Explosive Attraction - By Lena Diaz Page 0,35
into his lane to avoid hitting a pickup head-on. He honked the horn, but the camper slowed instead of speeding up, probably thinking he was just a rude driver and they were trying to teach him some manners.
By the time Rafe got around the camper, there was no sign of the Corolla.
He slowed when they approached a turnoff to a side road.
“What do we do now?” Fear for Mindy had Darby twisting her hands together.
“This main drag is the only way in or out of the park. If I turn down one of these side roads, I could lose him if he comes back out a different side road.”
“We can’t just sit here, not when he’s got Mindy.”
His lips thinned as he pulled to the shoulder. “That’s exactly what we have to do. We don’t have a choice. We sit here until the park is sealed off.” He grabbed his phone again and called the police station, speaking in some kind of cop codes she didn’t understand.
Darby tried not to think about what could be happening to Mindy. She glanced at Rafe, then suddenly lunged over and swiped the timer out of his shirt pocket. He grabbed it back from her, but not before she saw the digital readout—00:19:04.
Nineteen minutes, four seconds.
Oh, Mindy, no.
She flung her door open and hopped out of the car.
“Darby, wait! Get back here.”
She turned around in the road to face him. He was leaning out the driver’s side window, his cell phone at his ear, motioning for her to get back in the car.
“Nineteen minutes,” she yelled. “He’s not taking her out of the park, not if he plans to kill her in nineteen minutes. The bomb is here somewhere.”
He got out of the car and shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans. “Don’t you think I know that?” His face mirrored his exasperation when he reached her.
She stared at him in confusion. “If you know that, then why aren’t we looking for her?”
The sound of engines running and tires crunching had her turning to see a long line of cars pouring out of one of the side roads at a fast clip. A park ranger, riding a bicycle, emerged from the same side road, waving the cars forward.
Rafe pulled Darby to the side of the road.
“You’re evacuating the park,” she accused. “Instead of looking for Mindy!”
“Backup will be here soon. Until then, the rangers are at the entrance, checking every car for her. But, yes, the goal is to get everyone out of the park as quickly as possible.”
“What about Mindy? What are you doing to get her out?”
“There’s nothing we can do for her right now. The park is full of families, children and possibly a bomb. The bomb squad is on the way, but chances are the bomb will blow before they get here. We have to get these people out. And you need to wait in the car while I help with the evacuation, just until backup arrives.” He grabbed her arm and hauled her to the car. He shoved her back into the passenger seat, clipped his badge on his shirt and ran to meet the park ranger.
From what Darby could hear of their conversation, the ranger had gotten a call over his radio about the bomber and had started the evacuation of the people who’d been parked down the side road to their right. But there were other camping areas within the park, and not enough park rangers to warn everyone.
Rafe told him to go spread the word, get the other campers evacuating. The ranger took off on his bike, while Rafe stepped to the road, directing traffic to use both the east and westbound lanes to exit. He waved his arms in a rapid circle, encouraging them to move faster. Soon they were zooming by, back toward the entrance.
Understanding why Rafe was abandoning Mindy didn’t make it hurt any less. Darby had been where Mindy was before. She’d been the one who’d been abandoned. She’d been the one fighting for her life, when she’d fallen down a well at the age of seven.
For three days she’d screamed for help until her throat was raw, but help had never come. Her family—her mother, her father, her sisters and brothers—had never come looking for her. She’d gotten herself out of that well, and had learned a powerful lesson. Never trust or rely on anyone but yourself.
And don’t wait for help that will never come.
“You may have decided to