Zero Visibility. Sharon Dunn

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СКАЧАТЬ truck.

      Adrenaline kicked in and every muscle in Nathan’s body tensed. He ran back toward the truck.

      * * *

      Lorelei tapped her feet on the floorboards of the truck. “I don’t see what good going to the police will do. Those guys are probably long gone.”

      Merci cleared her throat. Part of her just wanted to get on a bus to her aunt’s house where it was safe and forget all this had happened. “I know it’s hard to think about, but what if those guys try to rob someone else? We need to tell the police what we know. We have to make every effort to make sure they’re caught.”

      Lorelei crossed her arms over her chest and bent her head. “I guess I just don’t like police very much.”

      Merci sighed and listened to the rhythmic movement of the windshield wipers. She took in her surroundings, what she could see of them. This road looked as if it had been cut out of the side of the mountain. Out of Lorelei’s window was a steep bank where the road dropped off. On the driver’s side was a slight upslope that jutted against an evergreen forest. The mountain road was a single lane at best.

      Merci stared out the windshield. Even before Nathan emerged from behind the veil of snow, running and shouting something they couldn’t hear, she knew they were in trouble.

      Lorelei raised her head like a deer alerted to a distant noise as she gazed out the driver’s-side window. Merci turned her head, zooming in on the movement in the trees. She saw flashes of color, branches breaking and then the man in the orange coat was on the road pointing the gun through the driver’s-side window. Merci reached over and locked the door.

      Time seemed to be moving in slow motion as her heart pounded in her chest. All of her attention focused on the barrel of the gun. The man in the orange coat stepped closer. He had a scar that ran from his lip to his ear. Murder filled his eyes as he lifted the gun.

      Lorelei shouted, “No,” and pulled Merci’s head down to the truck seat, a quick reaction that saved both their lives.

      Glass shattered, sprinkling everywhere. Cold wind blew into the cab.

      “Give me the truck.” The man shouted through the broken window.

      Nathan came up behind Orange Coat, grabbing him around the neck and wrestling him to the ground. The second man, the one in the leather jacket, emerged from the trees.

      Nathan rattled the handle and then reached through the broken window to unlock the door.

      The second thief was free of the trees and close enough to take aim.

      Nathan jumped behind the wheel, clicked into reverse and hit the accelerator. His arm covered the women and pushed them lower as another bullet hit the truck, creating a metallic echo.

      Nathan continued to back the truck up, swerving and looking behind him. Another shot was fired. This one fell short.

      The truck labored to get up the road backward. When she peered above the dashboard, the two men were on the road coming after them, and a third man emerged from the trees. Lorelei gasped. She saw the third man, too.

      The blowing snow enveloped the three figures on the road.

      Going back to the cabin didn’t seem like such a good idea. The men would know where they were. “Isn’t there some way we can get into town?” Merci found the courage to sit up a little straighter.

      “Their car is blocking the intersection. If I try to go around it, I’ll get stuck.” Nathan craned his neck, focusing on the narrow road behind him.

      The cab of the truck grew colder as the wind blew through the shattered window. The passenger-side window also had a spider-web break where the first bullet had exited.

      The back tire slipped off the edge of the road. The truck leaned at a precarious angle. Nathan gunned the engine and then let up several times trying to rock the car out of the rut.

      “I can’t get any traction.” His voice filled with tension.

      “We can push it out,” Merci suggested.

      Nathan tapped his thumb on the steering wheel. “I don’t know if that is a good idea in this cold weather.”

      The truck slid again. Lorelei let out a moan and dug her fingers into Merci’s forearm.

      “This thing is sliding off the bank.” Nathan commanded, “Get out now on my side.”

      Nathan pushed on the door, crawled through and then reached first for Merci, lifting her easily onto the road. He held his hands out for Lorelei to grab on to. Wind drove the snow into their skin like thousands of icy needles. At least, the trunk of her body stayed warm. She was grateful for the extra clothes Nathan had given them.

      “Stay linked together,” Nathan shouted above the wind. “We’re not that far from the cabin.” He hooked his arm through Merci’s and Merci grabbed onto Lorelei. Heads bent and leaning into the wind, they trudged up the hill.

      Merci’s heart still hadn’t slowed from their close encounter with the gunmen. Though her muscles grew tired after only a few minutes, Nathan’s strength pulled her forward. She couldn’t see anything in front of her. She had to trust that Nathan knew his way back to the cabin. She leaned against him, sliding her feet one after the other.

      She tightened her grip around Lorelei when she felt her weakening, slipping away. It was useless to shout words of encouragement. She bent over at the waist ignoring how cold her face and hands had become.

      After a while Nathan slipped free of her. She had a fearful moment of wondering what had happened and then his gloved hand found hers. He placed it on something solid…the railing that led up to the cabin.

      They were here.

      They had made it.

      She collapsed on the stairs. A moment later, strong arms lifted her, and she rested against a warm chest. She clung to the flannel shirt that smelled of wood smoke and musk. He laid her on the couch. She opened her eyes.

      She didn’t have to fight the strong wind anymore. No more icy chill embedded under her skin. Warm tears formed.

      He placed a blanket over her and pulled it up to her chin. “You’re just exhausted and cold. No frostbite or anything.” His hand covered hers. The heat of his touch seeped through to her core.

      Merci shook her head. “This has all been a bit much.” Her arms and legs felt like cooked noodles.

      Lorelei had resumed her position, sitting bent over by the fire. How had she had the presence of mind to pull Merci out of the trajectory of that bullet? She owed Lorelei her life for her quick thinking.

      “What are we going to do now?” Merci’s question held unspoken fears. If the men couldn’t get out, they’d be seeking shelter, too. The cabin would be the first place they’d look, and now there were three of them. She could only guess at where the third man had been during the robbery. Waiting down the road to be picked up or hiding in the trees? There must not have been a second car or they would have used it to escape. “I don’t know if we should stay here.”

      Nathan shook his head. СКАЧАТЬ