their military connections and call in the troops, allowing Kyle to give his TA C members advance warning so they could escape?
“Oh God. Dad!” she whispered then started crawling across the front seat towards me like she planned to get out through my side of the truck.
I stuck an arm out to block her then looked in the direction she was staring at. Yep, she was right. Now that the smoke was clearing, we could see the soldiers had caught her dad and were zip tying him. He tried to say something to them, and a soldier hit him in the mouth with the butt of a gun.
Tarah shrieked, forcing me to reach out and clamp a hand over her mouth. With my free hand I pulled her back down low in the seat so we wouldn’t be spotted.
“Tarah, listen to me! We can’t save him, and you’ll only make it harder on him if they catch you too.”
A pointy little elbow jabbed me hard in the ribs. “I don’t care!”
“Your dad does. Do you think he’d want you to be arrested too?”
Tears began to pour down her face, every single drop of them killing me a little more.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “But we can’t just go running out there to try and save him.”
She stared at me with big, pleading eyes...the same look she used to give me when we were kids. She knew how hard it was for me to say no when she used that look on me.
I swore again under my breath. “Stop looking at me like that. You know I’m right.”
She pushed backwards until she flopped down low in the front passenger seat again and stared out the windshield as more tears slid down her cheeks.
Unable to stand seeing her cry anymore, I turned away, watching the soldiers wrapping up their arrests as they hauled their prisoners up onto their feet then pushed them into the back end of the military truck. I noticed a soldier up in the truck bed was slapping every prisoner’s neck as they were loaded in.
Ten minutes later, the truck started up and slowly pulled down the street, passing us in the process.
“Start the engine,” Tarah hissed.
“What?”
“Hurry up, before they get too far ahead of us!”
I stared at her. She’d stopped crying. But now her eyes were dark and narrowed into determined slits , another look I knew far too well. I think I preferred her crying.
“We are not following them ,” I said.
“Yes we are. ”
I shook my head and started the truck’s engine, planning to take her home instead.
“Hayden, either you follow that truck right now or I will find a way to make them arrest me! I have to at least know where they’re taking him.”
Her eyes widened, turning wild in th at way they always used to when we were kids just before she went berserker crazy on her enemy, regardless of whether that enemy at the time happened to be me, my brother, or an imaginary dragon. Once her temper was up and she’d made up her mind, there was absolutely no stopping her.
Seconds ticked by as the military truck got caught by a light one block ahead of us, giving me a little more time to decide but not much.
If I didn’t help her follow that truck full of prisoners and her dad, she would do something crazy to purposely get arrested. And then I’d have no hope of helping her. At least this way I would be the one behind the wheel and able to keep her safe.
“Fine,” I growled. “Put on your seatbelt.”
Dad was really going to kill me if we got caught doing this .
We stayed several car lengths away from the truck while it was in town, the frequent stoplights and the truck's height making it easy to keep the truck in sight despite the distance and other cars between us. Then it turned onto the highway and headed west. It looked like we might have a long drive ahead of us.
I let the distance grow between us and the bigger truck.
“What are you doing? We’re going to lose it,” Tarah muttered.
“ No we won’t.”
“ What if it turns off—”
“ Then we’ll see it turn and follow,” I said. “But we’ve got to stay back far
“Oh God. Dad!” she whispered then started crawling across the front seat towards me like she planned to get out through my side of the truck.
I stuck an arm out to block her then looked in the direction she was staring at. Yep, she was right. Now that the smoke was clearing, we could see the soldiers had caught her dad and were zip tying him. He tried to say something to them, and a soldier hit him in the mouth with the butt of a gun.
Tarah shrieked, forcing me to reach out and clamp a hand over her mouth. With my free hand I pulled her back down low in the seat so we wouldn’t be spotted.
“Tarah, listen to me! We can’t save him, and you’ll only make it harder on him if they catch you too.”
A pointy little elbow jabbed me hard in the ribs. “I don’t care!”
“Your dad does. Do you think he’d want you to be arrested too?”
Tears began to pour down her face, every single drop of them killing me a little more.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “But we can’t just go running out there to try and save him.”
She stared at me with big, pleading eyes...the same look she used to give me when we were kids. She knew how hard it was for me to say no when she used that look on me.
I swore again under my breath. “Stop looking at me like that. You know I’m right.”
She pushed backwards until she flopped down low in the front passenger seat again and stared out the windshield as more tears slid down her cheeks.
Unable to stand seeing her cry anymore, I turned away, watching the soldiers wrapping up their arrests as they hauled their prisoners up onto their feet then pushed them into the back end of the military truck. I noticed a soldier up in the truck bed was slapping every prisoner’s neck as they were loaded in.
Ten minutes later, the truck started up and slowly pulled down the street, passing us in the process.
“Start the engine,” Tarah hissed.
“What?”
“Hurry up, before they get too far ahead of us!”
I stared at her. She’d stopped crying. But now her eyes were dark and narrowed into determined slits , another look I knew far too well. I think I preferred her crying.
“We are not following them ,” I said.
“Yes we are. ”
I shook my head and started the truck’s engine, planning to take her home instead.
“Hayden, either you follow that truck right now or I will find a way to make them arrest me! I have to at least know where they’re taking him.”
Her eyes widened, turning wild in th at way they always used to when we were kids just before she went berserker crazy on her enemy, regardless of whether that enemy at the time happened to be me, my brother, or an imaginary dragon. Once her temper was up and she’d made up her mind, there was absolutely no stopping her.
Seconds ticked by as the military truck got caught by a light one block ahead of us, giving me a little more time to decide but not much.
If I didn’t help her follow that truck full of prisoners and her dad, she would do something crazy to purposely get arrested. And then I’d have no hope of helping her. At least this way I would be the one behind the wheel and able to keep her safe.
“Fine,” I growled. “Put on your seatbelt.”
Dad was really going to kill me if we got caught doing this .
We stayed several car lengths away from the truck while it was in town, the frequent stoplights and the truck's height making it easy to keep the truck in sight despite the distance and other cars between us. Then it turned onto the highway and headed west. It looked like we might have a long drive ahead of us.
I let the distance grow between us and the bigger truck.
“What are you doing? We’re going to lose it,” Tarah muttered.
“ No we won’t.”
“ What if it turns off—”
“ Then we’ll see it turn and follow,” I said. “But we’ve got to stay back far
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