Ridge nodded. Seth felt an uncomfortable lurch in his gut, realizing part of Caleb’s plan. The problem was Caleb was much heavier than the underdeveloped teenager and Caleb would not be holding still on the back of that bike. He hoped they didn’t go down.
“Ridge is going to drive one bike with me on back. Breeze, you’re on back of Seth’s. We’ll go left around the back of the house, you go right.”
The siblings both nodded. Ridge looked confident, but Breeze looked as uncertain as Seth felt. What was Caleb planning?
“It’s pretty obvious they’re going to start a fire. That’s our signal. We’re going to ride through them and try to draw them after us to give the police time to get here. Then when we see flashing lights, we’ll lead them back to their prison sentence.” He spread his hands. “Simple. Load up.”
They all fastened on some helmets that Caleb had brought. Seth straddled a bike and Ridge another. He noticed his brother pulling a stick of dynamite and a match out of his backpack. Oh, boy. Caleb had so far in life managed to avoid arrest. Hopefully that luck continued tonight.
Seth said a quiet prayer and then offered Breeze his hand. She swung a leg over and slid on behind him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she cuddled in as close as she could with the helmet on. Seth’s racing pulse couldn’t be blamed completely on going into one of Seth’s plans with the woman he cared about being in danger.
“Why don’t we leave Breeze in the truck?” he asked.
Caleb shook his head. “Flint needs to see her, or he might not follow you.”
Seth thought he was probably right, and he loved having her hold on to him while he rode, but it seemed a lot safer option to lock her in the truck with the keys in case she needed to drive away. “Give me the keys,” he ordered his brother. “Once they see her and you cause your distraction,” He didn’t think Breeze had noticed the dynamite, “I’ll bring her back here and she’ll be safer in the truck.”
“Okay.” Caleb pulled out the keys and tossed them to him.
Seth handed them to Breeze. She pocketed them and then gripped his waist tightly again. Seth loved her toned arms wrapped around him.
Flames shot into the night and many men were suddenly silhouetted by the bright light against the night sky. They must’ve put an accelerant on the straw bales. Seth wondered why Flint had brought so many witnesses to his arson and attempted murder, but maybe he’d expected Seth and Caleb were here and was prepping for a fight.
“Go,” Caleb urged.
Seth kicked his bike and Ridge followed suit. He toed it into gear and took off, revving the engine and rushing through the gears as he quickly picked up speed. Breeze clung to him, but she didn’t cry out or act afraid of the speed.
It was almost comical to see the men whip around to stare at the oncoming bikes. Then several of them started rushing toward them. Seth grinned as they bumped over the rutted field and flew toward the men. The straw burned brightly around the house, the flames moving toward the walls and the small porch of the trailer, soon the entire thing would be on fire. He wondered how far out the police were.
“Too late, Brooks!” Caleb yelled from the back of the other dirt bike. “You missed somebody!” He pointed at Seth and Breeze.
They sped closer and the men scattered as they realized that the two bikes weren’t slowing down.
Flint stepped forward, shaking a fist and cursing at them. “Jewel!” he hollered.
Seth glanced over and one glimpse at his brother told him the dynamite was already lit. From his numerous experiences they had about thirty seconds. He gave the bike more juice and shot through the men and toward the open field behind the house.
Ridge and Caleb went around the back of the trailer and were lost from view. Seconds later there was a loud boom and a blast of light and heat. Several men were thrown away from the trailer and hurled into the air. Seth felt the heat and the pressure of the detonation, but they were far enough away that it didn’t threaten them. He spun off through the field as the screams and shouts of men followed them. Caleb had been behind the trailer out of sight when he threw the dynamite so the men would probably think the flames had just hit the propane tank.
“No!” Breeze screamed from behind him.
Seth felt the tremor of horror race through her body. He felt bad that Caleb had accelerated the destruction, but that trailer was going to be a burned-out hulk before help could get there anyway. The flames were already engulfing the walls and licking toward the roof. The dynamite was definitely going to add to the mess, but the end result would be the same.
“Yes!” Caleb hollered from the other dirt bike as they came together again. “Ride like the wind, bro,” Caleb yelled at Seth.
His idea to take Breeze back to the truck wouldn’t work now, but Seth didn’t feel like they were in too much danger. As far as Caleb’s crazy plans went, this one was solid. Hopefully, the men who weren’t injured by the blast would follow them until the police showed up. Ridge and Seth could lead them right back to the police’s arms.
Sure enough, the men jumped in their trucks and SUVs and spun out after them.
“Hold on,” Seth instructed Breeze. She’d loosened her hold and was trembling behind him. Even though that broken-down trailer was a mess, it was still her home. He could only imagine how upset she was to lose her home. He wanted to reassure her that he could take care of her, but now definitely wasn’t the time.
Her arms tightened around him as he bounced over the furrows in the field and toward the mountains west of her property. Ridge and Caleb were right behind them, Caleb screaming taunts at Flint and the other men in the trucks. Seth smiled to himself. The men couldn’t hear him, but Caleb would be Caleb.
Sweat trickled down Seth’s neck as the trucks gained on them. They needed to hit the narrower mountain trails … now. He gripped the handlebars and pulled back on the throttle, but it was already at max. They flew off a big rut and Breeze let out a little scream. Seth prayed in his head, and they landed. She was still clinging tight to him.
Dodging into the trees, the trail blessedly narrowed with pines and aspen trees blocking the trucks from entering. Seth led the way and Ridge and Caleb were right behind him.
“Stop!” Caleb yelled when they were sheltered by the trees and the trail. The trucks had halted their pursuit about a hundred feet back.