He took out his phone, calling Dayo down at the farm. “The hostages got away. Don’t let them get past you.”
“We won’t.”
He disconnected, then watched his men pull the front wheel from Pili’s SUV to put onto his truck, wondering how it was that so small a girl had done this on her own.
Impossible. No doubt the Fargo woman had directed her every move.
Didn’t matter. He was through working with Tarek. Once he got his money, he was going to kill them both.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
A leader who does not take advice is not a leader.
– KENYAN PROVERB –
Remi gripped the steering wheel, driving as fast as she dared around the sharp hairpin turn. She checked the side mirrors, grateful that they were no longer being followed.
“I could’ve driven,” Nasha said. “We’d have gotten away quicker.”
“I know,” Remi said, looking over at her. Had it been the Land Rover, there was no doubt. The cab of this much larger truck was an entirely different matter altogether. Remi doubted the child could even reach the gas pedal. Still, the fact she’d single-handedly set up the spikes in front of the kidnappers’ cars and stolen the keys amazed Remi. Thanks to Nasha, Remi figured they had at least a ten-minute head start. The kid was barely tall enough to see over the dash—and was, at the moment, trying not to be strangled by the shoulder strap of the seat belt. “But these roads aren’t smooth like ones in Ja
lingo. And driving a Land Rover is a lot easier than this big truck.”
“Maybe.”
The vehicle hit a pothole, the bump jarring her insides, rattling her teeth. “See?” Remi said.
“I would have missed that.”
Smiling, Remi checked her mirrors again. Still clear. After another ten minutes, she pulled over.
“Why are we stopping?”
“We need to come up with a plan.”
“We can’t go to the farm, can we?”
Remi looked at her. Nasha had already experienced her share of separation and death and that made her far more astute than the other girls. “Do not tell Zara what you’re thinking, okay?”
“Mr. Fargo will know what to do.”
“I hope so.”
She and Nasha got out of the truck. Remi looked up the steep mountainside, unable to see any headlights through the trees above. They walked to the tailgate and Remi pulled up the canvas, saw the girls huddled next to Amal in the back.
As soon as they saw Nasha, they surged forward, jumping out of the truck, hugging her.
“Quietly,” Remi reminded them and drew Amal to the side. “How are you holding up?”
“I didn’t have a seizure,” she said. “I was worried about Nasha. I just felt I had to do something to distract them.”
“Nicely done, then. It worked.” She looked up the hill again, listening. So far, nothing to suggest they were being followed—yet. “We’re going to need a lot of luck. With only one road in and out to the main highway, we’d need a way to get past Zara’s farm. I’m not sure we can risk it.”
“So how do we get out of here?”
“Our best bet may be going out on foot, through the forest.”
“I’d rather take my chances with the forest than kidnappers.”