Читать книгу Winter Hawk's Legend - Aimee Thurlo - Страница 13

Holly was soon on her way, driving down the long graveled road toward the main highway. As the road stretched out her thoughts drifted to Daniel. He seemed like a force of nature, always active, even in stillness. He clearly didn’t take challenges lightly, either.

She’d seen the spark of competitiveness in his eyes when Larrabee had entered the room. Of course Larrabee had more than his share of machismo, and even in nature, alpha males clashed. Some things were just hardwired into the species.

Holly was halfway to the highway when she saw the fast rising plume of sand and dust behind her. Her skin prickled even as she told herself to relax. She wasn’t likely to be the only human being leaving the plant, even between shifts. Someone was just in a hurry to reach the highway. She couldn’t afford to overreact every time she saw a person traveling in the same direction she was.

Realizing how isolated she was out here, she decided to play it safe. Holly took the next right, moving toward a new Rez housing area. She’d expected the vehicle behind her to continue directly to the highway, but it took the same turn she did and continued following at a distance.

Holly made a few more random, last minute turns down residential streets where there were more homes than vacant lots, but the vehicle remained on her tail, taking the same turns.

Her heart began beating overtime. There was no way she could go to her office in Hartley now and lead whoever was back there right to her door.

Holly tried hard not to give in to panic, but the possibility that this was the same guy who’d attacked her at the coffee shop was terrifying. What if he already knew where her office was, or where she lived?

She pushed back her fears, forcing herself to think clearly. If this was the same guy, she needed to get a description without further endangering herself. She considered pulling over as soon as she rounded the next curve in the road and waiting for him to pass, but then changed her mind. That was too risky. If he was really stalking her, he’d likely stop, as well, and then what, shoot her? Trying to force the other driver into making any kind of move at all wasn’t a good idea, and if she headed back to the plant, any hope of catching him would fade away. He’d be stupid to follow.

Then it came to her. What she needed was backup. The tribal police department was badly undermanned, and getting a patrol cruiser to her location could take hours. There was only one other logical option. Holly used her Bluetooth and called Daniel. He answered a moment later and Holly quickly told him where she was and what was happening.

“Keep driving through that residential area and stay on the phone. I’ll be there in a few minutes to back you up. If he closes in, find a house where you think someone’s home and run for the door.”

“All right.” As Holly continued circling, the other driver stayed with her.

“He’s still there and keeps his distance whether I speed up or slow down,” Holly said, trying to keep her voice from cracking. “He knows I’ve spotted him. Why doesn’t he take off?”

“Get back on the plant road so I can catch up to you sooner. I’m not too far from your current location, maybe three minutes. Once I have you in sight I’ll let you know. Keep the phone line open.”

Three minutes later, Holly spoke again. “I’ve turned onto the plant road, heading north toward the highway. I’m about a quarter mile from the three-way intersection before the big arroyo, the one with the irrigation ditches on either side. There aren’t any other vehicles around except for the guy following me. The oncoming lane is clear.”

“I’m at the top of the hill and can see you now,” Daniel said. “Here’s what I want you to do.”

Following his directions precisely, Holly sped up, then, just before the intersection, swerved into the incoming lane. Braking at the last possible second, she cut to the right and slid in the gravel, blocking the road.

Her heart was beating overtime as she looked over her right shoulder and saw the oncoming sedan. He’d have to leave the road and drop into the ditch to get around her now. Or ram—

“Stay in the car,” Daniel said, almost as if reading her mind. “I’ve got him.”

The driver following her slowed. She could see him behind the wheel now, but he had a cap low over his eyes, and sunglasses. As he headed straight for her, her mouth went completely dry and her heart began to pound. Slowly, he veered to his right, apparently hoping to slip around the front of her truck.

Holly let off the clutch and inched her pickup forward to close the gap. Ducking down, she gripped the steering wheel hard. If he crashed into her, her air bags would deploy and those, she prayed, would keep her from getting hurt.

Holly heard sliding tires, flying gravel, and braced herself. There was a thump and rumble, but the crash never came. As she peered up Holly saw the sedan flash by in her rearview mirror.

The guy had faked her out, cutting behind her pickup and dropping a tire into the ditch. His car fishtailed, gravel flew, then picked up speed again.

“He got past me, Daniel,” she said, speaking into her Bluetooth. “I can back around and try—”

“No. Just get out of your truck. When I come by, jump in and we’ll go after him together,” Daniel said.

Holly climbed out, keys and phone in hand, and waited as Daniel eased past her truck. When he slid to a stop in the middle of the road, she raced over and jumped into his SUV.

“Seat belt,” Daniel ordered, already on the move as she reached for the buckle. Once he heard the click of the buckle, he pressed down on the gas pedal and the force threw her back into the seat.

They were hundreds of yards behind the man now, but the terrain was pretty flat and he was still within sight.

“I called the tribal P.D. as I was running for the SUV. With luck, they’ll have a roadblock set up along the highway,” he said, giving her a quick once-over. “You okay?”

“Yeah. All I have to do now is stop shaking,” she said with a quick smile.

“You’re doing fine. You kept your cool and are safe. Now let’s go catch him.”

Daniel’s SUV slid around a corner at high speed, but remained in control. Although the car ahead was raising dust like never before, they were still gaining ground.

“He’s not headed for the highway anymore,” Holly said. “That road just circles back to the housing development.”

“Yeah, I know. Hang on.”

They closed to within a hundred yards, then suddenly the sedan ahead hit its brakes, swerved and slid onto a narrow irrigation ditch road. On one side was a steep drop to a fence line, and beyond, a fallow field. Opposite it was a deep but empty irrigation ditch.

“Why take the ditch road?” Holly asked. “If he goes any faster now, he’ll lose control and maybe flip the car.”

“I’ve never gone this way. Do you know where it leads?” Daniel asked, concentrating on his driving. The dirt road was narrow and bumpy, and if he hit a big rock or a fallen branch, they’d wreck for sure.

“It makes a ninety-degree turn up ahead, intersects the highway, then picks up again on the other side,” she said. “There’s a culvert underneath the road.”

“He’s likely to be T-boned if he tries to cross the highway.”

“Or take out some innocent driver. He’s going as fast as he can,” she said.

“Yeah, good point. I’d better slow down. Maybe he’ll back off the accelerator, too, if we stop closing the gap. We can’t risk getting somebody killed,” Daniel said, looking over at her as he took his foot off the gas pedal. “Damn. Wish I had a siren.”

Holly nodded.

The highway was just ahead, and through gaps in the trees lining the road, she could see cars racing past, unaware of the oncoming danger.

Gripping her seat, her eyes fixed ahead, Holly saw the driver hit his brakes at the last second, slide sideways and lean on the horn. The sedan slid out into the asphalt, all the way into the inside lane.

The loud squeal of brakes rose into the air as a big delivery truck skidded into view from the left. Blue smoke from hot rubber and screaming brakes flew everywhere like a cloud. The truck slid sideways, then slowly tipped over onto the passenger side and slid another hundred feet. Sparks flew like fireworks as metal raked the asphalt.

Daniel braked to a stop, skidding but still maintaining control. Cars to their left slammed their brakes, fighting to slow down to avoid hitting the truck.

Holly looked down the road to her right and watched the man who’d come after her disappear to the east. “Luck always seems to be on his side,” she said in a shaky whisper.

Daniel jumped out of the SUV, then, noting that the oncoming traffic had come to a stop, raced over to the delivery truck and helped the driver open his door, like a hatch, and climb out.

Another driver had parked his pickup, flashers on, and was already trying to guide traffic around the blocked lane. Holly escorted the man from the wrecked truck to the side of the road, then waited as he contacted his employer.

Soon the wail of a siren rose in the distance and Holly could see flashing emergency lights coming from the west, in the direction of the reservation town of Shiprock. While she was watching Daniel and the other driver direct traffic, her cell phone rang.

“What’s going on?” Martin Roanhorse asked. “I heard someone was tailing you.”

She updated him as she watched a white tribal police department SUV weave its way around stopped cars and over to the scene. “Whoever was following me is long gone,” Holly added, “and his license plate was covered, maybe with tape. It’s a dead end.”

“That settles it. I want you and Daniel back in my office as soon as you’re free.”

Holly hung up and slipped the phone back into her jacket pocket. Her hands were still shaking, but her fear was slowly giving way to anger. She’d never purposely harmed anyone in her life, yet for some unfathomable reason, a very crazy person was coming after her. If he was hoping she’d panic and do something stupid he was in for a surprise. This wasn’t her kind of battle, but she was a fast learner.

Her gaze drifted to Daniel, who was talking to a uniformed Navajo officer. Soon the officer nodded, and Daniel came over to join her.

“I just got a call from Martin,” Holly said. “He wants to see both of us.”

“Ready when you are.”

As they drove back to the plant, Daniel glanced over at her. “Martin can be hard-nosed about security matters. Don’t be surprised if he downgrades your clearance until this matter is settled.”

Surprised, she stared back at Daniel. What he’d said was logical, but until now, she hadn’t even considered that disastrous possibility. If Martin restricted her access, she’d be unable to continue her work at the facility. In essence, she’d lose the account, and at the worst possible time. Every cent she had was tied into her fledgling company. She couldn’t afford to forfeit a contract.

She’d been worried about being forced to accept protection, but that no longer seemed like such a bad alternative. Holly took a deep breath. Part of her job entailed persuading people to open their minds, and that’s exactly what she’d have to do now. Her livelihood depended on it.