The Odds - Jeff Strand Page 0,45

left the phone in his car as he went inside. Jenny wasn’t in bed—she was sitting on the couch, so that would save time.

“You get Patrick and I’ll get Tim,” he said. “We’re leaving now. Don’t even take the time for them to get a change of clothes. Grab your purse and that’s it.”

Jenny nodded and stood right up. They hurried down the hall and went into separate bedrooms.

Ethan crouched down next to Tim and shook him. Waking him up for school every morning was an extremely difficult task, but there was no time to waste right now. When Tim groaned, Ethan shook him even harder.

“Tim, buddy, get up. Now. Let’s go.”

“What time is it?”

“Doesn’t matter. Get up.”

“I’m asleep.”

“Get up, Tim. Now!” Ethan grabbed his son’s arm and yanked him up.

“Ow! Okay!” Tim got out of bed. He was wearing underwear and a t-shirt instead of pajamas, but he’d just have to ride in his underwear for now. The time spent grabbing something out of his dresser drawers could be the difference between getting out of here before Rick realized what was happening.

Ethan and Tim entered the hallway just as Jenny and Patrick emerged from his bedroom. The four of them ran into the living room and out the front door.

“What’s going on?” Patrick asked.

“I’ll tell you as soon as we’re on the road,” said Ethan. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

They all got into the car. Ethan looked around. There was no immediate sign that anybody was coming toward the house. He started the engine, backed out of the driveway at a dangerous speed, then drove off.

“You’re getting a call,” said Jenny, picking up Ethan’s phone.

He took the phone from her and answered.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Rick demanded. “I was trying to help you!”

“I decided to help myself.”

“Ethan, turn the car around. What are you doing? This is how you die.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“No! Don’t you dare hang up! We may still be able to salvage this.”

“Not interested.”

“You’ll never make it to the police station. You know that, right?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

“Do you think we didn’t anticipate something like this?” Rick asked. “Do you think there wasn’t a contingency plan? You’re going to get Jenny, Patrick, and Tim killed. Your whole family is going to die and it will be your fault.”

“I’m done talking,” Ethan told him.

“There are explosives attached to the underside of your car. I can set them off with the push of a button. Stop the car immediately or you’ll leave me no choice.”

Rigging Ethan’s car to blow up was totally in character for Rick and his associates.

It could also be a desperate bluff.

Quite honestly, blowing up and dying instantly might be a better option than continuing to play this game. Just end it all now.

Ethan rolled down his window.

“What’s he saying?” Jenny asked.

“Nothing,” Ethan told her.

“You have three seconds,” said Rick. “Stop the car in three seconds or I detonate the explosives. I really don’t want to do this.”

Ethan’s foot hovered above the brake pedal.

“I don’t believe you,” he said, flinging his phone out the window.

16

Had three seconds elapsed?

Even if Rick started counting after he was done talking, it had been three seconds, right?

He didn’t want to blurt out “I love you,” because that was the kind of thing you said when you thought you were all going to die in a car explosion, and the words wouldn’t really matter if they all died an instant after he said them, and if the car didn’t explode, it might be better if Jenny, Patrick, and Tim didn’t know that he was calling a bluff with their lives.

But the car hadn’t exploded.

He was still speeding down the street.

Throwing his phone out the window didn’t mean Rick wasn’t still tracking him or listening in—and in fact it would’ve been smarter for them to flee in Jenny’s vehicle, but he’d been focused on nothing else but getting them out of there as soon as possible. Now that they were potentially out of immediate danger, he’d have to try to make the best strategic decisions going forward.

“You...threw your phone out the window,” said Patrick.

“Yes,” said Ethan. “I did.”

“Who don’t you believe?”

“I’m sorry I scared you all,” said Ethan. “Daddy has—” Daddy? It had been a long time since “Daddy” was used by anybody in their household. He was definitely losing his mind. “I have a lot to tell you.”

“We’re listening,” said Jenny.

Gavin and Butch were both staring at Rick. He didn’t like it.

He set his phone down