Luc counted twenty-nine guards climbing into the choppers. Most of Tran’s contingent had left with him. As soon as the helicopters lifted away, Luc called Travis and reported the same. Plus a bonus.
“The woman is still here. I just saw her look out an upstairs window.”
Relief deepened Travis’s voice. “Stay put. My team will be there in twenty minutes. I’ll contact you when we’re in place.”
Minh Tran had been gone only a few minutes when Luc heard the bark of a guard dog. He grimaced, hoping the dog hadn’t picked up his scent. Luc had been told the dogs roamed free only at night, which allowed Tran’s kitchen staff to harvest vegetables from the gardens and hang laundry.
But it made sense that if Tran had taken most of his guards with him, he might have ordered the dogs left out as an extra precaution.
Except now the dog was growling and snapping, clearly on to something. Had Travis arrived early? Luc shifted to the back of the shed and peered out another window.
“No!”
Maddy, the woman they were here to rescue, straddled the top of the fence about fifteen feet away. The huge dog had grabbed her foot. Off balance, she nearly fell toward the dog. Then she overcorrected and fell in the opposite direction. That couldn’t be good for a pregnant woman.
Immediately she jumped up and ran into the jungle.
A second dog raced toward the other, both howling. Sounding an alarm. Guards would come out any second.
Luc grabbed a can of gasoline and emptied it, then fished out a lighter and struck it. He darted out of the shed, along the side away from the dogs, and slipped out the fence. He paused long enough to
shove the fence back in place and weave a stick into the wire so the dogs couldn’t follow.
Already smoke poured from the shed. Luc hoped the guards would think the dogs had been stirred up by the fire, buying him and the woman time.
Staying low, Luc tore out after the woman, checking his watch as he ran. Travis wouldn’t be there for another ten minutes. Luc needed to call him!
He now paralleled Maddy, could hear her labored breathing. But before he could call her name, she fell.
Luc leaped over a downed tree to get to her. He covered her mouth to keep her from screaming as he helped her up.
Maddy turned toward him, feinting left while delivering a solid roundhouse kick. She’d obviously had some training but still Luc sidestepped her next move.
“I’m Luc Skihawtra. Travis sent me to help you!”
Maddy shook her head as if she hadn’t heard him. “Travis sent you?” She held her side as if in pain.
“Yes.” Luc straightened and pressed a finger to his lips as a new noise caught his attention. “The dogs are loose. We must get away, fast! Can you run?”
Maddy nodded. “Go. I’ll follow.”
“No! You first. That way.” Luc pointed to her left. “Twenty yards. There is a small river. We can use it to throw them off our scent.”
Maddy charged forward as the sounds of yelping dogs grew louder.
“They’re coming!” she called over her shoulder.
“Just keep going!” Luc had his phone out and pressed buttons as he ran.
The phone rang three times and went to voice
mail. Travis had told him to call another number, but there wasn’t time.
He left a message. “I have the woman. She escaped, but they are after us. We are headed northwest of the compound, toward the Si Nan River.”
A growl was all the warning Luc got as a dog lunged for Maddy.
“Go!” Luc threw himself in front of the dog.
The dog twisted away but leaped again, going straight for his throat. Luc caught the dog midair, grabbing him by the jaw and ears before breaking the dog’s neck.
There were shouts ordering them to stop. More barks grew closer as the dogs outraced their handler. Clearly the guards had emptied the kennels.
Luc headed after Maddy. She had reached the river but stopped, looking uncertain.
“You can swim?” he asked.
She nodded, then doubled over as she held her abdomen.
Luc saw blood on her thighs. Not good. But to stay meant worse from the dogs. The beasts were trained to kill.
“Let’s go before they catch us.” Maddy waded into the water.
“Float,” Luc hissed. “The current will carry us without much noise.”
He crossed the river and ran up the side of the opposite bank, making a few footprints before diving back into the water. He hoped the guards would think they’d crossed to the other side.
Luc quickly caught up with Maddy and moved beside her. Behind them, the barking grew frantic as the dogs reached the riverbank. He signaled
for her to remain quiet as they continued to float farther away.
Maddy continued to clutch her abdomen, clearly in pain. Luc realized she had likely suffered a miscarriage. His phone was ruined now, leaving him no way to reach help.
Had Travis gotten his message in time to redirect? Or was he back at Tran’s preparing to invade?
“We’ll get out soon,” Luc told her. “Before the river goes underground. We should be well ahead of them.”
“Thank you for helping me.”
Luc shrugged. “I’m not sure you needed help. I watched you climb that fence.”
“Where is Travis?” Her voice cracked.
“I’m not sure,” Luc answered. “I was waiting for him when I saw the dog attack you. And I’m sure I’ve ruined my phone.”
The river widened and Luc steered her toward the bank. “Easy. It’s a steep climb.”
Once they were free of the river, he noticed she’d lost her shoes.
“You won’t make it far in bare feet.” Luc knelt down in front of her. “Climb on my back.”
“I’m bleeding,” Maddy protested.
“I know. Another reason not to walk.”
Luc felt her hands grip his shoulder. He stood as soon as she leaned into him. She didn’t weigh much and she was shivering violently.
She was in even greater danger now from loss of blood and the chill from wet clothes. Which in turn would make her even more vulnerable to infection from the dog bite and the scratches on her feet. He’d seen people succumb in frighteningly short times to jungle diseases.
That Travis Franks had entrusted her well-being to Luc had him hurrying his steps.
He headed south. “I have a small motorbike hidden off the road, not too far from here.”
“Won’t it make us too visible?”
“Perhaps. But it will be faster. And if we stay in the jungle, you will die.”
Mexican Jungle
October 6, 9:30 A.M.
Harry hated jungles. He smacked a mosquito but got only a moment’s respite before two more flew in to bite his flesh.
They had been hiking for four hours, stopping frequently since they had no water, no food.
To her credit, Gena hadn’t complained. Of course, to look at her, you’d think she was walking on air, thanks to her rediscovered love.
Harry had kept an ear pressed to their door and heard every word of their heart-to-heart last night. To listen to them compare notes and piece together the fact they’d both been manipulated was almost comical. And still they didn’t have it right. Didn’t have a clue why Harry had been determined to come between them. Jesus H. Christ! Did he need to hire a skywriter to spell it out?
Gena getting facts wrong was understandable.
Harry had planned it that way. The drugs he’d given her had helped, but she’d also been a willing participant, drinking herself into oblivion.
Rocco, however, had no such excuse; he should know damn well why Harry hated him. More likely, Rocco wasn’t telling Gena the whole story on purpose after hearing her reaction to the fictitious Brandy. Why bring up yet another woman and risk Gena’s wrath?
“We should be getting close,” Harry called out. “Unless I’ve totally screwed up my landmarks.”
“So far you’ve nailed them, Clay,” Rocco said. “Next time I decide to tour the jungle, I want you on my team.”
Harry smiled.
Let’s see if you still feel that way when we find the highway.
Harry had lied about his cell phone not working. Once the storm system moved out of the area, the satellite chip in his phone had picked up a weak signal. It had been just enough for a text to Edguardo.
Fortunately, Edguardo was still in Acapulco. It had taken a few hours, but finally Edguardo had located the El Brisa ruins on a map. He had texted directions to the closest road, which had still been a long hike because of the terrain.
Harry could tell he’d impressed Rocco after he pretended to recognize the area in daylight.
Harry had been surprised to learn they were only sixty miles from Acapulco. And the last time Harry took a leak and checked for text messages, Edguardo had confirmed his ETA. He should already be in the area.
Harry signaled to Rocco, then pointed to the
unpaved road at the bottom of a steep hill. “There it is. With luck, we’ll meet up with someone before nightfall.”
“Preferably not drug runners,” Rocco said. “Just kidding, sweetheart,” he added for Gena’s benefit.
“Maybe we’ll meet only nice drug runners,” she replied.
“Watch your step going down here,” Harry warned as he started along the path.
“See the way Clay anchors his feet? Do like that,” Rocco said. “And watch your center of balance.”
At the bottom of the trail, Harry scrambled onto the road but saw no sign of Edguardo.
Gena came up behind him and paused to catch her breath. “It still seems pretty rural.”
“This is an old logging road,” Harry said. “Which in this area is the equivalent of the Autobahn. Once you leave the big cities, you don’t see much concrete or asphalt.”
Rocco held up a hand. “You hear that? Headed our way.”
Harry turned just as a vehicle came into view. Or rather, the vehicle’s dust plume. “Looks like a van. And it’s hauling ass.”
Stepping out, Harry waved his arms. The vehicle slowed, then rolled to a stop.
“Let’s hope they speak English,” Harry said.
“Probably not, but I’m fluent in Spanish,” Gena said.
The two men in the front seat looked at them expectantly.
“Explain that we’ve been lost since our plane went down,” Rocco said to her. “Ask if they can give us a lift to the closest town. Or anywhere we can find a telephone.”
“
Por favor.
” Gena began translating.
After a minute she turned back to Rocco and Harry. “They said we can try their cell phone, but they don’t think we’ll get a signal here. The driver said he can give us a ride to a mining office about ten kilometers away.”
The man in the passenger seat handed Gena an ancient-looking cell phone as he climbed out.
She passed the phone to Rocco. “He said they have bottled water in the back.”
“I’ll help him.” Harry followed the man to the back of the van.
Edguardo sat cross-legged on a blanket next to a cooler. He held out guns for Harry and the other man. Harry nodded in approval and then stuck his head around the van.
“Hey, Gena, come grab a couple of these.”
When she came around the back of the vehicle, Harry grabbed her by the arm and pointed his gun at her. Before she could react, he pulled her back toward Rocco. The other man flanked Harry.
“What the hell?” Rocco dropped the phone. “What are you doing, Clay?”
The driver pulled a handgun as well.
“Three against two,” Harry said.
And they don’t know about Edguardo.
“So listen up. I’m not out to hurt either one of you.”
“Fine,” Rocco said. “Let her go and deal with me.”
“Shut up and listen,” Harry snapped. “Because her life will depend on it. I represent someone who is interested in the formula for SugarCane. I realize Minh Tran has made the same demand, but from what I’ve been told, Tran doesn’t have adequate leverage. You get the formula for me and
your wife
goes free.”
“You’re suffering from the same delusion as Tran,” Rocco began. “I wish I knew who had Rufin.”
Harry sneered. “I happen to know you took Dr. Rufin off the deck of Jengho’s
Jaded Lady
in Bangkok harbor. Now here’s the deal. You get Rufin to cough up the formula and then take out a personal ad in the
Washington Post.
‘To Gena’ with a contact number. You have thirty-six hours. No tricks.”
“Thirty-six hours? From here?”
“There’s a mining office down the road.” Harry began backing up, tugging Gena along.
“No!” she said. “I won’t go.”
“You will. Watch.” At Harry’s nod, the other man pointed his gun at Rocco. Gena stopped struggling. “That’s better,” Harry said.
He pulled Gena around to the back of the van and shoved her into Edguardo’s open arms. She started to scream but Edguardo quickly silenced her.
“You hurt her and I’ll kill you!” Rocco shouted.
“I’ll look forward to it.” Harry tossed him a bottle of water, then climbed in the backseat. “Stay hydrated. Thirty-six hours.”
The driver spun away, spraying Rocco with dust and gravel.
“How are you two doing back there?” Harry leaned over the seat and looked at Gena.
Edguardo had her pulled across his lap. She struggled and he released her. But she didn’t go far, trapped between Harry and Edguardo.
“I don’t think she’s happy to see me.” Edguardo pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “Let’s make certain that you don’t get any bright ideas about running off again.” He lunged for her.
Gena kicked Edguardo, catching him off guard and landing a blow to his testicles.
“Bitch!” Edguardo quickly overpowered her and pinned her wrists in one hand. He slapped her repeatedly, while cursing at her in Spanish.
That Gena continued to fight back amazed Harry. He’d slapped Gena around plenty, but she’d been so pathetic, so willing to suffer that it had grown boring.
Watching her fight Edguardo made Harry wonder if this woman was the same one he’d been married to all those years ago.
Four Years Earlier
Arlington, VA
The showdown at Melita’s had been brutally disappointing. Stupid Gena had let him down again.
Harry sat on the sofa and watched her crawl—
crawl
—across the floor.