Fatal Vendetta

by Sharon Dunn

  More footsteps. The trunk clicked open. Zach was momentarily paralyzed by the flood of light to his eyes. Craig reached for the jack. Zach sat upright and pushed the jack hard against Craig’s chest, causing him to take a step back.

  Seeing Craig made Zach’s anger shift into overdrive. This was the man who had ruined Elizabeth’s life and made it impossible for her to trust. He jumped to his feet still standing in the trunk. He threw the jack at Craig and leaped on him. He punched Craig over and over.

  The sound of a car rolling forward drew his attention. The car must have been in Neutral. Now he saw that Elizabeth was behind the wheel—likely unconscious or tied in place, otherwise she would have escaped. He jumped off Craig and ran after the car as it headed toward the deep waters of the lake.

  The car picked up speed rolling downhill. Zach reached out for the handle of the driver’s-side door just as the front end of the car hit the water. The door swung open. It took only seconds before the whole car was in the lake and sinking. He dove underwater. His arms reached out for Elizabeth, but he couldn’t see clearly. The entire car was submerged. He grabbed hold of her, clawing at the tape that bound her to the steering wheel until he pulled her free. They swam to the surface.

  His head burst through the water. He gasped for air. Holding Elizabeth, he swam away from where Craig lay on the ground, immobilized from the pummeling Zach had given him. He dragged Elizabeth to a sandbar. Craig turned over on his side and pushed himself to his feet.

  Elizabeth sputtered and opened her eyes.

  Zach glanced over his shoulder. Though he swayed once he was on his feet, Craig made his way toward them.

  “Can you get up?” Zach whispered to Elizabeth.

  She nodded.

  He reached out a hand pulling her to her feet. Craig had recovered enough that he was trotting toward them.

  Elizabeth was still impeded by the burn on her leg. Nearly drowning had probably stolen some of her strength, too. But she stood tall at his side, clearly determined not to back down.

  It was two against one. He wasn’t sure what Craig was thinking.

  Craig drew close to them and slowed down. He pulled a gun from his jacket pocket.

  The first shot nipped at their heels as they turned to run. This was not the tranquilizer gun he’d used before. Maybe Craig had given up on making their deaths look like an accident. It meant he was getting desperate. They ran through the trees and up to the road. When Zach looked over his shoulder, he didn’t see Craig. That didn’t mean they were in the clear.

  They ran, not sure where they were headed. The road turned into a two track. As they rounded a curve, the gray, slanted buildings of a ghost town came into view. Most of the edifices were falling down, roofs caved in. Another gunshot cracked the air around them. Zach still couldn’t see Craig. The shot had come from the tree line above them. He pulled Elizabeth in the opposite direction toward a cabin with a sod roof. They slipped around the back of the cabin.

  Both of them pressed against the weathered wood, breathing heavily. Zach pointed to a barnlike structure. The cabin would obstruct Craig’s view, so he wouldn’t know which building they’d run into next.

  They burst across the overgrown grass and dashed into the creaking structure.

  “There has to be a back way out.” He turned slightly, seeing a flash of movement through the glassless window. Craig had made his way into the ghost town and was probably searching all the buildings near the sod roof cabin.

  They had only a few minutes on him.

  She ran through the structure to a second room. She turned to him, shaking her head.

  “Up to the loft.” He was already at the ladder, which did not look that sturdy.

  “We’ll be trapped.”

  “Lofts usually have an opening for tossing out hay bales.” Zach said. He hoped he was right. He grabbed a sturdy stick just in case they had to fight Craig off.

  She hurried up the ladder. One of the rungs snapped, but she didn’t cry out. He saw another flash of movement. Craig was getting closer.

  He made his way up the ladder. Another rung broke, this one causing him to slip down. She reached out her hand to him, pulling him up so he could grasp the edge of the loft and hoist himself up the rest of the way.

  They hurried toward the loft opening. The first shot must have come from outside the barn. It hit a wall not too far from them.

  It was a bit of a leap from the loft opening to the hard dirt. Both of them landed on their feet and took off running. More gunshots came as they made their way toward a rocky outcropping.

  They zigzagged through the labyrinth of rocks up the hillside. Craig fired off several shots. Rocks cascaded over each other.

  They sprinted as the rocks thinned out. Zach felt a sting through his shoulder. He knew he’d been hit. Adrenaline masked much of the pain, but the bullet would debilitate him in a matter of minutes.

  They were in the middle of nowhere. There was no way to call for help. How were they ever going to get out of this alive?

  EIGHTEEN

  Elizabeth slowed as Zach lagged behind her. She turned to face him. Even in the dusky light, she could see that his face was whiter than rice.

  She shook her head, wondering what was going on.

  He gasped for air. “It’s nothing. Let’s keep going.”

  Her hand fluttered to her mouth when she saw the bloodstain on his shoulder. “You’ve been shot.”

  “It just a nick. I’ll be fine.” He took off running ahead of her but quickly slowed down.

  She came up beside him and placed his arm over her shoulders.

  “We can’t outrun him. We’ve got to find a place to hide.” She could tell that Zach was growing weaker by the second. He leaned over more as they made their way through the thick brush.

  She recognized the cluster of tall trees that grew along the creek bed. “We’re not far from the trailer.”

  “It’ll be burned out.” Zach’s voice filled with anguish.

  “It was metal. Maybe it didn’t burn to the ground. There might be something around there we can use.”

  She wrapped her arm around his waist and held him up. When she craned her neck, Craig was nowhere in sight. They had gotten enough of a lead that Craig would have to spend valuable time trying to figure out which way they’d gone.

  Zach leaned against her even more. “Okay, I guess the trailer is our best option.”

  The trees gave way to open ground, and she saw the smoldering trailer in the distance. As she had predicted, it was only partially burned. As they approached, she directed Zach to a lawn chair by a fire pit.

  The knob of the trailer door was still hot to the touch. She grabbed leaves to wrap around it, but found that it was still locked.

  Zach slumped in the chair. She ran around to the window where they’d escaped. She grabbed a second lawn chair and hoisted herself up. The entire trailer smelled of smoke and burnt plastic. She coughed. The kitchen area was pretty blackened.

  Some years ago, she’d done a story on treating a gunshot wound after a hunter had accidently been shot by his hunting partner. If the bullet was lodged in his skin, it could come out later. The most important thing was to stop the bleeding and keep Zach from going into shock. She found a clean washcloth and some antiseptic in the tiny bathroom.

  The upper kitchen cupboards were largely untouched by the fire. She grabbed some food and a sharp knife and stuffed it all into her pockets before climbing back out the window. Zach was conscious, though he was still very pale.

  She cut away the cloth around the bloody area.

  Zach angled his neck. “The bullet isn’t too deep.”

  She knew about bullet wounds in theory. He knew about them in practice. “That’s good, I suppose.” She placed the washcloth where the blood flow
ed, applying pressure.

  Zach winced.

  “Sorry,” she said. “Let’s hide out in those trees so you can rest.” She held out a hand for him to take. “Can you use your hand to keep pressure on the wound?”

  He nodded, sucking in air through his teeth. Anxiety pummeled her thoughts. She had a feeling he was in way more pain than he was letting on. She led him back through the trees until they were some distance from the trailer though she had a view of it.

  Zach slumped to the ground. Elizabeth gathered some tree boughs and helped him lay down.

  “Rest for a while.” She ripped open the package of crackers she’d found and handed him a few. “Eat. It will help you get your strength up.”

  As night came on, she kept vigil watching for Craig.

  It looked like the trailer fire may have burned out before it was noticed. That meant no one was coming, and they were on their own to get off the mountain alive.

  As the sky grew darker, she heard Zach’s breathing deepen. He’d fallen asleep. She wondered how long they dared to wait before moving again. Sooner or later by process of elimination, Craig would figure out which way they’d gone, but Zach needed to get his strength back.

  She watched the shadows as the sky turned from gray to charcoal. With the cover of night, maybe they had a fighting chance.

  She heard a noise off to the side of her somewhere in the trees. Zach sat up, as well. Though she could not see clearly, she thought she saw a dark figure moving toward the trailer. Then a small light came on. The kind of flashlight that was on a cell phone.

  Zach leaned close to her ear and whispered. “We should go.”

  They circled back through the trees, and came out on the road when they were out of view of the trailer. Craig would expect them to follow the road...but the other option was getting lost in the woods. She only hoped they had enough of a head start to avoid another run-in with Craig and his gun. They were both injured and moving slowly. This time, they might not survive.

  As much as possible, they used the trees and brush close to the road as cover. The darkness and the need to step carefully slowed them down. Zach stopped to rest, leaning against a tree and looking out on the road.

  The effort at moving clearly was draining him of strength. “How is the shoulder?”

  “It hurts and I can’t lift my arm very high.”

  If Zach was willing to admit that much, then the pain must be horrible. He needed medical attention and soon. It was at least an hour’s drive up the mountain to Kenny’s trailer. How long would it take them to walk it?

  She heard the sound of a car engine approaching.

  “I can’t tell if the car is coming up the mountain or down.”

  Zach tugged on her shirt and pulled her back toward the trees. “Let’s just watch.”

  Headlights came into view headed up the mountain.

  They jumped out on the road and waved the car down. The car sped past but stopped at twenty feet up the road.

  She ran toward the car. The man rolled down the window.

  “What on earth,” he said.

  She couldn’t see the man’s face clearly. “Please, my friend has been shot. We could use your help. I know you’re headed up the mountain, but would you mind turning around?”

  “No problem, hop in. I’ll take you down. A friend in need and all that.”

  She ran to the edge of the road and waved Zach over. Zach stumbled out of the trees as the man got turned around, then both of them piled into the backseat.

  Elizabeth took in a breath and stared at the back of the man’s head. “So why were you headed up the mountain at this hour?”

  “A neighbor at the base of the mountain reported seeing a fire earlier. Thought I’d go up and check it out.”

  “At this hour?” said Zach, his voice laced with suspicion.

  “Had a busy day. This is the first chance I had to get away.”

  She understood Zach’s suspicion. Craig had already enlisted one man to help him. What if he had others?

  Her heart fluttered a little as she tried to remember if she’d even seen any houses at the base of the mountain.

  Zach leaned against Elizabeth. “Where do you work?” His voice sounded a little weak though she could tell he’d slipped into reporter mode.

  “I’m a sculptor. I work from home. But this far out of town we try to look out for each other. I know Kenny Davis was a strange man, but he is still my neighbor.” The man drove along in silence for a long moment. “I don’t suppose you saw him up there.”

  Elizabeth wasn’t sure how to respond to the question. Kenny and his truck were at the bottom of the lake.

  “His story was all over the news.” The man did a double take in the rearview mirror. “As a matter of fact...”

  A weariness crept over Elizabeth. “Yes, I’m the woman he kidnapped.”

  “How about that. Elizabeth Kramer is in my car.” She caught a flash of the man’s grin in the mirror, and all her suspicions washed away.

  “I know you probably have a lot of questions. I really appreciate you helping us, so I don’t want to seem rude, but we just need to get to a safe place where we can call the police. Do you have a cell phone?”

  “I never remember to bring it with me. I’m Roy, by the way.”

  A dark figure jumped out on the road. Roy swerved to avoid him, sending the car sailing toward the ditch.

  Roy’s body swung forward and then back as the front end of the car hit the ditch. He wasn’t moving. Elizabeth scrambled to orient herself. The driver’s-side door swung open. Craig grabbed the barely conscious Roy and dragged him out of the driver’s seat.

  He slipped behind the wheel and backed the car out of the ditch, leaving Roy lying on the ground as they headed back up the mountain.

  Zach rested his head against Elizabeth’s shoulder. He was conscious but barely. She stared at the back of Craig’s head, rage simmering inside her.

  “That man probably saw you,” said Elizabeth.

  “I doubt it. It was dark.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m sure there are places up in these hills where a body can never be found. We just need to find some remote, faraway spot.”

  So that was his new plan. Elizabeth’s mind raced a hundred miles an hour. There must be some way to rattle Craig. “They’ll trace the gun to you.”

  Craig laughed. “I told you. I know all the tricks of the trade. Working with criminals does have its perks.”

  Craig hadn’t had time to tie her up, but attacking him while he was driving with the steep drop off on the side of the road was too risky. She leaned forward in the seat. Once they got to a place where he could shoot them, their options would narrow.

  The road became rougher as the car bounced up and down. Craig stopped the car. “I need to keep an eye on you.” He turned to face her. “Get up front and drive.”

  Zach raised his head and looked at her. Her heart squeezed tight over the warmth she saw there, despite the pain he must be in.

  “Quit making doe eyes at him and get up front.” Craig spat out his words.

  Zach nodded and brushed her hand lightly. She wondered if he had some sort of plan. Even if he did, was he even strong enough to execute it?

  “Hurry up.” Craig grew more angry by the moment.

  The affection Zach had displayed for her seemed to upset Craig.

  She pushed open the door and got into the driver’s side of the car. Craig sat in the passenger seat. He aimed the gun at Zach. “Don’t try anything funny or your boyfriend gets it.”

  Elizabeth bit back the rising terror. She needed to stay strong and focused, for herself and for Zach. She pressed the accelerator leaning forward to see more clearly in the dark.

  The car
jerked along on the bumpy road.

  “He is your boyfriend, isn’t he?” Envy colored every word Craig spoke.

  She bit back the bitterness and the pain the question brought to the surface. “I wish he could be.” She kept her voice level, not giving away how upset she was. She wasn’t about to let Craig see her weakening.

  “You wish he could be?” Craig’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Poor Ice Princess Elizabeth. You and I could have had something if it hadn’t been for that misunderstanding.”

  She gripped the steering wheel so tight her fingers hurt.

  He leaned close to her. “We still could have that.” His finger snaked down her cheek. “You want that, don’t you?”

  She jerked away.

  A voice boomed from the back seat, “Get your hands off her.”

  Zach leaned forward and punched Craig across the jaw. Craig turned his gun on Zach.

  Elizabeth slammed on the brakes, causing Craig to lurch forward and back in the seat. But he recovered quickly and aimed the gun at Zach, his finger on the trigger. Elizabeth lunged toward him but her seat belt held her in place. The gun went off.

  She unclicked her seat belt and hit Craig with both fists.

  Craig poked the gun in Elizabeth’s belly. “Just try it.”

  She pulled back. Rage still boiled inside her. She clenched her teeth. She gave a sidelong glance to Zach, whose face was twisted in agony. He clutched his arm. She took in a breath that felt like it had broken glass in it. Had Zach been shot again?

  Zach locked her in his gaze. His eyes were glazed with pain, but his voice was steady and strong. “It’s going to be all right.”

  Craig stabbed her in the side with the gun barrel. “Drive.”

  Her hands were shaking as she turned the key in the ignition and pressed the gas. Her throat was tight with fear and worry. She needed to know if Zach had been shot again.

  “Please, Craig, I beg of you. Can we stop the car and make sure Zach is okay?”

  “What does it matter if he dies in the car or dies deep in the mountains?” He poked the gun in her shoulder. “Keep driving.”