Burn (7 page)

Once outside, she needed to find the bikes.
 
She assumed they were parked near the large cabin, so she made her way there.
 
Walking up the gravel path would be near suicide, so she headed into the woods and cut a long half-circle around to the cabin.
 
It wasn’t an easy trek.
 
She had to climb over fallen trees and tear her way through the brush, but next to surviving an attack on her life, it seemed like the easiest thing in the world.
 

Danni found a good perch where she could see inside.
 
The big cabin was two stories, with the living area on the second floor.
 
The Rattlers were talking in the kitchen.
 
It looked like Fixer and two other guys were sitting at a table.
 
The two men were both fat.
 
One of them had a completely shaved head while the other had thinning hairTommy was busy cooking something on the stove.

The bikes were parked alongside the house, so she figured she could get to them quickly. The problem was, she didn’t know which one belonged to the man she’d killed.
 
There were five bikes, and any of them could be his.
 
She kicked herself for not paying more attention on the ride out, but at the time, she had been terrified for her life.

Danni rubbed the metal key in her hand, feeling the sharp teeth along her thumb, building up her courage to do what was needed.
 
She waited until Tommy served the food and the Rattlers were busy eating.
 
She zipped up her jacket, thankful she was still wearing it.
 
It wasn’t much of a cover, but the dark leather helped her blend into her surroundings far better than her white t-shirt.
 
Then she slowly crept out of the woods, fighting the urge to run to the bikes.
 
Sudden movements would attract more attention than moving slowly, but there was a gap between the woods and cabin.
 
Fifteen feet or so of grass, nothing to help her blend in.
 
She walked slowly, keeping her eye on the second floor window where all the Rattlers sat.

It seemed to take forever, that walk from the edge of the trees to the motorcycles, but finally she made it across.
 
Now that she was closer to the cabin, she could hear the bikers talking, and the sounds of forks hitting plates came clearly out the window.

There were five bikes sitting there, covered in mud.
 
The sight offended Danni.
 
Black Ice loved their bikes and kept them looking good.
 
These men obviously didn’t put the same amount of care into their bikes.

She approached the first bike.
 
Now was the time to find out which of them belonged to the man lying dead just down the hill.
 
Danni put the key and the ignition, but it wouldn’t budge.
 
She walked to the second and got the same result.
 

She was starting to panic a bit.
 
Maybe none of these bikes belonged to the Roscoe.
 
Maybe he parked his bike somewhere else?
 
Just when she had thought this plan was the worst idea of her life, she put the key in the third bike and it turned.
 
The headlight turned on with the battery, but she didn’t start the engine.
 

Her heart was beating out of her chest.
 
The sounds of the Rattlers eating and talking were still coming out of the window.
 
This was her moment.
 
As soon as she started the engine, they would hear her.
 
She tried to think of some way to cripple their bikes, but the only way to do that would be to shoot the tires, which would alert them to her presence too early for her to get away.
 
She would just have to chance starting the bike and zooming away.

Danni straddled the big machine and placed her foot on the kickstarter.
 
Her heart was about ready to burst from her chest.
 
She allowed herself two seconds before leaving.
 
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She’d survived then.
 
She would survive now.

She kicked the motorcycle to life.
 
The great engine roared and she felt the vibrations course through her entire body.
 
She hit the gas and the big bike took off quickly down the gravel drive.
 
She zoomed down the hill, past her former prison, and around the bend.
 
A quick look over her shoulder revealed that the Rattlers had come running out of the cabin.
 

She slammed on the brakes and pulled the gun from her waistband.
 
She aimed straight at Fixer and pulled the trigger.
 
Nothing happened.
 
The trigger wouldn’t move.
 
It was stuck.
 
Danni cursed herself for not checking the safety.
 
She slid the little bar over and aimed again, but she was too late.
 
She couldn’t see Fixer anymore.
 
Instead, she saw Tommy and another biker, big and bald with lots of tattoos on his arms, getting on their bikes.
 
She fired at the big man, missing him, but hitting his motorcycle.
 
Dark fluid sprayed from his engine.
 

She faced forward again and took off down the drive just as fast as she dared.
 
The gravel was slick beneath her tires and she was afraid of going down.
 
She heard the bikes behind her, but didn’t dare turn her head around.
 
The gravel path was a twisty affair with trees lining both sides.
 
From behind, she heard a shot and actually felt the air ripple next to her heard as the bullet tore through the air.
 
Instinctively, she ducked her head and stopped the gas.

When Danni finally hit the pavement, her wheel skidded under her and she almost lost it.
 
This bike was much bigger and much more powerful than the one she was used to riding.
 
She needed to go fast enough to evade the Rattlers, but not so fast she’d lose her balance.
 

The road was wet and the cold air burned her face, but Danni knew this was it for her.
 
She was either getting away or dying—there was no way she was going back.
 
Her rearview showed the three bikes chasing her.
 
Another shot rang out, then another.
 
She took the bike to the absolute limit, but the Rattlers were still closing in.
 
Danni pulled the gun again and fired over her shoulder.
 
From her mirror, it didn’t look like she hit anything, not that she expected to, shooting blindly over her shoulder.
 
It was simply a warning to them.
 
She had reminded them she had a gun and they backed off a little.
 

She needed to come up with a plan, fast.
 
They were going to catch up to her eventually, so she needed a way to get away from them.
 
She was on a long country road with a few turnoffs, but if she darted in a new direction, the Rattlers would see her.
 

Fast approaching was an intersection, but not just an intersection that crossed with another small highway.
 
This road ran smack into an interstate.
 
This was just the break she needed, provided she avoided getting hit when she rode into traffic.

She revved the engine and ducked her head down, almost touching her chin to the handlebars.
 
She fired behind her one more time, just to make Fixer and his crew draw back a bit.
 
Then, when the two roads met, she didn’t stop or even slow down.
 
Danni said a silent prayer as she rode wildly onto the interstate.
 
Cars honked and swerved to avoid hitting her.
 
She hit the brakes to keep from smashing into the side of a semi; its horn rang out.
 
It passed and she hit the gas again, pulling the bike hard to the right as another car swerved into the next lane to avoid her, and ended up hitting the car next to it.
 

Danni’s wheels nearly went out from under her, but she managed to keep the big bike upright.
 
She was much better on it than she thought, and would’ve given anything in that moment for Mercer to see her ride.
 
The wind in her hair, the sun on her face—she felt truly alive.

After a quick look, Danni saw the Rattlers had also merged into traffic on the highway, but they had been more cautious about it and she was getting a good lead on them.
 
She weaved through the cars, trying to keep out of the Rattlers’ direct sight.
 
She got in front of a semi and waited for the next turnoff.
 
When it came up, she darted off the highway and got down the road quickly.
 
After stopping, Danni checked over her shoulder.
 
Sure enough, the three remaining Rattlers on working bikes zoomed past, searching the line of traffic for her.
 
Danni kicked off and headed down the road.

***

Danni was free.
 
That was the first thing that came to her mind as she took her new bike down the old country road.
 
She was alive and free, but very much lost.
 
After driving off the highway, she wanted to make sure the Rattlers weren’t following her, so she took a few turns, paying more attention to whether someone was following her than where she was going.
 

After riding for half an hour, Danni found a sign directing her to the nearest town and a gas station not too far after that.
 
The newspaper told her she was in Laramie, Wyoming, although she didn’t know where that was.
 
Judging from the number of hours she’d spent in the back of the Rattler van, she guessed it was in the lower part of the state.
 
Her thoughts went to Mercer.
 
She needed to call him to let him know she was OK, but the Rattlers had taken everything from her.

The gas station was giant.
 
Designed for truckers on the long haul and folk traveling long distances.
 
It contained a large convenience store, a fast food restaurant, and even showers.

Danni took a seat in the fast food joint, doubting anyone would notice or care that she hadn’t actually bought any food.
 
There, she went over her options.
 
She could go to the police, or just ride back to Rawlins on the bike.

She didn’t like either option.
 
The bike had three quarters tank of gas, but that wasn’t going to be enough to get her home.
 
Going to the cops was less appealing.
 
The Rattlers had bought the police in Rawlins; it was possible the same thing had happened in Laramie.
 

Sitting at the next table over was a young couple with a small child.
 
The mother was holding the girl in her lap, trying to get the kid to eat something, while trying to get her own burger in her mouth.
 
So far, neither of them had taken a single bite.
 
The kid was fussy and looked like right on the verge of throwing a full-on tantrum.
 
The father was also trying to get the kid to eat and failing, but was able to get a few bites of his own meal in his mouth.

As if on cue, the girl started howling and flailing her arms wildly.
 
She knocked over a soda into her mother’s lap.
 
Both parents jumped up.
 
The little girl was handed off to her father while the mother went to the restroom.
 
Changing parents didn’t sooth the kid any, so the father took her outside so she didn’t disturb the other people eating.

Danni leaned her head back, tired and hungry.
 
The adrenaline from escaping the Rattlers was wearing off and she was very aware that she was still in a lot of trouble, even if she was not in immediate danger.
 
She had no phone, no money, and nothing except her stolen bike.

When she raised her head, the couple still weren’t back with the kid.
 
Their food was sitting on the table without anyone watching it.
 
Not only that, but in her hurry to clean herself up, the lady had left her purse on the seat.
 

Danni looked around.
 
There were only about five other people in the place and no one was paying any attention to her.
 
She reached out, grabbed the purse, and put it next to her in the seat.
 
Her heart was racing as her hand reached in.
 
Inside was a package of tissues, a half-eaten roll of mints, a wallet, and a phone.
 
Danni quickly snapped open the wallet and pulled out a credit card.
 
Then she snatched the phone, shut the purse up tight, and returned it to its original position.
 

The couple still hadn’t returned.
 
Danni stood up, snatched the uneaten burger from the woman’s tray, and quickly walked to the door.
 
As she got near the door, her heart still beating fast, the man and little girl appeared.
 
The man held the door open for Danni, who smiled at him as best she could and hurried to her motorcycle.