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He turned away from her. “I can’t. What we need to do is get more sleep. The bear is gone and we still have a few more hours until daylight.”
She walked over to the glowing embers and sat down. “Listen, we both know it would be better if I went after Emerich on my own. He won't hurt me. I don’t even want to guess what he will do to you if he finds us. The best move would be to split up. You go back toward Kyle until you’re able to use the phone again, and I’ll continue looking for Emerich’s compound.”
He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you.” He held up a hand when she started to protest. “I understand he doesn't want to hurt you because he wants to turn you. He wants you back in his clutches.”
“And you're worried that he could succeed? Your being there wouldn’t make a difference.”
“The question is, can he?” His fear was evident in his voice.
“Absolutely not.” Her eyes widened. “That man killed my father and he tried to kill Genie. I will never forget that. He has no more influence over me.”
He took her hand in his. “I believe you, and I trust you.”
“Thank you. That means more to me than I care to admit.” The softness in her eyes moved him.
He smiled. “All right. Well, that was six helicopters which means he has a much bigger operation here than we were expecting. We could either go back and get more help and reinforcements or we can continue and try to sneak in and see what we can find out. Whatever we choose, we need to do it together. No splitting up, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I hate to admit it, but I don’t think we'll be able to rescue Marcie or Debi with just the two of us. Not with a compound that big.”
She nodded. “I understand. The important thing is we can’t get caught.”
“No, we can’t.”
“I say we sleep until dawn and then go in, see what we can learn. The compound can’t be far.”
“I agree.” He held his arms open, and she snuggled against his chest. He wanted to tell her their kiss could never be repeated, but he didn’t want to spoil the tentative truce they’d just formed. He closed his eyes, enjoying holding her in his arms one last time and then fell fast asleep.
Chapter15
Don’t worry, Marcie. I’m coming.
Becca’s eyes flew open to a faint light coming in through the opening of the cave. It was morning, and they’d survived the night. The cave floor was cold and hard. She sat up, slowly moving her arms and legs, stretching the stiffness out of her limbs as she got to her feet.
Cameron started to stir. She opened up a can of Vienna sausages and quickly ate them, then threw a can to Cameron as he got to his feet.
He stared down at the sausages and grimaced. “Thanks.”
She grinned. “Breakfast of champions.”
They gathered up their trash and walked toward the cave’s opening when a sound reached them from below. Cameron turned and put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. They crept closer to the entrance and peered down below.
Becca half expected to see the grizzly return, but it wasn't the bear. Two men carrying AK-15s on their backs and wearing camo were walking along the far side of the riverbank.
Cameron gestured toward the back of the cave and they quickly moved away from the opening. He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Emerich’s compound must be close. I think we should follow them. Are you up for it?”
She nodded and they quietly made their way out of the cave and down the side of the mountain and across the river to the trail, then followed behind the two men.
Thinking they were alone, the two men walked on, talking about a couple of girls they met in town.
Cameron pointed toward the trees, telling her to keep an eye out for cameras. It didn't take long before they were outside a very large windowless building shaped like a pentagon. Another helicopter flew in overhead. They ducked down under the branches of the tree and watched as it flew into the center of the pentagon and landed.
There was no way from their vantage point to see who was on the helicopter and how many guards could be inside the building. Cameron took her hand and led her deeper into the forest, away from the compound. He took out his SAT phone and tried once more to call Kyle, but just shook his head. “Emerich is definitely blocking the signal.”
“Do you think he knows we’re here?” She didn’t want to think about the possibility but needed to.
He shook his head. “There’s no way to tell. If I could, I would call Dana and see if she could access any satellite footage that will tell us what's inside this building and how many guards there are. But we’re on our own.”
