Chapter 12
12
C am woke, his mind instantly alert to his surroundings. The rain was increasing in intensity again and he could hear it hitting the leaves overhead. He looked down at the woman he was protectively laying half across, his arms cradling her back and head, one leg pressed between hers, and her face tucked safely against his chest. Fuck, I must have rolled over her during the night. She must be crushed.
Then another thought slammed into him. Sleeping with her warm curves beneath him, his morning wood was pressed tightly against her abdomen. He slowly moved his tree-trunk thigh from between her legs but halted suddenly when her eyes jerked wide open. For the first time he was close enough to notice that her brown eyes were flecked with amber and even a tint of green around the edges. And they were staring straight at him.
Pulling his leg the rest of the way off her, he rolled to the side, careful to keep his groin from touching her.
Miriam blinked a couple of times, her mind instantly remembering where they were…and who the large man was lying on top of her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to crush you, but I wanted to try to keep the rain from hitting you directly, if possible.”
Blushing, she sat up attempting to stretch the cramped muscles screaming at her. “It’s okay,” she smiled. “I didn’t think there would be any way I would have been able to sleep so you must have done something right.”
Placing her hand on his arm as he sat up as well, she asked, “Were you able to sleep?”
He looked down at her face, pale skin with dark circles underneath her eyes, and nodded. “Yeah. Looks like we got a few hours of sleep.”
He pushed himself off the ground and stretched his large frame. Her eyes drifted over the muscular body from his handsome face, thick neck, wide chest down to his… Oh, my God! The evidence of his erection was pressing against his cargo pants, and she immediately jerked her head to the side. I must be insane. We’re far from safe and all I can do is ogle his body! She dropped her head into her hands and then slicked the wet hair back from her face as she stood up as well. Looking down at herself, she almost giggled.
He turned a questioning gaze to her as a small snort escaped her lips. She peeked up at him, her blush returning and just gave a small shrug.
“You’d think that in our circumstances, how I look would be the last thing on my mind,” she explained. “ But I’m standing here soaking wet, covered in mud and leaves, and while we may not be free yet, we’re a lot closer to being rescued…and all I can think about is how I’d love a hot bath!” Shaking her head, she muttered, “I know, stupid right?”
He placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her in gently until her face rested against his chest once more. “Sweetheart, you are one amazing woman and don’t you ever doubt that.” Pushing her back slightly, holding her gaze, he continued, “You’ve done everything I’ve asked and under the worst of circumstances. You’ve held it together, kept up with me, and not fallen apart one time. Not one fuckin’ time.”
With the rain starting to fall harder once more, she finally felt her chin quiver as she battled back the tears. “I’m scared,” she whispered.
He slammed her back against his chest again, his large hand cradling the back of her head. “I know, baby girl. But swear to God, we’re gonna get out of here.”
Allowing him to hold her, she let her mind escape for just a minute. Back at home, him holding me like this as we are dancing. By a warm fireplace. To music that… Stop! He’s my rescuer, that’s all. A man like him would never be interested in someone like me. He looks like he would go for the tall, big, blonde with lots of attitude kind of woman.
Sighing, she pushed back from his arms and the moment was gone. Bending down, she snagged her bag, opening it up to grab another pack of crackers. Handing them to him without looking at him, she waited until he took them and then she turned and walked away. “I’ll be back,” she mumbled as she pushed her way through more underbrush to take care of business.
Cam stood watching her back as she retreated into the woods. Taking his soaking ballcap off his head, he wiped the water out of his eyes once more. What the hell just happened? One minute she’s all soft and warm in my arms like we are out dancing somewhere and the next she’s pushing to get away from me. Shaking his head as he munched the crackers, he thought, No way I’m her kind of guy. She’s used to the men with business suits or the doctors at the hospital. Not some man built like a tank, that’s sweaty, dirty, and has seen the underbelly of the world.
Hearing her coming back, he quickly headed off to relieve himself. That’s okay. She’s my mission. And I never fail.
Jack and his team of men were conferring with Marc and becoming more frustrated by the moment.
“I’ve got to give Jobe something more than Cam has his sister,” Jack growled.
“The storm isn’t passing over as quickly as was forecast,” Marc answered. “That keeps them from being followed, but I can’t get a fuckin’ plane out to them.” His frustration was palpable. I’m used to being in the thick of things, not sitting on the sidelines waiting for a phone call. A trained logistician, he used his years as a CIA pilot to make snap decisions, plan missions and above all…be flexible. He loved being active. The sitting and waiting were ki lling him.
Blaise leaned over Luke’s shoulder as the computer guru was trying to locate Cam using the implanted tracker. Looking up, he confirmed, “Looks like he’s nearer the falls than we anticipated.”
“Is that good?” Monty inquired, pinpointing the area on the map projected to his tablet.
Marc sighed. “The river’s current took them much further and faster than we could have predicted. It’s away from their captors, but still deep in the Sinaloa Cartel’s territory.”
“Goddammit!” Jack cursed. The time he spent in the Special Forces taught him to plan and then be ready for contingencies, but this felt different when he was not the one in the field. Having one of his men faced with the ever-changing situation—and with a young woman, the sister of a friend no less—made this untenable.
“Marc, what does your contact there say?” Chad asked, interjecting calm into the conversation. He approached everything like dismantling a bomb…slow, methodical, careful.
“Right now, planes are grounded, which normally wouldn’t mean shit to me, but the problem is that when Cam was near the plantations that I could have landed in, they were washed out or underwater. The rain has let up some, but now he’s further down the river and there’s no place to land a plane.”
“Helicopter?” Bart asked.
“Working on it. Knowing he’s close to the falls means that I probably won’t have a landing place even for a chopper.”
Jack rubbed his beard thoughtfully, then commented, “If they can get down the cliff next to the falls, can you pick them up?”
“Not right there,” Marc added. “But, if they carry the canoe with them, then they could make it closer to the coast and I can easily pick them up as soon as they’re ready.”
The silence hung heavy among the six men at the table as they eyed each other all with the same thought. Two big, strong men carrying a canoe down a steep slope? No problem. One trained man with one petite, untrained woman?
Looking over the group, Jack growled, “Need to work the mission, guys.”
Luke, jittery from too much caffeine, looked up suddenly from his computer screen and said, “Marc? Can you get your hands on a seaplane? I can get my contacts at the Agency to help you out if needed.”
“The DEA contact here, Alberto, can get that easily for me. What are you thinking? I can’t land it on the river the way it’s going with the storm.”
“No, I was thinking of the ocean. Listen,” Luke said, gaining the attention of everyone. “If they can make it to the ocean which, at the rate they’re going, should only be another day or two at the most, then we can get a location and Marc can fly in to get them.”
Chad added, watching the storm tracking, “The storm will be over by then, at least on the coast.”
“What about food, potable water, and any other supplies they may need?” Bart asked, knowing his best friend could handle himself, but worried, nonetheless.
Blaise, continuing to check their intel, added, “There are some villages near the coast. They could get supplies there to last them until Marc can pick them up.”
“Still deep in Cartel territory,” warned Marc.
Grinning, Bart said, “Not a problem for Cam. He’s one of us but spent time as a kid as a thief. Don’t figure he’d have any problem remembering those long-lost skills.”
Marc signed off after agreeing to get ahold of Cam immediately with the new plan. Tired of bouncing his leg with nervous energy, he changed clothes hoping a run would help him focus.
The others sat back, satisfied with the mission but not happy at what Cam and Miriam were going to have to go through to get to the coast.
Jack leaned back and speared them with his gaze. “We’re still responsible for other cases, but that’s one of us out there with one of my best friends’ sister. Keep working the problem.”
For an hour Miriam had been clinging, white-knuckled, to the sides of the canoe as the water became choppy and rough. The light of day allowed Cam to see where to steer to avoid the rocks, but he knew they had to be near the falls. The rain had intensified once more, but at least that kept prying eyes from seeing them on the river.
As yesterday, he once more jumped into the swirling waters at the edge of the river to pull the canoe to the side. Once he had both the craft and Miriam on land, he flipped over the canoe to let the water drain out and sat heavily on the bottom, patting the seat next to him. She joined him, looking up expectantly, wondering what was next.
“We got a couple of choices and I’m going to get hold of my contact to see what works best for him.”
When he did not say anything else, she just nodded and watched as he stood and made his call. Exhaustion screamed in every fiber of her being. Her skin and hair had been soaked for a full day. While the air was not chilly, the wet penetrated deep inside. She dropped her head to her knees and let the rain continue to pound her back, numb to the core.
Several yards away, Cam listened in frustration as Marc went over the new plan. “Jesus, man. How in the hell am I going to get our little-ass canoe down a cliff with Miriam? Fuck!”
“Hold it together, Cam. We know and we’re trying to make this work. Here’s what you need to get—the edge of the river at the falls is rocky, going to be slippery and impassable for you two. But on the south side, where you are, if you travel inland about a quarter of a mile, you’ll have woods to hide in and the terrain is still steep but less so. You should be able to make your way down past the falls.”
The idea of making Miriam work harder than ever to get to safety did not sit well with Cam, but without the miracle of a golden rope dropping from the sky and lifting them to Heaven, he saw no other way.
“What else have you got for me? ”
To this question, Marc was silent for a second too long.
“Stop stalling just give it to me, man,” Cam growled.
“Near the bottom of the falls, there’s a village. You’re still in Cartel territory, so you’ve got to figure they aren’t friendly. Or at least would turn you in.”
Hanging his head, Cam was beginning to doubt the success of the mission for the first time. As he walked back toward Miriam, he saw her sitting on the upturned canoe, leaning over with her head on her knees. As she heard him approach, she sat up, latching her gaze on his.
And then his miracle happened. It was not the golden rope dropping from Heaven. It was much more profound. She smiled. In the middle of a cartel’s territory, scared out of her mind, exhausted, soaked to the bone, hungry, and so far from home it was frightening…she smiled. Directly. At. Him. And he knew then, whatever it took, he was getting them out of there.
“I’ll be in touch,” Cam said into the phone before disconnecting. Walking over he squatted in front of her.
“Babe,” he whispered, lifting his hand to cup her face. Once again, she leaned into his strength. “We gotta keep going. My contact has nowhere to pick us up here, so we’re going to walk in the woods near the cliffs by the falls.”
She smiled again, holding his gaze. “We don’t have to get back into the canoe?” she said, hope in her voice.
Chuckling, he nodded. “Nope. But here’s the thing. We need to carry it with us so that when we get to the bottom of the falls, we will have it to get closer to the gulf.”
The smile slid from her face and shot straight to his heart. “Carry? Carry the canoe?” she asked, new doubt evident in her words.
“ Carina ,” he said. “You are so fuckin’ strong. We can do this. And when we get to the bottom, I’m going to hide you before I sneak into a village and get us some dry clothes and food.”
She lifted her eyes, quickly asking, “A village? We can get help?”
“No, babe. I’m ‘fraid not. You’ve got to remember, we’re still in Sinaloa.” Seeing the confusion, he added, “Still cartel territory.”
At that, her breath caught as her eyes widened in fear. “I…I thought we got out miles ago. All this way? We’ve come all this way, and they can still get to us?” Her voice rose with each word.
Sliding the hand that was at her cheek along her neck and into her wet hair, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her forward until her forehead touched his lips. He could feel her body shaking and spoke into her skin.
“ Carina , I promise. I fuckin’ promise, I’ll get you home safe.”
Knowing he was calling her sweetheart, she closed her eyes, feeling the vibration of his lips across her forehead right before she felt his lips pressing in. Choking back a sob, she lifted her hands to grasp his T-shirt, fisting it tightly. Her body was jerked up and lifted into his arms as he twisted around and sat on the canoe, settling her in his lap.
Wrapping his arms around her shivering frame, he offered her his warmth, keeping her held tightly, until he could feel her heartbeat next to his. Allowing her a moment to cry, he continued to whisper endearments into her ear. Words his mother had whispered when one of her children was upset. And words he heard his father whisper to his mother when he thought no one else could hear.
After a few minutes, she heaved a huge sigh and lifted her face to his while keeping a tight hold onto his shirt. “I’m sorry, Cam.”
“Babe, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” he said, pushing the wet strands away from her face as the rain continued to send rivulets of water down her skin. “You’re tired and scared but I gotta tell you, you’re a fuckin’ mujer de acero , babe.”
Seeing her questioning expression, he chuckled. “Woman of steel. You’re strong, Miriam. You can do this. And I’m going to make sure we make it.”
Sucking in a huge breath, she nodded. “Okay, well, I’m down to my last crackers so we’d better fuel up before we start lugging this down the hill.”
Chucking her under her chin with his knuckles, he grinned. Jesus, she’s beautiful. Standing and making sure she was steady on her feet, he moved over to the canoe, grateful that it was not too heavy.
“I’ll drag it where we can and will only need you to assist when two people have to get it down a steep slope. ”
Nodding, she watched as he fashioned a harness from the rope and looped it around his shoulders. Moving forward through the trees near the water’s edge he began walking, dragging the canoe behind him. She followed dutifully, keeping an eye on both the canoe…and the man.