Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(80)



Every few seconds he looked for the bars to appear. He was exhausted, running on adrenaline. Dave more so. Hitching with the trucker had been a risk, but they’d needed to put distance between them and the camp as quickly as possible. Some of the local cops were probably under the Warden’s control.

“You should have cell service in a couple of miles. This area is pretty dead.” The truck slowed and the driver put on his directional. “Weigh station coming up over this hill.”

The truck slowed to the top and a rest stop appeared, followed by the weigh station.

“That’s strange. This one is usually closed. Guess I gotta stop or the cops will be after me. If you need a bathroom break and a stretch, you can get out and walk around for a few minutes. I won’t be long.”

Justin and Dave froze. Could they trust these cops, or the fact that the weigh station was uncharacteristically manned today? How far did the Warden’s power reach?

“Could you let us out at the rest stop?”

The trucker’s brows rose. “It’s a quarter mile. You sure?”

Justin looked at Dave, who nodded.

“Yeah, we need to loosen up a bit,” Justin said. “The walk will help.”

The guy shrugged and pulled over. “Okay, but I’m on a tight schedule. If you’re not inside the truck when the weigh-in is over, you’ll have to hitch yourself another ride.”

“We understand.”

The trucker slowed. Justin and Dave jumped down from the cab. They ran to the nearest bathroom and took care of business.

Dave’s wheezing grew scarily loud. “Should we keep going with this guy or walk until we get a signal? I don’t like the fact that this place is open when it’s not supposed to be.”

“I don’t, either, but you sound really bad.”

“Hey, I’m still alive. That’s something I didn’t expect to be able to say when we planned this escape.”

Justin looked at the blue tinge on his friend’s lips and decided they’d have to go back to the truck. “We’ll walk around and meet him on the other side of the weigh station. You’re not going to make it much farther on foot.”

Dave nodded, his exhaustion obvious. “Okay, then we’d better head out. I’m not moving very fast.”

As they left the bathroom, they heard the drone of a plane.

“Get back. We can’t be seen. We don’t know who the Warden has on payroll.”

They quickly hid and waited, hoping they hadn’t been spotted. A moment later, an explosion rocked the ground.

Dave’s panic stole the rest of his breath. Justin peered out the door. It was an inferno. Flames roared into the sky where the weigh station had been.

“What—what happened?” Dave panted.

“I think that ‘scout’ plane just took out the weigh station and the truck. As soon as it leaves, we have to get out of here.”

Dave’s face blanched. “That wasn’t a scout plane. There’s a bombing range out here somewhere in the desert. I remember reading about it. If the Warden got someone from there to do this, we’re screwed. He knows where we are.”

“I know he runs the camp,” Justin said, “but you really think he has enough clout to deviate a military bombing run?”

“All they have to do is claim it was a training accident. They’ll pay someone off and it’ll go away.”

“Man, this is way bigger than even Floyd and Ashley thought.” Justin thrust his hand through his hair.

Dave sucked in another shuddering breath and bent over.

Justin propped him up. “You don’t sound good,” Justin said, fear of his friend dying from this attack finally hitting home.

“Don’t . . .” Dave stopped and gasped a few more times. “Don’t worry about me. If I slow you down, go on without me. You’re the only hope everyone has to get out of there alive. Whatever happens to me doesn’t matter.”

“Not an option, buddy. We go together and become heroes together. Another mile or two and we can call Ashley’s sister. She’ll know who to trust.”




Ashley coughed and hacked and dragged in a gasping breath. Heaven wasn’t supposed to hurt so much, so she mustn’t be dead. Close, though. Her throat ached and her eyes felt like they’d been pumped up with oxygen. Her lungs hurt, too.

She lay on the metal table, panting, not wanting to open her eyes.

“She’s breathing again, sir, but it was close. Are you certain you want to kill her?”

“She cost me two assets. That Justin kid was almost as good as she is. Now all I have is Floyd and I know I can’t trust him.”

Ashley’s heart pounded wildly against her ribs. The anger in the Warden’s voice roiled her stomach.

“Still,” Niko said, “you may need her, or as bait. She’s the best we’ve ever had here.”

Ashley didn’t move; she tried not to even breathe.

The Warden swore, stormed to the door, and yanked it open. “Make sure her chip works, then slap a cuff on her. Get her in front of a damn computer.” He glared into the room. “Watch her this time, Niko. Every stroke. The moneymen have scheduled an unexpected demonstration for tomorrow. I’m not happy about it. At all. God, I can’t wait to shut down this damned camp, raze it, and move on.”

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