Chapter 15
Rain pelted into my body like buckshot, and we had to lean into the ferocious wind just to stand.
“Son of a bitch!” I screamed at the blackness.
“What do we do?” Kat stepped closer, and her body trembled against me.
Bits of bark and leaves peppered us, and the wind howled like a rabid demon.
“Colton. I’m scared.” Her voice was barely audible over the wind.
I wrapped my arms around her, and as she shivered against me, I waited for the next lightning flash to survey our surroundings.
A blaze lit up the low-hanging cloud like it had been Tasered, and I scoured the jungle. I saw nothing but trees and shrubs. Even the hole we’d scrambled out of had vanished.
We’re blind out here. Last thing we needed was for one of us to fall back into that cave and break a leg.
Conceding defeat, I said, “It’s too dangerous out here. We need to get back into the cave. Help me find it.” I grabbed her hand, and we lowered to the ground.
“I can’t see a thing,” she hollered.
“I know. Stay at my side and be careful.”
“Okay.” Kat’s high-pitched voice showed how damn scared she was.
I didn’t blame her. During my Navy career, I’d experienced my share of storms out in the middle of the ocean. This one rivaled the worst of them.
As rain pounded my head and back, and my knees and toes dug into the mud, I swept my hand over wiry grass, roots, and rocks. The darkness and torrential rain made it impossible to see anything.
Where the fuck is that hole?
I tried to scan around, but I couldn’t even see my arms.
My hand fell through the ground. “Here it is.”
Thank Christ.
“I’ll lower you down.” Gripping her wrists, I lowered her through the hole.
“Okay, let me go.” Kat sounded like she was a mile away.
I followed her into the cave, and a flash of lightning lit up the chasm. Kat stood a few feet away with her arms crossed over her chest. Her face was pale, her lips were blue, and her clothes were soaked.
With another flash of lightning, I quickly scanned the cave for a place to rest. A small alcove in the wall was the only option.
Clutching Kat’s hand, I pulled her toward the nook, and each measured step seemed to crush me even more with both exhaustion and frustration.
When will this bullshit end?
At the wall, I guided her forward. “Sit down. We’ll wait out the storm here.”
She peeled off her father’s backpack and it slapped to the floor. “This storm can’t go on for much longer . . . can it?”
“I fucking hope not.” But the truth was, storms like this were common in this region, and torrential rain was what shaped this landscape.
The alcove was barely big enough for the two of us to huddle inside, and when I sat beside Kat, the curved roof forced me to lean toward her.
She shivered so hard her teeth chattered.
“Shit, you’re freezing.”
“Just a bit.” Her voice came out all squeaky.
I curled my arm around her shoulders. “Come here, sit between my legs.”
She shuffled over my lap, and I parted my legs, wrapped my arms around her trembling body, and pulled her to my chest. “We’ll make it through this, I promise.”
She glided her hands over my arms. “I know.”
I raised my knees, trying to get comfortable on the cold stone floor. We were in for one hell of a night.
She leaned her back against me and heaved a breath. “I’m going to complain to tour management about this accommodation.”
I chuckled. “If that’s all you’re complaining about, then management can work with that.”
A flash of lightning beamed through the three openings in the roof like natural globes, and the following crack of thunder boomed around the cavern like a bouncing bomb.
Kat cruised her hands up my thighs, and the sensation had my cock paying attention. I didn’t know what it was about this woman, but she made my body do things that it hadn’t done in too frigging long.
“Should we lie down?” she asked. “And try to get comfortable?”
“You just want to get me in bed,” I joked.
Giggling, she squeezed my knee. “The thought crossed my mind.”
Hot damn.
“How can I refuse.” I’d never met a woman who was so forthright, and she was making me think all kinds of crazy . . . like maybe we could be something once this shit was over.
She crawled off my lap and opened her father’s backpack.
“There’s some clothing in here we can use to get comfy.” She pulled out a shirt and groaned. “Damn. It’s a bit wet.”
Stepping away, she shook it, then draped the shirt over a large rock and reached back into the pack.
“At least it protected Dad’s journal. It’s still dry.”
“That’s good.” I laid down and tried to find the best position to avoid the lumps on the ground.
The cave came to life with a streak of light and my breath caught at how incredible she looked. Her damp T-shirt clung to the swell of her breasts. Her wet hair looked wild and sexy. Water glistened off her legs, detailing her glorious shape.
I could watch that view all night long, and my throbbing cock agreed.
“Here you go.” I patted the ground beside me.
As she crawled in beside me, the lightning gods graced me with good timing. My attention flicked from the bulge of her tits in the wet T-shirt to her glorious ass.
She wriggled from one side to her back and then rolled toward me. I opened my arm so she could nestle into my chest, and she slotted her hands between us.
I pulled her closer. “Is that better?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I ran my hand over her hair, down her shoulder, and over her back.
She shuffled closer. “Hey, Colton?”
I fucking loved the way she said my name, like she’d been saying it over and over for decades. “Yo.” I tried to sound casual, but the desire blazing through me made it nearly impossible.
“Did you mean it when you said you’d help me find out who killed Dad?”
“Of course. We need to make those fuckers pay for what they did to him.”
She turned her palm around and pressed it to my chest. “Thank you. You’re amazing. How come you’re single?”
“What?”
“I don’t understand why you’re single?”
I clamped my jaw. This was not a discussion I wanted to have.
“I can almost hear your mind churning,” she said. “I just don’t understand. You’re brave, and funny, and resourceful, and you’re handsome.”
“Handsome.” I scoffed.
She eased back from me. “Yes. Very handsome.”
I huffed.
“You don’t think you’re good to look at?”
Recalling the reason Louise dumped me, my breath was like razorblades in my throat as I inhaled deeply.
Kat rubbed her hand over my chest. “Someone really hurt you, didn’t they?”
I groaned. “You could say that.”
“What did she do?”
I sucked in a breath. “How do you know it’s a woman?”
“I can feel it in your vibes.”
I cleared my throat. “Goddammit, Kat. You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“I don’t want to. I want to know everything about you. But if you don’t want to tell me, then?—”
“Her name was Louise,” I blurted, then sighed. I had sworn to myself that I would never utter that bitch’s name again. But I wanted Kat to know everything about me because I wanted the same from her. “We were high school sweethearts. I thought she was my forever girl.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“Shhh. I’m telling you.”
“Sorry. Cranky pants.”
I chuckled. “Louise had always known that I wanted to be a Navy SEAL. But apparently, she never thought I’d make it through.”
“Well, she certainly didn’t know you.”
“Will you shush?”
“Sorry, just sayin’.”
“The day I graduated final training she dumped me.”
“What? Just like that? Why?”
“She didn’t want me coming home without an arm or missing a leg, or worse, in a casket. She said she couldn’t be with a man who was damaged.”
“Jesus, that’s so shallow. What a bitch.”
“But she was right, Kat. I did come home damaged.”
“You are not damaged.” She slapped my chest. “You are the most capable, brave, strong . . . albeit grumpy man I have ever met. Colton, you’re a hero.”
I rattled my lips. “Hardly.”
“Hey!” She slapped me again. “I meant it. She was wrong. I barely notice your injuries, but I do see you, Colton. And I am honored and proud to be with you.”
My heart swelled to bursting as I cupped the back of her neck. She shifted her head, and I sensed rather than saw her mouth pressing toward me. Our lips met, and she kissed me with so much warmth that my heart sang. That was what a kiss should be like . . . hot, raw, and so fucking real.
Our kiss was over too soon, and she nestled into my body again.
“I’m so lucky I found you,” she said.
I glided my hand down to her ass and squeezed the glorious flesh I’d been ogling all day.
“Hey.” She giggled.
“Just checking you aren’t a dream, that’s all.”
She giggled again, and it was so sweet and natural it took all my might not to tear off her clothes and give my cock the attention it was demanding.
“You’re the one who’s a dream, Mister.” She kissed my chest, then rolled over so her back was to me. As I spooned the most amazing woman I’d ever met, the storm raged above us.
When Kat’s breathing became deeper, I tried to relax. But dozens of unanswerable questions crashed into my mind, making it impossible.
Were Pedro and the others okay?
Would I make good on my promise and find the fuckers who had killed Kat’s father?
Was her attraction to me just confused emotions because of our intense situation? And would she want to be with me once we got out of this mess?
Forcing my mind off the impossible questions, I counted the seconds between each blaze of lightning until I couldn’t keep my eyes open a moment more.
* * *
I woke with a jolt,and it took two thumping beats before I remembered where I was. Kat was still in my arms. We were still in the cave. And the drumming beat confirmed the fucking rain was still coming down. Peering across the cave, I realized I could make out shapes.
Was it morning?
Staring up at the cave roof, I peered through the nearest hole, trying to see the sky. As my eyes adjusted, I could just make out a cloud. But at least the lightning and thunder seemed to have stopped.
I rested my hand on Kat’s shoulder. “Hey.”
Groaning, she eased away from my chest.
She blinked at me as if trying to work out who I was. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, time to get up. I think it’s morning.”
“Really?” She rolled away from me and winced. “Oh, man, my back’s killing me.”
I sat up and groaned. My body was as stiff as a surfboard. Rolling my head from side to side, I tried to manipulate the knot at the base of my neck.
Kat stepped away from our alcove, swung her arms, and twisted her body in ways I could never replicate.
Doubling over and gripping her ankles, she turned to face me. “Did you sleep?”
“I must have dozed a bit.” I scraped my hands over my face and heaved a breath.
Get moving, Colton.
I stood. “Grab your stuff. Let’s roll.”
“It looks like the storm has calmed down.” She shoved her father’s shirt into the backpack.
“Thank Christ.” I walked toward the hole in the roof we’d climbed out of. Beyond the cave, the cloud cover was still as dark as coal, but I could see shapes in the cloud, so the sun was up.
Kat reached my side and repeating the moves we’d made last night, we climbed into fresh air.
At the top, I scanned the landscape. Just trees and shrubs everywhere.
“Which way?” Kat asked.
I searched for a reference point, but the trees were too high to see where the sun was.
Squeezing my temples, I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She looked at me expectantly like I was some kind of miracle worker. I damn well wasn’t. If I had those capabilities, I’d make all my brothers from the Navy pain-free and happy again.
Squinting through the downpour, I pointed toward a giant tree that towered over the treetops.
“Let’s walk that way.”
With me leading, I pushed through bushes that were as dense as steel wool, and with every step, our battered bodies took another beating.
“No wonder that cave hasn’t been found,” Kat said. “No sane person would explore this area.”
“You’re not kidding,” I said. “This is bullshit.”
As I trudged through the thick brush, the rain continued to slap my face and bounce off my shoulders. My feet squelched into mud as thick as quicksand, making each step a struggle. The weight of my decision to trek this way dragged me down.
What if we’re going the wrong way?
What if we’re too late to find Pedro and the others?
We could be stuck out here for days.
Maybe forever.
I had no means to signal anyone, and even if I had matches to light a signal fire, all potential fuel was soaked through.
“Hey, do you hear that?” Kat said from behind me.
Glancing at her over my shoulder, I frowned. “What?”
“Sounds like a helicopter.”
I strained to hear over the downpour. The distinct thump of rotors filled the distance.
Rain slammed into my face as I tried to determine where the sound was coming from.
A chopper shot overhead and vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“Son of a bitch!” I yelled.
“Was that your friends?”
“I don’t know.” I clenched my fists.
“Could it be those killers?” she asked.
“I don’t fucking know!” I roared.
“Okay, sorry.”
I groaned. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
“It’s okay.” She shrugged.
“No, it wasn’t.” I shook my head. “Come on, let’s go in that direction.”
Shoving aside a bush, I fought the anger blazing inside me. If that were my team, and they reached the beach before I did, they could be ambushed. I should be there with them, helping them, fighting alongside them like we did before we were all medically discharged from the Navy.
I broke through the bushes into a clearing where the base of an enormous tree dominated the space. The trunk was as wide as my truck, and the branches were as thick as my torso.
“Stay here.” I hauled myself up to the lowest branch.
The branches were slippery, and every limb I climbed was a battle between balance and brute strength. My muscles burned and my brain hurt from assessing what to do.
Sunlight burst through a gap in the clouds, and squinting against the glare, I scanned the dense jungle for something other than vegetation. Goddammit.
I continued climbing until I could see over the top of the surrounding trees. Straddling a thick branch, I squinted through the rain. In the distance, the dark shape of the chopper hovered over the trees.
What are they doing?
Is that my team?
Using the sun’s rays that beamed through a crack in the clouds, I marked the chopper’s position and scrambled down the tree.
“Did you see them?” Kat asked as my feet touched the ground.
“Yes. We need to get to them ASAP.”
“Was it your friends?” She hooked her thumbs into the shoulder straps of her dad’s pack.
“Not sure, but whoever they are, I need to help Pedro and the others. Follow me.”
Running in bare feet made the rugged trek even harder. I shoved aside branches, bulldozed over bushes, or dodged around giant trees. The vegetation was relentless, and Kat’s ragged breathing highlighted her exhaustion.
I burst through a clearing and stopped just before I plunged into a cenote. A torrential stream carved through the bushes and tumbled over the edge in a giant waterfall that hit the pool forty feet below.
“Jesus. Lucky we can see where we’re going,” Kat yelled over the noise as she wiped sweat from her forehead.
“Agreed.”
“Is that one of the pools we swam in?” she asked between ragged breaths.
I studied the natural sinkhole and shook my head. “I don’t recognize it. Are you okay?”
“I guess,” she said. “Looking forward to the hot meal and cold Coronas your dive tour brochure promised.”
Chuckling, I placed my hand on her cheek. “Very funny.”
Her eyes softened as she leaned against my palm. “I’m thinking of asking for my money back.”
“I owe you at least that.” I nodded.
“I’m joking, Colton. I got everything I wanted from this tour.” She lifted her gaze to mine. “And some I wasn’t expecting.”
“Me too.”
She leaned toward me with her lips parted, and I kissed her.
Ending the kiss, I said, “I’d love to do that all day, but we need to keep moving.”
“Then stop fucking around.” She grinned.
Laughing, I grabbed her hand, and avoiding the raging torrent, I led her around the edge of the cenote, registered my bearing with the sun, and charged back into the bushes.
The rain suddenly stopped, and as drips slapped into the rotting vegetation on the muddy ground, sunlight pierced through the canopy overhead like daggers of light, and birds chirped somewhere amongst the foliage.
Within minutes of the rain stopping, the humidity smothered us.
A shout reached us, and I yanked Kat down to the soggy jungle floor.
Gunfire boomed from somewhere ahead of us. “Fuck. We’re too late.”
Kat’s wide eyes flared at me.
Gunshots and shouts echoed through the jungle. They were loud, disorienting, and chaotic. The sounds bounced off the trees and rocks, making it impossible to establish where the gunfire was coming from. Bullets zinged like angry hornets.
Someone screamed in pure agony.
“Fuck! I need to help them.” I eyeballed Kat. “Keep your head down and stay right behind me.”
“Okay.”
Pushing through the bushes in a crouch, I sprinted over the rough terrain. Dark clouds overhead smothered the sun again like a deadly warning, casting shadows in every direction.
Mud clung to my feet, weighing them down like concrete boots and sharp rocks were like broken teeth, stabbing my bare feet.
Gunfire boomed and shouts echoed from everywhere. I couldn’t make out the words. I couldn’t even tell if they were in English or Spanish.
As I closed the distance, the sounds grew louder. Gunfire exploded like we were heading into a war zone.
A bullet slammed into a tree trunk next to me, missing my head by inches.
Fuck!I tackled Kat to the ground, smothering her with my body.
Footsteps thundered through the vegetation.
I snapped my head up, searching for the attacker.
“Don’t move,” a man yelled behind me.
Kat squealed.
I clenched my fists, ready to fight to the death.
“I said, don’t move!”
A gun pressed into the back of my neck.