Zero Visibility (21 page)

“That’s a relief,” she said. “I think we are both just a little jumpy because of all that has happened.” Merci laced her fingers together in her lap.

“We would be abnormal if we weren’t a little skittish after all of that.” A few minutes later, Nathan pointed to a sign that indicated a rest stop was up ahead. “We can stop if you want?”

“That would be great,” she said.

When they pulled over into the rest stop parking lot, there was one other car and a semi truck parked way off in a corner. No interior lights glowed from inside the semi and no one wandered around it. The driver had probably stopped to get some sleep. Someone was sitting in the passenger seat of the car with his or her back to them.

“I’ll make it quick,” Merci said as she pushed open the car door.

Nathan got out, as well. “I’ll just wait right here for you.”

Their fear hadn’t subsided; both of them were still on heightened alert, expecting the thieves to jump out at any moment.

Merci entered the bathroom. Her boots tapped across the linoleum. Tension threaded down her back. The bathroom felt chilled as though a breeze were blowing in from somewhere. She checked all the stalls, half expecting Lorelei to jump out at her with a knife.

Once she had washed her hands, Merci hurried back outside.

Nathan was standing by the car unharmed. “You okay?”

She put an open hand to her racing heart. “I just hope they catch these guys soon.”

Nathan nodded. “I think we will both be less of a target when we get to your aunt’s house. I think you are right about me staying there. I might hang out until we get word that all four of them are in custody. The police are watching all the roads. I’m sure they will have the thieves in custody within twenty-four hours.”

Merci couldn’t shake off the fear that made every muscle in her body tight. “I know it’s not realistic, but it feels like we could go to the ends of the earth and they would still find us.”

Nathan nodded. “I know the feeling.”

Nathan got behind the wheel. They talked for a while longer until Merci could feel the heaviness of sleep invading her limbs. Turning sideways, she rested her head against the head rest and drifted off.

* * *

As he checked his rearview mirror for the fourth time, Nathan was grateful that Merci was resting. She would have picked up on his nervousness. The car that had been behind him since the rest stop was different than the one before. The headlights were higher up.

The road was so curvy there had been no opportunity to pass.

Of course, it was entirely possible that the car was just another person who had decided to travel on this road at night. That was the most logical explanation. The sense that he had to remain vigilant while the thieves were at large was driving his paranoia.

Rationalizing didn’t make the knot of tension at the base of his neck any less tight. He glanced over at Merci. She was kind of cute when she slept.

He rounded a curve, aware that there might still be ice on the road. The road evened out into a straightaway, and he slowed down. They were within an hour of Grotto Falls and would be out of the mountains and into nicer weather shortly.

Merci awoke with a start. “I just thought of something.”

Nathan thought better of alerting her to the car behind them. “What is that?”

Her voice filled with an icy fear. “If Lorelei has my phone, then she knows Aunt Celeste’s address. It’s in the phone. What if they are waiting for us to show up there?”

Nathan didn’t have time to answer. The car behind him sped up and switched to the left lane.

He took in a breath, gripped the steering wheel and waited for the car to pass. Even through the closed window, he could hear the other car accelerate and come up beside him.

Why wasn’t the other car passing and pulling in front of him? He slowed down even more. The other car slowed, as well. Adrenaline shot through his veins as he sped up, and the car kept pace with him. He glanced over long enough to see the thief’s leering face in the passenger seat.

Merci tuned in to Nathan’s fear. She sat up straighter. “What’s going on?”

The other car turned its wheels, slamming into the front end of Nathan’s car. Nathan swerved, struggling to keep the car on the road.

Merci dug her hands into the seat rest. “They found us,” she said in a panicked whisper.

Nathan scanned the road up ahead for a turnoff or a possibility of escape. The thieves’ car surged slightly ahead and rammed against them by the wheel well.

Their car jerked and wobbled. Nathan gripped the steering wheel struggling to straighten the tire and get back on the road. His car swerved, veering off the road.

Merci screamed. The car rolled down the hill. The seat belt dug into Nathan’s chest when they were upside down. His body felt beaten and stretched in all directions at once. They were right side up and then upside down again. He hung in space for a moment. An object flew past his face. The crunching of metal surrounded him.

The car came to rest upside down. Nathan felt woozy and foggy brained. Merci hadn’t made any more noise since he’d heard her scream.

His hand trembled as he felt around for his seat belt buckle. “Merci, are you okay?”

She didn’t answer.

He tried to turn his head so he could see the passenger seat. The car was mangled in such a way that his view was limited. Had she been thrown clear of the car?

The interior of the car seemed to be spinning around him, and he couldn’t orient himself. His fingers fumbled along the seat belt until he found the clip and pushed down. The belt didn’t release. Black dots formed at the corners of his vision as he summoned all the strength he had left and pushed harder on the seat belt clip. He fell down to the roof of the car and passed out. As consciousness faded, he heard a harsh and familiar voice.

“Deal with him in a minute. First we need to get her to talk before she says bye-bye to the world.”

EIGHTEEN

N
athan struggled to maintain clarity as his hand fumbled around the glove compartment where he had put the gun. The door on the glove compartment was bent. He couldn’t get it open. The voices of the thieves had come from outside the car. Merci must have been thrown clear in the crash. He broke the remainder of the glass out of the driver’s-side window with his elbow and crawled through.

Freezing night air surrounded him. He stumbled down the hill. He had to find Merci, to save her. The ground leveled out, and he continued to run into the darkness until he heard voices.

He slowed his pace.

He heard the sound of skin slapping skin and Orange Coat saying, “Wake up. You need to answer a few questions.”

His heart squeezed tight when he heard Merci let out a cry.

Nathan stepped softly, hoping not to make any noise. He walked toward where light streamed out. The two thugs came into view. One was kneeling over Merci, and the other stood with his back to Nathan holding a flashlight.

More slapping sounds. “Where are they? Where are the books?”

Merci let out a cry of confusion. “The books? What are you talking about? You mean the textbooks that were in my room?”

Nathan’s hands curled into fists. He’d heard enough. They weren’t going to hurt her anymore. Nathan scanned the ground around him and picked up a small log. His feet pounded the ground as he lifted his arm and thwacked the standing thief hard against the side of the head. Leather Jacket tumbled to the ground. Nathan pushed Orange Coat out of the way and turned to look at Merci. From where she lay on the ground on her back, she reached out her arms to him.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a sitting position. Orange Coat recovered and lunged toward him. Nathan angled out of the way while Merci scrambled to her feet. He grabbed her hand and started to run.

From the ground where he lay, Leather Coat grabbed his ankle as he ran by and pulled him down.

Nathan hit the hard ground. “Run, Merci.”

She hesitated.

Nathan managed to land a hard hit to Leather Coat’s stomach and break free of his grasp before Orange Coat pulled out a gun.

“I don’t think anyone is going anywhere,” said Orange Coat.

Merci moved toward Nathan, who stepped in front of her, shielding her.

Leather Jacket doubled over from the blow to his stomach.

“Now give me the girl. We are not through with her yet,” Orange Coat snarled.

Nathan knew he was of no value to them. They’d shoot him and take Merci. His mind reeled as he stared at the barrel of the gun. What could he do? They had turned a half circle in their struggle, so Orange Coat’s back was to the hill that led up to the highway.

Nathan looked over Orange Coat’s shoulder where he saw shadows moving. The thieves’ flashlights had been kicked off into the brush, and it was hard to discern anything.

Merci let out a fear-filled gasp as she pressed closer to him. Nathan scanned the area around him. Maybe the darkness could work to their advantage.

He talked to Orange Coat to distract him. “Now you don’t want to shoot me. What if you accidentally hit the girl? And you said you still need her. All this trouble you have gone to. It can’t be worth it.”

“It’s worth a couple of million, and we get a cut of it now for all our trouble?”

What could be worth a couple of million dollars? While Nathan talked, he took an almost indiscernible step back, communicating to Merci that they needed to dive into the dark underbrush.

Orange Coat lifted the gun. On cue, Merci fell to the ground and scrambled on all fours toward the darkness of the bushes. As he turned to run, Nathan spotted a flashlight, grabbed it and shone it directly in Orange Coat’s eyes.

Orange Coat put up his hand. The distraction allowed Nathan time to reach for the other man’s gun. The gun flew out of Orange Coat’s hand and off into the shadows. Nathan wrestled with the thief. An arm hooked around his neck. Leather Jacket must have recovered and now had him in a vise.

“Get off of him.”

He could hear Merci shouting and see flashes of her face. Orange Coat landed a blow to his stomach. Nathan gasped for air as the hands around his neck tightened. In his peripheral vision, he saw Leather Jacket dragging Merci away.

He clawed at the hands around his neck. He kicked Orange Coat in the shin, which caused him to let go of Nathan’s neck. Nathan gasped for air and saw spots in front of his face. He wrestled Orange Coat to the ground and pinned him only to have Leather Jacket return and jump on top of him.

What had happened to Merci?

He wrestled and fought with both men, getting in several good blows, but growing tired. How much longer could he keep this up? Nathan had knocked Orange Coat to the ground and hit Leather Jacket across the jaw when a voice boomed out of the darkness.

“Leave my brother alone.”

Both thieves threw their arms up.

Daniel stood before him, holding the gun that had been tossed out into the darkness.

“You came.” Gratitude washed through Nathan like a flood.

“Of course I came. I would move heaven and earth for you, little brother,” said Daniel. “I don’t ever want to hurt you again or see you hurt. You have to believe that.”

“I’m starting to. Thank you.” Nathan retrieved the flashlight and shone it in the brush looking for Merci. “How did you know?”

“Right after you left, the sheriff’s department called. They had a stolen vehicle report that was delayed in getting in because the driver had to hike into town. They tried to call your cell first.”

“Mountains must have blocked the reception,” Nathan said.

“I knew where you were going. I got in my car and headed down the mountain.”

Nathan’s heart swelled with love for his brother. “You did that for me.”

Daniel nodded.

“Help me.” Merci’s strained voice came from the brush.

“Go find her. I can handle these two.” Daniel leveled the gun at the thugs. “Get on your knees, both of you.”

The thieves complied.

Nathan swung the flashlight back and forth searching until he found Merci lying facedown with her hands tied behind her back. He untied her.

She fell into his arms but pulled away quickly. Her voice filled with panic. “We have to go to my aunt’s house. I know what they are looking for.”

“What are you talking about?”

“They wanted to know where the books were. The only books they could be talking about are the ones my father sent me in the care package to give to my aunt.”

“Your father sent your aunt books worth millions of dollars?”

Daniel said, “Nathan, I think we need to get something to tie these guys up with. I can’t hold this gun forever.”

Merci picked up the rope she had been restrained with. “This is long enough. We can cut this in half.”

While Daniel tied the thieves’ hands behind their backs, Merci pulled Nathan out of earshot of the thieves and continued, “My father didn’t know the books were worth that much…or maybe it’s just one of the books. He probably bought them at some little street stall in Spain. They were books that were written in Spanish. My aunt used to be a missionary in South America. She likes to read Spanish books. When I got the care package, I put the books in the mail to Auntie. I didn’t want them taking up space and adding weight to my suitcase.”

“But for some reason Hawthorne knows how much the book or books are worth.”

“I know now where I saw him. When I got that care package from my dad, I opened it up in the student union. Hawthorne walked by me. He stopped and asked me directions to some place on campus. It was such a quick conversation. I don’t even remember where he wanted to go. I must have just taken out the books, and he saw them.”

“So he recognized that at least one of the books was valuable. Why go to all this trouble? Why not just offer to buy the book from you for a couple hundred dollars?”

“Maybe he was afraid I would do research and find out the book was worth more. It doesn’t matter.” She walked to where Daniel still held a gun on the two thieves. She addressed Leather Jacket. “You were supposed to call Hawthorne if you were successful, right?”