Page 82 of Silos and Sabotage

Another half mile down the road, he discovered what was causing the slowdown. A grain truck bearing the Radcliffe Industries logo was driving at a snail’s pace at the front of the pack. The driver slowed down even more as he approached the gravel road leading to the animal rescue sanctuary. Though he swung wide to make the turn, he clipped the mailbox and ran over one of the entrance shrubs, crushing it beneath one of his rear tires.

He was either a newer driver or…Blain!

Gage frantically dialed the sheriff’s office again, but his call rolled to voicemail. He left a message and disconnected the line. Squinting through the windshield, he couldn’t see any sign of the SWAT team yet, which meant they must still be en route.

While he debated what to do, the driver’s door of the grain truck opened, and a man in coveralls hopped to the ground. The truck continued to roll forward.

Gage honked at the guy, trying to get his attention. He darted a glance over his shoulder at Gage, then quickly averted his face, but not before Gage got a decent look at him. As he’d feared, it was the elusive Blain Stratten. He wasn’t in the wind after all.

Gage had two choices — to chase after Blain or to keep the animal rescue sanctuary from being bulldozed down by an unmanned semi-truck. It was an easy choice.

He gunned his motor to pull alongside the semi. Then he braked hard and leaped to the ground, jogging around the Bronco to hop on the truck’s running board. He jiggled the door handle and discovered it was locked.

That figures.

He quickly shrugged out of his flannel shirt and wadded it over his fist so he could punch out the truck window. Opening the door from the inside, he hastily brushed the glass shards off the seat as he climbed into the cab. It lurched forward over a pothole, rolling ever nearer to its intended destination.

He wasn’t surprised to find a cinder block resting on the gas pedal. He kicked it aside and jammed on the brake. Hard.

The truck skidded forward in the gravel, eating up the remaining short distance between him and the sanctuary.

“Please, Lord, help me stop in time.” Gage couldn't change the course of the grain truck, since the steering wheel was jammed into place. All he could do was keep the brake pedal jammed to the floor.

By some miracle, he brought the truck to a stop before the hood crashed through the porch columns. Turning off the motor, he jumped to the ground and glanced wildly across the road and fields behind him, but Blain was gone. Turning back to the sanctuary, he discovered that the nose of the truck was only a hair’s distance from the porch columns.

Thank you, Lord!

As the SWAT team sirens sounded behind Gage, his nose picked up on the combined scent of gasoline and smoke. As he sniffed the air, the scent grew stronger. Bending to peer under the truck, he discovered a trail of gasoline drops on the ground. All it would take was a single spark to send the grain truck up in flames. To his horror, a whirl of smoke appeared above the open grain container.

Blain hadn’t just planned on mowing down the sanctuary, he’d turned the grain truck into a bomb. Despite the fact that his own sister was inside, he was planning on blowing the place up!

Gage stood and sprinted across the porch of the sanctuary to fling the door open. “We need to evacuate everyone! Now!”

Ella glanced his way in astonishment. Then she leaped into motion, yanking open animal cages. Cassie did the same.

“There’s no time for that,” he shouted. “The whole place is going to blow up.”

Cassie gave him a despairing nod and disappeared into the adjoining stable.

“We can’t just leave them!” Ella continued to yank open the cage doors. A middle-aged woman in a too-tight skirt and heels, who’d been holding the leash of a Golden Doodle, dropped the leash and dashed for the back door.

“I’ve got her.” Johnny took off after Cora Stratten.

“Come on!” Gage tried to hurry Ella along, but she ducked beneath his arm and continued setting the animals free.

“Almost done,” she panted.

Seeing the determined set to her features, he helped her pull open the last few cage doors and herd the terrified animals toward the rear of the building.

Jordan’s horse, Western Storm, was trumpeting in terror inside the riding ring out back. Cassie was trying to calm him.

“Keep moving,” Gage hollered, pulling open the gate. The animals flooded into the side pasture and scattered in all directions.

Ella bent to pick up a wounded puppy that was limping along at a slower pace.

Gage swooped in behind her and scooped them both up without breaking stride. “Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” His shouts spurned the animals to run faster.

Seconds later, an explosion rocked the ground beneath them. A scorching flume of heat wafted over them from behind. A second explosion sent him to his knees with Ella and the puppy. He shielded them as well as he could with his body.

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