Dunne caught a glimpse of the clear glass bottle as it flew through the air, a flaming rag stuffed in its neck. Then, the Molotov cocktail smashed into the hood of the Hummer and exploded in a ball of fire.
"Shit!" Quincy spun the wheel, chucking the Hummer away from the house, but it was too late. The vehicle's front end was covered with blazing gasoline.
So the battle wasn't so harmless after all. The enemy might have been armed with rubber bullets, but they had deadlier weapons at hand, too.
And they didn't mind using them.
"We're screwed, man!" Quincy swung the burning Hummer in circles. "We're gonna have to abandon ship!"
"But we still don't have our backup!" Hurtling around under fire in the Hummer had been bad enough, but Dunne dreaded the thought of meeting the enemy face to face. His only option as a coward would be surrender, and who knew what would happen to him after that.
Quincy slammed on the brakes and threw the Hummer into park. "You're welcome to stay inside if you like!" He heaved open the door. "But it's about to get really hot in here...and then it might even blow up."
With that, Quincy bailed out. Dunne lingered a moment more, watching the flames leap on the hood. Then, he swung his door open and jumped out of the Hummer, too.
As soon as Dunne's feet touched the ground, someone grabbed his elbow. Turning, Dunne saw he was in the grip of the blonde woman who'd run in front of the Hummer moments ago. She flashed a switchblade and pointed it at the ranch house. "Get moving!"
Dunne didn't argue. Switchblade in one hand, the blonde ran toward the house, pulling him by the arm along with her.
When they got through the front door, two more women were waiting for them—a tall redhead and a shorter brunette. Like the blonde, both were dressed in ultra-skimpy streetwalker-style clothes—bikini tops, short shorts, and stiletto heels. Between the three of them, they wore a jewelry store's worth of glittering gold earrings, necklaces, bangles, bracelets, and rings.
Dunne knew who they were before anyone said a word. He recognized them from the TV show...and his own novels.
Three of the Rainbow Brides of Jeremiah Weed.
"Take him to our husband," said the blonde. "Kill him if he makes a wrong move."
The redhead and brunette nodded, looking grim. Without a word, the redhead raised her rifle; the brunette drew a pistol from the waistband of her red short shorts.
"Move." The brunette waved the gun at a doorway across the room. "Jeremiah's waiting for you."
Dunne did as he was told. He wondered what had happened to Quincy, and if the backup resistance fighters had been driven off or killed.
So much for the big rescue plan.
At least Dunne knew where he was being led. The ranch house's layout was copied exactly from the Willows' Posse Ranch headquarters on the TV show. With the redhead in front and the brunette behind him, Dunne went from the front parlor to the dining hall to the library...and finally the Team Room.
For a moment, as Dunne stood in the Team Room's doorway, he forgot how scared he was. A familiar face looked back at him, fiery green eyes burning from the far side of the room.
Hannahlee was safe.
Relief flowed through Dunne, and he smiled at her. Until that moment, he had not been sure if she was alive or dead. To his surprise, the thought of her being dead had upset him a great deal, and his relief at finding her alive was much stronger than he would have expected.
But the relief was short-lived. As Dunne gazed at Hannahlee, another familiar face planted itself between them. This face, unfortunately, was not welcome at all.
It was Jeremiah Weed's lookalike, the one who'd kidnapped Hannahlee. "We meet again!" His eyes glittered with malevolent delight. "Mi casa es su casa!"
Weed stepped up and threw one arm in its gray fur coat sleeve around Dunne's shoulders. With a hearty laugh, he guided Dunne down the four carpeted steps into the sunken center of the Team Room.
"You're too late, I'm afraid." Weed held up one hand and waggled the fingers in front of Dunne. Multiple gold wedding bands were stacked to the first knuckle of every finger. "The ceremony was an hour ago. We've already done the deed."
Dunne flashed a look at Hannahlee...but she just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Weed caught the exchange and chuckled. "Well, not that deed. Not yet. But we are man and wife. Wives, I guess, counting the other thirteen."
Dunne nodded. He thought he heard the buzz of motorcycle engines in the distance...but then it was gone, if it had ever been there at all.
"Didn't buy a wedding gift?" Weed patted Dunne's pants pockets, then tousled the hair on his head. "Well don't you worry. You've just given me the greatest gift I could ask for. In fact..." Weed leaned closer and sneered. "In fact, your coming here was the main reason I got married again."
Dunne frowned. There it was again: the distant buzz of engines...rising and then fading.
"I am such a clever bastard, aren't I, honey?" Weed grinned at Hannahlee, who didn't react. "See, boy, I snatched up Wife Number 14 there to flush out the last of the resistance. I knew you'd run to them for help, and I knew they'd give it."
Dunne's mouth fell open as he realized he'd been conned. Apparently, the Jeremiah Weed wannabe was just as wily as his TV counterpart.
"Finally!" Weed clapped Dunne on the back and squeezed his shoulder so hard it hurt. "I've been trying to catch the last few of those tadpoles for months, but they kept slipping away from me. Now I've got 'em!"
Weed stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Suddenly, eleven more scantily-clad women marched into the room, each carrying a rifle or pistol. When Weed whistled again, all thirteen of his Rainbow Brides cocked their weapons at once and leveled them at the sunken center of the Team Room.
At that exact moment, Dunne again heard the distinct buzz of motorcycle engines...but not nearly so far away this time. They were getting closer with every second.
"By the way." Weed let go of Dunne and walked over to one of his brides, an Asian woman with a machine gun. "In case you're wondering." Weed snapped the gun out of her hands and pointed it at Dunne. "We saved the real ammo for these guns."