Any way you sliced it, this newest development wasn’t good. Nate made a sudden right, distinctly aware that if the folks in the SUV were intent on pursuing him, they had only to follow the trail he was leaving in the snow. A solitary glimmer of hope rested on a simple fact. While searching earlier for a spot to leave the truck, Nate had driven through a number of the nearby streets. If he could get back on a path already cleared, tailing him might not be so easy.
“Hold onto something,” he told Shadow as they took another hard right. The Beast lurched to one side, groaning under the strain. The back tires did their best to dig into the slick roads. “You got this, girl,” he encouraged the truck, gripping the steering wheel till his knuckles turned white.
After he took another sharp turn, he paused only long enough to see the SUV blow past in the other direction.
With any luck, it would be several minutes before they discovered the deception.
Chapter 24
Holly listened as Dakota explained to the group who she was and how she knew Nate. Tears were streaming down Amy’s face as she listened intently. Even the kids were visibly shaken.
“No one gets out of here without paying the piper,” Dakota was telling them. “We didn’t have enough to spring all of you, but we do have a plan.”
“A plan?” Lauren asked, skeptically. It seemed now it was Dakota’s turn to listen. “Don’t you think it’s better to stay here, where it’s at least safe and we have something to eat?”
Dakota didn’t seem convinced. “And what if the warden—because that’s what you are, prisoners—decides to start only feeding those who can pay? Or those willing to work or do any number of other disgusting things? What then?”
“The Red Cross would never do anything like that,” Lauren countered.
“I’m sorry to tell you, these guys aren’t the Red Cross,” Dakota said, growing frustrated at Lauren’s caution and reluctance to see the truth. “They’re using them as a front to wring all of you for as much as they can.”
“What’s the plan then?” Amy asked.
A guard was approaching, and Dakota quickly changed topics, yammering on about girly stuff.
Hunter and Emmitt’s faces squished up.
Grinning, Emmitt waited for the guard to pass before he said, “You did that so well you even had me convinced.”
Dakota glanced over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear. “Tomorrow at noon, we’re going to sneak out via the southbound tunnel over there and rendezvous with Nate at Washington Station. We’ll have to do it one at a time in intervals, to avoid drawing any attention.”
“Intervals,” Holly said pensively. “Like The Great Escape.”
Hunter and Emmitt were both lost. “Huh?”
“An old movie,” Holly explained. “Well worth seeing if you ever get the chance.”
“But sneak out during the day?” Amy wondered, uncertain. “I mean, wouldn’t it be better to do so in the middle of the night, when everyone’s asleep?”
Dakota shook her head. “No way. We’ll make way too much noise.”
“But what if a guard tries to stop us?” Hunter asked, trepidation in his young voice. “They have guns.”
Dakota’s gaze fell. “I know. The only way I could get in was to hand my weapons to Nate. Otherwise, they would have found it during the patdown for sure.”
“We may not be completely out of luck,” Holly said, pulling open her jacket to reveal the pistol she was carrying.
“Hey, where’d you get that?” Emmitt asked, excited.
Lauren tapped the side of his head. “Keep your voice down, mister.”
Holly ruffled his hair playfully. “Smuggled it in my suitcase.”
“But why would you risk your life for us?” Amy asked. “We’ve only just met.”
“Dillon and I left Seattle to escape a controlling bully who was threatening our lives. We didn’t come all this way to trade one abusive relationship for another.”
Chapter 25
Nate was rolling down Michigan Street, Grant Park rapidly approaching on his left-hand side, when he spotted a pile of snow, at least three times the height of his truck, blocking the road. Warning signs in his head were all flashing with bright red neon letters.
Ambush!
He slammed the brakes, sending Shadow crashing into the back of his seat. The Beast skidded to a stop as Nate punched the truck into reverse. Figures in white improvised camo popped up on every side. Some appeared atop the mound, another group rose up from behind vehicles parked along the side of the road. A final group were behind him, pushing the shell of a burned-out bus into the street to block his exit.
This wasn’t just bad, it was terrible, and quite possibly the end of him. Shots rang out, causing the snow around him to explode in beautiful puffs of white powder. Then came the metallic ding as rounds struck the vehicle. Shadow whined. Nate grit his teeth as he backed up at high speed. A few of his assailants rushed out at the vehicle right as Nate spun the wheel to whip it around, striking them with the Beast’s front wedge. The impact made a wet, crunching sound as their bodies were shattered from the impact and flung into a heap of snow. The truck came to a stop and Nate drew his SIG, aiming it out the broken driver’s side window at the thugs closing in on his left.
Two incoming rounds pierced the front windshield and thudded into the passenger seat. Nate raised an arm to protect his face from spraying shards.
The realization quickly dawned on him that if he stayed put, he’d be torn to shreds. Grabbing his G36, he laid down some suppressing fire before bailing out. Shadow followed a second later, sprinting out of sight.
Nate ran along the side of the truck, heading for the remnants of the burned-out bus. At least that might provide him some cover. Cutting the corner on the left, he took down two guys scooting along the road toward him.
A second later, he turned to see what looked like a teenager raise a silver pistol at him. Nate drew his own and fired first, striking the kid twice in the chest before he dropped.
The sound of an approaching vehicle knocked the wind from Nate’s sails. Seeing the SUV that had been following him before barrel around the corner only made things worse. Unfortunately, he was too busy fending off the mounting pressure closing in from both sides to worry about whoever was swooping in.
A quick magazine change later and Nate shuffled to the right side of the bus, pausing only briefly to fire as he went.
The SUV skidded sideways, drawing even with the bus stretched across at least half the road. The doors away from the gunfire popped open and four men in white spilled out. Nate was about to swing his rifle around to engage them when the tallest of the squad threw him an okay sign. For a moment, he watched them go to work, covering each other with suppressing fire as their comrades charged forward. They repeated this maneuver, sweeping everyone before them. Nate followed up on the right, pushing back on the remaining thugs as he cut along a trench line in the snow.
Within minutes, the enemy broke off and ran. A member of the SUV team scaled the blockade of snow with a scoped rifle, picking them off as they fled.
When it was clear the enemy had lost the thirst for battle, all five men met near Nate’s bruised pickup.
“You gave us the slip back there,” the tall one with the slight bend in the tip of his nose said, He introduced himself as Colt.
“I guess I did,” Nate replied. “Maybe next time wave a white flag so I know you come in peace.”
This was met with raucous laughter from an older black guy. “What’d I tell you?” He bumped fists with a Marine type carrying the scoped rifle and a wiry guy with dark curly hair and a wide grin.