Chapter 11
11
T he jeep traveled quicker than the large dump truck, but with the storm and the dark of night, Cam knew they were not making very good time. Still…no one’s around. A glance to the right and he saw Miriam holding the towel over her head with one hand and grasping the dashboard to steady herself with the other. While the towel was as soaked as the rest of her, the slight covering deflected the rain from hitting her face. He could tell nothing else about her until a flash of lightning illuminated their surroundings for a second and he saw her grip on the dashboard was tight.
“We’ve got about five more miles!” he called out, needing to be heard over the storm.
“Where are we going?” she asked, turning toward him for the first time since the jeep had lurched into action.
“I found a place near a river where I would come and dump rubble. I’ve got a contact that said the name is the Fuerte River. Or at least a tributary of it. ”
“What’ll we do when we get there? Is that where someone will meet us?”
Even over the storm, he heard the hopefulness in her voice. Sucking in a deep sigh, he said, “No. ‘Fraid not. We’ve got to get down the river until we can come to a place where he can land.”
“Land what?” she called out.
“He has a plane, but he’s got to find a landing strip close enough. He’s checking out some of the plantations along the river and as soon as the storm’s over, I’ll contact him to see where he’ll meet us.”
“How will you know where we are?”
“Got a chip in me. A tracer. The boys back home will be able to give him my exact location.”
At that Miriam became quiet. A chip? Who has a chip in them? She wanted to ask more questions, but the rain was coming down harder and she did not want to scream over the downpour.
The last mile took forever since Cam had left the main road, following the rutted path toward the river. The lights of the jeep bounced with the ruts in the road but gave off just enough illumination that he saw the rubble he had dumped yesterday. Driving around to the back of the enormous pile, he pulled the jeep into the woods close by.
Miriam watched as he drove straight into the woods, tree branches reaching out to claw at her. Suddenly, his large hand pushed her down in the seat and the limbs moved over her head. Finally, he came to a stop, and she leaned up cautiously.
“Why are we here? ”
He twisted his body toward hers, grinning at the beautiful face peeking up at him from under the sopping towel. “You got a lot of questions,” he stated.
Embarassed, she said, “I’m sorry?—”
“Hey, don’t ever be sorry. Just know I’ve got a plan even if it doesn’t always make sense.” Leaning down to catch her eyes, he said, “Here’s the deal. I’ll always answer your questions if I can, but you need to do something for me.”
“What is it?”
“If I tell you to do something, you’ve got to do it immediately. No questions. Our lives may depend on you obeying, okay?”
She nodded, completely aware that they were far from out of danger. “I promise.”
“That’s my girl,” he said. “Now, I pulled into the woods to help hide the jeep. It’ll be at least a day or so before anyone comes to look for us, depending on how long the storm lasts. They’ll know I drove around and will know this area so this junk pile is a place someone will be coming to. By then the tire tracks should be washed away and they’ll have to go looking in here to find the jeep. And, hopefully by then…we’ll be long gone.”
He was turning to get out of his side of the jeep when he felt a soft grasp on his arm. Turning back to look at her, he leaned in to see her face more clearly.
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes pleading for him to understand. “I know you didn’t have to do this.”
He grabbed the back of her head in his large hand and pulled her toward him, kissing her forehead. “My pleasure, babe. Now let’s get a move on.”
Literally sliding out of the sopping Jeep seat, Miriam made her way around to the front where she met Cam. Snagging her hand, he led her deeper into the woods, but closer to the river. Her eyes were unable to penetrate the black night, but with the shelter of the trees, the rain was less intense. Keeping her focus on the man in front of her, she tried to keep up without slipping on the forest floor.
He stopped, bent over and she had to halt quickly to keep from running into him. Peeking around to see what he was doing, she could make out a canoe. He grabbed one end and began dragging it toward the sound of the rushing water.
“I nabbed this several days ago from an abandoned shack nearby when I was on one of my solo dump trips. Stored it here. Figured we’d need it sometime.”
The thought of freedom roared in her mind, but soon disappeared as they made their way to the water’s edge. The rain-swollen river was rushing and, even though she could only see several feet out, she knew the current had to be dangerous.
“Cam?” she said, looking up at him, her eyes wide.
“Know what you’re gonna say and don’t worry. I got this. I just need you to get in, sit where I tell you and I’ll get us down the river.”
“I…I…”
“Sweetheart?” He captured her attention, pulling it away from the river. “What choice do we have?”
He watched in fascination as her lips pursed, she straightened a little taller and held his gaze before giving him a nod. “I can do this,” she pronounced.
Not able to hide his smile, he nodded back. She reminded him of her sister-in-law, Jobe’s wife, Mackenna. He met Mackenna when he helped rescue her and thought then how rare it was to find a woman that strong. Now he had once more. Iron-willed maiden, that’s for fuckin’ sure.
Maneuvering the canoe at the edge of the water, he helped her settle. The current was fast, but he knew that could play to their advantage in covering more miles away from the cartel that would be looking for them. The cartel’s reach covered the entirety of western Mexico, but with the storm battering the area he was hopeful it would be at least a day, or more, before they were missed.
Pushing off, he quickly sat inside the craft and grabbed one of the paddles. Using it expertly, he kept them near enough to the shore that he could control her safety if they capsized and not so close as to be snagged by the overhanging tree branches.
He knew the dangers of the swift current and canoeing in a storm, but the dangers of being caught by the cartel…he liked his odds on the river a whole helluva lot better. Glancing down, he saw they had taken on about an inch of water.
Miriam noticed it also and wondered if she should try to bend over and splash the water out with her hands, then quickly dismissed the thought. If he needs me to do something, he’ll tell me. She also did not fancy her chances of not rocking the canoe if she tried to get the water out.
Losing all sense of time, she had no idea how long they had been going. Not only was the rushing water carrying them along, but when the distant lightning flashed across the sky she saw the trees on the side of the river rush by as well.
Fear threatened to choke her, held back only by the hope that they were getting away. To what and to where, she did not know. But just away.
Two hours later, in the wee hours of the morning, Cam steered the canoe closer to the edge where he saw a small opening in the tree line. Jumping out into the waist deep water, he trudged slowly toward the shoreline dragging the canoe behind him. By the time he pulled the front half up on the muddy edge, Miriam was already scrambling forward.
“Hang on, babe,” he ordered as he tied off the craft. Then he reached back and plucked her up into his arms and carried her bride-style until they were under the large-leaf trees. The storm was still in effect, but the rain had diminished. Placing her down on a large, flat rock he sat back on his haunches, peering through the darkness at her face.
“How you holding up?” he asked gently.
“Good. I’m good,” she quickly replied.
Too quickly, he thought. At this close proximity, he could see her hair, naturally thick and wavy, plastered to her head. The navy scrub top she was wearing was soaked and molded to her chest like a second skin. The bottom of her pants were covered in mud and equally as soaked. Droplets of water slid down from her hair onto her cheeks before continuing their path to drip off her chin.
Instinctively he reached out, cupping her face, using his thumb to wipe the drops. She leaned slightly into his palm, and he felt her trust. Beautiful. So goddamn beautiful. His mind jumped back to the first time he saw her—or rather, her picture. The vision in the photograph struck him. Now he knew that the camera had been unable to even begin to capture what he saw in front of him. Strength, along with beauty. Character, along with compassion.
Heaving a deep sigh, he felt her eyes on him as she lifted her head away from his hand.
“Are we okay?” she asked, the timidity evident in her words.
“We made it this far, sweetheart,” he replied. “Won’t lie. We’ve got a long way to go. I’m going to try to get hold of my contact and see if we can get picked up somewhere once it’s daylight. I’m not keen on trying the river much longer.”
“Can’t we take it all the way to the coast, if we need to?”
Avoiding her gaze for a moment, he looked back knowing he needed to be straight with her. “Not all the way. There’s a significant waterfall and we can’t ride that out.”
He could see the wheels turning in her mind and jumped in, wanting to alleviate her worry. “We’re going to rest and have a bite to eat and then get back into the canoe once I make contact. If I’m figuring right, we should be able to go another hour on the water and then ditch it as soon as he can tell me where there’s a farm or field he can land on.”
She nodded, then silently turned, grabbing her bag. Reaching in, she pulled out a pack of crackers. “I didn’t have much food in the room, but we would take some when we could in case we needed a snack in the infirmary.”
Taking the offered crackers, he smiled. “Appreciate it,” he said before ripping open the package.
Shoving the crackers into their mouths, while hunkered over to keep them from getting wet, they finished their quick snack. Miriam stepped a little way into the woods to take care of her business while Cam made the call.
“Marc? Got no fuckin’ clue where we are, man. We made it out and into the river. Looks like we were in it about two hours, but with the current faster because of the storm, you need to have to get Luke to find our location.”
“I’m on it already, but we’re going to have a slight change in plans. The storm is larger than anticipated. It’s been upgraded to a tropical storm that’s hitting the Gulf of California. The good news is that you two can stay hidden for a while ‘cause it’s taking out a lot of the communication, roads, everything. Western Mexico is almost shut down for the next day. Bad news is that I can’t get a plane in and the fields where I could have landed are now mud or washed out.”
Cam pondered this news for a moment, deciding to focus on the good. “All right, then here’s what we’re going to do. We’re getting back into the canoe and continuing on in the river until it gets too hairy. Know there’s falls up ahead and I’ll get us out before then. I’ll call you when we’re back on land. We’ll get somewhere so that we can hide and rest and then probably travel by land for a bit.”
“Don’t make too many long-range plans yet. I’ll get the Saints on the case and get back to you.”
There was a momentary pause and then Marc asked, “How’s she holding up?”
“Man, you wouldn’t believe it. Total trooper. Abso-fuckin’-lutely, total trooper.”
“Good to hear. Stay safe and I’ll let you know where our new rendezvous will be.”
The two disconnected as Miriam was approaching. Her eyes sought his, filled with questions. She appeared lost, the fatigue showing on her face and in the slump of her shoulders.
He stood, reaching out his hand to her. Pulling her in close, he tentatively gave her a hug, having no idea if she was receptive. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and laying her head on his chest. He figured she was about five feet five or six inches, but that still put her a foot shorter than he was. And with her head nestled against his chest, he rested his head on top of hers. Tightening his arms around her slim body, he rocked her gently .
And in the middle of this fucked up situation, he felt his heart pound. Kissing the top of her head he whispered, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll get us out of this.”
He felt her head nod against his chest and then heard her whisper, “I know, Cam. I trust you.”
For a few minutes they stood, no more words spoken, each drawing strength from the other. Finally pulling back, he said, “We need to get going again, babe. Can you do that for me?”
Leaning her head way back to make eye contact, she gave him a small smile. “Sure. I can do that. Just lead the way.”
They re-entered the water the same way they had earlier. This time Miriam felt more relaxed, having become used to the movement of the canoe. Cam steered it so expertly that even at the pace they were moving, she trusted his control.
Two hours later, the sun was attempting to rise despite the clouds and continued rain. The only real difference to Miriam was that now she could see the rain as it pelted down and the trees along the sides of the river. The lightning had stopped and the pain of the rain hitting her arms was not as stinging as it had been. But the long night had taken its toll on her.
Looking over, Cam saw the utter weariness that exuded from her and knew it was time to take another break. Guiding the canoe to the edge again, he jumped into the water, walking it to shore. He repeated his earlier actions, tying it to a tree and then carrying her to a place underneath the leaves of a thick copse of trees to provide as much of an umbrella as he could. He wished it were more, but it was the best he could do.
Walking back, he pulled the canoe completely up on to the shore and hid it among the brush, as well, just in case anyone else was crazy enough to be out on the water in this weather.
Bone tired himself, he crawled back to where he left Miriam. In the early morning light, she resembled a wet kitten. Her tired eyes peered up at his and much to his surprise, she gifted him with a little smile as she lifted her hand to him.
Taking the unspoken invitation, he sat next to her wrapping his huge arms around her, pulling her in close. “Let’s get comfortable,” he said, sliding down until he was laying on the soft leaves.
She watched him as he got situated and without hesitation, she lay down next to him, her head on his chest and her arm resting on his waist. She felt him hug her body tightly and wondered how she would ever be able to sleep…on the ground…in the rain...on a man she barely knew.
Then she fell asleep. And so did he.