Healing Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (18 page)

Marc agreed, then asked, “What happens when they get back?”

Jack took on that question. “We’ll get them to family and they’ll be interviewed by CIA, FBI, and DEA for a while.” He added, “I’ve been in contact with Cam’s family also. They don’t know where he is but that he’s on a mission undercover. I told them that I’ll let them know as soon as I hear something.”

Bart added, “Jack, I’ve gotten tight with Cam and his family. If you need me to deal with them while you deal with Miriam’s family, just let me know.”

Jack nodded, grateful for the offer. Glancing around the table, he discovered that his dream had come true. A group of like-minded individuals, each with their own special skills honed from their various military and agency backgrounds, coming together to take care of what was handed to them.

Sucking in a deep breath, he said, “Okay, Marc. Hang tight and as soon as Cam gets to the Gulf, we’ll get you the coordinates.”

On track with that mission, they turned their attention back to the rest of their business.

*

Several times during
the day, Cam had Miriam lay flat in the canoe when they were paddling past villages. People were beginning to go about their normal activities and he could see men and women at the edge of the river, getting water, washing clothes, or working in the fields. When the trees lined the river banks, she could be up but as soon as they passed an area that appeared to be populated, he forced her down.

The first time, while immediately obeying, she asked why.

“Cartel probably has put out feelers for anyone seeing a large man and women traveling together.”

“Do you think they put us together? I mean, it’s not like we were ever together before,” she asked, lying in the bottom of the canoe staring up at him as he paddled.

Glancing down as he paddled, he could not help but notice her stretched out on her back, her head almost at his feet and looking up at him. Her dark brown eyes were moving over his body and he hoped she liked what she saw. He knew he did.

“We were too close together and both new to the area. No way they won’t put two and two together and figure that I got to you.”

He heard her sigh deeply and wanted to take the worry from her. “Tell me more about yourself,” he said.

She giggled and asked, “Why? You buying more kisses?”

“Maybe,” he joked. Then added, “But maybe hoping I don’t have to buy them anymore.”

He held his breath for a second, wondering how she would take that. He did not have to wait long. Her smile lit her face and she said, “You don’t have to buy them at all.”

He grinned down at her and then said, “Well, all right. So tell me more. Tell me about being a nurse.”

“Well, there’s really not much to tell. I always liked taking care of people and it’s the only profession I wanted to do. I work in a hospital but have to admit that last summer I had the chance to help with Jobe’s mother-in-law who had a stroke and really liked that.”

“Mackenna’s mom?”

“Oh, that’s right. I keep forgetting that you met Mackenna. Yeah, her mom had a stroke and by the time I met her she only needed a little care, but I loved that chance to really connect with a patient. So often at the hospital, even though I treat every patient as important, they’re usually in and out so quickly that I have no chance to bond with them.”

“So do you think you’ll stay at the hospital?”

“I’m sure not going to go overseas with the Red Cross anymore!” she exclaimed. She heard him chuckle and then sobering, she added, “But that kind of sucks also.”

“How so, babe?”

Rolling over to her side so that she was still hidden in the bottom of the canoe but could lean her head on her hand while propped up on her elbow, she focused on his face. “I had such high hopes for this trip, Cam. My parents were totally against it and I thought Jobe was going to have a fit. I wanted to do something special. Go somewhere different. Challenge myself.” Sighing deeply, she said, “But my plans all went to hell.”

Cam glanced around and said, “You can sit back up,
cariña
.”

“My great adventure turned into a great disaster. I could have been killed, or raped, or tortured, or—”

“Stop,” he ordered. “Stop right there.” He maneuvered the canoe over to the side of the river, where he could pull it in under the low hanging branches of a tree. Tying it off there, he scooted to the center of the craft and sat close to her.

“Don’t go there,” he warned. “First of all, none of this is your fault. That blame lies squarely on the asshole drug cartel that kidnapped you. You did nothing to bring this on yourself. Second of all, you were a valuable commodity and none of those things were going to happen.”

“I saw,” she whispered, her eyes large and filling with tears.

His brow wrinkled in question as he took in her ravaged expression. “Saw what, babe? What did you see?”

Licking her lips nervously she looked out over the water, her mouth opening and closing several times without speaking, trying to find the words to describe the horror.

“Dr. Villogas took me to a village to help when a building collapsed. On the way back, there was um…it was…I…” she could not get the words out, but a tear ran down her cheek.

Moving gently so as not to tip the canoe, Cam grabbed her hands and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around hers.

“There were bodies on the side of the road. I’d seen bodies before,” she said, looking up at his face. “When we first came to Los Mochis there were bodies piled up from the earthquake. But these were…cut up.” Her face grew even paler as her eyes closed as though to force the image from her mind.

He had seen a similar sight and knew what she was trying to tell him.
Fuck! She’s seen the cartel’s way of dealing with those who break ranks—using hatchets to get their point across.

“Oh, baby girl. No one should have to see that, especially not you. I’m so fuckin’ sorry. If only I’d gotten to you sooner!” he bit out.

“It’s not your fault,” she exclaimed, cupping his square jaw with her hand, feeling the three day old stubble underneath her fingers. “It’s just like you told me. The fault is theirs.”

“I’d have given anything to have kept that from you, Miriam,” his ragged voice said.

Dragging in a breath, she nodded. Just then, they the heard the sound of a helicopter in the distance. Her eyes brightened as she jerked around, still in his arms.

“Your friend! He must have found a way to get to us,” she exclaimed, starting to push back from his embrace.

“No!” he growled. Grabbing the oar, he pushed them back further into the river’s embankment, deeper under the overhang of the trees. Seeing her wide eyed expression at his outburst, he explained, “Don’t know who it is, but we don’t want to be seen by anyone.”

“You think they’re after us? Just like you were afraid of?”

“It could be a private chopper carrying someone important since roads may be washed out. Could be someone from the government checking out the earthquake and storm damage. Could be any number of people doing any number of things.”

She sat quietly as the sound became louder as the helicopter traveled directly over the center of the river and then passed them by. Waiting until it was long out of sight, she looked back up and asked, “But it could have been someone looking for us, couldn’t it?”

Cam hesitated, not wanting to cause her any more stress, but he refused to lie to her. Ever. “Yeah, they could have been looking for us.”

He watched the range of emotions play across her face. Sadness. Fear. Anger.
Fuck, she’d better not ever play poker, ’cause her face tells it all.
Then, fascinated, he watched as the final expression settled on her beautiful face. Determination.

Pushing to a seated position once more, she stated, “Well then, we’d better get a move on and get the hell out of here so that your friend can pick us up.”

Meeting her gaze, he could not help but smile. “
Mujer de acero, babe.
You got a will of steel.”

*

Finally, by the
end of the long day, they could see the shoreline covered with sand instead of mud and the thick trees along the edge thinned out leaving more scrub brush. They had thankfully made it to the inlet near the gulf and had not been bothered by anymore flyovers, nor had they had to pass any more villages. The evening shadows exposed large coral reefs and what appeared to be huge outcroppings of rock formations along the beach front.

“This is perfect for hiding,” Cam said, pushing the canoe to the beach. Turning to assist Miriam, he reached out to pluck her from the craft instead of just offering her his hand. Knowing they had been in the canoe for longer hours today, he assumed that she had sea-legs and did not want her to fall.
Hell, who am I kidding? I just want to fuckin’ hold her!

She did not mind and laughed as he twirled her around in the sand. She gazed into his face, his white smile stark against his tan skin, as his dark eyes met hers. Closing her eyes against the intensity of his stare as she grew dizzy from twirling, she could almost imagine being on a beach vacation with Cam. Not in the middle of a drug cartel’s zone and running for their lives.

Her eyes popped back open as reality slammed back into her, but all she could see was his face. His dark eyes still staring at hers. His strong arms still holding her tight.

“Where’d you go, baby?” he asked softly. “For a few seconds you were a million miles away.”

“I…um…”

Giving her a little squeeze, he gently ordered, “The truth.”

“Is this part of the
do what I say when I say it
speech to keep me safe?” she quipped.

Squeezing her again, he smirked replying, “Nope. This is me wanting to make sure you’re all right and wanting to know what’s going through your mind so that I know what I need to do to take care of you.”

Blushing, she admitted, “It was a nice thought, actually.” His stare implied that he expected more. Huffing, she said, “Okay, fine. I was thinking that I could almost pretend that this was a gorgeous beach and you and I were on vacation. Not running for our lives.”

His smile was her reward and she was blinded with its intensity. Embarrassed, she tucked her face into his neck and felt his chuckle rumble from deep inside of him. He gave her a squeeze again, but did not set her down on the sand. Instead he kept her enveloped in his tight embrace.

“Can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing,
cariña
, than be on a vacation with you.”

She pulled her head back in surprise and saw nothing but sincerity in his face. She watched as his handsome face came closer just before his lips latched onto hers.

The kiss was deep. Wet. Intense. He slipped his tongue inside her warmth, exploring the recesses of her mouth, tangling with her tongue as well. The world fell away, their cares and worries with it, lost in their connection.

He reluctantly moved his lips away from hers, his cock swelling painfully in his cargoes. Scanning her face, he saw her eyes still hooded with desire, lips swollen with his kiss.

Slowly letting her slide down the length of his body, he steadied her with his large hands on her shoulders before letting them slide down to her waist. Leaning down to kiss her forehead, he said, “Come on babe. Let’s get the canoe hidden and find a place where we can be under cover.”

After dragging the boat to a small rock outcropping, they explored their private beach. The water was brilliant blue in the inlet and they walked around the beach until they were at the ocean side of the little peninsula. There, the waves were higher but the water was just as clear.

“Cam?”

“Right here,” he answered, holding her hand as they walked.

“How will your friend get here?” she asked, looking up into his face, squinting in the bright sun.

Up until now, he kept her informed about what was happening only to the level she needed to know. “You worried?” he asked.

“Yeah. I mean, no. I…oh, I don’t know.”

“The plan is that tomorrow morning he’ll have a sea plane. The group I work for will have the exact location for us through the tracking chip that’s embedded in me.”

Nodding, she looked around at the beautiful landscape. “It’s gorgeous here, isn’t it? This is the Mexico you see in travel brochures.”