okay?” he asked her.
“I think so.” She tried not to think about the bloodstained pants.
“How long have you been here?” Colton asked.
“They grabbed me yesterday morning outside Timbuktu.” She tried to suppress the wave of emotion that came with the memories. “Then brought me to the camp early this morning.”
A day earlier and he would have missed her. A day later—she hated to think what they might have done to her given more time.
Bret reached up and squeezed Colton’s shoulder. “You can’t imagine how good it is to see you. The two of us discussed your taking part in a rescue, but I honestly didn’t think it was possible. Where in the world did you come up with two million dollars?”
Colton turned back around, as the camp faded into the distance along with the sounds of gunfire. “I didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” Bret asked.
“I didn’t have the money. Not real bills, anyway. It was counterfeit.”
Bret leaned forward. “Counterfeit?”
The surprise in Bret’s voice mirrored her own. Arriving without the ransom was a risk that could have easily cost not just her and Bret’s life, but Colton’s, as well. And yet the plan had worked. He had somehow managed to grab both Bret and her while the rebels had taken the fall with the army’s bullets.
“I decided to show up with the Malian army instead,” Colton said. “I know it sounds crazy, but when Becca and I couldn’t come up with the two million, it was the only real option we had.”
“You’re kidding me.” Bret shook his head. “If they’d opened those suitcases and discovered what was inside, or if those soldiers hadn’t shown up...”
“But none of that happened,” Colton said. “And now the army’s going to play cleanup and you’re safe.”
A shadow crossed Bret’s face. “How is Becca?”
“My sister’s a strong woman, but it’s been a tough few weeks for both her and Noah. The waiting and not knowing...”
“They’re what kept me going.”
“We’ll call her as soon as we can, I promise. Let’s just focus on getting out of here first and making sure we’re all safe.”
Lexi glanced out the window at the miles and miles of endless sand. Dunes loomed to the west then spread out flat in front of them and to the east. She was still breathing hard. Her heart still pounding. She wasn’t going to feel safe for a very long time.
Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention from behind them.
She turned to look out the back window as the Jeep bounced across the uneven ground. A vehicle followed.
“Colton...” She could hear the panic in her voice as she spoke.
“What’s wrong?”
She stared out the back of the Jeep. “There’s someone behind us, and they’re closing in.”
“I thought the army was supposed to clean up while we made a getaway,” Joseph said, pushing on the accelerator.
Lexi gripped her fingers tighter around the armrest. When she was a teenager and they’d lived in California, her stepfather had raced dirt bikes up the local sand dunes. He taken her out a few times and taught her about safety. Which was why she knew that this wasn’t the place to be running for their lives. She’d seen firsthand how easy it was to flip a vehicle. Or the potential of getting stuck in the sand. Add to that, if the tire pressure was too high, the handling ability of the 4x4 would be affected.
There were so many things that could go wrong.
“What do we do now?” Bret asked.
“We need to figure out plan B,” Colton said.
“Which is?” Joseph asked.
“Drive straight up the dune,” Colton said.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Joseph said.
“You’ve got to be kidding! That’s crazy!” Lexi grabbed the headrest and leaned forward. “It’s too easy to roll.”
“I’m pretty sure that other vehicle doesn’t have enough power to make it over the top,” Joseph said, apparently buying into the idea.
“And if we don’t make it all the way up?” Lexi asked.
“We’ll end up rolling back down the dune,” Joseph said. “But that won’t happen.”
Lexi frowned. “And this vehicle...you think it can handle it?”
“I’m not sure we have a choice. Which means everyone needs to grab on to something now.”
Lexi leaned back in her seat and felt the pull of gravity fighting against the vehicle as Joseph took a sharp left and headed up the dune. What if they didn’t make it to the top? And even if they did go over the hill unscathed and lost whoever was behind them, they still weren’t out of the woods yet. There could be other insurgents coming after them, and then there was Colton’s brother-in-law. He was weak after two months of captivity and needed to be checked out by a doctor.
Joseph had his foot on the accelerator, fighting with the engine to keep up the momentum. If he tried to turn or cross the slope, they’d end up popping a tire or flipping the car. And if they didn’t maintain their speed they’d never make it.
Lexi turned around just in time to see the other vehicle rolling back down the steep hill. There was still a chance they would meet the same end as they weren’t at the top yet.
Finally they crested the top of the ridge. Joseph had been right.
“I think your zany plan worked,” Bret said.
Lexi let out a lungful of pent-up air, and realized she’d been holding her breath.
“We’re not out of here yet, but we’re close,” Joseph said, reading her thoughts. “Your Cessna’s parked about ten minutes ahead.”
Lexi caught the worry in Colton’s expression as Joseph sped across the desert. All they had to do now was make it to Colton’s plane and take off before anyone else tried to stop them.
* * *
Get them in the air and fly them out of here.
A piece of cake, Colton thought, still trying to convince himself they were out of danger as the Cessna took off from the runway fifteen minutes later. Thanks to Joseph’s skilled driving, they’d made it to the plane.
There was no human settlement for as far as he could see. Nothing growing in the harsh desert sands except for a few scraggly bushes. Nothing to stop them. They might actually make it out of here in one piece after all.
Colton
