Chapter 5
Forrest woke up with Jordana nestled against him.
Her face was buried in his chest as her head lay on his now numb arm.
He had his leg thrown over hers and his arm over her hip with his hand on her bottom.
Even the sound of a nearby splash didn’t make him want to move.
His heart thumped in his chest, his dick was at attention, and his stomach was filled with excitement about what might be.
Yesterday, they had talked all afternoon.
It started out as your typical get-to-know-you talk, as if it were a first date.
That is, if your first date was in the middle of the jungle as you tried to escape with your lives.
However, as the afternoon and evening wore on, they talked about more personal things.
Hopes, dreams, embarrassing stories, and even their fears.
Forrest started to fall for Jordana more and more with each passing hour.
It seemed natural to lean forward and place a kiss on her forehead as he held her. The sweet sigh and the way she snuggled closer to him had him naturally pulling her tighter against him.
“Good morning,” Forrest whispered before placing another kiss on her forehead.
Forrest saw her eyes flutter open. He expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, her rich brown eyes stared into his as her lips turned up into a soft smile. “That was the best sleep I’ve had in a month.”
“Happy to help anytime you need to sleep.” Forrest heard the roughness in his voice, but he couldn’t help it. Jordana was a sexy little bundle in his arms and he wanted her there every morning.
Forrest felt Jordana shift so she was even closer to him.
There was no hiding how he was feeling about waking up with her in his arms with their hips practically melded together.
What surprised him was that Jordana wasn’t pulling away.
Instead, she was leaning forward. He watched as her eyes drifted shut right before her lips brushed against his.
It was tentative and a bit shy, but her point was made and Forrest wasn’t going to turn her down.
His arms tightened around her. His hips rocked forward finding that perfect spot.
His kiss grew more demanding and Jordana sent his heart into overdrive when she speared his hair with her fingers, giving it a little tug, as she kissed him as if their lives depended on it.
And maybe it did. They hadn’t escaped yet, but right now that was the last thing on Forrest’s mind.
“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” Jordana whispered when they finally broke their kiss. “I will apologize for one thing—I’m sure my breath is horrible.”
“You taste like those berries we ate last night.” Forrest leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. It was short and sweet, but enough to let her know he would kiss her anytime she wanted. “Let’s get something to eat and then head out. I want to find that beach before it gets dark.”
Forrest waited in the canoe as Jordana took the machete and headed onto land to freshen up.
She came back with some more of the sour berries and set them in the canoe.
Forrest headed into the jungle to get cleaned up and also to look around for some food.
He found a yellow fruit the locals called maracuya but he knew as passion fruit, and grabbed as many as he could carry.
“Oh! Maracuya!” Jordana said happily. She had scrubbed her face of dirt and sweat while he had been freshening up. He handed her the fruits and then leaned down so he too could wash his face.
Breakfast was fresh fruit and a shared protein bar. The passion fruit gave them some liquid and a lot of much needed vitamins and minerals. Forrest collected more so they’d have lunch and they pushed off.
The silence wasn’t awkward this time. Instead of fear, today was more optimistic. Their discussions turned to happy topics. Funny stories and talk about past dates gone wrong.
“I can’t believe you don’t have a boyfriend,” Forrest said, shaking his head after hearing her story about her last date.
It had been a blind date. He had told her he was six feet tall and in banking.
Instead, he was only a couple of inches taller than her five foot two and when he said he was banking, it meant he’d spent time in jail for bank robbery.
“I became a symbol more than a person after my mother was murdered. People who had been against my father wanted to use me to hurt my father. People who were for him, wanted to date me to get closer to him or to further their own political ambitions even though I am not involved with my father’s politics.
Even he is reluctantly involved. He thinks of himself as a military man, not a politician.
Look at the past month. That’s exactly why I don’t have a boyfriend.
It’s hard for me to trust any man in Brazil except for my father and my Uncle Beni. ”
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not from Brazil then.”
Jordana laughed and Forrest wanted to do nothing more than hear her laugh again. She sounded so free and relaxed after a month in hell.
“What about you? How do you not have a girlfriend?” Jordana asked.
“I work too much,” Forrest answered honestly. “I travel a lot, like this past month in Brazil. Short-term girlfriends don’t mind, but anyone looking for something more long-term finds it hard to deal with.”
“Why don’t they just go with you?” Jordana asked as if the answer was that simple. A memory made him chuckle. “Why is that funny? I think what you do is fascinating. I would want to be a part of it. Plus, can you imagine all the plants I could study all over the world?”
“It’s not funny. I was laughing because Damon, my eldest brother, said the same thing.
I should find a woman who would go with me and be my partner.
Unfortunately, I’ve never met a woman who wanted to go with me into the jungle, or outback, or into the woods for a month or two. Well, until now anyway.”
Jordana looked over her shoulder and gave Forrest a wink, which made her laugh again.
For hours they talked and snacked on fruit. They talked and talked until Forrest saw the beach. “There it is. But something’s not right.”
Jordana saw three men sitting on the beach. They stood as soon as they saw the canoe. “Didn’t your brother say it would take days for his men to reach us?”
“He did. Smile and wave and slip the gun into my waistband.” In front of her, Forrest set the paddle in his lap and waved his hands in the air, signaling the men.
“Shouldn’t we keep going?”
“We can’t. Look ahead. The current is picking up. It’s hard to actually steer now. Plus, I can see the beginning of the rapids straight ahead. Just play along until we learn for sure they aren’t my brother’s men.”
One of the men waded into the shallow water and grabbed the boat. Jordana watched as Forrest exited the boat and helped him. Jordana grabbed onto her seat as the canoe rocked. The men were in hiking gear, but it was clear they were security for someone. They all had that bouncer/gym bro body build.
“We are so happy to see you,” Forrest said after helping her from the boat.
Jordana smiled and nodded, unsure of what Forrest was doing.
She knew one thing —she was not going anywhere with these guys.
“Grab the fruit and machete, Jordana. We are going to need to hike our way through this jungle. Thank goodness we have guides now.”
Jordana reached down and slid her palm over the handle of the machete. She looped the rope around her wrist and grabbed their fruit. She didn’t know how having her hands full would help, but she trusted Forrest.
“How did you all find us?” Forrest asked as he grabbed his backpack. Instead of slinging it over his back, he put it on his front.
“Mr. Alves,” the leader responded with a smile. “We go now.” English was clearly not his first language and he probably didn’t speak much of it. Jordana could easily converse in Portuguese, but she didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
“Good! We are so lucky he found us.” Forrest was way too happy and Jordana was trying not to freak out. “Lead the way.” Forrest held out his hand and waited for them to turn into the jungle.
“Get the canoe put away. We wouldn’t want the people after them to find it,” the lead man ordered in Portuguese as he gave her a look. She was sure it was meant to be reassuring, but what it really meant, was to hide the evidence of the kidnapping or murder that was in progress.
Jordana saw Forrest reach behind his back as soon as the two men went to pull the canoe fully onto the beach.
“This way. We hurry,” the leader said in English. He turned and that’s when Jordana saw the same bulge of a gun at his back that Forrest had.
“I can’t wait to get home. I want a cheeseburger,” Forrest said cheerfully, even as Jordana couldn’t find the strength to make her feet work.
Forrest’s hand pulled the gun and he hurried his steps even as he rambled on about milkshakes.
He put the gun to the back of the man’s head and dropped his voice. “Who do you work for?”
The man spun, reaching for his gun. Forrest fired.
Jordana screamed in surprise. The man fell to the ground, blood pooling in the sand around his head.
The two men behind her raced forward. Jordana dropped her fruit and whipped around to face them.
One was reaching for his back and Jordana used the machete to slice his midsection open as he raced by her.
The man screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, but it wouldn’t save him. His body shook as the blood pooled around him. He wouldn’t live long.
“I’ll give you the option,” Forrest said, his gun aimed at the last man. “Either jump in and swim for your life or I'll shoot you. Either way, use two fingers and toss your gun on the sand.”
The man looked unsure so Jordana repeated it in Portuguese. Her voice cracked at first, but she regained control and issued the demand. Forrest stalked forward, the gun never wavering. The man pulled the gun and dropped it.
“They’ll find you. You can’t escape,” he told her with a cocky smirk. Forrest didn’t take his eyes off the man even though she knew he didn’t understand what was just said.
“Let them come. I’ll kill them like I did your partner.
Now, swim for your life or should I tell him to shoot you?
Or, better yet, I’ll cut you several times, tie you to the tree, and let the jungle take you.
That seems fair after the harm you’ve done to it.
” Jordana spun the machete in her hand and smirked right back.
The man cursed her, but waded into the water. He tried to swim to the other side, but as soon as he got a third of the way across, the river took him.
“We need to tell your father he has a mole in his office. Someone knew about the plan,” Forrest said, pulling out the satellite phone.
“But first.” Then he was there. His strong arms wrapped around her.
Sometime during her threats, the man she’d cut died.
She was now a killer. And Forrest knew she needed comfort.
“You had to do it. I’m sorry. I should have shot faster so you wouldn’t have to protect me. ”
Tears leaked from her eyes as she buried her face in his chest. But she shook her head nonetheless. “No. We protect each other. If we’re going to get through this, we have to work together.”
Forrest’s hands reached up and cupped her cheeks. He forced her to look up at him and then used his thumbs to brush away her tears. “They don’t deserve your tears.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips and then handed her the phone. “Call your father. I’ll call Kane next.”