Love, Lattes and Danger Read online

  I jump in and drive inside. The place gives me the creeps. It’s like a moldy crypt. I console myself yet again that no one is after Piper and Angel. The more time that goes by, the better their odds. I just have to concentrate on getting Amy out.

  I lean back and try to sleep, but it’s not happening. Instead, I reach for the snacks and soft drinks I bought at the last gas stop.

  I finish the soda and chips and drop my head against the seat. The next thing I know, voices wake me. “Hey, was he supposed to bring a boat?” I look in the rearview mirror. A car has pulled in behind me and two men stand on each side of the truck.

  A man I’m only too familiar with responds, “Very thoughtful of the freak to return the property he stole.”

  I stay very still. The door on the passenger side, beside the doll, is locked.

  A man with greasy hair and pockmarked face pulls open my door.

  Craven is on the passenger side. He tries the door. I pick the doll up and put it over my shoulder in a protective gesture.

  “Let’s have the baby freak, freak.”

  “Not till I have my sister.”

  “You aren’t calling the shots,” the man with greasy hair says and reaches for the doll. I punch him in the face.

  “Ouch. Hey.” He stumbles back, holding his nose.

  “Get my sister.”

  “Okay, freak. No need to get your boxers in a wad.” Craven goes back to the SUV parked directly behind the truck. He’s got a plan. He wouldn’t acquiesce that easily if he didn’t. I keep an eye out for the Taser. If he tases me, we’re dead.

  He comes back with Amy in tow. I unlock the passenger door and he pushes Amy inside. “Now give me the baby.”

  “Don’t do it, Joel,” Amy cries, almost hysterical. She reaches for the doll. Her eyes widen, but she keeps her head.

  Craven nods at the man on my side, who has blood gushing out of his nose. A knife gleams in his right hand. He tosses it back and forth. I twist in my seat and kick out. The knife grazes my leg, but I manage to knock it out of his hand.

  “Give me the damn baby,” Craven barks.

  Amy clutches the doll to her like a lifeline. He tases her. Her arms go limp and her head lolls. Before she can drop the doll, I grab it and heave it out my open door.

  “What are you doing?” Craven screams. I start the truck, slam my door, and floor it.

  “Hold on,” I yell. The truck leaps forward. The man on my side grabs the door handle.

  I go straight through the back of the barn, scraping him off like an unwelcome barnacle.

  The barn gives around us. We keep going. I’m bouncing around in a cornfield before I get turned around and back on the narrow dirt road. I glance in the rearview mirror. Their car isn’t visible beneath the rumble. I hope they’re crushed.

  In a matter of minutes, I’m off the dirt lane and pulling onto the highway.

  “Amy, are you alright?”

  “Yes.” Her voice is muffled, shoulders shaking. Oh God, she’s crying. What did they do to her?

  I reach over and pat her shoulder. She shakes harder then bursts into peels of hysterical laughter.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay, Amy.” I try to make my voice soothing, which isn’t easy with adrenaline rolling through my system. “Never a dull moment, huh?”

  “I know. I know.” Her breathing is quick and shallow as she continually rubs her arms.

  I give her a quick, uneasy glance out of the corner of my eye. “Are you okay?” I ask, even though I know it’s a dumb question. How can she be?

  “I will be. You’re my hero.”

  “Oh man, you have a concussion.”

  “No, no I don’t. No matter how bad the situation gets, you always manage to get us out of it. I love you.”

  “I love you too. You’re full of grit.”

  “Tonto to your Lone Ranger.”

  “Yeah, Tonto to the Lone Ranger.” My chest swells even while laughter burbles in my throat.

  “What now?”

  “We get gas and head for the ocean.”

  “How long do you think it will take them to reach the Bahamas?” Her fear for Angel shows in the hoarse quality of her voice.

  “I’m not sure, but we’ve bought them time.”

  She makes a circle with her thumb and finger and nods.

  “Are you okay? What did they do to you?”

  “I’m okay. I’ll tell you about it later. Right now, I just want to enjoy the moment.” She reaches for the radio and cranks up the volume, drowning out the noisy engine. For the next several hours, we listen to pop singers shrieking about love and desire. It’s a relief when I pull into the gas station and cut the engine.

  “How are we paying for the gas?” Amy starts to yell then drops down to normal tones.

  I pull out Leif’s credit card and wave it at her. “Until it gets denied or the card gets tracked down. In any case, we better hurry.”

  She grimaces.

  “Our options are limited.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  She climbs out of the truck. “I’m going to pick up some chips and soda. Want something?”

  “Nachos and a Coke.”

  “Okay.”

  I fill up with gas. Amy comes back loaded with junk food and we are on our way.

  “This truck of Piper’s is a gas guzzler,” I complain once we’re back on the highway. I’m careful to avoid anything that looks like a pothole or else we’ll both be bouncing near the ceiling.

  “It’s not exactly made for fuel efficiency,” she responds, her hands gripping the dashboard.

  We drive till late at night then pull into a rest area, get as comfortable as possible, and get a few hours of sleep. When dawn breaks, we’re back on the road.

  When I pull into another gas station, Amy says, “We’re doing okay, aren’t we?”

  “Yeah. I haven’t seen any choppers and we’re close to the coast. Our odds are shooting up.”

  She nods. Amy is a bit subdued and still hasn’t told me her story, but my sister is strong. She’s going to be okay.

  I pull up to the pump and get out. A sports car with tinted windows pulls in to the pump next to me. When no one immediately gets out, I turn my attention back to the pump.

  “Hello, kid.”

  For one brief moment, fear immobilizes me then anger and survival mode kicks in. I place the pump handle back in its holder and balance on the balls of my feet, preparing for anything. “Leif.” I look him in the eye.

  “Lot of folks thought you were dead after you took that dive into the water from the chopper. But lots of folks don’t realize you’re a mutant. Anyway, I thought they might be wrong. See, I go in during the month and check my credit card charges. I don’t wait till I get the bill.”

  “Smart. How’d you track me? The gas charges?” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Amy poised in the store’s door, her arms full of food.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t that hard. I’ve been tracking your route since yesterday. I just waited till I could intercept you. I’ve been following you for about twenty miles.”

  “And I didn’t see you.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up, kid. No reason why you’d recognize this car. And I made a point to stay several cars behind you.” He looks relaxed. The artery in his neck, pulsing above the black leather bomber jacket he’s wearing, is the only giveaway to strong emotion. His gaze drilling into mine, he steps into my space. “Well?”

  “Well what, Leif?” The words erupt out of me. “Were you in on it? Did you plan to kill me and force Amy back to the lab so they could harvest her eggs?”

  His head jerks back as if he’s been punched. “Is that what was going on? We never caught up with the helicopter that landed on the tanker. Craven disappeared. Let me guess, he was behind it?”

  “He’d made a deal with Stranger.” I take deep breaths in and out, trying to get myself under control.

  Leif curses un
der his breath in a combination of English and a language I don’t recognize. “I should have stepped in a long time ago. He took keeping you two out of sight to extremes. He always made the company money, so I didn’t interfere. It was a mistake. I should have seen what was going on.”

  I don’t know what to say. Leif never apologizes. It’s one of his cardinal rules.

  “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?”

  “You don’t like complainers.”

  “There’s a difference between complaining and staying alive,” he retorts with heat. “What are your plans from here?”

  The question confuses me. I keep glancing around, waiting for reinforcements. The longer I stand here talking to him, the more time they have to arrive and I can’t afford that. “I’m not going back.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m not telling you that.”

  He shrugs. “Fair enough.”

  I take another quick look around, glancing over his shoulder.

  “There’s nobody here but me, kid.”

  Amy has left the store and come to stand beside me. “Get in the truck, Amy.”

  She hesitates.

  “Get in the truck,” I repeat. “On the driver’s side.”

  Leif’s gaze sweeps over it. “That’s a rather unique mode of transportation.”

  “We’re leaving.”

  He holds out his hand. “Good luck, kid.”

  What the— “You’re not going to try and stop us?”

  “In the short time you’ve been with Ziccon you’ve saved the company millions. And you’ve made me, if not a wealthy man, a well-off one. You were my responsibility and I almost let you get killed. No. I’m not going to try and stop you.”

  “Why are you doing this?” I’m truly bewildered.

  “Damned if I know. But I’d suggest you get out of here before I change my mind.”

  I open the truck door and place my foot on the running board. Amy scoots over to the passenger side.

  “Kid.”

  “Yeah?”

  “When I find Craven, and I will, I’ll deal with him.”

  I give him a quick grin and a salute then climb into the truck and start it up. As I drive away, a look in the rearview mirror shows Leif waving his hand back and forth in front of his face, engulfed in a white cloud of exhaust from the truck.

  “He let us go,” Amy marvels.

  “Yeah.” I check in the rearview mirror to make sure no one is following us. Though I managed to miss Leif altogether, I think in disgust.

  “What?” Amy twists toward me, her eyebrows raised.

  “Nothing.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m just wondering if he was trying to lull us and snag us down the road.”

  “What would be the point in that?”

  I pull around a slow-moving car. “He couldn’t very well get both of us at the gas station. Me maybe. But you were in the cab. You could have driven off.”

  “As if I would.” Her voice is louder and her eyebrows draw together.

  “All I’m saying is, he might have an agenda.”

  “I hope you’re wrong.”

  We lapse into silence. I continuously check the traffic. We are getting closer to the Texas coast. The chance of running into someone we know grows with each mile.

  I crack the window and breathe in. I stick out my tongue and taste it. It’s faint but it’s there, the salt of the ocean. “Smell that?”

  Amy cracks her window and does the same. “We’re getting closer.”

  Her words echo my thoughts. “Yeah, we’ve been away from it too long.”

  “How did we ever survive in the lab?” She rolls her window all the way down then sticks her head outside.

  When she pulls back in, I respond, “We’d never been exposed to the ocean then. We swam with the dolphins in the tank and thought that was the extent of it. I can remember looking out the window and watching it by the hour, fascinated, wondering at its pull, but never imagining the complete righteousness of the waves lapping against my skin. One with the creatures of the sea; watching colorful fish swim through undulating coral, in an element we truly belong.” I shrug, embarrassed by emotions.

  “Yes, that’s it exactly.” Amy sticks her head out the window again. “Do you think that’s why Piper’s grandpa picked the Bahamas and Jamaica?”

  “Oh yeah, he knew she couldn’t survive away from the sea.”

  “She’s lucky to have him.” She pops a tab on a can of Coke and hands it to me.

  “Yeah. Not so lucky though, with her parents being killed.” I take a deep drink. “Thanks, that hits the spot.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m not sure I knew about her parents being killed.”

  “My information’s pretty sketchy on it.” My back has a kink in it. I lean forward over the steering wheel. “I know they died mysteriously in a car crash and she thinks Stranger is responsible.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I wouldn’t put anything past that madman.”

  “Do you remember your dad?”

  That takes me by surprise. She hasn’t asked about our parents since she was little. “No. Mom was loving and generous. Maybe too generous. I think men tended to take advantage of her.”

  “And you don’t know anything about my donor.”

  It’s a statement, not a question. Mom was inseminated in the lab. “I sure don’t. Just that he must have been a handsome devil, as pretty as you are.” I throw her a quick grin then turn my attention back to the road.

  She smiles gratefully. Not for a million dollars and all the tea in China would I tell her I’ve often wondered if she carries some of Stranger’s genes, though a slug has more coloring than that bastard. I also wonder where my daughter’s mental development comes from. While I’d like to take credit for it, neither Piper nor I had the intelligence of a six-year-old at four weeks. My hands tighten on the wheel to the point it’s painful. Regardless, whether they have Stranger’s genes or not, Amy and Angel are mine. I’ll never share them with the mad scientist.

  “It doesn’t matter who your dad is, Ames. You’re my sister.”

  She reaches over to pat me and winces.

  “Arm still bothering you?”

  “A little. It’s a lot better, or would be if they hadn’t kept shooting me up with sedatives.”

  Anger ripples through me, but I don’t say anything. It wouldn’t help her, just release tension for me.

  “Angel has your birthmark and Piper’s blowhole. Do you think she has anything from me?” Amy looks wistful.

  “Have you ever looked at her delicate, shell-like ears?”

  “I haven’t seen her, remember?”

  “Well you will, and when you do, you’ll see she has your ears.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” While I’m speaking, I notice the tang in the air is getting stronger. My skin pricks and my blood quickens. “We’re getting closer.”

  Amy’s eyes sparkle. “Maybe we can find a safe place to pull in on the Texas coast.”

  “I don’t know. Ziccon has over twenty rigs on the Gulf Coast. Even in Louisiana. But at least Louisiana isn’t as densely populated with them as Texas.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Her disappointment is palpable.

  “No, you are. It was your idea to go to Louisiana.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Well it won’t hurt to get a little closer to the ocean. And I want to be able to make a break for the water if we see any choppers circling.”

  “Famous last words.” But she’s smiling as she says it.

  I turn on my signal and take the next exit that angles nearer the coast. When I pull back into traffic, the truck starts wobbling. “Geez, what now? Watch for a place to pull over.”

  She cranes her neck out the window. “I don’t see anywhere to pull off.”

  “Looks li
ke it’s going to be the side of the road then.” I pull over, the truck bucking me all the way, and get out. The left front tire is flat.

  Amy’s head is out the window. “What is it?”

  “We got a flat.”

  “Too bad we don’t have Tyler’s SUV.” She sighs.

  “Yeah, too bad.” I have a strong desire to kick Piper’s pride and joy but manage to refrain. Instead, I start taking off the lug nuts.

  Amy jumps out of the truck and squats down beside me. “Would you show me in case I ever need to do that?”

  “Good idea.” I walk her through the process. I’ve just tightened the last nut when I notice a car slowing down to gawk.

  The driver looks straight at me. His eyes widen.

  Craven!

  Chapter 21

  “Get in the truck.”

  I don’t even bother to throw the tools in the vehicle. Amy scrabbles in on the driver’s side. I rudely push her over and take off, tires squealing, gravel flying.

  “What? What is it?”

  “Craven.”

  “Oh my God.” Fear cracks her voice.

  “It’s just another round in our extremely bad luck.” My grip tightens on the wheel as I hunch over it.

  “Where is he?” She cranes her neck to look out the back window.

  “I don’t see him. He must have found a place to turn around. Keep your eyes on the road behind us. Looks like we’re going to be heading for the ocean quicker than we planned. We’ll never outrun him in this heap, towing the boat.”

  There’s an exit on the right. I jerk the wheel, throwing Amy against the side of the cab. “Sorry.”

  The road winds under the one we were previously on. “Keep an eye up there.” I point.

  “What was he driving?”

  “A gray Suburban.”

  “I don’t see him.”

  “I’m afraid he’ll call Stranger and get a chopper to search for us. We have to get to the ocean before that happens. A four-cylinder economy car could outrun this beast.”

  “Do you think we should pull off somewhere and hide out till dark?”

  “Let’s keep going, I’ll just keep changing roads. If I can taste the salt, we can’t be too far out. And once dusk hits it’ll be harder to find us. Another hour or so and we’ll be okay. Keep your eyes peeled.”