Rattled (14 page)

Erin squirmed, trying to find a stable position. Her sides hurt from the effort of holding herself upright against the tossing and lurching. The ground was mostly sandy now, but with a scattering of large rocks. Sand flew out behind them in a graceful arc.

A clang echoed through the car, loud enough to make Erin’s ears sing. She shrieked and ducked. “What was that? Are they shooting at us?”

“No worries,” Camie yelled over the noise of the engine and the rattling gear. “Just a rock on the skid plate. How far ahead are we?”

Erin grabbed the door handle with both hands for balance and craned her head around. “That steep part slowed them down, but I think they just made it over.” She blinked, trying to hold back tears, as her breath caught in her chest. Those people knew her plans, had come into her house, were following her. It was like they had taken over her life. And she didn’t even know who they were.

“There’s the highway!” Camie said.

Hope leaped in Erin’s heart, until she looked ahead. The arroyo led between huge metal pillars. A pickup truck crossed in front of them, its cab visible above the highway’s cement side barriers a hundred feet away—and 20 feet up. I-25 crossed above them. The walls of the arroyo, six feet high and steep here, offered no escape. “But we’re going beneath it!”

“It’s a start. Where are they?”

Erin pulled her gaze away from the semi crossing above their heads and looked behind. “They’re pretty far back, but still coming.”

The Jeep shot past the highway’s metal support beams. Camie hunched over the wheel, muttering to herself. Erin just had time to notice a muddy patch ahead before the Jeep gave a lurch and mud splattered across the windshields.

The arroyo grew shallower, the sides sloping more gradually, as they came out onto a flat plain. A few buildings in the distance showed that they were nearing a small town. Erin knew from prior visits that their arroyo must parallel the I-25 exit ramp and then the main road through town.

“Hold on.” Camie pressed back in her seat and slammed on the brakes. Erin slid forward as Tiger tumbled off her lap with an aggrieved yowl. He crouched between her feet, tail lashing angrily.

“Don’t blame me, buddy,” Erin muttered. “I’m just along for the ride.”

Camie turned the Jeep and started grinding up a 45 degree slope of fist-size rocks. The engine growled. The Jeep jerked like an amusement park ride as rocks slid under the wheels.

“It gets a lot flatter ahead,” Erin pointed out.

“And easier for them. I’d like to see that yuppie car get up this.”

“I’d like to see
us
get up this,” Erin said as the Jeep slid back a foot. She glanced over her shoulder. The black SUV was 30 feet away and closing fast. Erin sat up straighter. “I’d like to see us get up this right now!”

Camie swore, shifted gears, and wrestled with the steering wheel. Erin watched the SUV loom closer. It swung around behind them, still moving fast. “They’re going to ram us!” Erin wailed.

The sight of the SUV filled their back window. A bump shook the Jeep and it lurched forward. Erin couldn’t see the ground ahead with the angle of the Jeep. She felt like she was falling backward and had maybe left her stomach somewhere along the way. She wriggled so she could see the SUV behind them.

The doors were opening. “They’re getting out!”

In seconds they would reach the Jeep’s doors. They would pull her and Camie out. Then what? They were too far from town for anyone to notice, too far below the highway for anyone driving past to understand what was happening. They would be prisoners. At the mercy of men who had already attacked her, who obviously didn’t care whether she lived or died, so long as they got the treasure. No one even knew where they were going. Drew might realize something was wrong when they didn’t show up at the airport, but what could he do? What could anyone do?

The Jeep swayed side to side as the back wheels shifted, but finally they started to level out and Erin could see the highway entrance ramp 20 feet ahead. The Jeep hit flat ground and shot forward. “Ha, thanks for the push, suckers!” Camie cackled.

Erin looked back. She got a glimpse of the SUV, but the open doors mostly hid the two people standing on either side of it. They scrambled back in and slammed the doors before she could see enough to recognize them. As the Jeep rocketed toward the highway, Erin could see the top of the SUV lurching up and falling back—once, twice—and then it disappeared, hidden down in the arroyo.

Erin was gasping for breath like she’d been running. She hadn’t even noticed until now how hard her heart was hammering. Her whole body ached from the tension of hanging on. She thought it would take days for the knots in her stomach to relax. But they had gotten away from the SUV. This time, it hadn’t touched her.

She settled more comfortably in the seat with an exhausted groan as Camie turned up the ramp to the highway. Erin looked back again, trying to spot the SUV down in the arroyo and wondering how long it would take them to navigate that slope. From this higher angle, she could see part of the arroyo bottom, but no SUV. Frowning, she scanned the area. As her gaze moved toward the small town, she spotted the SUV turning onto the road. They had gone farther on, until the slope flattened out, and were still coming.

The highway crash barrier cut off her view. Erin turned around and stared ahead. The people in the SUV had to know where they’d gone. The highway didn’t have another exit for 10 miles. The SUV would find them again before they reached the airport.

“They’re going to catch up.”

Camie glanced at her. “You all right? You look kind of....”

Erin realized she had her hand pressed to her stomach. Muttering softly, Tiger crawled up into her lap and curled in a ball. Erin stroked his back and felt his purr, though she couldn’t hear it over the wind rushing through the gaps between the plastic window panels. She sighed, feeling a little of the tension ease.

“I’m all right, I guess. Just shaken. And after all that—” She ducked to study the side mirror and saw the black SUV coming up fast. “They’re already behind us.”

Camie shrugged. “If we thought we could lose them entirely in the Jeep, we wouldn’t need the helicopter. But they have to watch their step now, since we’re back around other people. On that back road, they could have—” She shook her head. “I don’t want to think about it. We meet Drew, get out of here, and leave them standing.”

“Still on the run.”

“Better than being a sitting duck.”

Erin sighed. “We could go to the police. We have evidence this time. At least, I imagine there’s damage to your back end and their front.”

“We could,” Camie said.

“And you don’t have to bother telling me why that’s a bad idea; I’ll do it myself. The police would want to know why these guys were chasing us. We’d have to answer a lot of questions. At best, we get a long delay. At worst, the goons escape, we don’t know where they are, and we have even more people who know about the treasure.”

“Nice summary. I see why you’re the teacher. I like the term goons. It’s less threatening than—it’s less threatening.”

Erin didn’t want to ponder the other terms for the men who were following them. She felt drained, lethargic, like nothing she could do would matter anyway. But they had a lot of work ahead and probably more danger. She needed to find energy. She needed something to hold onto, to get her enthusiasm back.

“So I’m heading to the airport?” Camie asked.

A little jolt shot through Erin. She would get to see Drew again. Maybe that was just the hold she needed. She couldn’t trust him, no matter what Camie said about the way he looked at her, no matter what her own heart so desperately wanted to believe. But she could allow herself a moment of hope and look forward to seeing him again. “Yes. The airport.”

Camie took the turn to the airport road. The black SUV followed, not too close, not attacking but definitely watching. Erin dragged her eyes away from the view in the side mirror and looked toward the small airport. She’d never been there before; no commercial flights flew into town, just private pilots and charters working with the college. Beyond a chain-link fence she saw a few metal buildings, in various stages of decay, along one side of the tarmac. Camie slowed as they approached the fence. The metal gate slid open and Drew stood at the keypad on the other side.

Camie pulled up beside him and slid her window open. “Don’t let anyone else in!” Drew nodded and punched a button. Camie stayed where she was, in the middle of the road, blocking the entrance with the Jeep as the gate slid closed. The SUV shot forward, but quickly slowed as they must have realized they’d never get through the gate.

Drew pointed to a helicopter out on the tarmac. “We’re ready to go.” He glanced in the back of the Jeep. “If you want to take all that stuff, you’d better pull up beside it so we can load.”

Camie stopped the Jeep next to the helicopter and jumped out. Erin followed more slowly. Other than one glance when he first looked into the Jeep, Drew hadn’t acknowledged her. Now he was already at the back, hauling out boxes.

“We don’t have much storage space, so some of this will have to go in the back seat,” he said. “Good thing you two aren’t huge.”

“We won’t be too heavy, will we?” Camie asked. “This bin is just sleeping bags. But we have three days worth of food and water, plus equipment.”

“It should be fine if I balance the weight properly. Looks like quite an adventure.” Drew shot a look at Erin. “Exactly where does your mother live?”

She felt herself blushing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to lie to you, but we kept it secret from everyone. Obviously we’re going treasure hunting.”

He slid The Finder onto the floor of the helicopter’s back seat. “I can’t fly within White Sands Missile Range, you know.”

“That’s all right. That’s not where we’re going.”

He shot her another look, then glanced toward the gate. “We can save the questions until we’re in the air. We don’t need to give your friends time to figure out that the fence doesn’t go all the way around the airport, so if they don’t mind off-roading, they can get around the back in a couple of minutes.”

“What good is a fence that doesn’t go all the way around?” Erin demanded.

Drew shrugged. “Small town, lousy security. Apparently federal law requires a gate that locks but doesn’t require a gate that is actually attached to anything. If that’s everything, park the Jeep and let’s go.”

Camie hopped into the Jeep and swung it toward the hangars. Erin gazed at the black SUV, her hands clenched at her waist. Drew leaned into the helicopter and came out with a pair of binoculars. He held them to his eyes. “Can’t see much with the glare. Two men, I’d say. I think one’s on the phone.”

“Let me see. Please.” Erin took the binoculars and adjusted them to her eyes. Between the glare, the distance, and the dim interior of the cab, she couldn’t see enough to identify the men. Neither looked like Mitchell. One could have been the man who attacked her at her house, but the other looked bigger and stockier than anyone she could think of. She didn’t think anyone else was in the back, but couldn’t be sure. And of course, no front license plate. She handed the binoculars back, trying to ignore the fact that her hand trembled.

Drew tucked the binoculars back in the helicopter and put his hands on Erin’s arms. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, afraid that speaking would give her away. She kept seeing flashes of that SUV barreling down on her, remembering the feel of flying through the air with the ground rushing up. Her body felt stiff, rigid with nerves, at the same time that she wanted to shake. “It’s just—” She swallowed. “The SUV,” she whispered. “The memory.”

He pulled her close and held her. “It’s all right. We’re going to get you out of here.”

Erin wanted to sink into the embrace but felt stiff as a doll. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder and closed her eyes. If only she had a moment to relax, to center herself, maybe she could take control of her body again. She inhaled Drew’s scent, a mix of machine oil and a faint spiciness, maybe from some kind of masculine deodorant. He stroked a hand down her back, and she felt her muscles tremble and then relax under his touch.

“Here comes Camie and—” Drew gasped. “Good Lord!”

Erin swung around, panic slamming into her throat. The SUV had backed up from the gate. It turned to the side, pulling off the paved road. They were going to go around the fence.

“Can we take off in time?” Erin asked.

Drew wasn’t even looking at the SUV. He gaped at Camie as she jogged toward them with Tiger riding on her shoulder like a second head. “She’s bringing the cat?”

Erin had to smile at the astonishment on his face. “I told you, you’d be surprised at how useful Tiger can be.”

Drew shook his head. “You two are one of a kind. I mean you’re each one of a kind—never mind, you know what I mean. Come on, let’s load up.”

Camie was already crawling into the backseat with Tiger, so Erin climbed in front. Drew closed the door and slid the bar to lock it from the outside. Erin stared at all the dials, switches, and gauges as he rounded the helicopter and got in beside her. She’d never been in a helicopter before and barely knew how one worked. The smallest plane she’d experienced had been a commercial flight with dozens of seats. The four-seat helicopter felt tiny, like being wrapped in a bubble, and the complicated instrument panel suggested that a lot went into keeping their little bubble up in the air. Erin counted seven circular dials, above rows of lights and switches, all packed into a tiny central console.