[26]

Sluggish but awake, Michelle shuddered as the events played through her memory. She wanted to sink back into the blessed oblivion, but she had kids to take care of. She pressed a hand to her head. It pounded with a fierce throb, but she ignored it as she took in the situation and did her best not to panic. The bright interior lights reflected on the windows, showing only a dark red hue beyond them. The attacker was gone and the bus was still. But they had light until the battery died—or they ran out of gas.

Her phone said they’d been out for about an hour.

She looked over the silent, scared kids who’d woken one by one to discover their situation, then back at the driver who had yet to open his eyes. She leaned over, placed her fingers over his wrist, and felt his pulse beating steady if a bit slow. “I need to get this bleeding stopped or this man is going to die,” she said.

“What do you need me to do?” Donnalynn asked.

“I need something to tie around his chest to hold this shirt in place.” Fortunately, instead of putting their suitcases under the bus, they’d just put them in the empty seats. Michelle had dug into hers and found the white T-shirt she was using to hold over the man’s wound.

Donnalynn stood. “I have just the thing. They’re in my suitcase.”

“He said there was a bomb,” Madison said.

“I know what he said, baby. There are two bombs. One on each door. We can’t do anything about that, but we can pray, so get to it, okay?”

“Okay,” the girl whispered. “But I’m scared. And my head hurts.”

“Mine does too. Why don’t you look in my purse and get some ibuprofen?”

“Okay.” Madison didn’t move. “What does he want?”

“What?”

“You said that once he got what he wants, he’ll let us go. What does he want? And who can give it to him?”

“I don’t know. For now, we’re pretty comfortable, we have a bathroom, and we have food.” But a lot of that food was under the bus. She hoped they wouldn’t be there long enough to need it.

“Here,” Donnalynn said. She pressed a soft cloth into Michelle’s hand.

Michelle looked at what she held. “Compression stockings? Perfect.”

“Well, I knew we were going to be doing a lot of walking, so I threw them in.”

“Here, help me tie this around him.” Together, they worked and got the makeshift bandage in place. The stockings did the job. Michelle sat back and wiped the sweat off her face. “Whew.” She slid into the seat opposite Donnalynn. “He’s still alive. Let’s pray he stays that way until we can get him help.”

“I’m scared. I want out of here.”

“Madison, shut up,” Terry Lee said. “We been kidnapped.” He looked at Michelle. “And we need to figure out how we going to get out of here. Ain’t no one riding in on a white horse to rescue us.”

Three of the other teens stood in the aisle. “Yeah, Cupcake, Donnalynn. We’ve got to do something.”

Michelle exchanged a glance with a terrified Donnalynn, then closed her eyes and prayed for guidance. What to do? She had to think and not give in to the fear clawing at her. She opened her eyes and looked more closely out the window. “It looks like we’re wedged between two walls of red mud.”

“It stinks too.”

“That smells like mulch,” Donnalynn said.

“I noticed that,” Michelle said. She considered their limited options. There would be no breaking or opening the windows and climbing out. Even if they could get the windows open, she didn’t know how far they were buried under whatever was surrounding the bus. The running bus.

The exhaust! It would kill them. For a moment, she froze. Then his words came back to her. He’d said it wouldn’t. There must be some ventilation she couldn’t see.

Only the door in front held black space beyond it, but she didn’t dare try to open it. She could clearly see the bomb on it. The interior lights and the air were still on for now. But that would only last as long as the gasoline and the battery. She thought about the man who’d just thrown them into the middle of terror. He hadn’t worn a mask. He didn’t care that they saw his face. Which meant that once he got what he wanted, they would all die. So why worry about the exhaust backing up and killing them?

Because he was keeping them alive for a reason. For now.

Steven set his soft drink on the bar and stood. They’d only been at this for a couple of hours and he was ready to give it up. He hoped Quinn had made some headway on their stakeout. Steven’s personal problems were distracting and he couldn’t afford to be distracted while trying to catch a killer.

Adding to his inability to focus was the fact that his phone had been buzzing all evening with texts from his mother, asking when they could talk and when he would be willing to visit the prison with her. Apparently, his father had confessed to his loose lips. He thought about ignoring the phone. If he didn’t read it, he didn’t have to acknowledge it. Instead, he groaned and pulled his phone from his pocket to check for any messages. Only to find he’d missed a call from Haley and texts from Christina. As he read the texts, he shot to his feet. Where was Quinn?

Quinn burst through the front door and Steven caught his eye. His partner waved him over in a gesture that said something was very wrong. He caught up to his partner. “You got the texts?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll drive.” Steven held the door and the two of them raced to his car.

Haley continued to follow the road off the exit until she came to another detour sign. He’d led her off the route sufficiently enough that the officer who had been trying to catch up with her wouldn’t have any idea where to go. “Why would he take the chance that I wouldn’t be able to find it?”

“Because he expects you will.”

Haley continued to follow the detour signs, noticing several cars in front of her doing the same. “How can this be right?”

“Just keep going.”

Haley’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw Steven’s number flashing at her. She didn’t dare answer it. He would know.

She let it go to voice mail.

The phone immediately buzzed an incoming text. “What does it say?”

Christina looked.

Very good on not answering. You’ve bought yourself three more minutes. Hurry, they’re six feet under right now and probably need you to bring a shovel.

Haley gritted her teeth. She hated flying blind, so to speak. And then there were no more signs. She pulled to a stop.

What now?

She waited. No return text.

Hello?

“He’s not answering me. He’s talking in riddles and wants me to figure it out. Why not just tell me?” She pounded the steering wheel, frustration zipping through her. She now had four minutes.

“He doesn’t want to take a chance that you’ll be able to tip someone off as to where you are,” Christina said.

The pictures of the kids and the bus flashed in her mind. “The bus was dark.”

“They’re in a building somewhere?”

She opened the pictures back up on her phone. Madison’s teary eyes grabbed her heart. She was terrified. Haley was terrified for her. “Look at the windows. There’s something on the outside. Looks like mud or dirt to me. What do you think?”

“Could be mud or dirt, sure.”

Haley glanced around. “Do you see any mud?”

“No, but I see another sign.”

“Where?”

She pointed. “There.”

“Harry’s Mud and Mulch?” Six feet under and need a shovel? “That works.” Haley pulled away from the side of the road and headed straight for the place. She stopped at the gate and got out.

“Careful,” Christina warned.

Haley planned on it, but a sense of urgency pushed her. She pulled her weapon and held it in front of her as she walked to the gates. “They’re locked.” The place had probably closed a few hours ago and was quiet as a graveyard. She shuddered at the analogy. “What now?” She was down to about a minute.

She started walking the fence.

Christina got back into the Hummer and followed her, keeping the vehicle between her and the road.

Haley walked all the way around until she was opposite the gate. She walked up to the back entrance and found the gate lock cut, part of it lying on the ground. She pushed against the gate and it swung inward.

Christina pulled up beside her.

Haley stepped inside the yard and took in the mounds of dirt, gravel, mulch, and sod. Piles of it everywhere. Two Bobcats to her left stood silent, just waiting for someone to crank them and put them to work. She glanced around and spotted no cameras, nothing to record whatever happened in the next few moments.

“I’m here!”

Christina shot her a perturbed look.

Haley ignored her. “I made it with—” she glanced at her watch—“three seconds to spare! Now where are you?” She pulled her weapon.

Christina did the same, staying in the vehicle with the window down. “I can always run him down,” she murmured.

“Good idea. He’s got to come out in the open first, though.” She let her gaze bounce from area to area. “The six feet under and needing a shovel crack was a message. He buried them, Christina. We need to find a pile that’s big enough to bury a bus—and do it in a hurry.”

“This was way too easy to figure out,” Christina said.

“Because like you said, he wanted me here but didn’t want to take a chance on us letting someone know where we were going.” She turned in a slow circle. “Hey! I’m here!”

She started walking again, looking for the bus, keeping an eye out for someone who might have a bead on her. Christina continued to drive, keeping one side of her covered. She did her best to keep the piles of mulch and other materials to her left. There were hills and valleys. So many places to hide a bus.

“Keep coming, Haley!”

She froze at the sound and listened but couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. “Why are you doing this?”

She kept her weapon ready as she covered the area, then walked forward, staying next to the Hummer, using it for protection. They rounded a corner and she saw a dark SUV parked to the side. She glanced at Christina. “You think it belongs to him?”

“Could. But he’s not in it.”

“No, he wouldn’t be.”

Her brain spun, seeking a way to save the kids and get this guy at the same time. Fear pounded through her—not the fear of dying, although she didn’t want to, but the fear of failing. She kept it controlled, knowing she’d only get one chance, possibly only one shot. But he couldn’t die until she knew where the bus was.

“Who are you?” she called out.

Something caught her eye. Something out of place. Sort of.

“Christina, look at that mound next to that embankment. About twenty yards in front of the SUV. Does that look different than the others?”

“It does. Like it was shoved off the hill above it?”

“Exactly.” She walked toward it.

“Or he did that on purpose to lead you in the wrong direction,” Christina muttered.

“Maybe, but we need to find out.”

Christina stayed with her.

Haley wanted to know who she and Christina were up against. Two against one could seem like pretty good odds, but he had a bus full of people held hostage that could be killed with the press of a button, so he had the upper hand. For now. “Come on, I’m here! Show yourself!”

He stood up from behind the protection of the SUV, a gun leveled at her. “Toss your weapon out where I can see it. If you hesitate, they will die.”

Haley didn’t even think about it. She knew this part had been coming. With only a slight wince, she gave her Sig Sauer a toss.

“Very nice. Now tell your friend to throw her weapon out of the passenger side window.”

“Do it,” Haley said.

“You don’t have a weapon and I won’t have one if I do this.”

“Just do what he says. He’ll kill them.”

Christina blew out a breath, then rolled the passenger window down. She removed the clip and tossed the gun. Haley heard it land with a thump.

“Good job. Now both of you, walk toward me.”

Christina didn’t move. Neither did Haley.

“Where’s the bus?” Haley asked.

“Get in the car and I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me where they are first.”

He stood with one hand behind his back, the other held the weapon in a rock-steady grip. “You want your friends to die? I said walk this way.”

Her stomach clenched, but she held firm. “I want to know where the kids are. As soon as I know they’re safe, I’ll go anywhere you want me to, cooperate fully.”

Christina stayed quiet while Haley talked.

He pulled his other hand from behind his back and Haley noted the small device tucked beneath his fingers.

A detonator switch?

“Get in the car,” he said.

“Why?”

“We’re not having a discussion. Get in the car or I blow up your friends. You have five seconds to make up your mind. One . . .”

“Don’t do it, Haley,” Christina said.

“I have to. Do whatever you have to do to stay alive to rescue them. He plans to kill you—and everyone on that bus.”

“Four.”

“I’m coming.” She stepped away from the safety of the Hummer and walked toward the vehicle he wanted her to get into.

Christina climbed out of the Hummer. “Haley—”

“Stay behind me. Don’t give him a clear shot. He wants me alive for some reason if he wants me to go with him.” She continued to put one foot in front of the other, desperate to find a way to avoid getting in the SUV without putting the lives of the people she loved in jeopardy.

Christina walked slightly behind her. “If she’s going, I’m going too,” she called.

Haley watched his eyes, and a slight shudder went through her as it always used to when she was in G2. The man’s eyes flicked to Christina, then back to Haley. His lips tightened a fraction. He’d figured out Haley had made herself a shield.

She stopped in front of him, the hood of the SUV between them. She finally got a good look at the man who wanted her dead. He was handsome, with his dark hair and blue eyes, and he stood about six feet tall. He was built like someone who was a frequent visitor at the local gym.

“How does she stop the bus from blowing up?” Haley asked.

“I’ll let your friend figure that out. But she’d better move fast. Time is running out.”

“How much time?”

In a sudden move, he tossed the item in his hand at Christina, dove across the hood to grasp Haley’s bicep, and pressed the muzzle of his weapon against her head.

With the gun still at her temple and his fingers wrapped around her upper arm, he slid from the hood and landed on his feet in a catlike move that even she couldn’t emulate. “Get. In. The. Car.”

Haley knew this was no ordinary assassin. But she was no ordinary hostage.

His grip would leave bruises, but that was the least of her worries. He shoved her toward the vehicle. Then something slammed into them. Haley grunted as they hit the ground and rolled, catching a glimpse of Christina’s face next to hers.

A shot sounded and Haley froze for a split second. Long enough for him to get a punch into her wounded side. The pain arched through her and the breath left her lungs.

Another crack sounded and she flinched. He was shooting at Christina. She pressed a hand to her side and prayed her stitches held.

She rolled onto her back and saw Christina on the ground under the SUV.

He aimed at Christina again and Haley swiped a foot into his right knee. Their attacker cried out and went down with curses. Christina rolled out from under the SUV to the other side and dove behind a smaller pile of gravel. Haley wasn’t sure a bullet wouldn’t travel right through the gravel, but at least Christina appeared to be safe for the moment.

He turned the weapon on her. “That’s it,” he growled. “She just killed her friends.”

“They’re not her friends!” Haley scrambled to her feet. “They’re mine and I’ve done everything you said.”

“Except bring help with you.”

“She was in the car already and you know it. You told me to bring her!”

He pulled her around to the passenger side and opened the door. “Get in, you’re driving.”

Haley held a hand to her side and drew in a deep breath, then crawled across and slid behind the wheel. The keys were in the ignition.

He kept the gun on her while he planted himself in the passenger seat and shut the door.

“Where am I going?”

“Get back on the highway and head back toward town. I’ll give you directions as you drive.”

“Did you kill Gerald Forsythe?”

“I did. Now drive.”