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“How far?” Her tone was weary but hard-edged with determination.

“Four miles, maybe five.”

She groaned. “That’s not tenable. Tot’s cold.”

He touched her shoulder and felt the shivers she’d been trying to suppress. “I’ll carry Tot and the bags. We’ll stop when we need to. Take it slow.”

Her eyes were wide glimmering points of light in the gloom. She wouldn’t express her fear and frustration, but he felt it anyway, a current of dark emotion.

This isn’t going to be the end , he wanted to tell her. We’ re not going to hunker here and wait to see if the killers or the volcano get us first. Not. Going. To. Happen. He hadn’t felt that stubborn flash in a long time.

Look where it got you before .

He pushed that thought away, muttered a silent prayer, and started to unzip his jacket to put over her and Tot when engine noise cut through the darkness.

Found. How? There was no way...

In unison they raced back to the truck. With no rifle, what was he going to do? The handgun was their only protection. He drew it from the holster.

Thoughts tumbled as they scrambled. Was it safer for Kit and Tot to stay in the truck, a bull’s-eye target?

Or hide in the cold wasteland, breathing in who knew what?

And how would Kit and Tot find shelter if he didn’t survive?

Maybe they should attempt to reach the trees that hadn’t been consumed by the landslide.

Make it harder for the SUV guys, anyway.

Kit got to his vehicle first, tugging open the passenger door.

He was still frantic for a better plan. Lord , how are we going to play this ?

She slid in and scooped up Tot from the floor. Before he could take aim, he was blinded by headlights.

A crackly voice rang out as someone exited the four-seater ATV. Cullen could barely make out a tall man and the outline of a shotgun aimed squarely at him.

“You just halt yourself right there, mister,” the voice said.

Cullen blinked in disbelief. “Archie? Is that you?”

“Who’s that? Stay still and speak up.”

“It’s Cullen Landry, sir.”

A stream of colorful language followed as the man trudged forward. Up close, Cullen saw the familiar straggly beard and battered hat.

Archie heaved out a breath and hugged Cullen in a spindly armed embrace. “No way did I figure on finding you here.”

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 beat me upside 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.

Number one 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.

Sturdy plywood covered the gas station windows. The coffee shop and minuscule post office stood solitary and empty. There were houses, small buildings, a few farms on big, wild plots adjacent to the town, but no doubt the residents had all been convinced to go. Eerie.

“Not a soul here ’cept me,” Archie said, his voice hushed.

Cullen couldn’t resist a tease. “That should tell you something about your life choices.”

“Uh-huh. Says the guy racing around with a baby and a woman in a red zone.” He sniffed in disgust. “There wasn’t any place safer you could have taken them? One thing for a man to be stubborn, but when he has a family...”

In the rearview, he saw Kit start.

This was going to take some explaining. “Tell you later, sir.”

“This I gotta hear.” Archie’s tone held a trickle of glee. The old man had always loved being privy to the drama of others. This story should serve up a double helping.

Cullen pulled the ATV to the side door of a two-story stucco building crammed between a shuttered tire store and a bait and tackle shop.

A dirty sign in the window read “Grandlake Library and History Museum.” It was a pretentious name for a dilapidated structure.

Most residents knew that if you strolled into the room designated for the museum, volunteer librarian Archie wasn’t going to let you out until he was satisfied you’d seen every rusted tractor part, crinkled black-and-white photo, handmade fishing lure, and faded newspaper in the museum’s crowded glass cases.

Cullen had only made that mistake once, though Archie tried to suck him in whenever he spotted him in town.

The skin on the back of Cullen’s neck prickled as they waited for Archie to unlock the door. The sense of urgency rose with every passing second. Cullen had to bend to avoid braining himself as they entered, and he threw the bolt once they were inside.