for the vehicle to make it to the other side.
Exactly where Seth had planned to go.
He’d already spotted a heavily treed area over there, but now he wouldn’t be able to get to it.
Time for plan B.
“Let’s go,” he told Shelby.
And they started running along the creek bed where there was some mud and water. If the men wanted to come after them, then they’d have to get out of the truck and go on foot or else risk the truck bogging down.
It didn’t take long for Shelby and him to reach the water. Thankfully, it was only ankle deep, but there was also soupy mud. Not the best running surface, especially since he was wearing cowboy boots and Shelby was in sandals. Still, they ran as if their lives depended on it because they very well could.
Even if this was some kind of kidnapping gone wrong, the men might want to cut their losses and just kill them. Shelby and he had to get out of their paths before that could happen.
“There they are,” Seth heard one of the men yell.
Seth didn’t stop running, but he glanced over his shoulder and spotted the two behind them in the creek bed.
Hell.
The men were now on foot and already too close. When they reached the water, it would slow them down as it had Shelby and him, but it wouldn’t slow them down nearly enough. All the idiots needed to do was get in firing range. Even if they didn’t have plans to kill them, they could still shoot Shelby and him to get them to stop.
“There’s more water,” Shelby warned him.
Yes, Seth saw it. Just ahead the bed not only widened, but the water got deeper. He figured that would only continue until they reached an honest-to-goodness creek.
“Are you a good swimmer?” Seth asked.
Shelby glanced at him. She was breathing through her mouth now, and her face was flushed from the exertion. “Not even close.”
Well, there went plan C. He didn’t want her to drown, and as exhausted as they already were, it’d likely take a strong swimmer for them to escape, especially if the men continued to follow them.
It was hard to think while running like a crazy man, but Seth forced himself to look around and see what their options were.
There weren’t many.
They could keep running and hope the water didn’t get so deep that it’d require swimming. But that was a huge gamble. Or he could stop and try to fight. If the men weren’t armed, that was exactly what he would do, but those weapons gave them a huge advantage. Again, it was a gamble.
Seth thought of one other plan.
It was risky, too, but it might be the only chance they had.
He looked ahead, spotted a place that might work. The water was deeper there, but the embankment wasn’t as high as in other places.
“When we stop,” Seth told her, “I want you to start climbing up the embankment on your right.”
“We’re stopping?” she said on a gasp.
Panic was in her voice. In her eyes, too, and Seth hoped Shelby could hold it together long enough to do this. He’d been an FBI agent for nine years now. Plenty of time for him to be in situations with armed men. Still, he’d never been in a predicament like this.
In hindsight, he should have forced Shelby back into her car the moment she’d pulled up to the warehouse. He should have threatened her and made her go. If he’d done that, maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess.
He’d kick himself for that later.
Later, after he saved her.
Seth tightened his grip on her arm, stopping her in her tracks, and he shoved her onto the embankment. Shelby dug in her heels and scrambled over. Seth did the same, and the second he was over the top, he grabbed her hand again and took off running. Not away from the men but rather in their direction.
Toward the truck.
The men cursed and tried to scramble up the embankment, too, but they chose a spot that was steep and muddy. Seth took full advantage of that and went into a sprint. Just behind him, Shelby kept up, and they made a beeline for the truck.
“Get them!” one of the men yelled.
Seth glanced back again. The men were no longer in the creek bed but were in the same clearing as he and Shelby. Both were still armed and running way too fast. Seth figured it wouldn’t be long before they caught up with them.
The truck was just ahead, both the driver and passenger’s doors wide-open. Seth didn’t hear the engine running, but he hoped the guys had at least left the keys in the ignition. He knew how to hot-wire a car, but that took time. Time that Shelby and he didn’t have.
“Get in and get down,” Seth told her. This time she’d darn well better listen.
They scrambled toward the truck. Shelby toward the passenger’s side and Seth behind the wheel. The keys were in there.
Thank God.
While the men ran straight toward them, Seth started the engine and threw the vehicle into Reverse so he could turn around. Not easy to do with the trees and the embankment so close. It also didn’t help that the broken front windshield looked more like a spider web.
“They’re almost on us,” Shelby said. She’d gotten on the floor as he’d ordered, but she lifted her head to peer out at the men.
Yes, they were that close. “Check for a weapon in the glove compartment or under the seat,” he said.
That’d keep Shelby down and out of potential line of fire. And, besides, she might get lucky and actually find a gun or two.
Seth finally got the truck turned around and gunned the engine, but he didn’t get very far before he had to slow down to swerve around more trees. Unfortunately, there was no direct path to the road so that meant he needed to turn around yet again and go back to the low spot in the embankment where the men had first crossed.
He hit the brakes and took the turn as fast as he could. The men were there, of course, coming right at them. And while he wanted answers, it’d be safer for Shelby and him if he just ran them down.
“No gun,” Shelby said, rifling through the glove compartment. She was about to start her search under the seat, but she froze and her eyes widened. “You’re driving right at them?”
“Hold on,” Seth warned her, and he aimed the truck at the men.
They scattered, one going left and the other to the right, and they both hit the ground to get out of the way of the truck. Seth got a good look at them then. He didn’t recognize either man, but he did recognize something—their concerned looks. Judging from the expressions, the duo had realized that he’d now seen their faces.
That meant he could possibly identify them.
In his experience, once you had the names of the criminals, then the motive would soon follow. Seth needed that because these two had almost certainly murdered that man back at the warehouse.
“There’s no gun under the seat,” Shelby relayed. She lifted her head again, this time looking out the back window. “And they’re still running after us.”
Seth glanced at the side mirror to see just how close they were. Too close. But he couldn’t go any faster because he might hit a boulder or a tree. If that happened, Shelby and he would be sitting ducks.
Seth finally spotted the low embankment just ahead. A welcome sight. And a somewhat scary one if this plan didn’t work.
“Hang on,” he told Shelby.
She grabbed the door handle and the dashboard. Good thing, too. Because the impact tossed them around like rag dolls. Seth wasn’t