Page 101 of Lost Truth
“There’s nowhere to go, man,” Hayden said. “You don’t have much of a choice in exits. You’ve got the dunes or the highway. Either way, I’ll keep up with you.”
He gave Hayden a long look. Glanced at Cady. At his friend.
“Say it isn’t true, man,” the friend said.
A guilty look crossed Ivers’s face, then he shifted back to Hayden. Not for long. Only a brief second. And he took off. Dashing past Cady and knocking her over. Heading straight for a dune buggy roaring into the pit area.
Hayden looked at Cady. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she said. “Go after him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” She waved him off with a flick of her hands. “Go. Now. Before he gets away.”
The man in the buggy started to climb out. Ivers grabbed his shoulders and tossed him to the ground.
“Not cool, Ivers!” The man scrambled to his knees. “You could wait your turn, you know.”
Ivers paid him no attention but climbed behind the wheel and took off in the buggy. The engine roared, and he spun out, leaving a trail of smoke and the caustic scent of gasoline behind.
Hayden glanced around. Spotted ATVs off to the side, keys in the ignition. He raced past the employee, grabbed a helmet and jumped into the nearest vehicle painted a vibrant red.
“Hey!” the pit employee shouted. “You can’t take off on that. It’s stealing.”
Putting on his helmet, he ignored him and pressed the gas to follow Ivers. Ivers led them down a path lined with trees and scrub and various grasses. Hayden’s vehicle was smaller and more nimble, so he rode over the sand with ease until they came upon a wide open area with the beach to the left.
The ocean rushed in and out on the shore, crashing and churning, but Hayden couldn’t look at what must be a beautiful sight. He had to be careful not to capsize or crash into the big mounds of sand spilled out in front of them. He soon caught up with Ivers. Hayden beeped the horn on the ATV, warning Ivers he was closing in.
Ivers flashed a look over his shoulder, then one-handed his dune buggy while fumbling under his shirt with the other hand. He pulled out a gun. He lifted it over his shoulder.
Hayden ducked, getting as low as he could.
Ivers fired.
The bullet whizzed past Hayden, just clipping the far side of the vehicle frame. He stayed down, and hopefully out of the line of fire, but he didn’t back off. He kept racing forward, praying he wouldn’t hit a dune the wrong way and roll the ATV.
That wouldn’t be good. Not good at all. He wasn’t strapped in, but at least he was wearing a helmet.
Ivers continued to look over his shoulder and fired again. Missed.
Mistake. Big mistake!
“Watch out!” Hayden yelled, warning Ivers of a large dune directly in front of him.
Ivers should’ve slowed down to ride the crest of the dune. Instead, he’d sped up and hit it head on. Sand dune or brick wall, the difference didn’t matter. His vehicle hit the wall of sand, suddenly stopping, and he went flying.
He landed in the dune and didn’t move.
Hayden safely stopped beyond the accident scene, ripped off his helmet, and went back to Ivers. His head was buried in the sand, and Hayden dropped to the beach to dig his face free so he could breathe. Hayden wanted to whip Ivers onto his back and force him to confess to everything he’d done and demand he reveal Kai’s location.
Instead, he sat back on his haunches. Ivers hadn’t worn a helmet and could have a serious head injury. Moving him could exacerbate that and/or kill him.
If he was even still alive.
And if he wasn’t?
Then Hayden had screwed up in following the guy, and they might not locate Kai before it was too late.
