Jamie followed Erica as she led him toward the door that opened into the garage. Ro looked to Graham, his hands still pressing the bandages against the wound, and then to Zach, who knelt beside her.
“Thank you. For coming after me. I know …” Ro’s words trailed off as Graham flashed her an intimidating look.
“Now’s neither the time nor the place. We’ll discuss it later.” He shifted his attention to Ro’s dad, effectively ending the conversation.
Zach looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. He whispered in her ear, “It’ll all work out, babe.” He paused before adding, “Anything you need to get out of the house before we head out? Because I don’t think you’re coming back.”
Graham had to admit that he was be impressed by the level of Mr. Callahan’s preparedness. His vehicle of choice was a 1965 Ford diesel crew-cab pick-up truck. It was plenty old enough not to use electronics that could be affected by an EMP and could also run on biodiesel. A steel topper that Mr. Callahan had hand-fabricated covered the bed of the truck. It added a ton of weight, but it provided cover for the supplies in the back and featured small gun ports that could easily slide open and shut. Graham, Zach, Ro, and Erica crammed into the front bench seat, and Jamie sat in the back, where Mr. Callahan was laid out. He tried to keep the unconscious man as still as possible as they followed Erica’s directions down every back road and two-track to make their way southwest. It would have been faster to travel the main roads, but any road worth traveling was largely impassible. Cars, which may never run again, were lined up as if stuck in a perpetual traffic jam. The dirt roads and two-tracks were bumpy, but trying to dodge the cars would be worse. Jamie had wrapped pressure bandages around Mr. Callahan’s shoulder and upper torso to keep the bleeding under control and the clotting sponges in place, but with every rut, Graham feared the bleeding would start again. He carefully hauled ass while following Erica’s uncanny sense of direction. The two-track spilled out onto a gravel road, and Graham eased off the gas and waited for Erica’s next direction.
“Shit. I don’t know which way we should go,” Erica said, craning her head right and left before studying the compass bobbing on the dash. “Chances are there are more cars if we head west down this road, but I don’t like the idea of going east because we’ll end up backtracking.” She looked to Graham, chewing her lip. “Ideas, big man?”
The corners of Graham’s mouth twitched. Little Rambo Girl, as Jamie had taken to calling her, was one-of-a-kind. Just like her sister. Graham shut the thought down as soon as it entered his head. He reminded himself that she’d walked out on them, and it didn’t fucking matter if she was one-of-a-kind or one-in-a-million. She’d made her choice. Although, watching her clutch her sister’s hand and shoot worried looks at her father, he was starting to see things more clearly. You don’t back a desperate woman into a corner and expect her not to react. Graham couldn’t help but think about the night his mother had walked out of their shitty motel room in Cincinnati. He wished she’d had a more compelling reason than just looking for her next fix. Hell, Graham wished she’d thought her son was a compelling reason to stay. The old bitterness was unshakeable. And Zach wondered why Graham had never been in a hurry to find a long-term woman to tuck into bed between them. He pushed the thought aside and focused on the task at hand. “We need to make time. Let’s head west and take our chances. We can’t be too far from the ranch.”
Erica’s expression was determined as she nodded, reaching for the map on the dash. “Show me again exactly where we’re headed. I’ll get us there.”
Ro forced herself to release the death grip she had on Erica’s hand. It was like her subconscious was telling her not to let go or else she might lose her sister forever. They’d finally made it. Travis swung one of the main gates open as they approached. As soon as they were in range Zach had radioed the command post to advise Ty of the situation. Graham increased the speed as they headed toward the steel walls that had meant both safety and captivity to Ro. Right now, those walls looked like her father’s salvation … and maybe, her future? The possibility was hard to believe given that Graham had barely spoken a word to her since he, Zach, and Jamie had shown up in all of their commando-glory to take down Len and Ronny in her dad’s driveway. A section of the steel wall slid open revealing the compound that Ro had snuck out of only the morning before. It seemed like a lifetime ago.