Page 43 of Their Haunted Hearts
“Yeah, you can pay here and fill the can as you leave. Pump number two.” The man gave her a disinterested stare and pointed at the card scanner. “Scanners out. You got cash?”
Julie nodded and pulled bills from her pocket. Carrying cash was another of her dad’s rules. She took the change and pushed it back into her jeans pocket. The door behind her slid open and footsteps echoed on the tile. She turned as a tall broad man wearing a cowboy hat that appeared a little too large for him walked up behind her. She ignored him and headed to the coffee dispenser. As she filled her coffee, the flickering neon sign outside cast erratic shadows across the driveway but beyond that everything was pitch black. She waited for what seemed like ages for the coffee to fill the cup and then fitted a top to the to-go cup.
She sensed someone beside her and turned suddenly, cup in hand, to see the man in the cowboy hat collecting a cup and fixings from the display by the machine. She bent to pick up her empty gas can and somehow, they collided. The cup tumbled from her grasp and hot liquid splashed across the floor and all over the man’s polished boots. Horrified, Julie looked at him. “I’m so sorry.” She grabbed napkins and thrust them at him. “Here maybe you can clean the coffee from your boots?”
“It was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The man ignored the napkins. “I insist you let me replace it.”
Too tired to argue, Julie nodded. As the coffee machine dripped slowly into the man’s cup, Julie climbed onto a stool in front of a narrow counter overlooking the pumps. To her surprise, he placed the fixings on the counter beside her and then turned back to the machine. She stared out of the window at the truck alongside the pumps. She guessed it belonged to him as he seemed to be the only person around. She cleared her throat. “It looks like a massive storm went through here. Were you here at the time?”
“Yeah, it was nasty.” He handed her a cup. “The town took a beating. There are a few trees down here and there and water all over the roads. Halloween decorations and displays are strewn all over Main. The power has been out for hours and we have no phone service, so I don’t know if anyone was injured. People seem to be staying close to home.” He gave her an inquiring look. “I don’t see a vehicle. Did you walk here or did you come in on the last bus?”
Figuring he was just being neighborly, she sat and sipped her coffee. With luck, she should have the energy to walk back to her car in a few moments. “I ran out of gas. I’ll drink this and then fill up this can and walk back to my truck. I figure it’s only about a quarter of a mile away.”
“My wife does that all the time.” He chuckled and stirred sugar and cream into his coffee. “I’m forever driving out to rescue her.” He raised one eyebrow. “Don’t you have anyone in your life to come and rescue you?”
The coffee was sending a warm glow right through her and she wanted to sit and drink the entire cup. Roadhouse coffee wasn’t as bad as she imagined but she needed to get home. “I do but I don’t have any way of communicating with them right now but I’m a big girl. I can handle carrying a can of gas for a quarter of a mile.” She slid from the stool, tossed the half-filled cup into the trash, and picked up the can. “Thanks for the coffee.”
Forty-Five
Outside, the hum of the generator masked all the noise around Julie. She walked quickly, eyeing the strange shadows created by the flickering signs. They seemed to move as if someone was hiding there waiting for her. Exhausted, she glanced around, searching the shadows as she pumped the gas. Alone, she’d become vulnerable and, carrying a can full of gas, she’d be slow and ripe pickings for a serial killer or a hungry bear. She screwed on the lid to the can and lifted it with a moan. It was heavier than she figured or she’d suddenly lost all her strength. She started when a scraping of boots came from the darkness and spun around but it was just the man returning to his truck.
“That looks heavy and it’s starting to rain again.” The man stood beside the door to his truck. “Can I give you a ride back to your vehicle?” He gave her a reassuring smile.
Hesitating, Julie stared at him. Overwhelmed with tiredness, the idea of walking along the highway alongside the dark forest frightened her, but she’d made it to the roadhouse okay. The highway was deserted and she could think of no reason why she wouldn’t get back safely. She stared into the distance and saw only black. Her attention moved back to the man. He appeared to be rooted to the spot waiting for her to answer as if he’d got all the time in the world. “I don’t think so. I don’t know you.”
“Sure, but if that’s your truck I passed on the way here, it’s not five minutes by car, three maybe, and you look tuckered out.” He shook his head. “I feel bad about leaving you alone. I couldn’t live with myself if something bad happened to you.”
She swayed, feeling so desperately tired that she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Suddenly his offer made sense. She handed him the gas can. “Thanks.”
“It will be my pleasure.” He stowed the gas can in the back of his truck and opened the passenger door for her. “It’s strange how people meet, isn’t it? You needed help and I came along just at the right time.”
Mouth suddenly dry, Julie’s vision blurred and her dad’s voice screamed in her head. He’d lectured them about date rape drugs and how they felt. She blinked. Had this man slipped something into her coffee? She needed her dad, Jenna, Dave, anyone to help her. A memory slid into her foggy brain.
Your tracker ring is now like a satellite phone; you can get a signal out anywhere.
She pressed her ring, waited ten seconds, and pressed again. One press went to her dad, two went to everyone on the team. She lifted her hand as if to push back her hood. “I’m parked about a quarter of a mile from the roadhouse. It was so kind of you to give me a ride. I can’t believe how sleepy I feel. I figured the coffee would have revived me after the walk.”
“Then sleep.” The man smiled at her. “I’ll wake you when we get there.” He started the engine.
Julie’s hand went to the handle and she pushed the truck door open and fell onto the wet driveway. “I’m trying to get away, Dad. I’m running down the ramp from the roadhouse to the highway. I figure this guy is going to kill me.”
With legs like lead, Julie ran but it was like running in slow motion. The truck was on her before she got to the end of the ramp.
“You’re not getting away from me. You’ll never rise again.” The man jumped out, grabbed her, and tossed her back inside.
She screamed and kicked out at him, landing one in his groin. When he buckled, she dropped to the ground and crawled away. “Hurry. He’s going to kill me.”
Staggering to her feet, she ran into the shadows, trying to find a place to hide, but he was up and had seen which way she had headed. She dodged and lurched from one place to the other as if in a drunken stupor but then she heard him chuckle from behind her. Pain shot through her head from a single hard punch. Dizzy, she fought with rubber limbs as he lifted her and tossed her over one shoulder. In a few strides he was back at his truck. This time he tossed her into the bed. She hit the metal hard and all the air rushed from her lungs.
“You can’t win.” He reached for a toolbox and grabbed a roll of duct tape. “You’re mine.”
The drug was paralyzing her and she had one last chance before she passed out. Her words sounded slurred and she tried hard to make sense. “Silver pickup, Montana plates, heading north. Tall broad man wearing a cowboy hat and shiny boots. I’m in the back of his truck. Daddy, help me.”
Forty-Six
Wolfe threw himself behind the wheel of his pickup and spun his wheels backing out of the garage. Beside him, Emily was staring at the GPS screen. He’d been sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with Norrell, Raven, and Emily when the satellite phones chimed a ringtone that chilled him to the bone. The sound they all dreaded. It meant one of them was in mortal danger. His heart missed a beat when Julie’s name flashed on the screen and he’d grabbed his coat and weapons and ran to the garage with Emily close behind. Raven was up and out the door in seconds and in his truck parked at the curb. They all understood the threat and would take deadly force if needed to resolve it. Anger and fear rushed up his throat as he turned onto Main. He could make out Raven’s taillights ahead. He was moving fast, lights and sirens blaring.
“I have her, heading north on the highway.” Emily held the satellite phone. “Hang on, Julie, we’re coming.”
