Pure Dynamite (31 page)

"Can McEdwin survive without her?"

"Not yet. He's still running a fever, but I hope the new medicine will start working soon. Then it's just a matter of finding a place to leave Renata for Ethan's men."

"Roger that," Stan said. "Just be careful. I have a feeling things are getting ready to heat up."

They ended up staying at the cabin another two nights. Nevin and Willy both remained incommunicado, though the guards outside were doubled.

Adam burned to take action but couldn't seem too eager to deal and raise suspicion. He also worried that
Nevin would find a replacement source for the explosives.

Adam knew the time weighed heavy for Renata, too. Being forced to care for one of her captors didn't help. While Lyle's fever lowered, it didn't completely go away which frustrated her.

Adam's admiration for her inner strength increased each day, just as his desire for her body increased each night. They continued to shower together, but rushed through it. His erection was perpetual. A curse. He dreamed about past lovers, the women who'd used his body without inhibition. But all of them looked like Renata.

To pass time, he spent part of each day doing calisthenics; sit-ups, push-ups, crunches.

By the third day the swelling in Renata's foot had gone down and she even worked out with him, though he refused her request to go jogging.

"Do you jog daily?" he asked.

"When I'm not being held against my will? Yes."

Lyle called out, breaking into their conversation. Leaving her handcuffed, Adam walked into the bedroom and found him sitting up.

"Get ready. We're finally leaving here."

"Now?" It was barely dusk. "Going where?"

"Kansas. It's a temporary stop."

"Not again."

"My old man's spooked because of that shipment getting seized, so he'll stay on the move himself for a little while."

Adam frowned. "This is getting old, kid. I expected to be a thousand miles away by now."

"It won't be much longer. The fact we're heading west is a good sign. And I mentioned that we're work
ing on the C-4. He nearly shit." Lyle's grin stretched from ear to ear. "If we can pull this off, I'll be a hero."

Once again they traveled at night. The directions were tedious, and took them through the darkest stretches of landscape Adam had ever seen—the unending cornfields of southern Illinois.

The brakes of the vehicle ahead of them suddenly flashed on, the bright red lights careening crazily before spinning into the air.

Adam stopped short, his headlights sweeping the scene. A minivan had flipped, coming to rest upside down in the middle of the road. The mangled body of a deer lay in the van's headlights.

Renata sat forward. "My God! Someone's lying in the road! We have to help!"

Lyle roused in the back. "Why are we stopping?"

"An accident." Adam pulled over, turning on his flashers as he threw the car into
park
. "I'll be right back."

Renata lunged for his shoulder, held out her cuffed hands. "Take me with you. They may need a doctor."

"Don't do it man," Lyle warned. "She'll run."

"If I run, shoot me," she said.

"Agreed." Adam unlocked her cuffs and grabbed a flashlight, before turning to Lyle. "We'll be right back. I'll leave the car running."

Tugging her from the car, Adam kept her close as they hurried toward the body in the road. An eerie death-like chant of cicadas filled the night. He saw only the one victim, a man, who he'd guess had been thrown from the car.

Adam had expected to find a dead body, but the man
stirred when they approached, in pain. "My legs are broken ... Please ... get my son!"

A child's sobs broke the night.

"Stay with him," Adam said to Renata. But she was already on her knees, checking the man's pulse as she asked questions.

Adam hurried toward the van. The front seats had been completely demolished, the engine shoved forward. Oddly, the radio still blared sound popping and crackling from a shattered speaker.
"The search continues for the escaped convicts..."

He flicked on the flashlight and peered inside at the back seat, afraid of what he'd find. A small boy, still strapped in the car seat that had saved his life, hung upside down, red-faced and screaming.

Relief hammered in his chest. "Easy, buddy. I'll get you."

Adam tried to open the doors but found the frames jammed too tightly. Dropping to the ground and lying on his back, he wedged his shoulders through the busted-out window, praying he didn't get stuck. Broken glass bit into his flesh as he forced his upper body farther into the vehicle.

The smell of fear and urine hit him as the kid continued to scream. Adam reached up, realized his hand was covered in blood. His? The kid's? Then he caught the scent of ketchup, saw the long forgotten french fry still clutched in the child's hand.

The little boy cried even harder when Adam freed him from the seat and slowly backed out of the wrecked vehicle.

Cradling the boy carefully, he hurried to Renata. As they drew near, the injured man held out his arm. "Tanner!"

Adam lowered the little boy to the pavement beside
his father. Tanner promptly buried his face in his father's neck and howled even louder. Renata moved closer, soothing the child with low sounds as she ran a tentative hand down his back, checking for injuries.

She nodded at Adam's shirt. "Is that your blood or his?"

"Mine. I don't think he's hurt. He was still in his car seat."

A new set of headlights flashed on the horizon. Another vehicle approached and pulled over in front of Adam's car.

A woman came running up, a cell phone pressed to her ear as she shouted the location of the accident into the phone. Adam moved closer to Renata.

"I'm an RN," the woman said to Adam. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Thank God! This man needs help." He yanked Renata to her feet, pinned her to his side. "You've called the police? Our cell phone's dead."

"They're on the way." The woman dropped beside the injured man and began asking questions and checking his vital signs.

Behind them Lyle honked the horn, flashed the headlights.

Adam turned to the nurse. "That's our kids. We left them in the car and they're probably fighting. My wife and I will be right back."

The nurse, who had looked up at the honking, nodded absently and refocused on the injured man and child.

They had almost reached the car when a siren echoed in the distance. Adam clapped a hand over Renata's mouth and pulled her into a run. At the car, he shoved her inside and quickly handcuffed her.

"Don't—" Renata struggled in vain.

"Jesus Christ! The cops are almost here and they ain't stopping!" Lyle yelled. "We're fucked!"

"They're coming for the accident, not us." Adam dropped the car in
drive
and took off.

Behind them a patrol car approached lights blazing. From the corner of his eye, he saw Renata look over her shoulder just as Lyle leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her neck. Yanking her backwards, he pressed a pistol to her temple.

Her scream was cut off as Lyle tightened his arm.

"They get too close, I'll shoot her," he slurred. "And when I toss her body in the road, I guarantee they'll stop!"

"Whoa there!" Adam kept his voice steady, to calm Lyle. "Look, the cop already pulled over at the accident. Once we clear this curve, I'll floor it and they'll never find us."

Undoubtedly, Nevin had provided yet another handgun—a problem he'd deal with later. His only concern right now was Renata's safety. And his choices were brutally simple. Stopping to disarm Lyle while lights were still visible behind them would only agitate the kid further. Adam had his own gun drawn, but out of sight. If he couldn't talk Lyle down...

"Yeah? Well, they can still come after us," Lyle persisted. "That's why I say we dump her. So what if we get rid of her a day or two earlier?"

"You're still running a fever."

"Big deal. Once we hook up with my father—"

"And when will that be? Your old man's pushed us off several times already." Adam glanced over his shoulder. "Besides, we may need her as a hostage."

Lyle swore, then suddenly withdrew the gun and released her. "You got a point. But let's get the hell out of Dodge."

His own fury barely under control, Adam hit the gas, eager to get away from the accident scene to disarm Lyle.

* * *

Lyle snored like a warthog in the back seat, having taken yet more painkillers.

The incident left Renata feeling as if she sat three feet from a rabid dog, wondering if the leash was about to break. Could Adam truly protect her from Lyle's escalating volatility?

She thought back to the accident, wished she had tried to tell the injured man who she was. But he'd been barely conscious, worried only about his child. And it had been so dark, so chaotic, that neither the man nor the woman who stopped had seen them clearly.

Adam stopped at a riverside park just across the state line. He pressed a finger to his lips then climbed out of the car. She watched not understanding, until he opened the back door and snatched the gun from Lyle's waistband.

Lyle stirred, disoriented. "What's up?"

"Pit stop," Adam said.

With a groan, Lyle sat up. "Hey! Where's my gun?"

"In a safe spot."

"Give it back."

"Not while you're popping pills."

"Who died and left you in charge?"

"I've always been in charge. Remember?" Adam moved closer. "Don't ever pull a stunt like that again, kid. You were waving the pistol all over the place, and I was this far from shooting you myself."