Part 40 (1/2)
She retrieved the rope from the floor and brought it to Dave. He turned Robert over, handed Lisa the gun, then yanked the man's arms behind him.
”Dave!” she said. ”You're bleeding! The bullet-”
”I wasn't hit. She got the lamp.”
”But the blood-”
”The lamp exploded and knocked me backward. A piece of it sliced my head open. By the time I realized what was happening, Robert already had the gun. I figured it would be in our best interest if I stayed down.”
She couldn't believe it. It was just a scalp wound? All that blood, but he was okay? ”Oh, G.o.d,” she said, swiping the tears out of her eyes, almost collapsing with relief. ”I thought you were dead.”
”No way,” he said. ”This b.a.s.t.a.r.d's going back across the border if I have to climb off my deathbed to drag him there.”
Dave finished tying Robert's hands, then took the gun back from Lisa. She hurried to the bathroom, found a hand towel, and when she brought it back out Dave already had Robert on his feet. She tried to press the towel against Dave's head, but he shrugged it off.
”Just bring it along. We need to get him out of here.”
Then Lisa heard something outside, and she could tell Dave heard it, too.
”Sirens?” she said.
”s.h.i.+t. His girlfriend probably called the cops. Let's go!”
But when he took hold of Robert to drag him out the door, the man tried to wrestle away. ”f.u.c.k you! I'm not going anywhere!”
Dave shoved him three steps forward and slammed him against the wall, pressing the barrel of his gun against the side of his head.
”Now, Robert,” he said, restrained fury filling his voice, ”you and I both know that down here there aren't any rules. I could kill you, get back on that plane, return to the U.S., and n.o.body would even know I'd been here, and even if they did, I doubt they'd give a s.h.i.+t. The only reason you're still alive is because I'm still hanging on to one tiny thread of humanity where you're concerned. It snaps, you're a dead man. You got that?”
Robert's eyes widened just enough that Dave knew the man was finally taking him seriously. He shoved Robert out the apartment door, through the courtyard, then around the edge of the building to the alley, where he pushed him into the backseat of the car.
”Are you sure you're okay to drive?” Lisa asked Dave.
”I'm fine.” Dave slammed the back door. They leapt into their seats, pulling their seat belts across them. Dave started the engine, shoved the car into gear, and burned rubber.
”How fast can you get that plane off the ground?” Dave asked.
”We can hop in, start the engine, and go. You get us there, and I'll put us into the air in a hurry.”
They approached an intersection. Dave sped right through the stop sign, but when Lisa looked down the intersecting street she saw a sheriff 's car a block away, coming toward them.
”I think they've seen us,” Lisa said. ”Let's move!”
A few seconds later, the police car skidded around the corner to follow them, lights flas.h.i.+ng and siren blaring. Dave gunned it through town, steering wildly around any cars that got in his way, at the same time laying on his horn to warn anyone who was even thinking about crossing the street.
”Gee, Dave,” Lisa said, her eyes wide and her back plastered against the seat. ”You're getting pretty good at this.”
”Practice makes perfect. How are we doing back there?”
Lisa looked over her shoulder. ”They're still there, but they're not gaining on us.”
Soon they approached the outskirts of town. Dave maneuvered through the last stop sign, then hit the gas hard. Nothing but open road lay ahead of them. If they could reach the dirt road that ran to the west of Sera's property and turn onto it without being seen, they were home free.
Lisa looked over her shoulder. ”Looks like they've fallen back. We may just make it.”
The road was filled with curves, which Dave negotiated with as much speed as he possibly could and still keep all four tires on the ground. Lisa kept looking over her shoulder, but no police car came into sight. Then they came around a bend, and Lisa recoiled.
”Dave! Look out!”
Dave slammed on the brakes and veered hard to the right, but not in time to keep from cras.h.i.+ng into the back fender of a police car that was turned sideways in the road. The impact spun it out of the way and smacked Lisa and Dave hard against their seat belts. Dave wheeled their car back to the center of the road and hit the gas again.
”Looks like they radioed ahead to another unit,” Dave said. ”You okay?”
”Yeah. You?”
”I'm fine.”
Peering out the winds.h.i.+eld, Lisa saw the left front end of their car mangled beyond description. ”Oh, boy. Is that a problem?”
”We're still moving. I'm taking that as a good sign. What's going on behind us?”
Lisa looked over her shoulder. ”They're turning around.”
”Yeah?”
”And coming after us.”
”s.h.i.+t.”
”There's our turnoff!” Lisa said, pointing down the road.
Dave hit the brakes, tires squealing, then made the ninety-degree turn onto the dirt road. He hit the gas again, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them.
”Are they still on our tail?” Dave asked.
”I don't know. It's hard to see.” She paused, staring hard, trying to make out a car in the midst of all the dust. Nothing . . . nothing . . .
”d.a.m.n it!” she said as the front end of the police car came into view. ”They're still coming! We need more of a lead, or we're never going to make it.”
”I'm going to slow down,” Dave said. ”Let them get closer.”
”What?”
Dave slapped his gun into Lisa's hand. ”Do your thing, baby.”
Lisa had spent hours at the shooting range in San Antonio preparing for the worst, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that it would pay off like this.