Escape from the Badlands. Dana Mentink
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slowly and deliberately. “Listen to me, Shane. I want you to leave that race and not come back. You’ve had enough pain already. Walk away from this mess. Find Kelly and start over with her.”
Shane felt his face flush. He spent every waking moment missing Kelly, the feel of her silken hair on his face, the smile that lit up the inside of his heart like a beacon. “I’m not walking away.” He swallowed hard. “You’re the only brother I’ve got now.”
“There’s nothing left for me.”
“Yes, there is. You always say God will…”
“That’s what I used to think, that He answered prayers, interceded for people who loved Him,” Todd said.
That’s what Todd had tried to teach Shane when Lonnie died, and then when things fell apart with Kelly. “Don’t give up your faith, Todd,” he said, fighting to keep his voice level. He felt like a hypocrite telling his brother to hold onto God when Shane could not do the same, but he did not want to see that part of his brother die. Todd’s faith might be the only thing that kept him alive until Shane could figure out how to free him.
Todd spoke with a tone completely devoid of hope. “It doesn’t make sense to me anymore. I can’t make myself believe it now.”
Fear coiled through Shane’s gut. What could he say to save his brother? “I will keep fighting until we find out who killed Olivia. We’ll hire another lawyer if we need to.”
“No. Let it go and walk away, just as I said.” Todd sighed. “Goodbye, Shane,” he said as he hung up.
Swallowing a surge of desperation, he walked to the edge of the canyon. The rain tapered off and the water had begun to recede, as if a drain had suddenly been uncapped. Water sucked away into the parched land around it and beyond, lowering visibly as he watched.
Soon Kelly’s car was clear—still jammed against the rocks, but accessible. He retied a rope and eased himself down again. This time the driver’s-side door opened easily. Avoiding the bits of glass, he reached for the keys left in the ignition.
He imagined how panicked she must have been, knowing that she could drown at any moment, along with Charlie.
It was too painful to contemplate, and far too uncomfortable picturing what the little boy must have felt watching the water rise.
Had Lonnie felt that way? Had he known that the water would soon overwhelm him? Was his last feeling before he drowned an all-encompassing terror?
Black despair filled him. His brother’s words floated into his mind.
Let go, Shane. Lonnie’s with God. Let that be enough.
But Todd was letting his faith slip away under the weight of his unjust incarceration. How could he save the brother who had saved him so many times? Cold water seeped into his already sodden pants.
He noticed a sheaf of papers stuck under the visor, miraculously dry. Thinking they might be important to Kelly, he took them, noticing a card clipped to the top.
Devin Ackerman, Desert Quest Publicity Coordinator.
There was a phone number below, and a scrawled message: Kelly, looking forward to having you aboard. D
The papers crumpled as his grip tightened. Ackerman had hired Kelly? Why? She was a newly minted nurse. Surely there were many people far more qualified for the job than she. But Kelly, with her dark eyes and gentle smile, would have appealed to him for other reasons.
His stomach tightened and his breathing grew shallow.
Even though Ackerman was engaged, he knew the man was unable to resist a beautiful girl. What’s more, he’d heard that the race coordinator was not above pursuing women, married or otherwise. If Ellen Brown hadn’t given him an alibi for the night of Olivia’s murder… He ground his teeth, stowed the papers inside his jacket and unhooked the car seat from the back. Then he took the keys from the ignition and made his way to the trunk. He unlocked it and retrieved a small duffel bag, swallowing against the lump in his throat.
It was the same bag she’d lugged along on their river rafting adventure. He jerked it free and grabbed a smaller blue backpack with a train emblazoned on the front. He closed the trunk again and made his way clumsily back to the top in time to see Gleeson pull up in the van.
“See you got your bags packed,” Gleeson joked.
Shane didn’t respond as he got in. They drove for several miles in silence.
“I guess we’ve got our new medic now,” Gleeson said, giving him a quick glance.
“So it seems.” Shane fumed. “How did Ackerman find Kelly?”
Gleeson tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Through me, actually. He met her when he took me to the clinic after I sprained my knee. She was real competent and looking for a job because her gig there was almost up.” He grinned. “She’s not bad to look at, either, so I think that already put her ahead of the previous medic.”
Biting back a fiery remark, Shane forced himself to stare out the window. “What happened to the other medic?”
“Quit suddenly. Didn’t give a reason that I’m aware of. Why you so interested?” Gleeson asked. “You know her?”
Shane wondered what Kelly had told him. Was Gleeson testing him?
He went for flippant. “I’ve met a lot of pretty girls. Who remembers?”
Gleeson chuckled.
Who remembers? Shane did—every moment of their time together was indelibly engraved on his mind. The smallest things remained there: the way her smile was higher on one side than the other, the curl of her hair right after she washed it, her laughter that always made him forget everything else. Her failed attempts at learning to cook, and all the truly awful food he’d eaten with a smile firmly plastered on his face.
“Anyway,” Gleeson continued, “she’s saddled with a kid. Don’t know why anyone would sign on to hook up with that.”
A kid. The comment circled in his mind, stabbing and biting like an angry beast. Is that what Kelly thought? That he’d left because he didn’t want to be saddled with a kid? How could he ever tell her the truth?
He leaned his head back and let the miles go by, uncertain why the situation had taken such a strange turn. There was only one thing he knew for sure—Kelly had to leave. Immediately. The thought carried him back to the campground where he parted with Gleeson, shouldering the bags to take to Kelly’s trailer, the one with the Team Medic placard displayed in the kitchen window.
The curtains were drawn and his hands felt clammy, heart hammering erratically.
Convince her to leave. That’s all you have to do.
In an effort not to wake Charlie if the child was sleeping, Shane knocked softly.
Kelly answered, dressed in a pair of sweatpants that were too big and an oversized T-shirt. Her hair was still wet, but pulled up into a high ponytail. Even in clothes that didn’t fit, after a harrowing near-death experience, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and for a moment he couldn’t speak.
Kelly eyed the bags in his hands. “You didn’t have to bring those.”
Shane shrugged. “Concierge service included with your luxury accommodations. Car will need to be towed, but I figured you might be able to use some of these things after they dry out.” He hesitated. “Can I come in?”
She gave him a long look before she opened the door. “Just for a minute. Charlie is sleeping. I…we’ve been looking for his mother but no luck so he’s got to settle for me. Guess I didn’t do so well tonight.”
He saw a little bundle in the full-size bed. “Is he okay?”
“Yes.” She took a breath. “Thank you again. I’m not sure