Chapter Five
Ashes finished setting the time delay in the house, a lit cigarette folded into a matchbook.
It would give them a couple of minutes to get away from the house before the fire started to really catch.
Goliath would find a pay phone and call it in as soon as he could.
They didn’t want the forest to burn. He didn’t even care if the house was salvageable, as long as the evidence of what Miranda had been through here was eliminated.
He got into the truck and frowned. Where was she? Twisting around he found her lying in the back seat, watching him.
“Why are you back there?”
“I didn’t know if the other guy wanted that seat.”
“Nope. He’s taking his bike.” As if to punctuate his statement, Goliath’s bike started. “Come on up here. You can talk to me or control the radio. I have a few questions. You don’t have to answer, but I don’t want to hurt you.”
Miranda sat up, then instead of opening the door and getting out, she climbed between the seats.
Ashes waited until she’d settled in, then started the truck, turning down the blasting music to a level they could hear but still easily talk.
By the time she’d buckled her seat belt, they were already moving.
He wanted to be away from here as quickly as possible.
The fire would catch soon and he didn’t want her to see it.
It would be better if she didn’t know what had happened, then she could never testify about it.
He waited until they’d gone far enough that the cabin was out of sight before he spoke.
“You said you don’t have any family. Can I ask why not?”
She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “Why not? I used to have a family. Parents, as well as a younger brother and sister. But they died last year. At least I think it was last year. I don’t even know what day it is.”
“It’s Thursday, but I’m not sure that’s the answer you’re looking for. It’s mid-November. I’m assuming the same year you disappeared.” He gave her the year and she confirmed, meaning she’d been held captive for half a year. He couldn’t imagine what she had to be feeling.
“So yeah, last year my family was in a small plane, headed home from a funeral in northern Arizona when the plane went down.” She turned and stared out the window. They were all killed instantly, or at least that’s what the police had told her after they’d found the accident site.
Ashes got the impression she wasn’t seeing anything out there but was lost in whatever thoughts were circling in her head.
“Why weren’t you with them?” He knew it was insensitive but it was also something she likely asked herself every day. Probably blamed herself for too.
“I had class. I considered ditching class to go, but it was for an aunt I barely remembered and I was having a really hard time with that algebra class, I knew missing class would make it really hard to catch up, so I decided not to go.” She turned to face him, but he wasn’t sure she was seeing him or still lost in her mind.
“The funny thing is that if I had gone, they never would have been on the plane to begin with. They would have driven, then they would still be alive.”
The pain in her voice prompted Ashes to reach over and cover her hand with one of his.
“You can’t know that. You can believe it but not know for sure.
” He glanced at her then back to the road.
“I’ve always believed that when it’s your time, it’s time and there’s nothing you can do to stop it, though you can die before your time.
So, who knows? If you’d gone, and they drove instead of flew, there could have been a wreck, or any of a million things.
You could have died or you could have been severely hurt and had to deal with that on top of the loss.
But there’s no point in wondering or worrying.
Either way, it’s in the past now. Would your folks have wanted you to spend the rest of your life regretting your choice? ”
From the corner of his eye, he saw her stare at him, her mouth hanging open.
“No.” She shook her head. “They would tell me to move on, to live my life, to be happy.” She turned to face the window again. “We see how well that turned out, don’t we?”
Ashes didn’t know what to say so he fell quiet for a while, the music coming through the speakers kept it from being awkwardly silent, at least from his perspective.
By the time he pulled the pickup into the gas station they were supposed to meet at, she’d relaxed enough to play with the radio, turning it up for a bit, then asking if he minded if she changed it.
He didn’t give a shit what they listened to, unless she wanted something like classical or anything else without words.
That shit put him to sleep, but if she wanted to listen to that, he would.
He pulled in and up behind Goliath, who was already sitting at a pump.
He must have driven faster than they had because as soon as Ashes stopped behind him, he started his bike and moved it, letting Ashes pull in to take his place.
Ashes glanced around and didn’t see the others.
He wasn’t worried. He needed gas either way.
“Want anything from inside?” Ashes asked before getting out. She wore rags and his shirt, and he figured she probably wouldn’t want to go in like that.
“Would you mind getting me a Mountain Dew? I love them and can’t remember the last time I had one. Before this whole thing, I’m sure.”
“No problem. You want a bottle or fountain?”
“Fountain, please.”
“No problem. You going to be okay here without me?” He watched her face for signs of nervousness or distress. He didn’t see any sign she wasn’t being honest so he slid out of the truck to take care of fueling up and getting her drink.
By the time he’d filled the truck and fetched her soda from the store, Doc and Sparrow had arrived.
He stopped to check with them and found Doc hadn’t been able to get a room without using a credit card, which they wanted to avoid because they didn’t want to be tracked here.
It was also why they’d all left their cell phones at the clubhouse. But Doc had a solution.
“Did you know that a lot of RV parks and campgrounds have showers that anyone can use for a small fee? The bonus is they don’t even ask for names.”
“Nice. Where are we headed? I’m sure Miranda wants to get clean sooner rather than later.” He glanced toward the truck where she waited. Except where he should see her silhouette in the passenger seat, there was nothing.
“Just—” Doc started but Ashes waved one hand and cut him off, even as he started for the truck, his heart thundering in his ears.
“Miranda?” he asked as he reached the passenger door and jerked it open. Every muscle in his body seemed to go weak when he spotted her curled into a tiny ball sitting on the floorboard. She stared at him, eyes wide.
“I-I got scared,” her voice trembled as she looked up at him with wide eyes.
“It’s all right.” He leaned in over her head to set the soda he’d gotten her in the cupholder between seats. “What can I do to help?”
Miranda shook her head. “You’re back, that helps a ton.” She looked at the cup. “Is that for me?”
“That’s yours. Do you want food or a shower first?”
“Shower. Food will taste better when I’m clean.”
“All right. Give me just a minute and we’ll go get you a shower. I need to talk to the guys and find out where we’re headed. I’m going to be right there.” He pointed to where his three brothers stood near their bikes. “Will you be okay with that or should I have them come over here?”
“I’ll be able to see you. I’ll be fine,” she said as she slid up into the passenger seat and picked up the insulated cup.
Ashes watched her, then decided she was telling the truth.
“I’ll be right back.” He closed her door, then went back to where Doc, Sparrow, and Goliath watched him. “I was afraid something had happened to her.” He shook his head. “She’s fine. Where are we taking her to shower?” He looked at Doc.
“About a quarter of a mile up, other side of the highway, it’s an RV park and campground. She can shower, and we can find a picnic table we can eat at. There’s one not far from the showers so we can keep an eye out if that makes her feel better. Then, when we’re ready, we can head back to town.”
“Good plan. We all gassed up?” Ashes asked, and when he got nods all the way around, he continued. “Then let’s head over to the campground, let Miranda shower and eat, then we can hit the road.” No one spoke up to change anything so Ashes went back to the truck and Miranda.