Machine guns. On the beach. It was as if she were living in a World War II movie.
“Lara,” he said when she didn’t respond right away.
“I’m still here…”
“I love you. Have I said that lately? I’ve always meant to.”
He said it with such seriousness that it made her catch her breath slightly.
“I love you, too,” she said, barely getting the words out.
“You hesitated for a moment,” he said. Was that an attempt at humor? Will was bad at jokes. That was Danny’s department.
“I didn’t,” she said.
“Don’t tell me you’ve found someone else. You always did have eyes for Blaine.”
“He’s already taken, so you can relax. No one’s replacing you yet.”
“I hear a warning in there somewhere.”
“Good, because I was afraid I was being too subtle.”
“Loud and clear, babe.”
“Glad to hear it. Now, how much longer until you come home?”
“Soon,” he said. “We’ll be on the road soon, and then home.”
She recycled through their conversation from yesterday. The farmhouse. The soldiers on the roads. The town of Dunbar…
“What happened to the soldiers from last night?” she asked. “I thought you said they had you surrounded at the farmhouse?”
“They did. But they were gone when the sun came up.”
“How did you do that?”
“I didn’t do anything. They were just…gone. It doesn’t matter why.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“No.” He paused for a moment before adding, “What matters is that we should be back on the road in half an hour. If all goes well, we’ll be home by three or four today.”
“With Gaby and Danny…”
“That’s the plan.”
This time it was her turn to pause. After a while, she said, “What if it’s a trap, Will? The soldiers. What if they pulled back to ambush you further down the road?”
“Maybe. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Then, with more than a hint of approval in his voice, “You’re thinking like a soldier now. I like that.”
“I’ve been hanging around you and Danny for too long, picking up bad habits.”
“Danny will be happy to hear that. He likes spreading his bad habits around. Among other things. Smelly things.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“Lara…”
“Yes, Will.”
“I love you.”
Again, there was something in his voice, a surprising seriousness that made her wonder what was actually going on out there with him, Danny, and Gaby. He had told her what had happened last night at the farmhouse, how they had made it through, and that they were all “in one piece.” That should have comforted her, but Will’s idea of “one piece” was a little different than hers…and every other person in the world.
Despite all that, hearing him tell her that he loved her made her smile anyway. “I thought we already did this…”
“Do it again anyway.”
“I’m tired, Will.”
“You’re not that tired.”
“I slept inside the boat house on the beach last night. Did you know that? I think I clocked a few minutes total.”
“Ouch.”
“That’s what my back says.”
He chuckled again. “I’ll be home soon.”
“Promise?” she said. She realized how silly she sounded as soon as the word left her mouth, but she didn’t care, especially down here on the second floor alone with just Will on the other side of the radio.
“I promise,” he said. “Whatever it takes, whatever happens, you won’t have to face another night alone.”
“Because you’ll be here with me.”
“Yes…”
There was something about the way he said that. “Yes.” It should have put her mind at ease, because Will making a promise was as close to a sure thing as you could get these days. But the way he said it made her hesitate for some reason.
“Now,” he said before she could put her troubled thoughts into words, “what’s this Carly was saying about a new boat?”
“It’s a yacht.” Lara smiled. “And it’s big…”
CHAPTER 3
WILL
Sunrise brought the peace and tranquility that he always longed for, but also that nagging sense of incompleteness, because it was another day without Lara. How long had it been now? Weeks? It felt like months. Even his daily communications with her through the radio only left him needing more.
Feeling the morning’s warmth against his face after the brutal encounter of the previous night made him smile for the first time in hours. He should be grateful to have another day when so many people didn’t have that luxury. Lance was one of those poor souls, but Annie, his girlfriend, had made it through. So had the two girls that had come out of Dunbar with Gaby. Both Danny and Gaby had also made it, though, like him, they had seen better days.
So what else is new?
“Smells like a trap,” Danny said through the radio now.
Will picked up the two-way from the front passenger seat. “What does a trap smell like?”
“Warm and fuzzy, and not the nice kind of warm and fuzzy. Slightly odorous, with a hint of sewage.”
“Nice imagery.”
“I do my best.”
“We gotta find out one way or another, right? Can’t stay at the farmhouse another day, not after last night.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Last night was a hoot and a half. And you know how much I like my hooting and halfing.”
“How far are we from the interstate?” Gaby asked.
He didn’t have to look at the folded map on the seat next to him. He had been counting the distance ever since they left the farmhouse this morning. “Ten minutes, give or take.”
“Ten minutes to death,” Danny said.
“That’s the spirit.”
“Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud? My bad.”
Danny and Gaby were in the Nissan Titan behind him, carrying the two girls and Annie in the backseat. Their truck followed closely behind his, leaving just enough distance for both vehicles to stop on a dime and (retreat) maneuver around any obstacles, if necessary. Will drove the Toyota Tacoma by himself, the wind rushing in through the missing driver-side window. The Nissan was the bigger of the two vehicles, so it made sense for it to carry the others, including most of their supplies, while he used the smaller (and disposable) mid-size Tacoma.
“Is this really a good idea, Will?” Gaby asked through the radio. “Splitting up like this?”
“We’re not splitting up. We’re just making it harder for them to hit us with an ambush.”
“But if we know there’s an ambush up ahead…”
“Can’t be helped. We need to get home, and there’s only one way to do that. Straight ahead.”
“Right into the jaws of death,” Danny chimed in. “Oops. Did I say that out loud, too? Damn my charming mouth.”
Will understood Gaby’s apprehension. In fact, he shared it. But he had spent the entire night, while waiting for the second attack that never came, thinking about this, turning the options over in his head. There were always options, but some were more possible than others.
And time was against them. Time was always against them.
Time…and Kate.
“Like a certain little island that should have stayed quiet. This is what happens when you stick your head out and get my attention, Will. I grab a hammer.”