Morning came very quickly and Jake didn’t sleep well, but he was rested enough and the light outside the window of the motel indicated he didn’t have much time. He sent a quick text message, and then swung out of bed before he realized Ariel wasn’t in her bed.
A bit of panic set in before he heard the water trickle in the bathroom. He knocked. “Ariel, everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just worried, my tail was dry.”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
He opened the narrow door. “Do you need any help getting out of there?”
“I think I got it.” She pulled herself up and swung her tail over the side of the tub in one swift move. Reaching across, she got the crutches and propped herself right up.
“Wow, you’re getting good on those.”
“Yeah, too good. I miss the water.”
“We have to go now.”
She took a deep breath and pressed forward. “Okay, I’m ready.”
They quickly headed outside. Jake saw the white Subaru wagon was just where it was supposed to be, parked next to his Beetle. As promised, the keys were in it.
Jake picked this motel mostly because of its proximity to the north end of the beach. In just a few minutes’ ride they were there, lumbering over the choppy sands as the waves crashed into the shore on their right.
Jake could see the longing on Ariel’s face to be in the water as she looked at the waves. He didn’t want to let her down, but there was every chance this was not going to end well for her or anyone.
The all-wheel drive wagon he borrowed struggled to maintain momentum in the sand and soon enough it got too deep to go slowly. But that was fine, he’d gone just far enough. Looking to his left, this was actually the perfect spot. The trails that led into the woods of Freeman Park were right there.
He walked around the car to Ariel’s side. She was adjusting the blanket around her as he approached the window. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. “I’m ready.”
He pulled open the door just as a small, silver SUV began rumbling up the beach toward him. “He’s here.” Jake sent a quick text and a GPS ping for their exact location.
The SUV drove up next to them and stopped. Castro got out and roughly dragged Ashley around as Jake helped Ariel upright outside the car onto her crutches.
Castro stuck a gun into Ashley’s side. “Drop your pistol.”
Jake moved his head back in surprise. “I don’t have a pistol.”
“You also don’t have a good poker face. Now drop the gun and put the blonde in the truck.”
“Let Ashley go first.”
“Drop the gun first. Toss it into the sand over there.”
Jake didn’t think this part through. He needed the gun as part of his plan, but he knew there was a chance the plan would change. He reluctantly reached into the back of his cargo shorts and removed the gun from the small of his back, tossing it down in the sand near the tide. He just hoped the tide wouldn’t sweep it away.
Castro pointed the gun at him. “Now, put the freak in the SUV.”
Jake had to stall. He started to comply slowly when a screaming engine roared from down the trail toward them. They all looked as the grill and steel brush-guard of a huge black pickup truck rushed at them, slamming with reckless abandon into the silver SUV, sending it tumbling toward the water.
Using the moment of surprise, Jake moved quickly on Castro, going straight for the gun. He got hold of the man’s arm but he was surprisingly strong. Jake was using every bit of strength he had to wrestle that pistol away. The struggle was epic. He kneed the man in the mid-section.
The gun was swinging wildly as shots started to pop in every direction, just one after another pinging off the vehicles, thumping into the sand, and sailing out into the ocean to distances unknown.
There was no way Jake was winning this battle, but when two more shots issued and Castro dropped, Jake looked up to see Ashley behind the barrel of his discarded gun.
The driver of the large pickup jumped down to the sand. Seeing the small brunette get out of such a large truck seemed funny.
Jesse kicked some sand. “Fuck yeah, that was fun.”
Jake was the first one to notice Ariel lying on the sand. At first, he just thought she’d dove to the ground to avoid the bullets, but then he saw the blood. He ran over to her, Ashley and Jesse quickly followed.
“Ho-ly shit!” Jesse exclaimed. “You weren’t kidding. This is real.”
Jake slid his arms under Ariel’s body. He glanced around. “Jesse, get us out of here.”
Ashley said, “I know where to take her.”
“No.” Jake hurried toward the pickup bed. “It’s too risky.”
“It’s too risky to take her back to Dr. Shepard too.” Ashley dropped the tailgate on the big old Ford.
Jake eased Ariel up into the bed and jumped up with her. He met Ashley’s eyes. “Go tell Jesse how to get there.”
She pushed up the tailgate and hurried to the cab. The big Ford chewed up the sand, spitting it out behind them as Jesse piloted them to the paved roads.