect of his touch.
“Up here for a funeral, sad to say. Drove all night,” said the man.
A logical explanation, but she still couldn’t let go of her suspicions.
In the predawn light, plowed fields and cows came into view. She had no idea where they were. She didn’t know this area at all. “Where are you taking us?”
“I’m thinking there is a little gas station up the road a pi
ece, if memory serves. Haven’t been back to these parts in some time.”
“What is the gas station called?” Alex asked.
“Don’t remember the name of it. Like I said, it’s been a long time since I was back here.”
The tone of Alex’s voice had changed and his back stiffened. Was he growing suspicious, too? “Isn’t this Gregson’s Road?”
“I’m not familiar with the names around here. It seems that I remember a crossroads up here with a gas station.” The man’s voice remained steady despite the pressing questions. “That’s all I know.”
They drove past a cluster of trees. The man slowed and pulled over to the shoulder.
Morgan tensed and glanced in Alex’s direction.
“You folks will have to excuse me for a moment. That thirty-two ounce soda I had a while back is catching up with me.”
The man pushed the door open and disappeared behind some trees.
Morgan let out her breath. “I can’t help myself. I’m just really paranoid about who this guy is.”
“Me, too. He seems aboveboard but...” Alex shook his head. “After yesterday, it’s hard to believe anyone could be a nice person.” He pushed the door open and tilted his head in the direction the man had disappeared. “I’m going to stretch my legs. You might want to get out, too.”
Was Alex thinking that they might need to run? Morgan scooted across the seat and stood beside Alex. “Why did you ask him if we were on Gregson’s Road?”
“There is no Gregson’s Road. I thought maybe I could trip him up,” Alex said.
“Honestly, he hasn’t done or said anything—”
He grabbed her hand, his eyes growing wide. “Listen.”
The faint noise of a one-sided conversation drifted over from the trees where the man had disappeared. The man had said he didn’t have a cell phone. She could hear only bits and pieces of the conversation like “deliver them” and “finish the job.” And then she heard the name Josef.
Her fear revved into overdrive. “He said he didn’t have a cell phone. We have to get out of here.”
Alex opened the driver’s door. “He took the keys.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go. Come on.”
They ran up the road. The man emerged from the trees and raced toward his car. Alex veered off the road just as the man started up his car. The car gained speed. There was no cover around them, only an open field.
The car swerved off the road and charged toward them, slowed only by the plowed furrows.
“You keep going.” Alex shouted as he slowed down. He kneeled to pick something off the ground as the car drew closer.
Morgan sprinted. She glanced over her shoulder as the car closed in on Alex. He lifted his hand and threw something at the windshield. The car slowed and Alex ran toward it. Though it was still moving, he yanked open the driver’s door and pummeled the driver as he ran alongside the car. The car hit a stump and stopped.
Morgan ran toward the fight as Alex pulled the man out of the car and hit him hard across the jaw. The man crumpled to the ground. He was conscious but disoriented. Alex leaned down and pulled the handgun out of the man’s waistband.
Alex didn’t need to tell her what to do. She got into the passenger side as he stepped over the thug and slipped behind the steering wheel.
Alex turned the key in the ignition. The car churned but didn’t turn over.
The thug on the ground was starting to push himself to his feet.
“Try again.” This car was their only hope. No doubt, the man had phoned Josef and his friend who had chased them earlier. They would be on their way to finish them off.
Alex turned the key in the ignition. The engine started up though it still sputtered. Morgan screamed as the thug made his way to her side of the car.
Alex shifted into Reverse. Morgan hit the door lock just as the man reached for the outside handle. The thug plastered his face to the window and pounded with his fists.
“Hope this car makes it. Something might have been damaged in the crash.” Alex turned the wheel and pressed the accelerator again.
The man picked up a rock and slammed it against Morgan’s window. Morgan edged toward Alex, whose gaze darted everywhere as he pressed the accelerator a second time. The car made a screeching sound but didn’t move.
The man continued to pound on the window, cracking it. Morgan screamed and leaned closer to Alex as broken glass flew across the seat. The man reached in to open the car door.
Alex picked up the gun where he had placed it on the dashboard and pointed it at the man.
The man stepped back, holding up his hands. “Please, Josef paid me to find you guys. I’m not a killer.” He took another step back. “And this is not worth dying for.”
“Just let us go then.” Alex handed the gun over to Morgan. “Keep this pointed at him.”
Alex tried to restart the car. This time the engine turned over. Alex circled around the man and eased the car onto the road. The engine noises indicated that the car was not running at a hundred percent. The man in the field grew smaller as Alex drove.
Morgan struggled to catch her breath. “That guy probably told Josef and his helper where we are when he made that call.”
Alex stared at the road ahead. “Yeah, and he was taking us to them. We could be driving straight toward Josef.”
She rested her forehead in her palm as panic coiled around her and squeezed the breath from her lungs. “We didn’t take his cell phone. He’ll call Josef, tell him we got away and what direction we’re headed.”
Alex shook his head and pounded a fist against the steering wheel. “We could have used that cell phone, too.”
He checked the rearview mirror. They both knew it was too late and too dangerous to go back for the phone.
As the car inched up the road, she stared through the windshield, wondering how long they had before Josef tracked them down.
EIGHTEEN
Alex wasn’t sure what was damaged, but the SUV had a top speed of thirty. They’d passed by fields and barns and cows and still found no sign of civilization. The rising sun, still low on the horizon, warmed the car.
“There,” said Morgan. She pointed across the field to a bunch of trees surrounding a house. At last. He turned off on the long straight road. A truck and car were parked outside the brick farmhouse. Light glowed in the kitchen but the other windows were dark.
A bike and two tricycles were propped against the porch and a swing set resided in the side yard.
“Small children live here.” Morgan’s voice was barely above a whisper and filled with anxiety.
He could guess at what she was thinking. Would the people who were after her harm a family to get to her? “These people who can help you can get here pretty fast, right?”
“I don’t know. I assume they’ve been looking for me.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “We’re miles from The Stables, though.”
The Stables. His job there felt like it had existed a lifetime ago. What was going to happen now? The law enforcement people would whisk Morgan away, and he would never see her again. And he would go back to what? A much emptier life.
He knocked on the door. A woman came to the door and opened it. Her blond hair was pulled up in a careless ponytail and a toddler rested on her hip. She stared at them. Her expression was neither hostile nor welcoming. She was probably wondering what two ragged-looking strangers in a beat-up car were doing in her yard so early in the morning.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you, but we...” He hesitated as his thoughts raced. What plausible explanation could he offer that wouldn’t give Morgan away?
Morgan stepped forward. “Our car is on its last legs. It’s not running well. If we could borrow your phone, we can call a friend to come and get us.”
She�
��d had a little more practice in maintaining a cover story.
The woman bounced the toddler and studied them from head to toe. They must look pretty bad after their all-night run and two fights. “Most people have cell phones these days.”
“Please, you can bring the phone out to the porch. We won’t bother you. I understand why this must look strange.” Morgan sounded as though she were near tears.
The woman’s expression softened. “You can come in.” She tilted her head. “My husband’s just over there by the barn.”
The comment was designed to let them know she hadn’t totally let her suspicions go. Her husband would come to her rescue if needed. They followed the woman into the brightly lit kitchen, where she placed the toddler in a high chair. “Phone’s in the living room.” She spoke without drawing her attention away from the baby.
The living room was dimly lit. Only a single floor lamp was turned on. Morgan picked up the phone and wandered toward a dark corner.
After all they’d been through, she was still being secretive. She was probably right. The less Alex knew, the better. He assumed the U.S. Marshals would let him go back to his old life. The only problem was he was having a hard time picturing himself there without Morgan.
By this afternoon, she’d be halfway across the country with a new name.
Still holding the phone, Morgan wandered into the kitchen to ask the woman her exact address.
A few minutes later, she hung up the phone and turned to face him. “They can be here in half an hour. Their GPS shows a field not too far away from here with and an old barn The barn is falling down and looks like it hasn’t been used in years they said.”
“At least let me go with you to make sure you’re safely in custody. After that, I can probably get that car to a place where a friend can come get me.”
