Desperate Escape. Lisa Harris

Grant pushed on the gas, still fighting to keep the tires in the ruts.

      “The main road has to be just ahead of us,” Antonio said. “It not paved, but you’ll be able to drive a little faster.”

      “Maybe it’s not them,” Maddie said. “Maybe it’s just another driver.”

      “Not out here,” Antonio said. “The only vehicles you’ll see belong to them.”

      Grant glanced in his rearview mirror. “Maddie, I want you and Ana to stay down.”

      He didn’t have to verbalize what he was thinking. The other car presumably had weapons. All they had was a stolen Jeep.

      He leaned forward as the headlights caught the turnoff onto the main road up ahead. The Jeep fishtailed as he made the turn, then jerked to a stop as the engine died. Grant quickly restarted the engine and tried to move forward, but the wheels started spinning. He banged on the steering wheel and then quickly threw the car into Reverse and backed up. The quickest way to get completely stuck was to let the tires spin. They didn’t have time to dig the Jeep out of a hole.

      He eased off the gas. “Come on...come on...”

      “Grant...” Maddie’s voice was laced in panic.

      “How close are they?” Grant asked.

      “I don’t know, but they’re gaining on us,” she said.

      Antonio jumped out of the car.

      “Antonio!” Grant shouted, still trying to get the vehicle unstuck.

      “Give me ten seconds.”

      “We don’t have ten seconds,” Grant shouted, but Antonio was already gone.

      Grant shifted into first again and then eased on the pedal. This time the car moved forward enough to get them free.

      Antonio jumped back into the car, slamming his door shut. “Get us out of here.”

      Grant eased down slowly on the gas, then sped onto the main road. The headlights were still behind them.

      “What did you just do?” he asked, picking up speed on the packed dirt road.

      Antonio gripped the dashboard. “There were a couple fallen palm tree fronds on the side of the road. They happen to have these sharp thorns on the back of them that can be extremely painful if you step on them. They’ve also been known to puncture a tire or two. I thought if I laid them across the road it might delay our friends. With a little luck, they won’t even see them.”

      “I knew there was a good reason for bringing you along.” Grant chuckled.

      “It looks like they’ve stopped,” Maddie said a few seconds later.

      “Which means you, my friend, just bought us some more time.” Grant looked back in his rearview mirror as the other vehicle’s headlights began to fade into the distance.

      But while they might have lost them, this was far from over. They were unarmed in a territory that was not only unfamiliar, but run by local drug traffickers. How many more second chances to get out alive were they going to get?