“I’m right behind you.”
By now Kelila had reached the end of her strengthand all the panic and adrenaline in the world couldn’t drive herany faster. Will put an arm around her waist and towed her alongover uneven ground. A few yards from the SUV, he picked her up andcarried her, his back muscles screaming protest.
Reaching the SUV at last, he tumbled her into therear seat. Hair spilled over her face, she sprawled on the pseudoleather gasping out little moans and convulsively rubbing herbelly.
Will ran around to the driver’s side and slid behindthe wheel. He patted frantically for the keys. Christ. Hecould have dropped them anywhere at any time…
No. There they were. He jammed them in the ignition.He had just long enough to wonder how badly the SUV had beendamaged by the sedan crashing into it and then the engine roaredinto life.
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Taylorcresting the hill and running for the SUV.
Will reversed sharply, rolling back a few feet. Helunged across and shoved open the passenger side door. A secondlater Taylor jumped in, hauling the door shut behind him.
“They’re right behind me. I think I winged the guy.Go.”
“Gretchen will kill you for that,” Kelilapanted.
“Gretchen wants to kill me anyway.” Taylor wasreloading quickly, throwing hasty looks out the side window.
Will jammed on the accelerator and the SUV shotforward. The tires spun on gravel and they bumped onto the highway.The vehicle seemed to be responding okay. Will spared a quick lookat the gauges. No red lights. The left rear was dragging alittle.
He gave her a little more gas and they sped roundthe first bend only to see the black sedan parked squarely acrossthe narrow road.
“Shit.” Will braked hard, steering into theskid, a tight hand over hand so that the SUV rocked to a halt linedup parallel a few inches from the bullet riddled sedan blockingtheir way.
There was a long wooded drop on the left and a steeprocky climb on the right. No way around the sedan and no waythrough.
“We’ve got to go back.” Taylor gave voice to Will’sthoughts.
Will nodded tightly. “Get on the floor,” he orderedKelila.
She obeyed, moving with what seemed to him clumsy,shaking slowness.
Taylor rolled down his window and scrambled to siton the ledge, bracing himself. He thumped the roof of the SUV.“Go.”
“Hang on for Christ’s sake.” Will reversed, yankedthe wheel, and they spun out, hurtling back down the narrowroad.
As they swung around the curve he saw Gretchen andVictor waiting for them. At the same moment Taylor opened fire.
Will floored it. He felt the thunk of bulletshitting the side of the SUV, heard Kelila screaming, felt the burnof glass on his neck as the side window behind him shattered.
Taylor was still firing in quick succession.
And then they were around the next bend and flyingdown the road back to Carrizozo.
The sound of shots faded. Gretchen was a tiny darkfigure in Will’s rearview, running out to the blacktop to firefinal, wild shots after them.
Taylor slithered agilely back through the window anddropped heavily into the seat beside Will.
Will threw him a quick look. “Okay?”
Taylor assented. He wiped his forehead. His eyes metWill’s “You?”
Will nodded. He looked in the rearview. “Everyoneokay?”
No response from the backseat.
Taylor half turned, reaching down to Kelila. “Youall right?”
She groaned. “I think the baby’s coming.”
“You always say that.”
“My water broke.”
Taylor returned to facing forward in his seat. “Didyou hear that?”
“Roger.”
“Do we try to make it back to Carrizozo or try tofind a ranger station?”
“What’s a ranger supposed to do?”
“What are we supposed to do?”
“How long before the baby comes?” Will called backto Kelila.
She was carefully picking herself up from the floorand lying on the seat. “I’m not flying anywhere till this babycomes.”
“That’s not what I asked you. How long till hecomes?”
“It could be anytime. It could be twelve hours. Itcould be twelve minutes.”
Taylor said suddenly, like a student recalling theanswer to a tough exam question, “Are you having contractions?”
“Yes.”
“How often?”
“Often enough.”
Far down the road Will spied another vehicle. Thefirst they’d seen other than the Hart’s sedan. “Let’s head forCarrizozo.” He threw another look at Taylor who looked about astired and disheveled as Will had ever seen him. “How did youget out of that cave?”
“I walked. It turned out not to be Carlsbad Caverns,after all.”
“It could have been.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t.” Taylor sighed wearily. Heejected the magazine, removed the clip, squinted at it. “Two roundsleft.”
“Did you nail Victor?”
“It looked like it.”
“Gretchen will kill you,” Kelila offered by way ofcomfort.
“Been there, done that.”
Will reached out to pat Taylor’s thigh. Theapproaching car was black. An SUV. Taking the winding road veryfast.
Too fast.
“What I want to know is how they found her.”
“Who?” Will asked.
“Victor and Victoria. They didn’t track us fromColorado. I can accept that we missed one tail. But two? Noway.”
“Reuben,” Kelila said. “Reuben must have calledMikhail and told him about the baby. And Mikhail sent Gretchen tobring us back.”
“Nanny get your gun,” Taylor said. “If you knewRamirez couldn’t be trusted, why the hell did you run to him?”
“I didn’t know where else to go. My parents believeall the lies the government has told about me.”
“Oh right. Like the fact--”
“Trouble,” Will snapped.
Taylor was instantly all attention. He observed thevehicle speeding their way. “Black SUV,” he said thoughtfully. “Youthink it’s Nemov?”
“I think I don’t want to depend on coincidence.” Hethrew back to Kelila, “Get down and hold on.” Will craned his headas Taylor leaned across him to grab his shoulder strap and fastenhis seatbelt.
Taylor sat back, buckling himself in. His pistolrested between his hands, relaxed and ready.
Will spared him a crooked grin. His gaze returned tothe road. Tinted windows, heavy duty roof rack. Nemov. But what didthe crazy bastard think he was going to do?
Wait. Had Nemov recognized them? He wouldn’t expectthem coming this direction.
Maybe…
There was a turnout a couple of yards ahead. Willslowed.
Taylor cast him a quick look. “What are youdoing?”
“He’s speeding trying to catch us. He thinks we’remiles ahead. He may not even know what we’re driving. Is there amap in that glove compartment?”
“I picked a map up at the motel.” Taylor shook
