Читать книгу Montana Standoff - Sharon Dunn - Страница 13

FOUR

Their truck flew off the road at a high speed, sailed through the air and landed in the river at the bottom of the rocky incline. Sarah gasped for air as the truck settled and water rose up around it. She felt as if every muscle in her body had been stretched, and her thoughts seemed to move in slow motion.

Sarah turned toward Bryan whose head was tilted at an unnatural angle. Panicked, she fumbled with her seat belt and reached over to shake him. “Bryan!” She wrapped her hand around his muscular upper arm. “Bryan, please.”

He stirred, shaking his head and moaning in pain. She let out a breath. He was alive.

Bryan glanced from side to side as though trying to fathom what had happened. She reached across his stomach and unbuckled his seat belt.

The current propelled the car downriver. The metal frame creaked as the water pushed against it.

“We need to get out of here, right?”

He looked at her, blinking several times. “Yeah...yeah.” His eyes were void of comprehension.

“Or would it be better to drift with the current?” The truck picked up speed and turned sideways.

He looked around. “No.” His gaze became more focused. “The water gets deeper, more rapids.”

“I think we are closer to the bank on my side.” She glanced out the back window. Acne Scars’s Suburban must have pushed with so much force that it too had sailed off the road and landed upside-down on the rocky shore.

She rolled down her window. Water seeped into the cab of the truck.

“Hurry,” said Bryan. “Swim as hard as you can to shore. The current is pretty strong. I’ll be right behind you.”

She pushed herself through the window into the cold river. Rushing, swirling water suctioned around her. The cold of it shocked her into stillness for a moment as the force of the current pulled her under. She swallowed water and panic surged. She fought against it, struggling to the surface. She pierced the water with her hand, keeping her eyes on the bank which seemed to be slipping farther away.

She caught a quick glimpse of Bryan as he drifted downriver. He was pretty banged up from his fight, and he’d lost consciousness in the wreck. Was he in any condition to make a swim like this? His head went under as an awful sense of dread filled her.

I can’t lose him.

She crashed into a submerged log. She was able to catch her breath by grabbing on to one of the larger branches that stuck out of the water. Holding her position, she desperately scanned the water for a glimpse of Bryan, breathing a sigh of relief when his head bobbed to the surface as he stroked toward the shore, his movement steady and strong.

She pulled herself along the top of the log and then pushed off, aiming for the shore. Up ahead she could see the rapids—foaming, intense waves cresting and swirling. Terror spread through her. No way did she have the strength to swim through those. She needed to get to land. She jabbed her arm through the water, though her muscles had grown weak from the struggle. Her legs felt heavy.

Rivers, just like oceans, had an undertow. The closer she got to the rapids the bigger the risk of being pulled under and drowned.

The shore grew nearer inch by inch. The water calmed as she struggled toward an eddy. This time, when she put her feet down, she touched bottom. Thank You, God. Sarah dragged herself to the shore and crumpled onto a sandbar.

She heard footsteps and turned her head sideways. Bryan had gotten ashore farther upriver. He ran toward her, looking over his shoulder and then increasing his pace. The look of fear on his face fueled her panic. Sarah sat up.

He reached down and grabbed her arm. “We’ve got company. Come on.”

Acne Scars must have gotten out of the SUV. Sarah had barely caught her breath when Bryan lifted her to her feet and pulled her toward the thick brush. Both of them were soaking wet. Their shoes squished as they ran. Her wet clothes, which weighed an extra five pounds, slapped against her body. She was grateful for the warmth of the sun. They’d dry off quick enough.

Bryan led her through the thickness of the forest. The canopy reduced the light by half, and the temperature dropped ten degrees.

“Where...are...we...going?” Sarah spoke as she ran, taking a breath after each word.

“Back to the store. We can call for help from there. The sheriff will have to meet us and escort us back to town.”

The forest thinned. They came to the steep incline that led back up to the road. Only prairie grass grew on this side of the hill. Bryan scanned the area above them. “This is the only way to get to the road. We’ll be exposed as we go.”

Sarah took in a breath to push down the rising fear. “If it’s the only way.”

“Stay behind me.” Bryan made the steep trek with ease, continually glancing side to side and up above.

Sarah scrambled to keep up with him. She could see the road not more than twenty yards above them. How much farther to the store after that?

Bryan stopped suddenly, his eyes growing wide. He turned and pulled her to the ground, placing a protective arm across her back. A zinging sound followed by an explosive echo shattered the silence of the forest.

Panic made her voice shake. “He has a rifle. Where did he get a rifle?”

“He probably had it with him in that car.” From the ground where they lay, he turned to face her, reached out a hand and smoothed her wet hair back from her face. “It’s going to be okay.”

The tenderness of his voice was a soothing balm to her anxious, fear-filled thoughts.

“We’ll get to that store,” he assured her. “Stay low. The high grass will provide some cover.”

They crawled the remaining distance to the road taking an indirect path. Still lying on his belly, Bryan lifted his head and peered over the asphalt then back down the hill.

He tugged on her wet shirt. “Follow the road but use the slope of the bank for cover. We should be safe.”

Sarah took in a breath to calm her nerves. Her heart still hadn’t stopped racing.

Why was this happening? What kind of trouble had Crew gotten himself into? This had to be something more serious than an unpaid debt.

Bryan must have picked up on her fear. He grabbed her hand and pressed it between his. “We’re almost there.”

She nodded. They ran, crouched over until the store came into view. At that point, Bryan straightened, grabbed her hand and sprinted the remaining distance. Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the forest beyond the road.

As they neared the store, the windows looked dark. The car that had been parked on the side of the building earlier was gone. Sarah slowed her pace. The store was closed.

“Now what?”

Bryan surveyed the parking lot. “We’ve got to break in. We can leave a note, letting them know what happened. Maybe they have an alarm system that will bring help out here.”

He trotted around to the side of the building, picked up a rock and smashed the glass on the side door. No alarm sounded. Bryan reached through the broken glass and unlatched the door. “Not exactly high security.”

They stepped into what looked like a combination storage and break room. All it held was a Formica table with mismatched chairs, a coffeemaker and a shelf lined with canned goods, paper towels and boxes of fishing lures. They secured the door behind them as best they could, then with Bryan taking the lead, they walked into the darkened main part of the store.

Sarah reached for the light switch. Bryan grabbed her hand and shook his head. Sarah’s gaze traveled to the large window at the front of the store.

A percussive boom shattered the air as the glass in the window splintered into a thousand pieces spraying everywhere. Sarah screamed and dove to the floor.

Bryan dragged her toward the protection of the checkout area. He kept one arm around her while he reached up to the top of the counter and pulled the phone down. “We can’t wait for the sheriff.” The beeps from him pressing the numbers seemed to come on top of each other. “Jake, how fast can you get to the bait store on River Road? I’m in some serious trouble here. Armed man on the perimeter. Bring extra firepower if you’ve got it....Good.”

Sarah pressed her back against a cupboard. “Who was that?”

“A friend. He lives close. He’ll get here faster than the cops.”

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

Bryan’s expression hardened. “They’ve got a pretty lousy track record so far today.”

She grabbed Bryan’s shirt and glanced toward the broken window. “That guy knows we’re in here. We don’t have much time.”

“Which is why we’re not staying in here.” Bryan opened and closed the drawers and cupboards on the checkout counter, clearly searching for something. “Sometimes they have a gun for protection.” He opened one more drawer before giving up. He looked at her. “Make a run for the back door. Open it as little as possible. I’ll be right behind you.”

Questions raced through Sarah’s head—How would the friend find them if they left the store? Wasn’t there a risk that the friend would be shot, too?—but she knew it wasn’t the time to ask them.

Sarah crawled toward the back door, reaching up to work the latch. She glanced back at the shattered window. The shooter wasn’t in view, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see them leaving the store. He had to be hiding in the trees across the road. She eased the door open to a narrow slit and squeezed through. Bryan pressed close to her back as they made their way along the outside wall of the store.

“Over there,” he whispered, pointing to one of the boats for rent. He scrambled toward it and lifted a corner of the canvas cover. “Get in.”

When she came to the end of the boat, she saw that a shed concealed it from view of the trees where Acne Scars likely hid. Sarah crawled through and lay down on the bottom of the boat, positioning her feet underneath the seat. Bryan crawled in beside her, reaching up to move the canvas cover back into place.

Lying on his side, he turned toward her and whispered, “Stay quiet. Jake’s car has a loud engine. We’ll hear it coming. We need to jump out and be ready to get in when he arrives.”

She nodded, wondering when her heart rate would return to normal. She knew it wouldn’t be any time soon when he lay close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek. She inhaled his faint musk scent and looked into his deep brown eyes. The minutes ticked by. She dared not move.

A door slammed. She gasped. Bryan placed a calming hand on her shoulder. Footsteps crunched on gravel, growing closer. Every muscle in her body remained frozen. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Warmth radiated from her shoulder where Bryan’s hand remained.

The footsteps passed by the boat and then stopped. She dared not take a breath. If Acne Scars tore the cover off the boat, they’d both be dead in an instant. A century went by before the footsteps resumed.

Bryan squeezed her shoulder. She turned her head to see him better. For a long moment, they lay in silence facing each other. She used to think she could drown in the deep brown of his eyes.

He motioned with his eyes. At first, she didn’t know what he was trying to say. Then she heard it, the distant rumble of an engine.

This plan was fraught with risk. Was the killer lying in wait in the store? Had he returned to his post in the trees or had he assumed they’d run back into the forest and left altogether? There was no way to know.

The engine noise became more distinct. Bryan reached up to flip back the cover. He lifted his head above the rim of the boat and then pulled himself out. She rolled toward the edge of the boat and sat up.

“Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

She jumped to the ground and followed him as he raced toward the shed, pressing his back against it. She leaned close to him, holding on to his muscular arm. The car engine sounded like it was on top of them.

“Now, now.” He pulled her toward the parking lot. The car was still twenty yards away. The first rifle shot kicked up rocks in front of them. The car zoomed into the lot at a high speed, turning a hundred and eighty degrees. The second rifle shot hit the side view mirror.

Bryan yanked open the back door, pulling Sarah ahead of him so she could get in first. A bullet hit the door as Bryan crawled inside. He slammed the door shut. The car stirred up gravel, swerved and sped down the road.