Page 54 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
The two bastards had sandwiched him between them and had full control. Shards of fear began to seep into his anger. A voice in the passenger seat next to him stopped it from becoming all-consuming.
“Calm down, Jack. Don’t panic.”
“Lucas… man, they’re trying to run me off the road. If I go over the railing, for sure I’ll land on one of the vehicles below and kill someone. Help me.”
“Jack, the guy in the truck next to you will swerve to force you into the railing. Then chances are, he’ll turn away so he doesn’t follow you, hoping the one behind will push you over. That’s when you punch it, hit the gas and don’t let up. You’ll have inches to spare, but if you’re careful, you’ll make it.”
Jack did exactly as Lucas told him. As soon as he saw the window of opportunity Lucas promised, he stamped down on the gas hard. The grating sounds of their two trucks colliding and the broken mirror didn’t deter him. Not with Lucas yelling at him to go hard.
Spurred on, he kept up the pressure. Soon, his truck shot ahead at an alarming speed, scraping the railing as he escaped. He didn’t let up until he noticed the black truck who’d tried to force him off the road had slammed into the barrier, and the second black truck that had followed behind him, had smashed into his partner.
“Yeehaw!” Jack let out a holler that Lucas mimicked.
Adrenalin rampant, Jack laughed. “You can say that again.”
So, Lucas did.
The foolishness made Jack smile, while his relief left him weak. “What was their problem, Lucas? What the hell was that all about?”
“Don’t know for sure, Jack, but I do know one thing. You might want to ride with a partner from now on, someone who can handle himself. Them dudes aren’t fooling around.”
“Seems rather personal, and I have no enemies that I know of.”
“That’s not true, Jack. You’re sticking a cold iron into a keg of molten steel, kid. The big shots aren’t impressed. They want you out of the running.”
***
While Mia and Angie were having lunch, Jack stopped at the police station to file a report on his near miss with the barrier and the highway below.
Lucas had lit a candle in his head and now explanations for the dire action became feasible. The more he delved into the idea, the more furious he became. If Matt Lotborn and his cronies were behind this shit, he was in danger.
Becoming angrier as he finished explaining the circumstances around the confrontation to the cops, he expected them to show more interest.
To his dismay, he couldn’t give any descriptions of the drivers in the other trucks. Nor, any of the license plates. He knew the models of the vehicles, but that’s about all.
The officer he talked with would check it out but there wasn’t a lot they could do without more to go on.
“We’ll look into it, Jack. Just wish you had a dash cam. A lot of folks are using them these days.”
“Never had need for one before, but you can bet your bundle, I’ll be getting one installed real quick.”
“If you come up with anything else, you be sure to let us know.”
“You’ll maybe want to question the local mechanics and garages to see if any black Ford trucks fitting the descriptions come in for repairs.”
“We’re on it, Jack. We’ll get back to you if we find anything. But in the meantime, you be careful.”
“Will do. Thanks.”
Chapter Thirty-one
Breaking away after the cops took numerous photos of his vehicle and even scraped some paint samples from the dents, he sped to Angie’s and worked at top speed to complete the final details on the casita.
Then, he rushed to finish a side project he’d been occupied with for Angie. He’d let Maisie help him, and they’d spent a lot of time together while he organized the construction.
Now, stepping back and leaning on his rake, Maisie propped against his leg, they stared at a Seasonal Wonderland. He’d bought every good-sized red poinsettia plant he could find in town and ordered a few more which had arrived that morning.
With Christmas just a month away, he’d wanted to make a nice gesture for Angie’s homecoming. They’d already discussed fixing this side of the house along the back by the new pool fence, so he’d known she’d been fretting over the space.
