My jaw hardened. “So, they know who killed Lila?”
“Most likely, yes.”
One man retreated to his vehicle. The other one crouched down and approached the plane. “I’ll take care of him.” I glanced at Beverly. “Can you get the other one?”
She looked doubtful. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nodded.
She spun to the side. Then she took off across the landscape.
Jumping to my feet, I headed down the hill. Dirt churned in my wake, flying into the sky to join the dust storm.
The man turned around. An astonished look appeared on his face.
I groaned inwardly. I’d hoped to sneak up on the man. To capture him without a fight. But as he twisted a knife in my direction, I knew that was no longer an option.
I slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He tucked into a roll and sprang to his feet. Then he charged me.
Bending my knees, I leapt to the side, hoping to dodge his attack. But the man reacted quickly, swinging a thundering punch in my direction.
His fist struck my torso. I fell to the ground. Before I could regain my footing, a heavy knee pressed down on me, pinning me to the dirt. A calloused hand grasped my neck. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his second hand.
It still clutched the knife.
The man pressed the blade against my throat. “Keep still,” he said. “There’s no need to die.”
“I agree.” I flung a fistful of dirt into the wind. Particles soared into the man’s eyes. He recoiled. His knife jerked away from me.
I leapt to my feet. Blindly, the man swung his knife in an arc. The blade nicked my arm. I grimaced as thousands of dirt particles swarmed the wound.
I charged him. He aimed another swipe at me. But I grabbed his knife hand as I crashed into him. He hit the ground and I landed on top of him. He groaned softly. Blood gushed out of his torso, a few inches beneath his heart.
As I rolled off of him, he pulled the blade out of his chest. He stared at it for a moment.
Then he fell limp.
Sweat beaded up on my forehead as I checked the man’s pulse. He was dead, impaled by his own blade.
I took a deep breath. I hated death, especially when I was the cause of it. Sure, he’d pulled a knife on me. But that didn’t make me feel much better.
I steeled my emotions. As I searched his pockets, faint crunching noises sounded out. Reaching for my machete, I spun around. Then I relaxed. “This one’s dead.” I wiped off my goggles. “Did you get the other one?”
“He came at me with a gun,” Beverly replied. “I had to put him down.”
I ran a hand through my hair, shaking a pound of dirt out of it. Then I glanced at the corpse. “I searched his pockets. They’re empty.”
“Same with my guy. And there’s nothing traceable in the SUV either.”
My gaze shifted to their vehicle. “So, we still don’t know who sent the drone.”
“No. But at least we’ve got its navigation data.” She paused. “I say we take the SUV. The sooner we get out of this place, the better.”
Something flashed in the distance, capturing my attention. “What’s that look like to you?” I asked with a nod at the horizon.
She spun around. Her body stiffened. “They’re—”
“Headlights.” Graham picked his way across the loose soil. “Plenty of them. These guys must’ve been scouts, sent ahead to secure the plane.”
Beverly looked at me. “We should go.”
I glanced at our truck. “Not without the reliquary.”
“We can’t fight all those people.”
“She’s right,” Graham said. “If we stick around, we’re as good as dead. Especially after they see what happened to their friends.”
I was acutely aware of my earlier statements. And I still believed them, albeit for private reasons. The reliquary, rich in history, was worth more than my life. Maybe more than all of our lives.
The stiff wind blew Beverly’s hair across her face. Swiftly, she tied it behind her head. “So, what are we doing?” she asked. “Fighting? Or running?”
Fight or flight? It was an age-old question, one with no good answer. If we fought, we’d face a large, presumably well-armed force. We could hold them off, but only for a little while. If we fled, that same force would find the bodies and chase after us. Either way, we’d end up dead.
Try as I might, I couldn’t see a way to save the reliquary. Our only option was to survive, to give ourselves a chance to get it later.
“I’ve got an idea.” I inhaled deeply. “We can’t fight or run. But we can do something else.”
“What’s that?” Beverly asked.
“We can die.”
Chapter 26
Come on, damn it.
With all my strength, I pulled the SUV’s driver side door. Dry wind sucked at my oxygen as I forced it ajar.
“They’re almost here,” Graham whispered. Although I recognized his voice, I could barely see him through the thick veil of dirt.
The key was in the ignition. I turned it and the SUV came to life. Then I shifted my gaze to the dashboard. “The gas tank is less than a quarter full.”
“Is that enough?”
“It’ll do the trick.” I turned the key, cutting the engine. “Less liquid means more fumes. See if you can find the jumper cables.”
I stepped away from the SUV. Graham caught the door. As he climbed partway into the cab, I tried hard not to look at the reliquary. Like it or not, I was going to be parting with it in a matter of minutes.
I forced myself to look at the man I’d killed. His bloodstained shirt contrasted sharply with the dark ground. Kneeling down, I yanked the garment off his corpse.
Beverly, hunched over, appeared. She walked backward toward me, dragging the second corpse behind her.
Shifting my gaze, I looked across the landscape. Seven sets of headlights swept toward us, moving in a zigzag search pattern. Although the dust storm shielded the plane, I knew it wouldn’t be long before they spotted it. “Take off his shirt,” I said. “I’ll be back in a second.”
I ran to a small patch of dead vegetation. Removing my machete, I cut off some sturdy twigs. As I raced back to the SUV, I saw Graham extracting cables from the cab.
I took his place at the driver’s side door. Then I used my machete to cut a hole in the seat. After removing some soft foamy material, I pressed a lever beneath the steering wheel. The hood released with a small pop.
“I’ve got the cables.” Graham hustled toward me. “What now?”
“Follow me.” I took a step back and strong winds blew the door shut. I rushed to the hood and unlatched it. Then I passed the shirt to Graham and took the cables. “Twist this up and dip it in the gas tank. You don’t need to soak it. I just need a few drops.”
As he hustled away, I connected the jumper cables to the SUV’s battery. Then I dropped the free ends and hurried to the first man’s corpse.
“I got it.” Beverly held up the second man’s shirt.
“Put it in the gas tank,” I said. “Let it stick out a couple of inches. But first, help me get these bodies into the truck. Not all the way though. We need to keep the doors ajar.”
Bending over, I grabbed the first man by his armpits. Despite the dry heat, his skin felt cold and clammy. Swiftly, I dragged the corpse toward the SUV. The sand attacked me along the way. It didn’t matter which way I turned my face. The flying dirt was everywhere.
I glanced over my shoulder. Grit sailed into my visage. Only my goggles kept it from entering my eyes. Blinking, I noted the SUV’s position. Then I lugged the corpse to the door. Graham yanked it open and stepped out of the way.