Page 97 of Hard Knock Hero

Jessi sat forward, cradling the phone close to her mouth. “You have to take your Jeep to Refuge Mountain. You hear me? You have to catch up to Owen.”

Scarlett was breathing heavily. “I’ll do it. I promise.”

“If you beat us there,” Jessi added, “just go after Owen. Warn him and the others.” Her voice wavered, and I knew she was thinking of her brother. “But Aiden and I aren’t far. We’ll try to meet you there.”

“All right. I’ve gotta go now.”

“Be safe, Scar.” Jessi ended the call. “Please hurry, Aiden.”

“I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

But we both knew it might be too late.

“This exit.” Jessi pointed. “It’ll get us to the national forest roads faster.” She chewed her lip as we took the curves a bit too fast. I wanted to reach for her hand, but I needed both of mine on the wheel. At least the roads were completely dry and clear of snow.

Finally, we pulled up to the turnoff leading onto the unpaved forest access roads. And Scarlett’s Jeep sped toward us from the other direction, her dark-red hair blowing wildly in the open windows.

Jessi was out first. I followed her quickly. Scarlett braked to a stop for us to get into the Jeep. Then she raced onto the turnoff and took the unpaved access road toward Refuge Mountain.

With a vehicle like this, I had to assume that Scarlett was the outdoorsy type. “Do you have binoculars?” I asked from the backseat. Jessi was in the front, riding shotgun.

“Glove box.”

Jessi got the binoculars out and handed them to me. I couldn’t see anything yet. We were still hemmed in by trees. The Jeep bumped along the unpaved path. But much of the snow had now melted, leaving two wide tracks for Scarlett’s wheels to follow.

“What about flares?” I said.

“I’ve got an emergency kit on the floor back there.” Scarlett jabbed a thumb in my direction.

I felt around and located the box.

Mitch’s rifle was also tucked partway below the seat. Earlier, Scarlett had been carrying it after she and Jessi had created their diversion and Trace had broken me out of jail.

I got the flares out of the kit, then made sure the rifle was loaded. The Jeep continued to bounce along the road.

We came to the padlocked gate that Owen and I had seen a few days ago. It was wide open, which made sense, since law enforcement was heading up the mountain.

“Hurry,” Jessi said. “Please.”

We followed a curve in the road, and the trees opened up, along with a panorama of Refuge Mountain. The road narrowed up ahead into a smaller trail that snaked back and forth along the side of the mountain.

About halfway up, colorful shapes moved. Owen and his group. They were on ATVs.

“That’s them!” Scarlett shouted. “Oh sweet Lord, there’s no way we’ll catch up before they reach the top.”

Jessi put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Then stop the Jeep. Quick. Before we lose our line of sight.” Jessi turned back and looked at me. It was like our brains had melded. I knew exactly what she was thinking, and it was the same idea that had occurred to me.

I handed Jessi the emergency flares. “Scarlett, once we stop, watch Owen’s party with the binoculars,” I said. “Let us know if we get their attention.”

“Got it.”

The moment Scarlett stopped the Jeep, Jessi and I leaped out. Jessi aimed the first flare into the sky. Fired. It made an arc of smoke high in the air. But I couldn’t tell if Owen’s group had spotted it.

“They’re still moving,” Scarlett shouted from the driver’s seat, binos up to her face.

That bomb could be anywhere on the mountain. We had to make them stop in their tracks.

With the rifle slung across my body, I clamored up onto the hood of the Jeep to gain elevation. I hadn’t shot a gun like this in years. It wasn’t my thing. Give me a sharp knife any day. But I didn’t have to hit some impossible target. For this, a simple pull of the trigger was all I needed.

---