Page 56 of The Rough Ride

“Come on, come on…hurry up.” He shook the damn thing. Finally, the circle with her initial came into view. He enlarged the screen several times until it showed she was either in or somewhere near the Big4Less store. He was ten minutes away, but he could make it in five.

He slapped his left blinker on, churned up the stones getting off the shoulder, and re-entered traffic, calling Liz’s cell every thirty seconds. Each time it went straight to voicemail.

He cautiously inched through a red light when two fire trucks and a police car whizzed past him and turned onto the road for the store. His adrenaline slammed into overdrive at the sight of several vehicles on fire. He parked rows away from the inferno and jumped out of his truck.

The phone locator didn’t update fast enough to pinpoint exactly where Liz was, and he jogged the aisles calling her name until a fireman grabbed him by the shoulder.

“You’re not allowed to be in here right now. We’re roping off the scene. Get outside the tape for your own safety, buddy.”

“My girlfriend owns one of those cars. She called me for help. I’ve got to find her,” Nick yelled above the cacophony of noise.

“She called youafterthe explosion?”

“She needed help.”

“I gotta tell you, buddy—no one inside those vehicles is alive. You sure she called you after?”

“I’m sure.” His heartbeat stuttered.Unless she couldn’t get out.His next thought knocked the wind out of him. He tapped a phone number and waited for someone to answer. “Arlene? Are you and Ella together?”

“Yes, I’m feeding her supper right now. What’s all that noise? You alright?”

“I’m fine. Call you later.” He hung up, slumping against a van.Ella was safe.

The fireman dropped his gear and got on his knees, looking under vehicles. “I can’t stay. Gotta unload hoses, but if she’s out here, she may have taken cover on the ground somewhere. Start looking under the vehicles, and shit; don’t get any closer. There’s gas everywhere. If you find her? There are ambulances on the way. Get her to one of them pronto.”

Nick got on all fours and scanned the ground. He ran five or six car lengths and did it again, screaming Liz’s name the entire time. She had to be here, somewhere. Five minutes later, Nick saw something under a pickup truck and sprinted in that direction.

He got on his knees and looked under the GMC truck. There she was—face down and still.

“Liz, babe. Can you hear me?” He lowered his body, stuck his head under, and slid his hand over hers. It was cold. “Liz. I’m here. Are you hurt?”

She turned her head toward him. Her eyes were glazed and wild; a row of scratches etched her cheek. She licked her lips.

“I told them not to send Jazz on the mission with us, but they did anyway.”

Jazz? Oh yeah, the guy who’d died when she’d lost her foot. He only knew the bits and pieces he’d heard afterward. She’d never told him any details.

“I gotta get you out of here, babe. We can talk about it once you’re safe.”

“Not yet. Incoming enemy fire. Stand down, soldier.”

He pulled his head out from under the truck and looked down the row of cars. The fact that there were no firemen in their aisle was a good sign. He could coax her out. It would take him a few minutes, but he didn’t want to drag her out with brute force in case she was injured. He poked his head under again and laced his fingers through hers.

“Are you injured, honey?” He tried to slip a shoulder under the truck but didn’t fit. At least the sirens had stopped, and he could hear her.

“Jazz was always twitching. Tapping that foot. Bucking the brass. No discipline. I ordered him to follow behind and hecame up on my side.” She heaved a huge breath. “He stepped on the mine.”

Nick muttered a curse. She was reliving every detail of that evil day under this truck and there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do about it. He stretched his arm and stroked her hair. “I’m here, babe. It’ll be okay.”

She lifted her head a little. “Wasn’t okay. I heard the click, raised my arm. Everybody stopped, scared to breathe. Pete radioed from the Humvee for bomb detail. Bomb guys are bad asses. They could’ve figured a way out.”

He stretched his neck to get a little closer to her. They locked eyes. “You’re right. Those bomb guys rock.”

Her lips smoothed into a grim line. “Jazz wouldn’t stay still. A few minutes later, he cracked a joke, smiled goofy at me, and shrugged his shoulders. He lifted his foot on purpose.” Tears cascaded off the end of her nose as she sobbed.

Nick’s stomach clenched.So, it was a suicide with intent to kill the others.He’d heard rumors, but anybody connected with that day had accepted reassignments elsewhere.

“Liz, I’m so sorry, babe. You’re the fiercest person I know. I love you.” He stroked her hair.

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