Pure Dynamite (16 page)

"What kind?"

"Not sure. I'll have to check with Nevin."

While Lyle tried to get comfortable, Adam transferred the medical supplies. Then he went to get Renata. He briefly debated substituting handcuffs for the gauze but didn't want to waste any more time. Or risk Ethan's men coming in for a closer look.

Adam opened her car door and reached to help her.

She leaned away. "Let me stay in my car. Please! I swear I won't call the police or tell anyone."

He knew Griz and Company were still watching them; probably waiting to report to Nevin that they'd departed. Leaving her behind would place her in even greater danger: They wouldn't tolerate a witness. Adam tugged her out, helped her stand. She was trembling. Afraid. Until he'd touched her. Now her eyes flashed with boldness. In the face of her fear, she had spirit.

"Sorry, but I'm starting to like having you around" he said.

They drove for five hours, crossing into Virginia and then weaving north. Adam pressed hard knowing it was critical to reach their destination while it was dark.

Their route had been well chosen. The roads had some traffic but no roadblocks. While Virginia didn't have the same degree of flooding that North Carolina had parts of the state had received record rainfalls. And according to the radio, as the new storm system brought more precipitation to the mid-Atlantic, flood warnings would soon be posted along the entire eastern seaboard.

Just before dawn, Adam made the last turn onto a rocky lane that led to a large barn near the edge of a recently mowed hayfield. He glanced at Renata. She hadn't said much since they'd left Yanceyville. Which made him wonder what she was thinking.

When they stopped, Lyle roused from a drug-in- duced slumber. "Are we there yet?"

"Afraid so." Adam reread the directions.
Follow lane to barn.
That was it? He grabbed the flashlight. "Let me check it out. I'll be right back."

Renata leaned forward watched him disappear.

"What's he doing now?" Lyle asked.

"He went inside." She heard the back seat squeak as Lyle shifted.

"You sound nervous, Doc. Afraid?"

"No."

He started to laugh, then groaned as if in pain. The sound was macabre. Practically nonhuman.

She glanced over her shoulder. In the dark, and with Lyle lying down, she wasn't able to see anything. "Are you okay?"

For a moment he didn't answer, then he rasped "No. I need your help."

With her hands tied she couldn't do much. Concerned she looked out the window, but saw no sign of Adam. "Tell me what's wrong," she said.

"What's wrong? I think I explained earlier. Nine months, fourteen days. I'm so horny, my dick hurts." Again that creepy, disembodied laughter followed.

The painkillers.
Lyle was high.

When Adam mentioned the narcotic, she warned that Lyle shouldn't self-medicate. Besides altering his moods and perceptions, the drug could mask the severity of his injury, conceal the symptoms of other problems.

In Lyle's case, the drug seemed to amplify his innate nastiness. When she'd been left with him at the clinic, she'd learned that he wasn't nearly as strong as he'd acted which made his remarks no less repulsive.

"Why don't you climb back here and sit with me," Lyle whispered. "And I'll show you what you can do to make me feel better."

Renata jerked as cold fingers brushed against her neck then tightened pulling her hair.

The inside of the empty barn had enough room for several vehicles. Adam's curiosity about who owned the property and what connection they had to the McEdwins spiked. Did the owner realize he housed
fugitives? The FBI had long suspected the McEdwins had others helping them—finally they'd have names.

A sagging bench was tacked against one wall. Beneath the bench were four five-gallon containers of gasoline, more than enough to fill the car.

On top of the bench was another cooler. A note and map were tucked under the edge. Adam read them, then returned to the Buick.

As soon as he climbed back in, he knew something had happened. Renata had her back pressed to the car door and was agitated.

"Everything okay?"

"Terrific." Lyle was sitting up now, his breathing labored. "Oow."

Adam turned. "You shouldn't move without help."

"The help's tied up. What did you find inside?"

"This." Adam passed Lyle the note and map before driving the car inside the barn. "We head to West Virginia next. Any of those places look familiar?"

Lyle tossed the map back over the seat. "Shit. To be honest, it's all familiar. I did a lot of deer hunting in that area when I was younger. Nevin mentioned using 'interim solutions' to hide us during daylight hours. But I expected more than a friggin' barn."

"Me, too, kid. But it hides the car and gives us a place to catch some shut-eye."

Adam just hoped their next destination wasn't another
interim solution.
Yes, he would expect the McEdwins to be extremely cautious about meeting Lyle, especially with a manhunt underway. However, the McEdwins weren't in Adam's shoes: fleeing police with a wounded man and a kidnapped doctor, in a car that would eventually be reported stolen to protect the owner.

Shutting off the engine, he climbed out and shut the barn doors. Then he opened Renata's car door, helped
her stand. He noted the dark smudges beneath her eyes. She hadn't slept during the night, and had to be feeling tired and stressed.

Hell, he was exhausted. It had been over thirty-six hours since he'd slept. He withdrew the pocketknife and flipped the blade open.

"Raise your hands." He sliced through the gauze.

He knew she hated being tied. He empathized, remembered having his hands and feet shackled while being at the mercy of another. He had hated it, too.

He took her right wrist, examining it for signs of chafing. He trailed his fingers lightly over the bruises he'd caused when they'd fought over the scalpel. They bothered him.

"We're stuck here for the day. If you need to use the bathroom, we've got to do it now, before the sun rises."

She looked around the barn. "Where?"

"Outside."

Her cheeks flushed. "Can I go alone?"

From the back seat, Lyle snickered. "Hey man, I'll take her."

"No!" She pulled away, glancing over her shoulder.

Adam frowned. He suspected something had passed between these two earlier, and knowing Lyle, it hadn't been pleasant. He stepped closer to her. "Come on."

Outside, dawn lightened the veil across the sky. The ground surrounding the barn was muddy, saturated with rain.

"You know it's pointless to run," he said.

Renata looked at the empty fields and nodded. The urge to flee was strong, but as desperate as she felt, she wasn't stupid. She'd been able to wiggle free of Lyle's grip in the car after underestimating him; she wouldn't make the same mistake with Adam.

To her surprise, Adam turned his back, offering her a modicum of privacy. She squinted searching for a bush, a tree, but the landscape was barren. Semi-darkness was her only cover.

Resentful, she eyed his silhouette, knew his courteousness was merely an act. He was too close and the sky was growing light. If she tried to escape, it would be easy enough to shoot her.

But would he?
She recalled his not retaliating for her stabbing him and his having the gun on safety earlier. Neither act made him a saint.

He seemed to know instinctively when to turn. That, or he peeked. Avoiding his eyes, Renata walked straight for the barn.

He hooked her arm as she passed, stopping her. "Anything you'd like to talk about?"

She looked at his hand. "Sure. When will I be released?"

"Soon. But—"

A dull
whoosh-whoosh
echoed in the distance, interrupting their conversation.

Renata recognized the sound. Spotting the helicopter, she twisted tried to tug free. If she could just break away long enough to wave her arms and get the pilot's attention.

Adam pulled his gun. "Inside. Now!"

She resisted. "No! They might be looking for me."

Her five-foot-three was no match for his six-four. With ease he yanked her back into the barn. She stumbled, then righted herself.

Adam peered out the door. As the helicopter passed overhead, he stepped outside again. Renata tried to rush past, but he stopped her. She read the lettering on the chopper's underbelly as it disappeared.

"False alarm," he said, releasing her and closing the door. "Acme Timber—aerial survey."

From behind them, Lyle let out a noisy sigh. "Cripes. I thought we were fucking goners."

Renata turned. Lyle had the car door open, a cigarette in his hand. He could barely breathe yet he was smoking. The man was brainless.

He blew a streamer of smoke in her direction and coughed. "Yeah, I know. It'll kill me. But you're hoping I die anyway, right? Make your life simpler."

She opened her mouth, then closed it, as his barb struck too close to home. Did she really think that? Wish for his death so she could be freed? She mentally sidestepped the question. If Lyle died, there was no guarantee Adam would release her.