Uma was quiet.
Julian grabbed his cell phone and dialed Kendrick’s number. Uma hadn’t told him anything that helped clear his name. If he gave her up to the cops, Julian was certain she’d clear any suspicion surrounding Mena. The person he really needed to find was Adam Russell.
“What are you doing?” Uma asked, panic creeping in her voice.
“If that’s all you have to tell me, then I’m calling the cops to let them know where you are—”
“No. Don’t call them. There’s a second payoff I’m supposed to make. I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do to get it. Adam communicates with them, not me. Once they’ve done what he’s asked them, he’s going to text me with a location to meet them with the cash.”
“No chance that’s happening now that they’ve confessed to the cops.”
“That’s not what Adam told me. He texted this morning to confirm that he’d still need my help to deliver the second payment,” Uma insisted.
“How are you communicating with Adam?”
“I have a small generator that I use to keep my phone charged,” Uma said.
“And what happens if you don’t make the second money drop?”
“Priscilla will kill Adam. If he dies, then I’m next. I can’t lose him. So, nothing will stop me from delivering the cash once I hear from Adam.”
“Where is he now? I need to talk to him,” Julian said.
Uma scoffed. “I won’t let you hurt Adam just to get Priscilla off your back. If it comes down to his life or yours, I have to make sure I protect my man.”
Julian reached behind him, lifting the Beretta from his waistband, and pointed it in Uma’s face. “You think I won’t shoot a woman?”
“I know you won’t,” Uma said, flinging the blanket at Julian.
He scrambled off the edge of the bed, batting the cloth away. Uma extended her arm toward him. Julian ducked as a stream of mist landed across his face.
Fuck! Pepper spray. The mist blazed through his nose, sending him into a spasm of coughs as he struggled to breathe. Julian stumbled down to one knee as Uma leapt over him and raced out the back entrance of the house.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Julian was off his game.
Rattled. Unfocused. Mistake prone.
Uma never should have got the jump on him.
Quick reflexes saved his eyes from the onslaught of the pepper spray. His lungs still burned from the mist. Deep coughs racked his body as he stumbled out the back door of the house.
Up ahead, Uma ran through the jungle. The dark night sky transitioned to a hazy purple as Julian burst forward. Single dirt roads and clusters of jungle separated the ragged homes of the Tango Lowlands.
Uma moved fast. But not fast enough. Making it to another house was risky for Uma. There was no guarantee the recluses that lived among the closed off community would open their doors to help her. The one shot she had to get away from him was the black sand beach. A rowboat was moored along a dock when Julian had approached on the catamaran. If she got to it before he caught her, she might row faster than he could swim. Maybe.
The humid jungle air soothed his passageways as he sprinted across the yard, taking a circular arc through the trees. The pale-yellow nightgown Uma wore almost glowed against the dark backdrop of the jungle foliage, making her easy to see. Not only would she not be able to see him, Uma wasn’t even trying to look back to gauge his position. She was taking the most direct route from her house to the beach. The same one he’d taken to get to her.
Julian zigzagged between the towering, lush fruit trees and palm fronds, closing the gap between him and Uma. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. Her speed slowing as her energy waned. Stumbling, Uma tripped and plunged head first into a mud puddle on the trail. A soft muffled cry escaped her mouth. Pushing up from the ground, Uma swiped at the dirt covering her face as she struggled to crawl to a stand.
Slowing his speed, Julian approached her from the left. Uma was barely jogging, head cast down as she walked gingerly over the tangled brush of the jungle floor. He stalked behind her, following the sounds of her whimpers as he grew nearer to her. Where would Uma go once she reached the beach? Could she lead him to Adam Russell? Or would she circle around aimlessly, hoping to lose him before returning to her home in the heart of the Tango Lowlands? Julian pondered his options. Even with Uma believing that she and Adam were in love, Julian doubted that Russell told her the details of what Dumay had planned for him and Mena. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Uma had some information he needed. Something that could help him dismantle Dumay’s attack on him.
Darting across the jungle brush, Julian clamped a hand on Uma’s arm, yanking her backward. Arm gripped around her waist, he lifted her from the ground as she squealed and kicked against him.
“Let me go!” Uma said, jerking in his grasp.
“Tell me where Adam is, and I’ll leave you alone.”
