The sorrow in her hadn't let up. There was more, and his heart sank. Sweetheart, I'm heading down into the open tube. Drive straight ahead about fifty feet. I'll meet you there.
He slid over the side like a lizard, scooting belly-down, still not trusting that his gut was giving him false information. Something was a threat, he just hadn't identified it yet.
Halfway down the slope, a boulder jutted out of the dirt and sand. Kane scrambled around it, heard an angry buzz, and threw himself into a roll. Splinters of rock rained down, two embedding in his pack as he somersaulted by.
Sniper, Rose. Three o'clock. He continued rolling down the slope, knowing a good marksman could hit him. He'd never felt quite so exposed.
The Humvee tore out of the tunnel into the open, roaring between him and the shooter as he landed hard on the flat trail. He yanked open the passenger door and dove inside. "Go. Go."
She stomped on the gas, and the vehicle grabbed and took off, racing away from their haven. Kane slammed the door closed and checked to make certain the baby was surrounded by the bulletproof vests they'd found in the tunnel. He'd lined the makeshift car seat with one as well. The boy was locked in facing the seat for added protection and appeared sound asleep.
He expected the shooter to fire a few more rounds, but if the man did, nothing hit the Humvee, and Kane couldn't imagine facing anyone but a good marksman, which meant the shooter was on the move.
"Keep straight, sweetheart," he instructed, checking the loads in the various weapons and placing them strategically around the Humvee. "He's out there, and he's going to come after us."
"Is Sebastian all right?" Rose shot one look over her shoulder at the baby.
The Humvee wasn't the most comfortable ride, bouncing them all over the place as she went over rocks and patches of thick shrubs. Just as Kane could see in the darkness, so could she. There was no need for lights. The trail was grown over with shrubbery. Rocks rolled down the slope on either side. She went right over them, gripping the wheel as it jumped in an effort to get away from her.
"Diego gave me up to the cartel." Rose's voice was grim.
"Are you certain?"
"It's in the letter. He told them Whitney would pay a fortune for me." She leaned forward, peering out the window. "Apparently he has two sons who have been on the cartel's wanted list. In return for me and his connection to Whitney, the cartel will leave his family alone. The plan is to ransom me and the baby to Whitney."
Kane swore through clenched teeth. Not only did they have to worry about Whitney and his men, but now they might have the cartel breathing down their necks. That information certainly ruled out going back into town.
"I take it he left the guns and Humvee to clear his conscience before he died."
She nodded. "He said he couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least give me some kind of a chance."
"Why did the cartel wait?"
"I think they were busy trying to find the men who stole their prisoners. I'm a helpless woman, about to give birth, trapped in a house in the desert."
Kane narrowed his eyes. "Get out of here, Rose. Right now, go up the slope. I have no idea where this trail comes out, but if he had some deal with the cartel, then my guess is, the moment you left the tunnel in the Humvee, they knew it and they'll be waiting wherever this trail comes out. We have no idea how long it is."
She had already started up the slope, angling the Humvee to race up the sandy hill as quickly as possible. The heavy vehicle had no trouble going through the shifting terrain, mowing down shrubs and bumping over rocks. They topped the rise and burst out into the open desert.
At once, in the far distance, they could see a line of lights, pinpoint lasers slicing through the darkness, bouncing crazily as several vehicles dashed over the sand. The trucks were a few miles away but coming for them. Rose angled the Humvee away from the caravan, presumably the cartel, and made a run for it across the desert.
"Make a wide circle and head back toward the canyon where we dumped the tracking device," Kane advised. "At least we'll have cover there to hold them off. Sooner or later my boys will come to the party."
Rose nodded and then pointed toward their left. "That's got to be Fargo with the woman."
A single vehicle wove drunkenly across the sand, sliding sideways, circling and careening down slopes to nearly stall out as it powered up the other side.
"He's drunk, Kane."
"Damn it, Rose." His heart sank. She was already swerving to intercept.
He glanced back at the line of lights piercing the darkness. Stopping to rescue a woman wasn't on his agenda, but apparently it was on Rose's. "Damn stubborn woman," he hissed under his breath and tossed his rifle aside.
Fat lot of good a gun was going to do him. He couldn't just shoot the bastard and be done with it. Fargo was driving the vehicle, and he was going at a dangerous rate of speed. If Kane shot him, the car would overturn and possibly kill the kidnap victim. He didn't think Rose would look too kindly on that outcome. He was going to have to actually take control of the truck.
"Come up behind him. Match his speed." What the hell point was there in arguing with her? She had a look of sheer determination on her face. "I just want to remind you that you're taking our son into a combat situation." He couldn't help the righteous tone. He wasn't getting blamed later on. She could take full responsibility.
Rose shot him a quelling look. He felt the Hummer rumbling as she picked up more speed. The woman wasn't afraid of racing. She had to adjust her angle several times as Fargo kept weaving and circling.
Kane kept his eye on the line of vehicles behind them. The heavily armored Humvee topped out around sixty miles an hour. Rose seemed to be pushing that just a little. The heavy vehicle was scrambling his insides as it threw them from side to side and then up and down. The smaller, lighter trucks and Jeeps were definitely gaining on them, but they were still a good distance away. She had to cut Fargo off quickly, or they would be out of time.
The soldier wasn't paying any attention at all to the Hummer bearing down on him. He threw a bottle out the window and sp
un the truck twice before fishtailing several yards. Only then did he notice the Humvee running without lights coming up behind him.
Kane was already exiting onto the roof. He could see a woman lying in a heap on the seat of the truck. He couldn't tell if she was alive or dead, but with every bounce of the truck, her body shook like a rag doll. Rose brought the Humvee directly into position behind Fargo and his prisoner. Kane timed it, knowing he had the ability to easily cross the distance and land safely.
He launched himself into the air, knife in hand, gaze fixed on the landing. Something hit him hard in his left side, spinning his body around, the sting turning into a blossoming pain, driving his body back and away from his landing. He hit the sand hard and rolled, only then realizing he'd been shot. The marksmen had made an extraordinary shot from some unknown location.
Headlights caught him as Fargo wheeled his truck around, howling with laughter, as if they were playing some fun game after a drunken party. The truck bore down on him, flying at him at a high rate of speed. With the truck spotlighting him, the shooter couldn't fail to hit him, and there was nowhere to run--nowhere to hide. He couldn't even defend himself exposed as he was. He kept rolling, testing his body, leaving a blood trail, drawing his legs and arms up in readiness to push himself to his feet.
Rose spun the Humvee around and drove hard to intercept the truck. Kane managed to gain his feet, facing the oncoming truck. He saw Fargo's head disappear into a raw mass of blood and tissue as the marksmen shot again. The windshield and seat turned bright red. With no one at the wheel, the truck began to veer over the uneven terrain, every bounce taking it on a different path.
Rose once again inserted the armored Humvee between Kane and the shooter. He sprinted for the safety of the vehicle, jerking open the door and diving inside. Rose took off away from the line of advancing headlights, trying to get every ounce of speed she could out of the multipurpose vehicle.