He gazed at her speculatively. “Now, I wonder how that conversation came about?”
“Keep wondering. You shouldn’t expect me to confide everything to you about my life when you kept me worrying and waiting for hours yesterday before I finally got impatient enough to go after you to see if you were still alive.” She frowned. “And then you still didn’t tell me anything important about what you’d found there.”
“I was about to when you distracted me.”
“My fault?” She went back to the original subject. “Basics? What are you talking about?”
He gestured to the maze leading up to the cave opening. “What’s more basic than earth and shrubs that could lead through that waterfall and the cave behind it to a path that might take us to Shafira?”
Celine’s eyes widened with excitement. “You found it?”
“I found the beginning of a trail on the far side of the falls that appeared very well kept for a wilderness jungle area. The reason that I kept you waiting so long yesterday was that I had to first search the cave and then clear some of the brush from the trail and go a mile or so into it to see if I could find any signs that Caldwell or his men had used it.”
“And?”
He nodded. “I found both boot and sandal prints and a few ammunition shells coming down from the mountain toward the back entrance of the cave. They obviously used the trail to get Zakira’s soldiers and Caldwell’s men into position to attack Karimu.”
“Then we’ll be able to get to Zakira’s village,” Celine said. “We’ll be able to find Eve and Michael.”
He nodded curtly. “But it’s not going to be that fast or easy when a good many nasty possibilities go with it. Ambush. Booby traps, drones. Sharpshooters the closer we get to the village.” He paused. “And two hostages to threaten to kill if we make a move Caldwell doesn’t like.”
“I know all that,” Celine said impatiently. “I’m not stupid enough to hope for easy. But we’re closer than we were yesterday. You’ve probably already started to turn loose your most expert trackers on finding those booby traps and the best and safest way to negotiate the trail up the mountain without being seen.”
He nodded. “The minute I got back to camp yesterday. I’ve been getting hourly reports from them today.”
She grinned. “I thought so. Closer and closer. You did pretty damn well yesterday, Dominic. I suppose I have to forgive you for shutting me out of helping you make it even better. Now we only have to figure out the details.”
“I might have gotten a start on doing that as well yesterday,” Dominic said. “I told you I had to explore the cave before I thought about finding that trail. Actually, what I found in the cave led me to go look for that trail.” They had reached the interior of the cave after they’d made their way through the maze of brush and mist, and he was lighting the lantern he’d brought from the camp. “I believe you’d have found it worth your while, too.”
“If I’d been given the choice. I’d rather have been with you every step of the way. Rashid said you weren’t worried about attacks from any of the men Caldwell might have left to guard his back when he was attacking Karimu. Why weren’t you worried, dammit? All Rashid said was that you were very good at taking care of yourself.”
“Yes, I am. As I’ve been trying to convince you since we met at that Boston police station.” He took her hand and led her down the rocky pathway. “But you clearly don’t trust anyone but yourself. However, if you’re thinking that I was forced to dispose of Caldwell’s sentry myself yesterday, that wasn’t how it went down. Though I’d have been willing to do it if it had been necessary. But it seems that Caldwell didn’t trust his sentry or anyone else and decided to make sure that no one knew about the nice little stash he’d hidden away in this cave.” He was pulling her down a side passage toward a bankof boulders. He trained the light on a large brown leather chest and opened it. “Arms and explosives.” He moved down the line and lifted another lid. “Gold, probably from Zakira’s private hoard from the mines.” Farther down the path at another passage, he opened still another chest. “Jewels. These had to be special selections to decorate his temple and possibly the death mask that Eve is working on. He probably substituted phonies for these genuine stones. There’s a few more chests down the next passage, but you get the picture.”
She nodded. “Caldwell is robbing Zakira blind and probably preparing for a quick getaway as soon as he sees his way clear. Can we use it? There should be a way to turn Zakira against Caldwell.”
“I’m working on it.”
She was looking down at the jewels in the chest. She stiffened as she had a sudden thought. He wasn’t going to like this. “It shouldn’t be so difficult. You’re very clever. You even have the tool to do it.” She lifted her eyes to meet his. “We’ve discussed all this before. That’s why I came here, Dominic.” She added quietly, “I told you that it was the smartest way to use me. We just find a way to dangle me in front of Zakira or Caldwell and then set the trap. Bait.”
“Bullshit!” he said violently.
She shook her head. “Think about it. It would only be a matter of time until I’m brought before Zakira himself. Maybe insert a tracker in my arm or leg. Eve, that little boy Michael. Both have their lives on the line. I don’t think Joe Quinn would think I was talking bullshit.”
“To hell with what he’d think,” Dominic said through set teeth. “He’d probably trade anyone or anything right now ifhe thought it would save Eve and his kid. Any father would do the same. But he can keep his hands off you.” He reached out and grasped her shoulders. “We’ll find some other way to get them away from that damn village. Promise me that you’ll not mention that crazy idea to Quinn or anyone else.”
“I can’t do that.” She smiled crookedly. “Find me a better, safer way to get Eve and her son away from Zakira and Caldwell’s men, and I’ll jump at it. Frankly, the idea of playing into those monsters’ hands scares me to death. I have a hell of a lot of things I still want to do in my life. I said bait, not sacrifice. The entire plan would depend on how foolproof a trap you can set up. But you haven’t shown me anything better yet. And that means we have to leave everything on the table until you do.”
Dominic was cursing beneath his breath. “I’m close, dammit. I’ve stationed men on that maze that leads out of this cave and down into the next road up the mountain. We’ll find Shafira and Zakira and go after Caldwell as soon as we do.”
“But you haven’t really found anything yet?” Celine asked. “I was hoping when Rashid had mentioned that you didn’t have to worry about a sharpshooter any longer that Caldwell might have ordered Jossland to keep an eye on this waterfall and we might be rid of him.”
He shook his head. “Caldwell’s evidently promised you to him. Or to Zakira.” His grip dropped from her shoulders to her arm. “And I think you should see what he’s planning on letting Zakira do to you if you decide that you want to play Caldwell’s games.” He was suddenly pulling her down the path toward the back of the cave. “By all means, you need to know all the details of how our monsters operate.”
“I already know,” she said quietly. “You sat with me and held my hand after Jossland murdered Barnaby. I know you’re upset, but you’re not going to show me anything that would hurt or frighten me. We’re way past that. Though all this is too new for me to be certain where we’re heading, I know it would bother you far more than it would me, Dominic.”
He stopped short on the path. “Yes, it would. I’ve already seen that I’d lose that battle,” he said wearily. He turned around and jerked her into his arms. “But I still almost did it.” He buried her face in his chest. “Because I can’t stand the thought of letting you commit that kind of madness. I don’t want anyone touching you. Forget it. It won’t happen. Because I’ll watch you like a hawk.” He lifted her chin and brushed his lips across her cheek. “And now that we’ve settled that, do you want to go back to the camp and meet with Quinn so that we can tell him about the loot Caldwell has heisted from Zakira?”
“You could have told him on the phone last night. Why didn’t you?”
