Chapter 13
Amy bolted in a zigzag pattern back toward the thick trees. She couldn’t exactly remember where she’d picked up the idea. Had to have been from one of Garrett’s stories. Either way, it stuck. Now, she was grateful as bullets zinged past her.
When she’d been huddled with Lorna, she couldn’t risk the move. Now that Lorna was with Donnie, Amy had seen her chance.
It struck her the men were bad shots, or maybe it was the type of weapon they used. She knew enough about guns to realize some were more accurate than others. Distance mattered. Wind mattered. The type of weapon mattered. Those calculations were made in a matter of a minutes with a trained sniper. These men were far from it. They were more likely to spray bullets.
They’d been closer to her in the jungle but had missed there too. She’d chalked it up to the vines and trees blocking their view. Plus, they were running. Could it mean something else?
Her mind snapped to warning shots. That would be the best of a bad situation.
One hand on her camera, she realized why the men wouldn’t shoot holes right through her chest. They must want her camera. But why?
She could ask later. Right now, she broke through the wall of the jungle and needed to find Knox. Which way had he gone?
Amy glanced back.
A gun was to Lorna’s head. No! She had to go back or they would shoot her friend.
Reluctantly, Amy moved toward the jungle wall again.
“Don’t do it,” came Knox’s voice—a voice that was the equivalent of angel’s singing to her right now. “I know you want to run to her but they won’t shoot her.”
“How do you know?” she asked as he came into view. He’d been five feet from her and she hadn’t heard him make a sound.
“Trust me,” he said. “As long as you have that…” He pointed to her camera. “They won’t risk shooting anyone. If they do, there’s no reason for you to stick around.”
“Got it,” she said. It made sense even though her body still trembled from fear for Lorna.
Knox dealt in life and death during his career. He was volunteering to do it now. His experience must be the reason he was calm, whereas adrenaline thumped so loudly in her ears she feared it would give away their location.
“We have to move,” he said, taking her hand and linking their fingers. She realized he wasn’t using the machete, which meant they could encounter any manner of wildlife that could kill them just as easily as the men.
The link with Knox kept her pulse a notch below panic.
“Please,” Lorna yelled. “Help!”
“She doesn’t know any better,” Knox reassured. “They’re telling her what to do. Believe me when I say the minute they get your camera, they’re going to spray bullets.”
“Okay,” she said, putting all her faith in Knox. “What’s the plan?”
“Get you to safety,” Knox said. “And then I’ll go back for the others. I’ll try to figure out a way to isolate Lorna first and then I’ll go back for Donnie.”
“Won’t they kill him?” Amy asked.
“Not if I can help it.”
The thought of being tucked away while Knox did all the heavy lifting didn’t sit well with Amy. “Can I have your machete?”
He unstrapped it from his thigh and handed it over.
“Wish I had a gun,” she said. “But this will have to do.”
“Hide the camera,” he said.
“Where?”
“That’s for you to decide once I’m gone,” he said. “I don’t want to know the location so they can’t torture it out of me.”
“There’s no way that could happen,” she said.
“It might if they got hold of you.” Those words sent warmth flooding through her. But she couldn’t think about that right now.
Instead of speaking, she pushed up to her tiptoes and kissed him. Branding him as hers even if it wouldn’t last. Those thick lips covered hers. The air charged with electricity. Her body hummed with need. If only they could stay in this moment forever.
“Come back safe,” she said when they finally broke apart. “Because I have a serious question.”
Knox’s gaze dropped to the ground like he was guilty of something. Now, she had a couple of questions.
“Stay safe, Knox.”
“I’ll be back,” he promised before lifting the twin silver dollar necklace around his neck. “We’ve had someone watching over us these past few days. This might be out there but I believe he was the one who brought us back together.” He dropped the chain inside his shirt, keeping the necklace hidden before reaching for hers. He kissed the silver dollar and then placed it back inside her shirt. “I’ll be closer to your heart that way.”
More of that warmth enveloped her. The thought of Garrett keeping watch brought moisture to her eyes. All she could do was nod in response.
“Keep yourself hidden.”
She wouldn’t make that promise, so she let go of his hand. He took off like a jaguar, silent.
He was right about hiding the camera. She searched around for a good spot. Decided up was better than the jungle floor so she tangled the strap through a couple of vines and positioned it behind large leaves.
Being without her camera made her feel exposed, naked.
Amy heard the sound of a chopper overhead, breaking through the monkey calls. The cavalry?
By the time she broke through the jungle wall, everyone in the middle of the clearing broke into different directions. The pilot must have taken in the scene because he hovered instead of landing.
And fired back at one of the men in fatigues who’d sprayed bullets at him. The chopper went back up in the air and disappeared. She could hear it, though. It was close.
Lorna came blasting toward Amy. Donnie trailed behind.
“They’ll kill me now,” he said through gasps of air. “They’ll hunt me down and kill me for not delivering you to them.”
He shot an accusing look at Amy.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” she said.
“They’re government officials, Amy,” Donnie said. “You got video of them allowing a businessman to clear out areas that are supposed to be protected. This is big business and controversial. The government official will be tracked down and murdered for his greed.”
“We don’t have time for a fireside chat, asshole,” she said to Donnie. “If you want to stay alive, I suggest you stick close instead of trying to serve me up to the enemy.”
And with that, she grabbed hold of Lorna’s hand and reentered the last place she wanted to go back, inside the jungle wall.
Amy had to be safe.Knox refused to consider another possibility as he made his way toward his first target. The pair of men had broken up and he had the first one in his sights. A stroke of luck hit. Man One’s ankle tangled in a vine. He face-planted and tried to army crawl his way while shaking the leg in the vine’s grasp. Like barbed wire when stretched, the vine tightened its grip rather than give way.
Knox dove onto the man’s back. Considering Knox was significantly taller than Man One, and heavier, the wind knocked out of him. In the fall, Man One’s weapon had gone flying. Knox pinned Man One inside his thighs and squeezed. He forced him on his back and delivered a knockout punch.
Then, he searched Man One. Not before snapping a picture with the camera on his multi-functioning watch. He wouldn’t need to wait for facial recognition software to know Man One was the son of Luiz Favaro, president of Brazil.
Knox’s mind immediately snapped to the fact Amy must have gotten footage of the president’s son breaking the law. Deforestation made the most sense, considering it was one of the hottest topics and had global ramifications.
Junior Favaro had a roll of wire in his pocket. Knox used it to tie the man up as he came to. Then, he forced Junior to stand and walked him into the clearing.
The chopper had been circling. It landed as Knox scanned the perimeter for Man Two.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Hayes said as Knox dragged Junior over.
“Keep this one on ice for me, would you?” Knox asked his buddy. “I’m not quite done yet.”
Hayes saluted and then strapped Junior in a seat on the chopper, securing him. “Go get the bastard who shot at me, will you?”
“Consider it done,” Knox said.
As Knox got within five feet of the jungle, Man Two came out with his hands up in a move that felt like Christmas morning. It dawned on Knox that an underling wouldn’t leave the president’s son alone. He would be hanged and quartered.
Hayes jogged over. “I’ve got this one.”
He zipcuffed Man Two in a matter of a minute as Knox scoured the trees for any sign of Amy.
“I left her alone, man,” he said to Hayes.
Hayes put a hand on Knox’s shoulder. “She’s Garrett Hunt’s sister. She’ll find her way back.”
Heart pounding, pulse in his throat, he hoped like hell Hayes was right.
True to form, Amy came marching out of the forest wall with Lorna and Donnie trailing behind. Once she made eye contact with Knox, she started running.
Hayes mumbled something about giving the two of them a minute before leading Man Two to the chopper.
Knox met Amy halfway. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. The camera jabbed him in the chest.
He pulled back and took it off her neck, letting it hang from his shoulder. “I’ll take care of this now.” If anyone else came, they needed to come for him. “There’s something I need to tell you, Amy.”
His heart thundered in his chest now.
“Okay,” she said, studying him and realizing this was serious.
“It’s my fault Garrett’s dead,” he said.
“No, it’s not,” she countered.
“It is,” he said, figuring he might as well brace himself for the rejection that was sure to come. It was going to hurt like hell but he needed to rip the Band-Aid off. “I switched seats with him. It should have been me.”
She shook her head. “We were given a report, Knox. Garrett shouldn’t have been in that seat in the first place. Everyone shifted around, it wasn’t just you.”
“You got a report?” he asked.
“Well, yes,” she said. “My brother died that day. The government thought we deserved as many details as possible.” Her expression softened. “Oh, Knox. You really thought this was your fault all this time.”
He nodded as moisture gathered in his eyes. Tears of relief tried to spill.
“It wasn’t,” she reassured. “Not that it matters, but you couldn’t have known what was going to happen and we all know you would have traded your life for his if that was an option.”
He nodded as a lump formed in his throat.
“Is that why you didn’t come to the funeral?” she asked before feathering a kiss on his lips.
Again, words escaped him. He nodded.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “You have tried to be strong for everyone else for so long, but this is a burden no one person should have to carry. Ever. Garrett loved the bond between you two. Before you moved next door, he’d been acting out. He always told us that you’re the reason he changed.”
A tear slipped out. Knox coughed, trying to clear the emotion welling in his throat.
Instead of responding, he hauled her against his chest and held on for dear life as she whispered quiet reassurances.
“It’s my turn now,” she said when they’d stood there for what felt like forever but he still wasn’t quite ready to let go. “Knox Preston, I’ve loved you since I was too young to know what true love really is. You might not feel the same way but just in case there’s a small chance you could, I wanted you to know that I’m in love with you.” She blew out a breath. “There. I said it. Now, you know.”
“You’ve morphed from a bratty kid to an incredible woman,” he said as more of that relief flooded him. “Even when you were bratty, you were intelligent and funny. When I first saw you the other day, I didn’t recognize you. Because the little girl was gone and you were a stunning woman.”
She blinked up at him, a hint of a smile on her lips.
“I love you, Amy,” he said. “And I don’t want to live another minute without you in my life. How do you feel about moving to Yellowstone with me?”
She bit down on her bottom lip as excitement danced in her eyes.
“I can’t think of a better place to start fresh than Yellowstone with you, Knox.”
Those words were all it took for him to pick her up, ankle be damned, and kiss his future bride.
“And the crib you were talking about before,” she said when they finally broke apart to catch their breath. “I hope we have a boy because I’d like to call him Garrett.”
“Then, I’d like to get started as soon as you agree to marry me,” he said.
“Now that’s a plan,” she said with the biggest, most beautiful smile.
His Amy.