Healing Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (14 page)

He knew the dangers of the swift current and canoeing in a storm, but the dangers of being caught by the cartel…he liked his odds on the river a whole helluva lot better. Glancing down, he saw they had taken on about an inch of water.

Miriam noticed it also and wondered if she should try to bend over and splash the water out with her hands, then quickly dismissed the thought.
If he needs to me to do something, he’ll tell me.
She also did not fancy her chances of not rocking the canoe if she tried to get the water out.

Losing all sense of time, she had no idea how long they had been going. Not only was the rushing water carrying them along, but when the distant lightening flashed across the sky she saw the trees on the side of the river rush by as well.

Fear threatened to choke her, held back only by the hope that they were getting away. To what and to where, she did not know.
But just away.

*

Two hours later,
in the wee hours of the morning, Cam steered the canoe closer to the edge where he saw a small opening in the tree line. Jumping out into the waist deep water, he trudged slowly toward the shoreline dragging the canoe behind him. By the time he pulled the front half up on the muddy edge, Miriam was already scrambling forward.

“Hang on, babe,” he ordered as he tied off the craft. Then he reached back and plucked her up into his arms and carried her bride-style until they were under the large-leaf trees. The storm was still in effect, but the rain had diminished. Placing her down on a large, flat rock he sat back on his haunches, peering through the darkness at her face.

“How you holdin’ up?” he asked gently.

“Good. I’m good,” she quickly replied.

Too quickly,
he thought. At this close proximity, he could see her hair, naturally thick and wavy, plastered to her head. The navy scrub top she was wearing was soaked and molded to her chest like a second skin. The bottom of her pants were covered in mud and equally as soaked. Droplets of water slid down from her hair onto her cheeks before continuing their path to drip off of her chin.

Instinctively he reached out, cupping her face, using his thumb to wipe the drops. She leaned slightly into his palm and he felt her trust.
Beautiful. So goddamn beautiful.
His mind jumped back to the first time he saw her—or rather, her picture. The vision in the photograph struck him. Now he knew that the camera had been unable to even begin to capture what he saw in front of him. Strength, along with beauty. Character, along with compassion.

Heaving a deep sigh, he felt her eyes on him as she lifted her head away from his hand.

“Are we okay?” she asked, the timidity evident in her words.

“We made it this far, sweetheart,” he replied. “Won’t lie. We’ve got a long way to go. I’m gonna try to get hold of my contact and see if we can get picked up somewhere once it’s daylight. I’m not keen on trying the river much longer.”

“Can’t we take it all the way to the coast, if we need to?”

Avoiding her gaze for a moment, he looked back knowing he needed to be straight with her. “Not all the way. There’s a significant waterfall and we can’t ride that out.”

He could see the wheels turning in her mind and jumped in, wanting to alleviate her worry. “We’re gonna rest and have a bite to eat and then get back into the canoe, once I make contact. If I’m figuring right, we should be able to go another hour on the water and then ditch it as soon as he can tell me where there’s a farm or field he can land on.”

She nodded, then silently turned, grabbing her bag. Reaching in, she pulled out a pack of crackers. “I didn’t have much food in the room, but we would take some when we could in case we needed a snack in the infirmary.”

Taking the offered crackers, he smiled. “Appreciate it,” he said before ripping open the package.

Shoving the crackers into their mouths, while hunkered over to keep them from getting wet, they finished their quick snack. Miriam stepped a little ways into the woods to take care of her business while Cam made the call.

“Marc? Got no fuckin’ clue where we are, man. We made it out and into the river. Looks like we were in it about two hours, but with the current faster because of the storm, you’re gonna have to get Luke to tell you our location.”

“I’m on it already, but gotta let you know that we’re gonna have to have a slight change in plans. The storm is larger than anticipated. It’s been upgraded to a tropical storm that’s hitting the Gulf of California. The good news is that you two can stay hidden for a while ’cause it’s taking out a lot of the communication, roads, everything. Western Mexico is almost shut down for the next day. Bad news is that I can’t get a plane in and the fields where I could have landed are now mud or washed out.”

Cam pondered this news for a moment, deciding to focus on the good. “All right, then here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re getting back into the canoe and continuing on in the river until it gets too hairy. Know there’s falls up ahead and I’ll get us out before then. I’ll call you when we’re back on land. We’ll get somewhere so that we can hide and rest and then probably travel by land for a bit.”

“Don’t make too many long range plans yet. I’ll get the Saints on the case and get back to you.”

There was a momentary pause and then Marc asked, “How’s she holding up?”

“Man, you wouldn’t believe it. Total trooper. Abso-fuckin’-lutely, total trooper.”

“Good to hear. Stay safe and I’ll let you know what our new rendezvous will be.”

The two disconnected as Miriam was approaching. Her eyes sought his, filled with questions. She appeared lost, the fatigue showing on her face and in the slump of her shoulders.

He stood, reaching out his hand to her. Pulling her in close, he tentatively gave her a hug, having no idea if she was receptive. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. He figured she was about five feet five or six inches, but that still put her a foot shorter than he was. And with her head nestled against his chest, he rested his head on top of hers. Tightening his arms around her slim body, he rocked her gently.

And in the middle of this fucked up situation, he felt his heart pound. Kissing the top of her head he whispered, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll get us out of this.”

He felt her head nod against his chest and then heard her whisper, “I know, Cam. I trust you.”

For a few minutes they stood, no more words spoken, each drawing strength from the other. Finally pulling back, he said, “We gotta get going again, babe. Can you do that for me?”

Leaning her head way back to make eye contact, she gave him a small smile. “Sure. I can do that. Just lead the way.”

They re-entered the water the same way they had earlier. This time Miriam felt more relaxed, having become used to the movement of the canoe. Cam steered it so expertly that even at the pace they were moving, she trusted his control.

Two hours later, the sun was attempting to rise in spite of the clouds and continued rain. The only real difference to Miriam was that now she could see the rain as it pelted down and the trees along the sides of the river. The lightening had stopped and the pain of the rain hitting her arms was not as stinging as it had been. But the long night had taken its toll on her.

Looking over, Cam saw the utter weariness that exuded from her and knew it was time to take another break. Guiding the canoe to the edge again, he jumped into the water, walking it to shore. He repeated his earlier actions, tying it to a tree and then carrying her to a place underneath the leaves of a thick copse of trees to provide as much of an umbrella as he could. He wished it were more, but it was the best he could do.

Walking back, he pulled the canoe completely up on to shore and hid it among the brush as well, just in case anyone else was crazy enough to be out on the water in this weather.

Bone tired himself, he crawled back to where he left Miriam. In the early morning light she resembled a wet kitten. Her tired eyes peered up at his and much to his surprise, she gifted him with a little smile as she lifted her hand to him.

Taking the unspoken invitation, he sat next to her wrapping his huge arms around her, pulling her in close. “Let’s get comfortable,” he said, sliding down until he was laying on the soft leaves.

She watched him as he got situated and without hesitation she lay down next to him, her head on his chest and her arm resting on his waist. She felt him hug her body tightly and wondered how she would ever be able to sleep…on the ground…in the rain…on a man she barely knew.

Then she fell asleep. And so did he.

C
am woke, his
mind instantly alert to his surroundings. The rain was increasing in intensity again and he could hear it hitting the leaves overhead. He looked down at the woman he was protectively laying half across, his arms cradling her back and head, one leg pressed between hers, and her face tucked safely tucked in his chest.
Fuck, I must have rolled over her during the night.
She must be crushed.

Then another thought slammed into him. Sleeping with her warm curves beneath him, his morning wood was pressed tightly against her abdomen. He slowly moved his tree-trunk thigh from between her legs, but halted suddenly when her eyes jerked wide open. For the first time he was close enough to notice that her brown eyes were flecked with amber and even a tint of green around the edges. And they were staring straight at him.

Pulling his leg the rest of the way off of her, he rolled to the side, careful to keep his groin from touching her.

Miriam blinked a couple of times, her mind instantly remembering where they were…and who the large man was lying on top of her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to crush you, but I wanted to try to keep the rain from hitting you directly if possible.”

Blushing, she sat up attempting to stretch the cramped muscles screaming at her. “It’s okay,” she smiled. “I didn’t think there would be any way I would have been able to sleep so you must have done something right.”

Placing her hand on his arm as he sat up as well, she asked, “Were you able to sleep?”

He looked down at her face, pale skin with dark circles underneath her eyes, and nodded. “Yeah. Looks like we got a few hours of sleep.”

He pushed himself off of the ground and stretched his large frame. Her eyes drifted over the muscular body from his handsome face, thick neck, wide chest down to his…
Oh, my God!
The evidence of his erection was pressing against his cargo pants and she immediately jerked her head to the side.
I must be insane. We’re far from safe and all I can do is ogle his body!
She dropped her head into her hands and then slicked the wet hair back from her face as she stood up as well. Looking down at herself, she almost giggled.

He turned a questioning gaze to her as a small snort escaped her lips. She peeked up at him, her blush returning and just gave a small shrug.

“You’d think that in our circumstances, how I look would be the last thing on my mind,” she explained. “But I’m standing here soaking wet, covered in mud and leaves, and while we may not be free yet, we’re a lot closer to being rescued…and all I can think about is how I’d love a hot bath!” Shaking her head, she muttered, “I know, stupid right?”

He placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her in gently until her face rested against his chest once more. “Sweetheart, you are one amazing woman and don’t you ever doubt that.” Pushing her back slightly, holding her gaze, he continued, “You’ve done everything I’ve asked and under the worst of circumstances. You’ve held it together, kept up with me, and not fallen apart one time. Not one fuckin’ time.”

With the rain starting to fall harder once more, she finally felt her chin quiver as she battled back the tears. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

He slammed her back against his chest again, his large hand cradling the back of her head. “I know, baby girl. But swear to God, we’re gonna get out of here.”

Allowing him to hold her, she let her mind escape for just a minute.
Back at home, him holding me like this as we are dancing. By a warm fireplace. To music that… Stop! He’s my rescuer, that’s all. A man like him would never be interested in someone like me. He looks like he would go for the tall, big, blonde with lots of attitude kind of woman.

Sighing, she pushed back from his arms and the moment was gone. Bending down, she snagged her bag, opening it up to grab another pack of crackers. Handing them to him without looking at him, she waited until he took them and then she turned and walked away. “I’ll be back,” she mumbled as she pushed her way through more underbrush to take care of business.

Cam stood watching her back as she retreated into the woods. Taking his soaking ballcap off of his head, he wiped the water out of his eyes once more.
What the hell just happened? Once minute she’s all soft and warm in my arms like we are out dancing somewhere and the next she’s pushing to get away from me.
Shaking his head as he munched the crackers, he thought,
No way I’m her kind of guy. She’s used to the men with business suits or the doctors at the hospital. Not some man built like a tank, that’s sweaty, dirty, and has seen the underbelly of the world.