“This is good,” he said instead.
“Don’t compliment his cooking,” Chris cautioned. “It goes straight to his head.”
“Ignore her. Compliment away! And when you’re finished we’ll see about getting you some less conspicuous clothes. And supplies for the journey.”
“Thanks,” Floyd replied as he looked toward the window. The first flakes of snow were already falling.
Chapter 23
The storm meant I made slow progress through the night. Snow ploughs and gritters had cleared the highway, but the flakes fell so thick and fast, new layers had settled and tested the car’s traction control. The snow obscured my view, but every now and then I was dazzled by the blinding lights of an oncoming vehicle the other side of the highway. Thankfully, most sensible people had sheltered from the storm and other road users were few and far between.
The snow finally abated when the first fingers of sunlight were reaching for the clouds, tinting them a cotton-candy pink. I was passing through the outskirts of Bloomsburg when I saw the Relax Inn, the motel where Mo-bot had traced Ted Eisner’s car. I moved into the outside lane of the highway to take the next exit. The car drifted a little as I changed direction, but I steered into the skid and started down the ramp. I took a left and passed beneath the highway, and then followed the road south for half a mile through a run of industrial units until I came to the single-story, cream-colored motel.
As I pulled into the parking lot, the front door of one of the first-floor rooms burst open, and two masked men emerged, dragging two children with them. I recognized them instantly as Daniel and Marianne Singer. While I continued moving across the parking lot, as yet unnoticed, a third masked man pushed Elizabeth Singer through the open door. Elizabeth and her children were in their pajamas and all three of them were crying as they were shoved toward another black Escalade that waited in the slushy gray snow.
I realized the gang must have found out about the tracker on Ted Eisner’s car, which was parked in the space next to the large SUV. Had they got the details from his insurance company? Was that the call the tall gunman had received at Eisner’s house? Was that why he’d suddenly become expendable?
Marianne and Daniel were bawling as they were forced into the back of the Escalade, and Beth struggled furiously, but her resistance melted when one of the men produced a pistol and held it to Danny’s head.
I made a split-second calculation. My chances of following them in this weather were slim, and there was no way I could wait for the police to arrive. There was only one option.
I gunned the engine as Beth was pushed into the back seat next to her children, aiming the Mercedes directly at the man who’d been holding her. He quickly turned and momentarily froze with surprise on seeing the large M-Class racing toward him. He tried to leap out of the way but I swerved in his direction, sending the car into an uncontrollable skid.
Time seemed to slow as the line of motel rooms spun dizzily before me. I looked out the driver’s window and saw the masked assailant raise his hands to his face. The car hit him hard, knocking him flying into Ted Eisner’s Buick Enclave.
I might have imagined the crack of bone, but there was no mistaking the man’s agonized scream.
The low thud of suppressed gunfire and snap of breaking glass told me I was under fire. I scrambled onto the passenger seat and tumbled out the car. Peering round the open door, I saw the other two men had got into the Escalade. While the passenger fired back in my direction, the driver started the engine.
If I was going to stop them, I would have to leave the safety of my position behind the car door and expose myself to fire. It was a suicide mission, but if I didn’t act fast Elizabeth and the children would be lost.
Chapter 24
I jumped to my feet and ran toward the passenger side of the Escalade. As I did so I saw Elizabeth Singer lean forward and punch the gunman in the back of his skull as he was taking aim at me. His shot went wild, and he was so angry, he forgot about me and turned to hit her. The children screamed, but his fist flew though empty air as Elizabeth ducked the blow. The car was moving now, but I managed to reach the passenger door and yanked it open as I jumped on the running board. The gunman made the mistake of trying to kick me away, so I slammed the door on his outstretched leg. He howled, and I did it again. The driver reached into his jacket, but Elizabeth was on him before he could produce his gun.
She clawed his face, and he instinctively stepped on the gas. The car accelerated and I couldn’t hold on as it gathered speed. I was thrown off the running board, winding myself as I tumbled onto the slush-covered asphalt. Beth kept fighting. The Escalade veered into a line of parked cars. Metal ground against metal and windows shattered as the big SUV crashed into an old Plymouth parked across two spaces in front of the motel office.
I sprinted toward the vehicle and pulled open the rear driver’s side door. Elizabeth and her two children were dazed, and the two masked assailants were equally stunned.
“Come on,” I said, pulling Elizabeth’s arm.
She allowed me to drag her from the car. As I yanked the children clear, the driver came to his senses.
“Get back!” he yelled, reaching for his gun.
I urged Elizabeth and the children on. “Move!”
As we ran, I heard the crack of gunfire. I turned to see the driver climb unsteadily out of the Escalade while trying to target me.
I pushed Elizabeth and the children over to the Mercedes and bundled them in the back.
The driver started running toward us as I jumped through the passenger door and slid into the driver’s seat. I started the engine, which growled to life, threw the car into reverse, and stepped on the accelerator.
I reversed toward the exit as bullets made holes in the windscreen. I flipped the gearshift, stepped on the brake and spun the wheel, forcing the car into a violent turn. We spun out of the parking lot, bounced over the sidewalk, and were facing forward when we hit the road.
Chapter 25
Aaron Vance watched with horror as the Mercedes SUV screeched out of the motel parking lot. He surveyed the line of wrecked cars.
This can’t really be happening, Aaron thought with a growing feeling of shock. It was the stuff of movies, but the small part of his brain that wasn’t numb with disbelief told him it was real and that he needed to do something.
He’d managed the Relax Inn Motel for three years. The owner, Esther Tucker, was a mean-spirited, greedy old woman who liked to pay low and charge high. She was probably crooked, but never revealed enough about the business for Aaron to be sure. He had standing instructions never to call the police and to always phone her first if anything happened. But this wasn’t a forged check or a wallet snatched from a room. This was carnage, and at least one of those men out there was seriously injured.
Aaron lifted the phone and dialed.
“Nine one one, please state your emergency,” a voice said.
The first gunshot knocked Aaron back, and he looked down to see blood oozing though his gray shirt. It spread like an ink blot around his shoulder and soaked into the Relax Inn badge that was sewn above his breast pocket. He looked past the hole in the window and saw a masked man moving toward the office, smoking pistol in hand.
“Hello?” the operator said. “Hello?”
Aaron made a rasping sound before he found the strength for words. “I’ve been shot. He shot me.”
He dropped the receiver and shuffled round the reception counter toward the door. He had to lock it and buy a few moments to get the revolver he kept in the safe at the back of the office. He became aware of a burning pain in his shoulder as the reality of the gunshot wound finally hit him. He almost doubled over as the fire of agony spread throughout his upper body, but he resisted the urge and forced himself on. Tears sprang to his eyes but he pressed forward and was a yard away from the door when the masked man crashed through it. The edge of the door hit Aaron’s forehead and there was a blinding flash of light.