What Happened to the Bennetts(84)

Steering the Tahoe off the road.





Chapter Fifty-Four



“No!” Wiki shouted, shocked. The Tahoe swerved wildly downward into the muddy shoulder.

I reached for his gun with my left hand, a split second before he reacted the same way. His right hand clamped over my left, but I gripped the handle of the gun through his polo shirt.

The Tahoe lurched to a stop, jostling us both. I struggled to hold on to the gun. The Tahoe slid in the mud, tilting crazily to the driver’s side. I fell toward Wiki, caught by my seat belt.

“Let go or I’ll shoot!” I curled my index finger through the trigger guard.

“No!” Wiki shouted back. The Tahoe sunk into the muddy water at the shoreline. Frantically, Wiki unbuckled his seat belt with his left hand.

I punched him in the face. His head whipped backward. His grip on the gun released. I wrenched it from its holster and scrambled to free it from his polo shirt.

Wiki caught my hand, trying to pull it off the gun. We struggled. The Tahoe sunk deeper into the water. I held on to the gun with all my might.

Wiki hit me with a roundhouse left, connecting. My cheek exploded in pain. I squeezed the trigger involuntarily.

The gun went off. The report deafened me. Wiki yelled something I couldn’t hear. Blood spurted from his upper thigh. The Tahoe halted its off-kilter descent. The engine stopped.

I scrambled out of the Tahoe, with Wiki behind. He shoved me into the mucky water, then lunged after me. He landed on me, punching me in the head. I struggled to hit him back, torqueing right and left to shake him off.

I swallowed water, gulping silt. I held my breath but couldn’t much longer.

I swam for the surface, bobbing up. Wiki pushed me under. I punched him in the stomach. He doubled slightly.

I popped up, gasping, just in time to see him lunging at me. I raised my hand with the gun and brought it down on his head. Wiki landed on me, forcing me underwater.

I held my breath. I kept my arms up, pistol-whipping him again and again. I was running out of air. I martialed my strength and fought back. I tried not to panic. I felt Wiki let go.

I popped back to the surface. I coughed, gasping. Wiki slipped under the surface, his head bleeding. He began to sink, unconscious.

I grabbed him by the shirt. The deadweight carried me downward. I treaded water frantically. I looped my arm under his neck so he stayed above water.

I looked around to orient myself. The shoreline glistened darkly, thirty feet away. The Tahoe was only partially submerged.

I swam for shore, gasping for air, my heart pounding. Every few strokes I went under, weighed down by Wiki. I kept the gun out of the water. I didn’t know if it worked anymore.

I paddled to the shore, whacking reeds out of my path with the gun. I found my footing, tangled in the cordgrass. I clawed my way onto the slimy mud, panting. I inhaled and exhaled, recovering my strength.

I dragged Wiki partway onto land and turned him on his side, looking for his phone. I wrenched it out of his back pocket. Blood poured from the gunshot wound. He would bleed, but not to death. I patted him down for other weapons. I didn’t feel any.

I climbed beside him and smacked him. “Wiki, wake up!”

Wiki regained consciousness, groaning.

I drilled the gun into his temple. “You were taking me to Milo. You were gonna let them kill me.”

“They just want you to shut up. They were gonna make a deal.”

“Bullshit! They were gonna kill me.”

“No, no, they would’ve paid—”

“What happened at the house? Where’s Lucinda and Ethan? Tell me or I shoot you, I swear.”

“Dom got them out. He saw them coming.”

“Who? Milo?”

“Yes.”

“You told him where we were!”

“I had to—”

“Bullshit!” I let it go. I didn’t have time. A car could come by. “How many were there?”

“Two plus Milo.”

“Who? I want names.”

“Carl. David.”

“CIA?”

“Carl’s ex-CIA. David’s GVO.”

“Last names?”

“That’s all I know.”

“Dom saved Lucinda and Ethan?”

“Yes, he got them out—”

“Where is he?”

“We don’t know. We’re looking for—”

“Where’s the dog?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see any video—”

“Did you call Milo before we left?”

“Yes.” Wiki’s terrified eyes shifted to the gun. “If you kill me, they’ll come looking. If I don’t show—”

“I’m not gonna shoot you unless you try and stop me. Stay here.” I scrambled up the muddy marsh and ran to the Tahoe. I jumped in the driver’s seat and started the ignition, but the big engine wouldn’t turn over. The Tahoe didn’t move.

Wiki started to get up, struggling to his feet.

I twisted the ignition again and again. Finally the engine came to life. I threw the Tahoe into reverse and hit the gas. The tires skidded, spraying mud.

The Tahoe lurched backward, stuck. Mud flew everywhere.

Wiki staggered toward me, clutching his hip.