Page 20 of Fighting for Mallory

“Getting out of California is a good idea. Maybe they’ll give up if I’m out of reach.”

“Judd Morgan won’t. He’s not interested in discovering who killed Bentley right now. He’s incapable of seeing the bigger picture. It’s up to us to find irrefutable proof that you didn’t murder your husband.”

“Let me use your phone to send Tex some information that Faith Stoker will need regarding how we found Mercado and Tino.”

Luca handed it to her. While Mallory exchanged messages with Tex, he returned their empty dishes to the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher, and turned it on. He packed plastic grocery bags with snacks and water and left them near the kitchen door.

A chill ran up his spine when he detected a strange sound coming from the direction of the lake beyond the cabin. It prompted him to rush back into the great room and declare, “Mal, we’re getting the hell outta here now. Let’s get the duffel bags.”

They made quick work of clearing out the bedrooms they used. Luca reached for the kitchen doorknob and turned it.

An explosion blew out the kitchen windows and set the cabin on fire. It knocked Luca and Mallory off their feet. Shards of glass, splintered wood, and granite rained down on them. On his back, Luca lay stunned. His ears rang and tiny stabs of pain akin to bee stings shot through him. He gasped for breath. Beside him, Mallory groaned. Acrid smoke burned his eyes and his throat.

Several engines created an alarming sound outside the cabin. With effort, Luca sat up and waited for the dizziness to pass. He brushed glass and splinters and pieces of the granite countertop off him. Blood ran into his eyes, and he wiped it away.

“Mallory!” How badly had she been hurt? Luca leaned over and swiped at the debris covering her. “Open your eyes!”

She groaned again as she struggled to focus on him. “Luca?”

“Can you get up?”

“I?I think so.”

Mallory wobbled but steadied herself. Luca grabbed the duffel bags and shoved them into her arms. He held one Glock and tucked the other into the waistband of his jeans.

“Careful,” he warned her. “It’s slick out here.”

“Oh, God.” Mallory’s voice resonated with fear. “They blew up our car.”

The engines drew closer. Through a dark line of trees Luca saw lights bobbing. He pushed Mallory ahead of him. “Run! Head to the shed!”

She sprinted with an uneven gait at first, then found her stride. Luca followed close behind. When Mallory reached the shed, she yanked open one of the double doors and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The floor moved. It writhed. It undulated. Hundreds of copperheads slithered in the shed. They hung from the rafters and covered the ATV.

“Oh, fuck me!” Luca knocked several copperheads away from the pile of gas-soaked rags and lit some of them on fire. He tossed them into the hissing mass of snakes and watched them slither in different directions. He swept Mallory into his arms, kicked snakes out of their path, and carried her to the ATV. Luca lit another rag and chased away the copperheads on the all-terrain vehicle. A snake sank its fangs into his jeans but struck hard metal instead of his skin. Thank God he’d strapped the KA-BAR to his leg!

Mallory screamed again when a copperhead fell onto her shoulders as she sat on the ATV. Luca flung it off her. He started the ATV and set the shed on fire by lighting the rest of the gas-soaked rags. Luca pressed the gas pedal, and the vehicle sprang forward.

Outside, ATVs circled the burning shed. Luca slammed on the brakes and watched the ritual. He counted seven ATVs with a single man operating each one.

“We’re trapped!” Mallory yelled in his ear.

“Get the gun out of my waistband!”

Luca marked the distance and the time between each ATV. Right now, they weren’t interested in killing them; otherwise, they’d already be dead. They wanted to intimidate them. Once Luca and Mallory drew blood first in this second confrontation, they would strike back with deadly force.

“Mallory, on my command shoot the driver on our right. Understand?”

“Yes!”

Seconds after an ATV passed them, Luca shot the driver in the back of the head. He slumped forward over the steering wheel, and the ATV veered off to the right until it rammed into a tree. “Now!”

Mallory’s shot went wide, but it bought them the time they needed to break through the circle and head toward the trees. One by one the ATVs joined in pursuit of them.

CHAPTER SEVEN

They crashed through the woods. Luca pushed the ATV to its limits. He planned to make it to the main road leading back to Marysville and get as far as possible before they ran out of gas. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and a bright, starlit night sky provided some light.

---