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It made his chest ache just to look at her.
She looked up then, into the mirror and met his eyes. Their gazes locked. Fused, almost, it seemed. He wouldn’t be surprised to see the car fill with steam just from the look they were sharing. Then her gaze went tender, bringing up a slew of emotions that he let himself have for a short period of time. She was worth it. When she looked away, he focused on the road ahead of them.
The outskirts ofEncontradoscame into view. Castillo drove steadily until they could see the water in the distance. It was a pretty little town, not surprising as tourists came from all over for the bird watching and the spectacular lightning at the mouth of the river. He scrutinized everyone they passed, but there weren't any men in uniform that he could detect. He spent a few uncomfortable minutes thinking about Maria, Hugo, and those babies. Most likely, Ramos was there now. He wouldn’t have wasted a moment getting toEl Vigiato get his hands on Jack again.
Castillo pulled into a parking lot that advertised boats for rent. “This is where you can get a motorboat to go down the river. Good luck, Easy.” The doc nodded to Jack. “Take care, young lady.”
“Thank you, Dr. Castillo, for everything you’ve done for us.” He nodded. They closed the doors, and he drove off in a cloud of dust.
Easy turned to look down the river, an endless smoky blue ribbon, the darkening sky dulling the water into rippling shadows. On the shores of the Catatumbo, the jungle loomed. It was a rule unto itself, and anyone who ventured into that thick green played by its rules. Easy had always thought of the jungle as an adversary, not an ecosystem. It was as if the world was still forming there, ever-changing, metamorphosing, and yet always primitive. Something with a mind and eyes and a dark, shadowed soul.
Next to him, Jack shivered, and she zipped up the hoodie. He slipped his arm around her.
Deliberately keeping his thoughts focused on what he had to do, rather than thinking about what would happen once this was over, Easy started for the boats, putting his head down against the slow drizzle as he walked onto the dock. He didn’t want to acknowledge the sick feeling churning in his belly, or the fear that was fighting to surface. His training told him not to focus on what could go wrong but to follow his plan. There was only one edict. Keep Jack safe.
So, the jungle could go fuck itself. Ramos could go fuck himself. He was going to get Jack out of here, in one piece, so she could continue her self-discovery and find who she wanted to be without all this danger and sexual intensity distracting her. Here he could be the solution to the problem.
Yeah, the jungle was desolate, full of secrets, and so fucking dangerous. But all predators had better beware, four-legged and two-legged alike. Easy made his own rules, and if they didn’t like it, he would shove it down their throats.
* * *
Shark stoodin front of Maria while Ramos shouted at her. One of his men had Sofia and she was screaming.
“Ramos. She doesn’t know anything!” He strode over to the child and took her out of the other man’s arms, cupping the back of her head and soothing her until he deposited her back with Maria. “We’re wasting time. There’s no sign they were ever here. They could be getting away while we’re fucking off.”
Ramos seemed to get a hold of his shit, and Shark looked at Juan, who nodded with a relieved look on his face.
“You’re right. She doesn’t know anything. This was a dead end, fucking Falk.” He gestured to his guys and said, “Vamanos.” It was a good thing Ramos backed down, because Shark was about to end him. He wasn’t going to stand by while he hurt women and children. The fucker would have gotten a bullet between the eyes and all the shit would have hit the fan.
Everyone left the townhouse and Ramos paced in the street while people looked on with fear. “They came here for a reason.” He looked to the west, his eyes narrowing. “They’re going to get extracted in the park.” He got on his phone, and Shark swore under his breath. “I need a drone and two more choppers.” He headed for the troop truck. “Scan the river. I want them found!”
* * *
Jack satin the bow of the motorboat as it chugged down the river. Something big and speckled slipped into the water. She stiffened, fear rippling down her spine. “How big did you say caimans get?” She watched the mass move under the water, small waves spreading. Like the waves of pain and humiliation she’d experienced when Easy told her that Mitchum, Kyle, and Ray had set her up, deliberately sending her to Caracas so she could be legally kidnapped for a crime she hadn’t committed. They’d thrown her like a juicy bone to that dog Ramos. Tears stung, and she was humiliated beyond her imagination. A deep-seated anger settled in her. After all that she had done for that company, this is how they treated her.
“Roughly sixteen to twenty feet,” Easy said, navigating the motorboat from the rental dock to the center of the river.
She inhaled sharply, her gaze moving rapidly over the water, her senses jumping. “Come on over here, beast, if you dare,” she growled. “I need a new pair of shoes.” After her betrayal, she felt she could wrestle a crock and win.
Easy chuckled and pulled out the knife he’d retrieved from Garcia. He handed it to her. “Stash it in your pocket. You know, in case you have to fight a caiman.”
“That’s so not funny, Easy,” she said, giving him a dirty look.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I thought it would make you feel more secure.”
The tenderness in his voice affected her deeply. Of course, that’s the way a commando would show affection.Here’s a knife, babe. It’s nice and sharp.It touched something in her, releasing some of that pain from her calculated and vicious betrayal. True emotion had been so absent from her life, her work. Jack hungered for it and Easy had fed it so spectacularly, showing her a different path. She vowed when she got home, she wouldn’t squander the second chance he was giving her to not only honor his sacrifices in protecting her, but to finish the journey she’d started from the moment she’d realized why she’d hung onto those Choos.
“You know what would make me more secure?”
“No. What?” he asked, his gaze clear and razor-sharp.
“Being on a chopper out of here and looking down onto this river, knowing I don’t have to turn into Tarzan and wrestle any crocodiles. That would be peachy.”
“All in good time. We’re almost home free.” As if he could feel the tension in the air, and he probably could, he asked, “You doing all right, Jack?”
“You mean because the company I’ve worked for going on six years tried to kill me,” she said, a hollowness in her tone that made him look at her. “The company that I made millions for, one I worked my ass off for with no social life, barely any sleep, and hardly saw my loft. The one that I tortured my heart and soul over because I thought I was a failure because I couldn’t get ahead. I starved to stay thin. I’m still ten pounds overweight.”
“Where, Jack? All I see are beautiful curves.”
