Page 71 of Harrison Hyde and the Runaway Bride

He smiled, which had been her goal. Then she said, “It also saysFirst to provide proof of death gets 1 million cash.”

He raised his eyebrows and whistled at the amount. “If they only wanted me dead, why take Lily?”

“Did they have a shot at you?”

She saw him thinking back. “No, I pushed dad out of the way, wound up in some brush. It was dark. They drove past without even seeing me.”

“So they took whoever they could get. They’ll use her to get to you, one way or another.”

He pressed his hand to his forehead. She could freel his frustration.

“How could these guys have known we’d be on that particular road at that particular time?” he asked. “Who else knew? Besides your family, I mean. It can’t be one of them.”

“You trust my family that much?”

He looked into her eyes. “My mom used to say you can recognize good people. You can just feel them, she said. She could anyway. I didn’t think it was very scientific, but even so, from then on, I always paid attention when I met someone new, looking for that sense. Never worked until now. With your family, I finally understand what she meant.”

“Harry,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “You’re fixin’ to make me cry.”

“So besides them, who? The guy whose jet we borrowed…”

“State Senator Mark Tompkins,” Maria filled in.

“And the pilot,” he said.

“And the driver who picked up the pilot.”

“And the crew who came to get the jet,” Harry added.

“That’s a lot of people.”

Harrison drove slowly over the 12-mile stretch of Rural Route 12. It was a narrow, bumpy stretch of road in need of a fresh coat of pavement. There were not a lot of homes on it. Here and there, a trailer with a couple of outbuildings, or a two-story farmhouse at least a century old.

“I want to search them all,” he said. It was killing him, thinking of his kid sister, tied up and scared in one of them.

“I do, too. But let’s rule some out, first. Look, swing set, kids’ toys on the lawn, we can probably eliminate that one.” Maria had a notebook open and was jotting notes about every place they passed. “No vehicle in the driveway, that’s a red flag.”

“How about an ATV in the driveway?” Harrison asked, because he’d just spotted one, and his heart started beating faster.

She was still scribbling. “Well, that would be a —”

Gently, he closed his hand on top of her head, lifted and turned it. She looked where he was looking, at a small farmhouse with an ATV in the driveway. “Holy heck, Keep goin’, keep goin’!”

“I am. I am.” He drove past, and once out of sight, he chose the first spot where he could pull off the road safely. He did so in reverse, so they’d be ready for a quick take-off, backing up off the road as far as possible. Then he shut the car off.

“Should I call in the troops?” Maria asked. She had her phone in her hand.

“We should make sure.” Because there was no way he was waiting for help to arrive. Lily might be in there. He opened the car door.

Maria grabbed his arm. “Harry, this guy could be a professional killer.”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think a pro cuts loose with rebel yells while repeatedly bashing an empty pickup truck.”

She tipped her head sideways, her gaze shifting in the same direction she tilted. It was a peculiar thing she did when thinking, and it did something to his insides every time he witnessed it, even now when he was itching to run for the house. She said, “You’re right, that wasn’t very professional.”

They started walking together toward the farmhouse. It was full dark and thick storm clouds had crept in to cover the moon. Insects whirred behind a cricket choir, and the air was thick and warm and heavy. It would be dawn in another hour.

“It seems to me like somebody put out a hit,” Harrison said. “Made it a competition.”

---