Chapter 28 - Slowing Down Trouble
Chapter 28
Slowing Down Trouble
Rusty threw his truck in gear and raced toward the bend. The pickup’s accelerator screeched in protest as he floored it. “I put this thing back together once. We may have to do it again.”
“Where are we going?” Zach yelled.
“To the bend, three miles from the rim. Andi’s at the ranch out there, and Noah just called to tell us we’ve got to slow down the guys gunning for her. The sheriff needs more time to get there.”
“Don’t we need guns or something?”
“No, we’re going to use our wits.”
Confusion colored Zach’s gray eyes. “We got some of those? I don’t know about you, but I don’t know where mine are.”
Rusty glanced over at his little brother to reassure the kid and almost smashed into a mailbox on the side of the road. An idea took hold of him. “Hey, why don’t we just hit them?”
“With what?”
“With the truck.”
“What will we do after we hit them? I don’t think they’d like that.”
“We run.” It wasn’t the best plan Rusty had ever come up with but it would have to do. They had to save their sister.
Half a mile up the road the brothers caught sight of a black Ford almost hidden behind a pile of windblown tumbleweeds.
“You think that’s them?” Zach pointed to the group of men standing around the back of the car.
“Of course it is. Old dirt road. Suspicious group of men digging in the trunk of a black vehicle.”
“Are you sure?” Zach asked as the men pulled out what looked like assault rifles.
Adrenaline coursed through Rusty. “Yep. We’ve got them.”
The shooters turned as one as the truck kicked up dust, and they dropped their weapons out of sight.
Rusty lowered his voice and glanced at his little brother. “You ever seen a drunk try to drive a pickup?”
“Only a few times.” Zach tightened his hands around his seat belt, as if for dear life.
Rusty gripped the wheel harder as his foot smashed on the pedal and he headed straight for the Ford’s fender. He grazed the vehicle just enough to slide it back into the mud.
Jumping out of the truck, he told his brother to stay put and staggered toward the men who were looking for his sister. In a slurred voice he said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I thought you were a pole.”
Half of the men were cussing and the other half seemed to be yelling death threats at the brothers as they wiped the mud now splattered on their clothes.
Rusty squinted his eyes like he was trying to focus. “Boys, I think you’re stuck. But don’t you worry, I’ll pull you out. I ain’t got rope or a chain or anything, but I know where to find some. You just stay put. I’ll be back in five.”
He stumbled back to his pickup, almost falling into the driver’s seat. Then took off before the group even moved.
Out of the silence Zach asked, “Did anyone ever tell you not to run into a gun fight without a gun?”
Smiling, Rusty said, “You don’t need a gun when you’ve got wits.” He winked, then added, “And by the way, stop taking pictures and call Noah. Tell him mission accomplished.”