Ride the Nightmare

“Where?”

Adam wet his finger and continued counting. Chris stood watching him, his heart thudding slowly and heavily. “It’s all there,” he said.

“We’ll see.”

“Adam—”

“Shh-shh-shh” Adam gestured impatiently.

It took another minute for him to finish. Then he nodded. “Very good,” he said. He looked at Chris in amusement. “Contract fulfilled,” he said, sliding the bills into his pocket.

“Now where is she?”

Adam reached out and pushed the starter button. The sedan’s engine ground over twice, then caught. Chris looked at Adam, startled. “What are you—?”

Adam reached for the gear shift.

“What are you doing?”

Adam smiled at him. “We’ll be seeing you,” he said. The car started moving.

“No!”

Chapter Nine

Chris acted without thinking. As the sedan rolled forward, he jerked open the front door and reached in.

Adam grunted in surprise, snatching downward at his gun. Before he could reach it though, Chris had grabbed his coat and started dragging him off the seat. Adam swung out wildly with his left hand and missed. Abruptly, moving with the car, Chris stumbled on a rock. As he fell, his fingers clamped on Adam’s coat and, in an instant, the two men were sprawled on the road, the pistol landing near them.

The sedan kept rolling.

Chris got an instant’s view of Helen pushing out of the Ford as he straightened up. Then Adam’s fist was clubbing at the side of his head, Adam was pushing to his knees, a dirty scrape across his left cheek. He was looking for the pistol, seeing it, lunging for it.

Before he could reach it, Chris was on him. The two men rolled and tumbled in the dirt, dust scaling up around them. Chris’s foot kicked out at the pistol and sent it bouncing away. Adam reached for it but Chris pulled him around and slammed a fist into his jaw. Adam, half standing, reeled backward, stumbled and fell down heavily on his side.

He was starting up when they heard the grating sound. Instinctively, both men looked down the road in time to see the sedan going over the edge of the canyon rim, its back end flipping up, hanging suspended for a moment, then disappearing.

“Son of a bitch!”

Chris went flailing back as Adam dove at him. They went crashing into the road again, Chris gasping as he landed on a small rock. He flung up his arms as Adam began hitting his face. He tried to roll the heavier man off but couldn’t. He grabbed at Adam’s right hand but the left struck on his upper cheek, driving jagged streaks of pain into his eye. Hissing, he lurched his body upward, shifting Adam to one side. He pushed at Adam violently, Adam lost his balance and had to reach to the side for support. As he did, Chris jerked in his left leg, got the foot against Adam’s side and shoved as hard as he could. Adam thrashed over onto the road. He was barely on his feet when Chris hit him. His face went blank for a second, then he was swinging back, his blow glancing off Chris’s temple. Chris swung again, his left fist driving into Adam’s stomach. Adam sucked in gagging breath, his swing missed Chris entirely.

Chris grabbed the pistol from the ground.

“Now,” he gasped.

Adam shrank back, wincing, as he saw the pistol pointed at him.

“Chris!”

Chris’s finger loosened on the trigger and he drew in a long, body-shaking breath.

Helen ran over to him. “Chris, don’t—” she said. “Where is she?” he asked Adam.

Adam looked at him, one hand pressed across his stomach, the other leaning on the ground.

“Well?”

Adam spit into the dirt.

“I’ll kill you. Adam.”

“No, you won’t.” Adam stood up slowly, an expression of baleful contempt on his face. “You haven’t got it, Chris.”

Chris stepped forward and slammed the pistol barrel across Adam’s forehead. With a surprised grunt, Adam stumbled back and fell.

“Where is she, I said!”

The contempt was gone from Adam’s features now. Only hatred remained.

“I’ll kill you for that.” he said.

Before he’d finished the sentence, Chris had stepped forward and driven the barrel across his head again. Adam went crashing onto his back and pushed up. gasping, feeling at the welted scrape on his forehead.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Chris spoke in a low, trembling voice. “Well, you’d better. Adam. You’d better. What freedom means to you, my kid means to me. You’d kill for freedom, I’d kill for her.”

“Go to hell, you son of a—”

Chris hit him again, then fell on one knee beside the dazed man. Hauling him up by his jacket, he shoved the pistol underneath his jaw, the barrel end pressing at his throat.

“You tell me now,” he said, “You tell me where she is or get your filthy head blown off.”

Adam’s face went pale. “No, don’t,” he said.

“Where is she?”

“In the canyon. A shack.”

“Where?”

“Down the road. Not far. There’s a dirt lane.”

“You’ll take us there.”

Adam swallowed with effort and pushed the pistol away from his throat. “All right,” he muttered.

Chris shoved him back and stood. “Get up,” he said. Adam got up slowly.

“I guess I underestimated you,” he said. There was no admiration in his voice, only self-criticism.

“Yes, I guess you did,” said Chris. He gestured toward the Ford. “Go on,” he said.

Adam turned and started walking unsteadily, brushing at his clothes.

“Chris.” She came up beside him and took his arm.

“We’ll get her now,” he said.

As they started walking, Chris was conscious of her looking at him. He glanced aside and managed a smile.

“It’ll be all right now,” he said.

“What happened, Chris? Why did you—?”

“He was going to leave with the money.”

“You mean he wasn’t going to—?”

“No.” He glanced at her as she caught her breath.

“It’s all right, Helen. We’ll get her now.”

“Chris, shouldn’t we get the police first?”

“There’s no time. Steve is probably wondering already what happened to Adam. We have to go there right away.”

She looked at him and he thought he knew what she was thinking.

“I’ll call them afterward,” he said. “I didn’t mean that.”