“That’s a good sign. Just rest for now. We’re going to be moving again in a few hours, so you need to save your strength.”
“What’s the plan?” she asked. “Clearly, the airplane plan didn’t work out.”
“No,” he admitted. “You missed all the excitement. Some of Guillermo’s goons found us and followed us to the airstrip. We tried to lose them by going off-road, but we didn’t gain enough distance. They blew up the plane and took out half the runway, so we’ve had to improvise.”
“Any idea what’s next?”
“Not yet. Steel and Demon were talking with their team back home to come up with something. When they got back a short while ago, I let them go to sleep so they could get some rest. Based on their expressions, I couldn’t tell how they felt about whatever options they came up with.”
“Probably going to have to make a run for the border by vehicle. Guillermo will have people everywhere by now—the airports, the ports, the bus and train stations.”
“They’ll figure it out,” he assured her.
She made a noncommittal noise. There was silence for a while. When she spoke again, her voice sounded like she was on the edge of sleep. “I wouldn’t have had a chance of making it on my own. Thank you for coming for me, Triumph.”
He liked the sound of his nickname on her lips rather than his code letter. And while she didn’t need to thank him for helping her, the more she spoke, the more he got to experiencethat sexy rasp he’d always enjoyed over the airwaves, which sounded even better when she was there, right next to him.
Inappropriate as it was, his brain conjured more images like the ones from his dream the night before. Glennon, wearing nothing but moonlight, sprawled across his bed. He imagined the rasp turning to a purr of contentment as he explored every inch of her with his hands and mouth, then flipping her over onto her stomach and repeating the exploration on the backside of her.
His voice grew husky as he responded, “I think you would have. It would have been more difficult, but you’ve made it this far under tense circumstances. I think you could do anything.”
In the moonlight shining through the window, he saw the ghost of a smile on her lips, her eyes closed. “It’s nice that you think so.” With that, she drifted back into sleep.
He wished it were as easy for him. Instead, he spent most of the night listening to her breathing, still a little fearful she’d suddenly stop in the middle of the night with no warning. He knew it was ridiculous, but some part of him felt that if he didn’t watch her every second, she’d just slip quietly into the ether. Like Tilly could have. Probably would have.
Jesus, he really needed to stop comparing the two, but he couldn’t. He could tell himself until he was a hundred years old that they were two different women, two completely different situations, but it didn’t seem to matter. His brain wouldn’t stop steamrolling to the same conclusion—he couldn’t let that happen to her. Not while there was life left in his body.
Just before dawn, Steel woke up and began breaking down his sleeping space.
With a light tap to Demon’s shoulder, he woke the other man. Triumph marveled at his inherent ability to sleep anywhere, through anything, and literally fall asleep within seconds. Tripolicould do it, born out of his military training, but Demon wasn’t former military.
After a quick stretch, Demon appeared to be completely awake, and he came over to check on Glennon’s stitches. “She sleep okay?”
“Think so. Fever’s gone. She woke up briefly, shortly after you guys came back from your huddle. She was lucid and said the pain was much better. Drifted off to sleep not much later. What are we heading into?”
“For now, we’re headed into Chile. Midas heard some chatter that he’s got the word out on us to his allies there, but they’re spread even thinner than he is in Argentina. We’re hoping you can find us a port to get out of there. Our people are scrambling to find us another jet, but airways are the tightest in terms of being watched, and we’re not sure it’s worth the risk of trying. We may end up having to go the long route.”
“You mean going cross-country by vehicle?”
“Yes. Not optimal, but it keeps us moving forward. Farther north we get, like Central American or into international waters, the Colonels have no influence there.”
“But there’s always the possibility that one of the local cartels there could sell us out for a deal with the Colonels.”
“Right. Nothing’s for sure, and nothing’s ever easy.”
Triumph thought about the plan to go cross-country. “If we’re going to drive it, what’s the plan for the Darién Gap?”
The Darién Gap was a stretch of land that had no roads. He didn’t know much, but he did know it was not somewhere they wanted to end up. Sixty miles of pure jungle, and probably one of the most dangerous places left in the world. Traversing it would not be as simple as crossing to the other side. It hosted primitive paths, but also dangerous wildlife, and even more dangerous drug runners. Every day, hundreds of South Americans enteredin the hopes of finding safe passage to Central America and eventually the United States.
Fewer walked out than walked in. That was the rule, not the exception.
Demon grimaced. “We haven’t discussed that yet, and frankly, we’re hoping to avoid it altogether. Hate that feckin’ place.”
“You’ve been there before?”
“Twice, looking for a friend of ours. Hopefully, by the time we get there, we’ll have a better plan. If we can’t find a port or airway in Chile, we’ll continue up the coast of Peru, through Ecuador, and head into Colombia. Tripoli’s friend has an option for us at that point to get out from Turbo by boat.”
“Let’s hope something pans out because I don’t think Glennon’s up for jungle trekking.”
