Lizzie stood in the trees with Duke. The snow fell sparse and light. Rachael and Saj were safely stashed in a house away from the freeway. Duke had his rifle to his shoulder and squinted through the scope toward the highway.
She strained to see her friends through the trees; they were chained in a circle around a heater. “Okay. Do we need to go through the plan again?”
“Nope.” Duke didn’t take his eye from the scope. “But you still haven’t told me what you’re doing for a diversion.”
“Wait and see,” Lizzie said. The corners of his mouth twitched downward. He wasn’t happy about her putting herself in danger. “They’ll bite the bait. Trust me. They’re not going to hurt me.”
Duke grunted and brushed aside the snow accumulating on his eyebrows.
She rubbed her hands together to keep them warm. “I wish I had a frickin’ cigarette.”
“Me too.” Duke took his eye away from his rifle scope and squinted at her. “No guns? You sure?”
“When you’re in place I’ll go.”
He nodded. “All right. Be careful. And—“
“Don’t do anything crazy?” Lizzie cut him off. “I am Crazy Lizzie. Crazy like a fox.”
Duke laughed. “I was gonna say, good luck.”
Half of her wanted to kiss him, but she said, “You, too. Now go.”
Duke crouched and scuttled toward the freeway.
She sent a text to the phone Nev had responded on. Now. Then she pulled off her shoes and socks. Then her pants and underwear, and finally her shirt and bra joined the pile. She shivered.
You are crazy, Lizzie. She walked forward in the moonlight, not bothering to be stealthy. Rocks underfoot bit into the soles of her feet and so did the cold. She let the pain focus her.
The lights of the truck and radiant heater, with her friends sitting around it, came into view. She imagined being next to that heater, but it didn’t help. So much for the power of the mind.
She walked briskly, her feet going numb. Pretend you’re drunk, stoned, or near-dead crazy. She passed the guard with long, wavy blond hair sprinkled with snow. He was supposed to be watching. Nothing. So she kept walking. And walking. Shit! I go streaking and nobody notices.
“Hey, miss?” asked a puzzled voice behind her.
Bingo. Keep walking, Lizzie.
“Hey, come back here.”
The wind had died or it would have been colder. Lizzie heard steps crunching in the snow. She let her neck go loose and she looked back at the fire and the guard without appearing to see anything. The guard walked toward her.
She kept her face blank and fearful. She ran clumsily a few paces. Dog-girl. Scared and confused. Her nipples hurt in the night cold. This was a fucking bad idea.
She made her eyes wide and wild as the man approached, and then turned and ran away down the highway. The sound of slow, deliberate pursuit came from behind. She ran across the lanes, trying not to skid on the icy asphalt. On the crunchy grass of the median she had better footing. She looked back to make sure he was following her. The ground wasn’t slick but it was stony again. She felt the lumps of rocks underfoot, but not any pain—probably a bad sign.
“I won’t hurt you, miss.” His breath puffed in small clouds. “Please.”
She slowed a little, letting him get closer. Then she stopped and looked uncertainly at the approaching guard, keeping up her ruse. Behind him she saw that Zach, Nev and the others had disappeared. Mission accomplished! But she better give them more time.
"Are you okay? Come here, miss.”
Lizzie cocked her head to the side like Spike did.
“I’m here to help you. I have a nice warm heater and a coat." He coaxed her like an injured rabbit. His face showed genuine concern. If he and his friends had not kidnapped her companions, she might have been convinced.
More time. She rolled her eyes upward into her head and collapsed toward him. His arms caught her as she fell. Fainting was a trick she’d learned in the psych ward to get out of things she didn’t want to do. This had not been part of the plan she’d told Zach or Duke, but these people had her dad. Now she had gotten her friends out of the jam, nothing else mattered.