“Hiya, Frank. Nice to see you.” Royal stepped back from Wade. She could tell he was angry, but whatever message he had been about to deliver had been cut short by the appearance of an audience.
Frank slapped Royal on the shoulder. “Come in and have a drink with us.” If Frank had any idea of what he’d interrupted, he showed no sign of it. He turned and nodded in Wade’s direction. “Evenin’.”
Wade simply nodded in response, his expression dark and angry.
“Thank you, Frank, but I was just headin’ out. Another time?” She began walking away from them toward where she’d left her car a few blocks away, near her rented room. Wade made no motion to follow, so she began to relax.
“Sure thing. Catch you later.” Frank looked back at her as he pulled at the heavy door of the Mill.
Chapter Eighteen
The high curved roof of Royal’s Ford offered good visibility along the dark back roads. She kept an eye on the side roads for the sudden appearance of headlights and was equally watchful of any lights that might appear in the rearview mirror. The sedan was heavy on its feet as she snaked along the sixty-mile winding road from Dawsonville to Atlanta for the evening run. It was after midnight, and Ned was in the car with her. Her other passengers were several cases of clear liquid in glass jars where her backseat should have been.
She’d wanted to stop by Lovey’s house before making this run, but not with Ned in tow. Pulling out the backseat and loading the car had taken longer than she’d expected, which got her off to a late start. Royal hadn’t seen Lovey since the afternoon they’d made out in the backseat. She blushed at the thought of it as she and Ned heaved the heavy broad bench seat out of the car to make room for more liquid cargo.
It seemed particularly dark tonight, the sedan’s headlights doing little to illuminate her path, given her speed. Luckily, Royal knew this winding road from memory. She knew every curve and just how fast she could take each, depending on her load and the weather conditions of the road.
“So, have you seen the bee charmer lately?” She heard the joking tone in Ned’s voice as he asked.
“Why, as a matter of fact I saw her yesterday.”
“And?”
“And nothing. I gave her a ride home. I like her. I’d like to see more of her.” Royal downshifted as they came into a sharp turn. “When are you going to get yourself a girl so you can stop askin’ about mine?”
“I’m studyin’ on it.”
“Oh, studyin’ on it. Is that your romantic method?” Royal punched Ned’s arm. “No wonder you’re still single. Well, maybe you’ll see someone that catches your eye tonight when we make this delivery. The last time I was in this joint there were some cute girls in the fray.”
She was on a fairly long straightaway when she noticed distant headlights behind her. Whoever they were they were coming up fast. It was unlikely that anyone but a federal agent would be on this particular road this time of night. And whoever they were they’d have only one reason to be gaining on her.
Ned sensed her change in mood almost immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“Looks like we’ve got some company. They’re coming along pretty fast.”
Ned turned in the seat beside her to look.
Royal shifted down into second and then hit the gas again as she came through the curve, pulling the high stick down into third before opening up the V-8 on the short straightaway between the curves. It wasn’t until she had weaved through several sharp turns before she could confirm that the other auto was still following her. Whoever they were, they were gaining on her position.
“Yeah, they’re definitely up to something. They’re still gaining on us.”
“What are you gonna do?” Ned’s voice sounded fearful. Royal couldn’t believe the one night she actually managed to talk Ned into riding along with her they’d run into trouble. He’d be solidly spooked now from future runs.
“Just stay cool. I’ve got some ideas.” Royal checked the encroaching headlights again in the rearview mirror.
She was familiar enough with the road to know that a long, gentle downhill straightaway was just ahead. She stomped on the accelerator. Ned braced himself with a hand on the dash and one on the roof as the heavy car topped a hill, lifting off the ground just a little as it crested the rise.
The pressure of the increased speed sank Royal’s back farther into the seat. The gauge on the dash registered just above eighty miles an hour when she saw the headlights close behind her and heard the first gunshot.
“What the hell?” Ned jerked his head down behind the seat. “They’re shootin’ at us!”
“No shit! Keep your head down!”
Damn! If they were shooting then they for sure weren’t local boys. Another shot sounded loudly as the bullet hit the rear quarter panel and Royal accelerated again. She had reached ninety on the speedometer, but she knew another series of quick turns lay just ahead.
Before she slowed the car down, she reached under the dash and flipped a switch to turn off her brake lights.
Of course, with no advance warning from her brake lights and likely not as much familiarity with the roads in this part of the county, the headlights bounced and flickered indicating that they’d driven straight through the turn and ended up in the ditch.
“Thank you, Ned! Your taillight trick worked like a charm!” She reached over and laid her hand on Ned’s chest. “Son, your heart is thumping like a jackrabbit!”
Ned swatted her arm away. “It’s not funny. That scared the shit out of me.”
Royal gave him a sideways glance. “A little fear is good for the soul, right?”
“Not my soul.”
“We’ll be home free in another half hour. Drinks on me.”
