Cullen whacked him on the back. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you. What are you doing with a gun, sir?”
Archie was blind in one eye and had a cataract forming in the other. He wasn’t supposed to be driving, let alone shooting. “Been looters around. Stealing everything they can get their hands on.” Archie shoved back his hat with a thumb. “What in the ever-lovin’ world are you doing here, Cullen? And after you beatmeupside the head about evacuating. This is gonna be the best story I ever heard, somethin’ tells me.”
“Give it a minute, it’s going to get better.” Cullen’s relief was heady as he returned to the truck. “It’s okay,” he said to Kit. “Archie’s a friend.”
Kit shot him a wary look but got out with Tot.
“This is Gunnery Sergeant Archibald Woodruff Esposito, retired,” Cullen said. “Archie, this is Kit Garrido.”
To her credit, Kit managed a polite smile as Archie stood military straight with only a slight stoop to his shoulders. “Hello, ma’am. Very pleased to meet you.”
“And the baby’s named Tot,” Cullen added.
Archie’s mouth dropped open as he took in the baby she held close. His startled gaze hopped back to Cullen. “Son,” he said slowly. “Thought we knew each other fairly well. Never heard you talk of a family.”
“Long story. No time to hash it out now. Short version is we got some unfriendlies after us. We need help.”
“Unfriendlies?” Archie’s grizzled brows shot up. “Looters?”
“Worse.”
“What’s worse than filthy looters?”
“Tell you on the way to your house, sir. We need to get the baby someplace warm.”
Archie’s expression turned mournful. “No can do, Cullen. My place is under twenty feet of rubble. Got out with only the proverbial clothes on my back before the cliff let loose. And don’t you dare give me any flak because obviously you didn’t clear out either.”
Cullen bit back a howl of disappointment. “No flak from me, sir. Where are you sheltering then?” He prayed Archie wasn’t going to say he’d been roughing it in a tent somewhere. He wouldn’t put it past the former marine, who seemingly had no concept of the fact that he was eighty-plus years old. But if they didn’t get a roof over their heads soon...
“I’ve been holing up in the library, of course,” Archie said. “No one there. Just me and the books. That’s where I saw your truck lights from the upper floor, and I drove out to take a look-see.”
Not going to find the safety he’d hoped for at Archie’s. His plan morphed to fit the new facts. Shelter. Numberone priority. “All right. The library it is.” Anywhere he could get Kit and the baby warmed up and fed, out of the acrid air. There would be some supplies in town they could scavenge, hopefully. “Library phone in service?”
“Landline worked last I tried.”
Cullen felt a surge of elation. Archie was the only person on the planet who didn’t own a cell phone, but with the old-fashioned connection they could contact the police, his brother, anyone. Finally, something was breaking their way.
Cullen holstered his handgun, grabbed their meager supplies, and urged Kit forward. He helped her and Tot into the back seat of the ATV, which he figured was the safest spot if they hit a tree or whatever.
“Archie is the Grandlake volunteer librarian and a stubborn one at that. He doesn’t believe in evacuations, do you, sir?”
“This from the hypocrite that didn’t take his own advice.” Archie cheerfully craned his neck through the driver’s side door to spy the baby in the back seat. “Going to be bumpy, ma’am, but I’ll try to drive as safe as I can.”
“Uh, how about I drive, sir?” Cullen announced. When Archie wound up to retort, Cullen pointed behind them. “You’re lookout. If you see any signs of pursuit, holler. And you’ve got the shotgun. Better under these conditions than my handgun.”
Reluctantly, Archie acquiesced. He grumbled, but due to Kit’s presence he reined in his usual stream of profanity.
Cullen executed a careful turn and took the path where Archie pointed. It was rough, all right. Definitely only suited for an ATV, so their pursuers would have a difficult time following. “Can’t believe the bridge is wiped out.”
“Surprised me too, but Mount Ember doesn’t have to answer to anybody, does she?” Archie said. “Could be an advantage, though, right? More problems for the unfriendlies. Are they locals? Do they know the terrain?”
“Uncertain, but my hunch is no.” Cullen drove slowly through the swirling darkness. Yes, the destroyed bridge could be an advantage, until their pursuers found a workaround. Or Evel did.
He felt Archie’s shotgun against his shin. He wasn’t sure Archie had brought a lot of ammo with him when he went to the library. If not, they could retrieve some from the hardware store if they could get inside. Did that make him a looter too? No, a survivor and a protector. Plus, he’d leave money, whatever cash he had in his pockets along with his cell number.
A wash of loose dirt trickled down in front of the tires. If the volcano erupted, none of it was going to matter anyway.
Cullen tried to keep the ATV on the smoothest parts of the route as they crept their way to Grandlake. The painted welcome sign boasted a population of three hundred fifty, and it appeared three hundred forty-nine of them had the good sense to evacuate. Cullen had made regular trips to Grandlake, more an outpost than a hub, but the place was almost unrecognizable. Every pane of glass, sidewalk, and driveway was dulled by grime, like a scene from some apocalyptic horror movie.
