Nothing Short of Dying by Erik Storey

I walked slowly back to the Jeep, trying not to attract attention.
    As I settled back behind the wheel, I heard the wail of sirens coming closer. I put the Jeep in gear and headed west out of the lot on a dirt service road that skirted the edge of the pond. Once on the backside of the pond, we drove up the steep, grassy shoulder of the interstate and onto the paved westbound lanes, slipping unnoticed into the flow of traffic headed toward Grand Junction and places farther west.
    â€œWho’s your friend?” Allie asked, tilting her head back at Katy.
    â€œThe daughter of the man who took you. I kidnapped her, was going to trade her for you, but she didn’t want to go back. So here we are.”
    â€œThat’s great , Barr—now we’re kidnappers.”
    I looked at Allie, saw that she was trying to play it tough but was still shook up from her overnight with Jeff. She kept looking out the windows to her right and left, probably wondering where the next lethal threat was coming from.
    â€œRelax,” I said softly. “You’re okay now.”
    She rocked back and forth slightly, looking as if she were trying to convince herself that was the case.
    â€œWhat happened to the other guy?” Katy said from the backseat.
    I put the Jeep on cruise control at a speed five miles over the speed limit. An eighteen-wheeler blew past. “He’s dead. Caught one in the neck.”
    â€œWhat do we do now?” Katy said, sounding almost excited.
    â€œWe get off the interstate, just in case they set up roadblocks. Just in case, but I don’t think they will. This will look like a big drug deal gone wrong, or some gang shoot-out. I hope.”
    Allie stopped rocking. She seemed alert now, focused on the situation at hand. “What if someone at the rest stop gives the police a description of us? Aren’t there cameras there?”
    I was already brooding on that. “They probably have footage of you two girls. You’ll be persons of interest,” I conceded.
    â€œWonderful,” Allie said.
    â€œListen, I did what I did to save your ass. And for all they know, you were just scared rest stop patrons.”
    Allie looked like she was going to argue, but then her face softened. “Yeah, well, I appreciate your coming to collect me.”
    We continued down the road for another ten miles, at which point Allie said, “Pull over.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œYou’re shaky,” she told me. “And I’m the better driver. Give me some directions.”
    She was right. I hadn’t noticed that my own adrenaline hadn’t worn off, and truth was, I wasn’t that great of a driver. So I got out, Allie got out, and I told Katy to take the front seat. I’d ride in back and stretch out. When Katy got in the passenger seat and closed the door, Allie leaned toward me as she passed and whispered.
    â€œWe go to Leadville,” she said.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œThat’s where Lance cooks. I got one of those idiots in the Beemer to tell me. The guy says he’s been there. Somewhere in the woods outside Leadville—a little fortress hidden in the mountains.”
    I felt like a hound striking a scent, realizing this was my chance to find Jen. “Good job,” I said. When Allie’s face didn’t brighten as much as I expected, I asked, “Hey, you okay?” I didn’t ask how she’d gotten the man to tell her.
    â€œYeah,” she said, opening the driver’s door. “They smackedme a couple of times. No broken bones, though. I knocked one of them to the ground at the junkyard before I got clobbered on the head. See.” She showed me the scabs on her knuckles.
    â€œNice,” I said, and stuffed myself into the back of the Jeep.
    â€œWhere are we going?” Katy asked.
    â€œBarr?” Allie said, putting the Jeep in gear.
    I didn’t want to go to Leadville just yet. “Head north. We’ll make a big