Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Buck could admit that he’d been annoyed with Mandy. Annoyed that she’d done something so stupid like running away from the helicopter, forcing him to chase her down and thus miss their ride out of there.
But the feeling didn’t last long. Because honestly…hadn’t he done the same thing?
He had no gun, no supplies, had left the safety of his chopper and rashly raced into the jungle after her. How could he stay annoyed with Mandy when he’d been just as reckless himself? Besides, she’d thought she was rescuing a child. If there was ever a good reason for her behavior, it was that.
So no, he was no longer annoyed. In fact, the longer he was around her, the more impressed he became.
She was obviously scared, but not hysterical.
He could work with that. And he’d known she was compassionate from reading her file.
The fact that she hadn’t been able to resist going to look for the allegedly missing boy wasn’t out of character for her.
It just sucked that she’d been going on bad intel.
And Buck wasn’t one to rehash mistakes over and over.
It did no good. All he could do was pivot and come up with a new plan.
He and Mandy would either cross back into Guyana on their own—if nothing went wrong on their hike east—or Obi-Wan would browbeat the colonel and his special forces to fly over the jungle to find them.
One way or another, Buck would get him and Mandy out of the jungle alive.
But the first step was to get supplies. And the only place he’d be able to do that was back at the camp where Mandy and the kids had been held captive.
Bringing her along wasn’t ideal, but it would make getting the hell out of the area faster, which was a good thing.
Looking up at the sky as they quietly made their way through the jungle, Buck frowned.
He didn’t have a lot of time left before it got light.
And he and Mandy needed to be far from the camp before that happened.
He could hear the men at camp now, which was both a relief and an added stressor to an already tense situation.
A few more yards and he stopped and crouched down behind a large tree, pulling Mandy with him.
Buck had no idea why he hadn’t dropped her hand by now.
He’d grabbed it to make sure she didn’t fall on her face and give away their location, but once they’d been on their way, and she was steady on her feet, he could’ve let go of her.
Truthfully, he wanted to comfort her in some way.
She’d had a hell of a couple weeks and things weren’t about to get any easier.
They had a long way to go, and she was obviously struggling.
Though he was impressed with her attempt to keep her chin up and pretend she wasn’t at the end of her rope already.
Holding her hand was a small way to help her continue to stay strong. To maybe give her some of his strength.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered anxiously when they’d stopped.
She was crouched next to him, staring at him with wide eyes. Her short hair was greasy and sticking up in every direction. She had dirt on her face, under her nails, and her clothes were covered in dirt and mud as well, after they’d crawled away from the clearing.
And yet…there was something about her that was immensely beautiful to Buck. Physical beauty he could take or leave, but inner strength and kindness were two things he’d always been a sucker for. And Amanda Rush had both in spades.
“Nothing,” he told her. “I just need you to tell me, quickly, everything you can about the layout of the camp.”
Without hesitation, she did just that. Telling him about the four tents the boys had used, where the makeshift obstacle course was located, the tent the girls had slept in—and most importantly, where the one the kidnappers used as a kitchen was located, in relation to the others, as well as how it was set up.
She did such a good job describing everything, Buck had a clear vision in his head of the entire camp. He asked a few more questions—mostly about the supplies in the kitchen tent and about weapons—but before too long, he was ready to head out.
“I need you to stay here,” he told her, expecting her to protest once again. So he was pleased when she simply nodded.
“Is there anything I can do to help you from here?”
“Stay quiet. Do not under any circumstances, no matter what you hear, show yourself to the rebels. Understand?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said, a deep furrow in her brows.
“I don’t want that either. But if I am, if they discover me, you rushing in to help isn’t going to do anything but give them someone else to fuck with. Understand?”
Still frowning, she nodded. “Can we steal a truck?” she asked.
Buck had thought about that, but decided stealth was a better option.
Yes, the truck could get them to the border faster, but the rebels would follow, and the last thing he wanted was to get into a car chase in the middle of the freaking jungle.
The rebels knew this area like the back of their hands.
He’d be more likely to drive them into a ditch or river.
He was better off stealing what he needed and sneaking out of the area with Mandy.
At least then, they stood a chance of the rebels not even knowing they were out here. Hopefully.
“Not a good idea,” he told her. “They’d know immediately we were here.”
She nodded. “Right. Okay. I’ll hunker down right here by this tree. Wait for you. But I can do my fair share of carrying whatever it is you get.”
Impressed all over again, Buck nodded. He wasn’t going to make her carry a damn thing. She’d have a hard enough time just walking to the border as it was. He hoped to find a duffel bag or something to put supplies in while he was at camp.
Though now, for some reason, Buck was reluctant to leave her. He needed to get going. It would be light way too damn soon, but the thought of leaving Mandy behind was making him hesitate.
“I’ll be back,” he forced himself to say.
“I’m counting on it,” she said calmly. “Because if you aren’t, I’ll be walking in circles in this damn jungle until I can’t take another step, then I’ll just lie down and die. And I’m not being dramatic. I have no sense of direction and don’t know the first thing about survival stuff. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I don’t know a damn thing about teaching. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.”
She gave him a small smile.
Buck forced himself to give her a nod, then he turned and headed for the camp. Every step felt like a mistake, but he had to do this. Had to find provisions.
By the time he got to the outskirts of the camp, he’d calmed somewhat.
Became focused on the mission at hand. The rebels had set up lights in the clearing, which actually worked in his favor.
They could see what they were doing, but everything outside the circle of light would be darker.
Their vision would be slightly impaired…
hopefully enough to let him do what he needed to do and get the hell out without being detected.
The camp was set up exactly as Mandy had described.
He could see the obstacle course the boys had been forced to run over and over.
The tents where they’d slept, and the kitchen tent was right where she said it would be.
On the far side of the camp was the large firepit.
It looked like most of the men were currently sitting around the fire, bitching about the rescue and the fact that the girls, in particular, had slipped through their fingers.
It was disgusting, but Buck forced himself to forget about vengeance and concentrate on what he was there to do.
Just when he was about to head toward the kitchen tent, something caught his eye.
It was a dog.
At least, that’s what he thought it was.
The animal was lying on the periphery of the group of men.
Every time one of them brought a hand up to their mouth, the dog’s gaze followed the movement.
He, or she, was super skinny, from what Buck could tell from his vantage point, its fur matted and covered in dried mud.
The thing looked pathetic…and it hurt Buck’s heart to see it.
He had no idea if it had arrived with the men or if it was a stray, but the latter seemed unlikely since they were so far from any kind of civilization.
As he slipped around the camp to where the kitchen tent was located, Buck did his best to keep his temper in check.
His job was such that he couldn’t really have a pet, but he had a soft spot for animals.
Why anyone would ever have an animal if they couldn’t care for it, he didn’t know.
Why would the rebels keep a dog around if they weren’t going to feed it, at least?
Doing his best to put the dog out of his mind, for his own sanity if nothing else, he concentrated on the job at hand.
From talking to Mandy, he knew there wouldn’t be anything useful inside the tents where the kids and Mandy were kept, because their captors hadn’t given them blankets or spare clothes.
Most of what they needed was inside the tent where all the females were forced to make food.
Getting down on his belly, Buck slowly lifted the edge of the canvas tent, listening and looking for anyone who might be inside.
Relief filled him when he saw it was empty.
That didn’t mean someone couldn’t enter at any second.
He needed to be fast. It would be easier to cut the canvas than wiggle under, but a damaged tent would instantly indicate someone had been there.
And he needed every second of time it would take the kidnappers to realize they’d been raided.
The longer that took, the farther he and Mandy could get before they began hunting them down.
With luck, they’d never miss the things he pilfered.