Anonymity (10 page)

"He's head over heels with you, he'll listen." Savannah winked. "Lucky you. I'm a little jealous."

She had to concentrate so she didn't faint from shock. "Jealous?"

"He's the real deal and he only has eyes for you. You're lucky to have a guy like that. Don't let him slip through your fingers."

"He's one of kind, there's no doubt in my mind about that."

"Hold onto him."

She thought of Luke's earlier command not to let him go and shook her head. "You can't hold onto someone who wants to leave, that's j
ust how it is. I learned the hard way not get overly attached to someone else because they'll ultimately disappoint you. Whatever happens happens. That's life."

"You don't strike me as cynic." Savannah tilted her head and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "
Just because your ex was an ass doesn't mean all men are. By shutting out the possibility of love, you give the ex power. Why would you want to do that?"

She sighed and rested her chin on her knee. "I felt like such a fool, you know? I doubt anyone has ever cheated on someone like you but—"

"Don't do that." Savannah looked at her with sad eyes. "Heartbreak is universal."

"I'm sorry, I know.
I didn't mean anything by it." She stared at the heater. "Finding out that my ex cheated on me consistently for eight years makes it hard to trust, that's my problem. But you're right."

"Luke is different
. I work and hang out with men. Trust me. I know a good guy when I see one. Luke's the kind of man you want a ring from...kids...the whole sha-bang. Don't you want all of that?"

"
Whole sha-bang, huh? Luke and I are just having a good time. The arrangement we have works. It's ideal." She shook a stray curl from her eyes and sighed.

"You two certainly know how to fool everyone then. From where I'm sitting, you have
him in the palm of your hand...and vice versa." Savannah rubbed her hand over her eyes and let out a long sigh. "I really don't think we should stay here. I'm worried about my friends. We've traveled together for years, they're like family to me."

She touched Savannah's arm in sympathy. "Sounds to me like they're an adventurous
bunch. I'm sure they're fine. They're all probably together with Reggie, headed up river. Maybe we shouldn't stay here."

"We'll get dry and then think about it," Luke said from where he lounged by the door.

She wondered how long he'd been there. When he'd announced his enthusiasm over the indoor bathroom, she'd assumed he'd been otherwise occupied. He pushed away from the door, gaze locked on hers, sat behind her, pulled her between his legs, wrapped them both securely in the blanket, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm certainly happy that you're all warm and toasty." Bill slammed the door behind him. "I just killed a snake by the generator, had to stab it with a shovel. Where's my sheet?"

They all looked at each other and burst out laughing. What an entrance.

* * *

"So then we were all in Barbados when this one—" Bill pointed at Savannah—"decides to challenge the locals to a steel drum sound off competition."

"I played in the band in college." Savannah grinned with pride.

"She won." Bill and Savannah nodded at the same time. "I couldn't believe my eyes. She had the entire town square cheering for her. That was a good trip."

"Cozumel was pretty great, too."

Bill met her gaze, his grin slow. "They've all been fun."

Luke leaned back on the palms of his hands. Alyssa remained between his legs, her hands sometimes caressing his thighs while they listened to Bill and Savannah talk about their travels. Once again, he couldn't believe Savannah had no idea that a man loved her
.

Women were so clueless.

A comfortable silence fell between the four as they listened to the steady ting-ting of rain pelting the tin roof. Darkness had fallen outside while they dried. They'd all shared granola bars Luke had stashed in his backpack, drank some water, shared some stories, but now the question loomed in the air: go or stay?

"By now, someone must know that there's a problem
. The bus driver, for one. They do this trip a few times a week. He must know something is wrong," Alyssa said.

"Our clothes have dried, we could wear our ponchos, start walking again. I'm really concerned about the others in the group." Savannah stared at Alyssa as if communicating in secret female code.

"The storm isn't expected to let up for a few days," Bill said. "Eventually, we need to leave here. I don't know about you all, but I'd rather spend the night in my comfy bed at Ramon's."

He sighed and closed his eyes. If the others were walking, then they'd get to the bus and do what? How long would they wait? Would they assume the worst? There weren't a lot of options.

"I've got some cash, I'll leave it on the table before we go." He looked around the room. "They have a hatchet in the corner, a few flashlights in the cabinet. We'll take them, leave the money, hopefully, that will be okay."

Alyssa turned and looked at him, her face hidden in shadow. "So we're going?"

"I think we should go." Bill stood and reached for his clothes first. "We have the advantage of at least having dry underwear now. That dip in the river was nasty, wasn't it? We all reek like rotten fish."

Alyssa
grabbed his hand beneath the blanket, her gaze never leaving his face. He knew she was scared, so was he. Despite his apparent wild-man appearance, he was a city guy who wore suits to work and hiked well-worn trails on the weekends.

"It's going to be okay." He squeezed her fingers.

"Despite the lethal creatures?" She grinned.

"I've been called lethal a few times in my life." Okay, so he'd been called that
in a courtroom, but she didn't need to know the details.

They dressed in silence. The truth was he wanted to stay here until morning, hike in the daylight through rain instead of night, but he also wanted to catch up with everyone. Most likely they hadn't all been able to find shelter. There had only been twelve of them plus Reggie and his son. If he were the captain and tour guide, he'd be worried about four people who didn't show up, but wouldn't delay the rest from getting to safety.

They piled their sheets and blanket in a corner, wrote a note of thanks, turned off the heater and generator, and left some money for the items they took. Alyssa stood outside beneath the covered porch and rearranged the backpack beneath her poncho. Savannah and Bill spoke softly in the corner, obviously more upset than either had let on about their missing friends.

"When we get back to Ramon's, I think I'm going to need a shower before that tequila idea I had," he said to erase the fear in her eyes.

She looked at him from beneath the yellow hood and grinned. Curls had dried in wild disarray around her face, her headband long gone in the river. Eyes were heavy with exhaustion and concern, yet she tilted her head to the side and winked.

"A shower could be fun. We'll take turns scrubbing each other's backs."

"And fronts." He held out a pair of rubber bands he'd found next to the flashlights. "Put these around your ankles so a snake doesn't go up your pants."

Her mouth fell open in surprise before she burst out laughing. "You really suck at pep talks, babe. Geez. Do you realize how many nightmares I'm going to have
once we're out of here?"

"Take the rubber bands." He grinned and shoved them into her hands. He liked that she'd called him 'babe.'

Reluctantly, she grabbed them and did as instructed. Her hands shook and he knew she was terrified. So was he.

He looked into the absolute blackness surrounding the cabin and knew they needed to go before it got any later. "Let's head out."

He took the lead this time, hatchet in one hand and flashlight in the other. Alyssa held onto the back of his poncho, Savannah followed her, Bill took the back of the human train formation as they weaved over roots and ferns.

He never should have gone to the
Belize National Zoo with his family. That's where he'd learned all about native animals and vipers in the area. At the time, he'd had no idea he'd need that kind of knowledge.

Maybe it was true that too much knowledge was a bad thing. He swallowed his fear as he studied the water flow to make sure they were headed upstream. If they were out here, they needed to be headed in the right direction.

"Once we're back, I'm staying on the island. This is enough adventure to last me a lifetime," Alyssa said as they all stood by the riverbank.

"A spa is the only place you'll find me tomorrow. Come with me. We're going to need pampering," Savannah said, her voice quiet.

He looked back toward Bill, barely able to see the other man in the absolute darkness. That was the problem. With the pouring rain and black night, it was difficult to determine the water's flow.

"
To your right," Bill said as if sensing the dilemma.

Without answering, he turned and led his human train
away from their temporary shelter. Heart hammered in his chest. He used the hatchet to pull down vines that canopied the forest, hoping each time it wouldn't be a snake.

They all heard the night creatures moving around them. Snapping branches. Howls.

"I hope the monkeys are sleeping because I won't be responsible for my actions if I get a face full of shit after all this," Savannah muttered, causing Alyssa to laugh.

With every step, he felt the responsibility of the people holding onto him. They walked for what seemed like hours, heads down, swiping at vines, sliding in the mud, tripping over unseen branches, and hoping they'd see that rickety old school bus.

Every muscle he had—and a few he hadn't known existed—screamed in pain at the exertion.

When Savannah went down screaming, he stopped cold.

"It bit me. It's there. Don't move, Alyssa. It bit me."

He slowly turned and
saw Alyssa's wide eyes as she froze like a statue. Behind her Savannah squirmed on the ground while Bill used his flashlight to scan the area around her.

"What the hell bit you?" Bill asked, crouching next to her.

"It's here, don't move." She held her leg, face twisted in pain. "Oh, my God! It hurts! It burns!"

Bill rolled up her pants and moaned
at the blood flow. Snake bite, a seriously large one with fang marks and blood flowing down to her ankle and soaking her shoe.

"Did something
really bite her?" Alyssa asked him without turning around. "Can I move? Is it gone?"

He used his flashlight to search the ground and surrounding branches. Without finding the snake, they'd have no idea how serious the situation was. He shook his head at the thought. They were in the middle of the fucking
jungle and something venomous had taken a good chunk out Savannah's calf muscle, had bitten through the material of her pants.

"Fuck," he said, wiping rain from his eyes. "I don't have a first aid kit or anything useful, do you guys?"

Bill met his gaze, obviously freaked out, and shook his head 'no'.

"I do. I have something." Alyssa wiggled beneath the poncho and pulled out her backpack. Crouching down, she fumbled inside before tossing out a travel-size first aid kit.

"I can work with that." He handed her the flashlight. "Keep shining the light around, watching for this snake. I don't want it sneaking up on me."

Alyssa's eyes were still wide as she nodded. "Watch for snake. Got it."

"At the zoo, they said not to make a tourniquets if bit, but to wrap a bandage a few inches above the wound to slow the spread of poison," he muttered more to himself than to the others.

"The zoo?" Bill asked, his flashlight beam darting between the ground, the trees, and the vines.

"My nephew, Barron, asked a lot of questions at the reptile exhibit a few days ago. He's four." He wiped a cloth over Savannah's leg, although any attempts at drying her skin in this torrential rain were worthless.

"Thank God for Barron and his curiosity." Alyssa stood over him and Savannah and stretched her poncho over their heads like an umbrella. "Does this help?"

"Yeah, it does." He grinned up at her, appreciating that she'd kept her cool.

"Would everyone shut the fuck up?" Savannah writhed on the ground, gritting her teeth, and squinting through the downpour.

Alyssa crouched down again and pulled four airplane sized rum bottles from her backpack. "Here. I forgot I had these. I think we could all use a drink about now, especially Savannah."

"She can have mine
for the pain," Bill said, his face pale and serious.

He handed two of the bottles to Savannah who gladly took them.

"Thanks, Alyssa. It really hurts. Sorry to be a bitch."

Alyssa nodded, drinking her own bottle as she kept the flashlight trained on the vines above them.

Leg bandaged and as dry as he could make it, he stood and blinked toward the trail. "She can't exert herself. We'll have to carry her out."