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Jenna forced her concentration on the road ahead. Overtaking the slower cars, she experienced an unfamiliar rush of adrenalin. Now she understood why Kane enjoyed driving at speed. It was almost addictive. She lifted her radio and called in the pursuit to Maggie.
“Copy that, Sheriff, and Deputy Kane is aware of your situation.”
“Thanks, Maggie. Over.” Jenna gripped the wheel and squeezed the gas down a little more. She glanced at the speedometer as it reached eighty. She hadn’t taken her cruiser over eighty before but pushed down the gas pedal a little more.
In the distance, Rowley seemed to be getting further away. She glanced in her mirror and thought for one moment Kane was behind her. A black truck with tinted windows similar to his was coming up fast. Even driving the beast, Kane couldn’t have caught up to her in that amount of time. She reached for the radio but never made it; the black truck slammed into the back of her cruiser, shunting her forward at an incredible speed before dropping back.
Gripped with fear, Jenna let out a gasp. With “Sheriff” written all over her cruiser, whoever was trying to kill her was serious. She accelerated, taking the risk of overtaking an eighteen-wheeler to get space between her and the lunatic on her tail. She glanced in the mirror and slowed some to leave a smaller gap between her and the truck. Taking the opportunity, she reached for her radio and called in the situation. At once, Kane’s calm voice came through the speaker.
“Copy. Slow down the eighteen-wheeler. Pull him over if you can. It’s unlikely whoever is in the black truck will do anything with a witness. Worst-case scenario, take the next off-ramp and head into the nearest town. Break.”
Before she could reply, she heard the air horns of the eighteen-wheeler and the black truck was almost beside her on the opposite side of the road. Heart pounding, she kept both hands on the wheel, drew a deep breath, and looked into the distance. She’d traveled this road a thousand times before, and ahead she could make out the signpost for Louan.
The black truck’s engine roared as if the driver was trying to intimidate her. She forced herself to remain calm and not panic. The off-ramp was looming like an oasis in the desert. She gripped the steering wheel and hit the gas to the floor. The cruiser accelerated away and she shot down the off-ramp doing ninety, but to her horror, the black truck stuck to her like glue. A tight bend ahead forced her to brake sharply, but the other driver knew the road as well and the truck slowed but moments later was running alongside her again.
Panic had her by the throat and sweat coated her palms as she gripped the steering wheel. Ahead the road was clear with a straight run into Louan. She could hit the brakes and make him pass, but the dirt on the side of the road alongside the ditch wasn’t wide enough to risk pulling over at speed. If she could make it to the gas station about two miles ahead, she’d be safer than alone on the highway.
She accelerated but the next moment the black truck tapped the rear side of her cruiser. The jolt sent her vehicle spinning out of control, and the world flashed by in a nauseating sea of green and blue then slowed. She wrestled to gain control, screaming in frustration as her cruiser slid across the highway.
Forty-Two
“Jenna, come back.” Kane stared at Maggie’s big, round, worried eyes.
Nothing.
“Jenna, come back.”
Nothing.
“Rowley, come back.” Worry cramped Kane’s stomach.
“Copy.” Rowley’s voice came through the radio loud and clear. “I’m north of Louan. The local deputies have apprehended the occupant of the red truck at a roadblock. I’ll take him into custody and head on back. No sign of the sheriff. Her description of the vehicle pursuing her fits the one owned by the other suspect. I’m not sure why the driver would target the sheriff. Makes no sense. Break.”
Kane swallowed hard. What could have happened? “Copy. She was looking for an off-ramp. Maybe she made it into the gas station out of Louan? Go ahead.”
“You’d get to her before me. Break.”
“Copy. I’m gone. Over.” Kane tossed the mic to Maggie and pulled out his phone to call Jenna. When she didn’t pick up, he ran out the sheriff’s department, leaving a confused Duke barking behind the glass doors.
Moments later, he was hotfooting it out of town, sirens blazing and lights flashing. The houses lining the streets became a brown and red blur as he negotiated the traffic at breakneck speed. Out of town, he soon hit the edge of the forest; here, shadows fell across the highway in zebra stripes, flashing as he passed like “don’t walk” signs. He took the on-ramp to the highway, impressed by how his truck took the tight, sweeping bend with ease. A quick glance told him the highway was clear behind. He floored the gas pedal. “Come on, girl, show me what you’ve got.”
The beast’s engine roared its reply as he pushed it to its limit, pistons pumped and the front of his truck lifted to meet the challenge. Under him, raw power vibrated as the truck ate up the blacktop at maximum speed. All he could see was a black, winding snake before him, split down the center with a broken yellow line.
His mind focused on one thing: finding Jenna. As he sped by one eighteen-wheeler then skirted around another, he didn’t slow to take the sweeping bend. As the highway straightened out, he had a clear view ahead. In the distance, he made out a nasty dark cloud billowing high in the sky. He gritted his teeth, recognizing the twisting black smoke as a vehicle on fire. The face of Annie, his wife, flashed in his mind, a memory of the day his vehicle had exploded and killed her. The thought of finding Jenna dead in the twisted metal churned his guts. “God have mercy.”
He took the Louan off-ramp and headed along the road into town. Unease crept over him as he slowed to gape at the twisted black wreck wrapped around a pole in the distance. Flames licked the charred metal, leaping
high into the air, and the next moment a blast rocked the silence, sending metal shards flying in all directions. He reached for his radio and called Maggie to get the fire department on scene. He swallowed hard. “I’ll go take a look around but it doesn’t look like anyone got out of there alive. Break.”
“Copy. Oh, sweet Jesus.” Maggie let out a sob of distress. “I’ll contact Wolfe. Over.” Then she was gone.
A terrible aloneness crawled over Kane as he maneuvered the truck along the deserted highway, heading slowly through the thick, black smoke. No other wrecks came into view. Only a few people used the backroad into Louan; most carried on along the highway and took the new exit to save time. He scanned the road, weaving around the wreckage from the explosion, sick to his stomach at the thought of finding Jenna, or parts of her, scattered on the blacktop. He slammed on the brakes at a glimpse of the trunk of Jenna’s cruiser in the long grass. The vehicle appeared to be nose down in the ditch at the side of the road. Unable to maneuver his truck any further through the twisted, charred metal, he jumped out the door and ran through the grass beside the ditch, leaping over parts of the damaged vehicle to get to her.
Relief at finding Jenna alive stung the backs of his eyes. He stood for a beat, watching her attacking the airbags in her cruiser with a knife and cursing loud enough to make a preacher blush. Emotion washed over him with such intensity his knees weakened. He wanted to whoop with happiness but put on his game face. From her expression, she was in no mood for an outburst of joy. He slid down the ditch, splashed through the muddy water, and went to the open window. “May I be of assistance, ma’am?”
“Dave. Thank God it’s you. Some crazy son of a bitch ran me off the road.” Jenna turned to look at him and anger flashed in her eyes. “The stupid doors have locked on impact and I’m stuck fast in the airbags.”
Biting back a smile, Kane looked her over. Her flushed face was angry and her hair all mussed up, but the way her mouth turned down with indignation told him she was okay. “You hurting anywhere?”
