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To save her strength and so that he’d take his gun out of her face, she sat back in her seat and looked out the window, looking out over the scrub land. Out here, Taylor had the advantage that he could see someone coming for miles. There was little traffic beyond the occasional semi or pickup truck.
She sensed they were nearing the destination he’d chosen. Taylor began paying less attention to the passengers and started staring out the window. After a bit, he went to the front of the bus, gesturing with his gun. “You see that old gas station up there on the left?”
The driver peered through the windshield. “That old thing falling down?”
Tessa saw two buildings. One was an ancient Mexican restaurant with a sign advertising burritos. The other was an old-fashioned gas station. Both buildings were run down—they’d been abandoned years ago.
Harvey put his hand on the driver’s shoulder. “That’s the place. Pull in there and drive straight into the garage bay.”
As they slowed and Harvey focused on getting the driver to steer the bus where he wanted it, Tessa used her foot to drag Betsy’s phone out from under the seat. She looked at it and sighed. The screen was blank. The phone was dead, and she had no idea how long it had been off. Of course, they were in the middle of nowhere, and it was entirely possible they’d had no phone service for some time anyway. Reception had to be spotty out here. She had to hope that Ronan had managed to use it to get close to where they were. There was no other way anyone would find them easily.
As the bus came to a stop, Harvey got off and had the driver close the door.
Tessa gave a quick thought to the emergency exit on the back of the bus. But how could you get a herd of kids out the door quickly? Even if she miraculously led an escape, where would they go?
Taylor circled the bus, then poked his head in what had been the station’s office before coming back to the door of the bus. He hammered on the door with his gun, and the driver opened it.
“Children first,” he said. “Get out here, all of you. Bring your things with you. You teachers, driver, if you don’t want anyone hurt, stay in your seats until you’re told what to do.”
As the students filed off the bus, he sent them to stand by the far wall. Several of them, including Jimmy, slumped to the floor, leaning against the wall and sobbing. Tessa’s heart went out to them as she watched Kayla put her hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and whisper something to him that made him nod and wipe his eyes.
The girl looked at Tessa and winked. The gesture gave Tessa a flash of hope. Did Kayla have something up her sleeve? Then she sat down next to Jimmy and fumbled with something in her bag. After a moment, she brought out a bag of candy, gave some to Jimmy, and then passed it around to the other children. Tessa sighed. At least the candy seemed to have a calming effect on the kids, gave them a touch of normalcy.
“Driver, you get down here,” Taylor said gruffly. The man whimpered as he went down the stairs to stand in front of him. “Turn around.” As the man did as he was told, Taylor slapped on handcuffs. “Get your ass over with the kids,” he said.
“Now you,” he said, looking up through the open window at Mr. Affir. The man got unsteadily to his feet and, looking like he might pass out, made his way to the front and down the steps.
When he was handcuffed and standing with the students, he looked at them and pulled himself erect. “Don’t worry. The authorities will rescue us.” He cast a watery glance.
Taylor laughed. “Right, you fucking toady. They’ll rescue you right after they figure out where you are, which won’t be until I’m ready for them.” Then he motioned to Tessa. “Your turn, sister.”
Pushing the phone back into hiding under the seat, she stood and came down to face him, putting her hands behind her back before he could tell her to.
“Not you,” he said brusquely, pushing her toward the open garage door. “I need your help.”
“My help? Why would I help you?”
“Because unlike that shit of a civics teacher, I think you care about the kids and don’t want them hurt. You poison their minds with the same crap, but you don’t know it’s crap.” He gestured toward Mr. Affir. “Unlike that asshole. Now close the door. A big yellow bus parked here is too obvious.”
She looked at the door. “You think it still works?”
He grinned. “I know it does.” He pointed to a pulley. “Pull the rope, and the door will come down. I serviced it last week.”
She pulled the rope, and her heart sank. The door moved effortlessly. The man had done his research and made preparations. The door closed with a final click, darkening the room. “Go to the office,” he said. Then he turned back to the children. “Jimmy, there’s a cooler in the corner. There are bottles of water in it, plenty for everyone. Pass them out.” He smiled at Tessa. “See. No one has to suffer.”
“What now?” she asked.
“We need to make our demands known.”
Ronan and Jettpulled off at a rest stop for water and to check in with Rafe. “We lost the signal,” he said. “Where are you?” When they told him, they heard some clicks. “The last position I logged isn’t that far from where you are now. You guys were flying, and the bus was doing under the speed limit.”
“Do you think they lost reception?” asked Ronan.
“Maybe. Or the battery is gone.”
“Or he found the phone.” Jett looked troubled.
“What do you want to do now?” asked Rafe.
