Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (27 page)

SEVEN

G
rant snacked on a handful of cashews while driving along the muddy dirt road toward the port where they planned to catch the ferry. He hated the uncertainty of what was ahead. The dark clouds were coming closer, hovering over the sea that had turned a dreary shade of gray beneath what was left of the morning sunlight. His mind churned over the details of their dilemma. With local officials looking for them, this situation had become far bigger than just a camp of insurgents needing a doctor. Which meant it was only a matter of time until they were found. He needed to get them off this island—even though getting to the mainland still didn't guarantee Maddie's safety. They were going to have to find a place to go where they could figure out what to do with the information she'd been handed.

Grant switched on his wipers as drops of rain began to splash onto the windshield. Two men, possibly more, had died over the information she'd been given. Which meant they were going to have to bring what Sam had discovered to light. And bring whoever was behind all of this to justice.

The narrow dirt road snaked in front of them, while green rice fields surrounded them on one side, the ocean on the other. Antonio's friends had managed to buy them some time, sending the men after them to the other side of the island. Now all they needed to do right now was make sure they got on that ferry.

Grant slowed down, to avoid a large rut in the road ahead, and then came to a stop. It wasn't just another rut. A huge section of the road was gone.

“Grant...what's wrong?” Maddie leaned forward between the two front seats.

“The road's washed away.”

“Washed away?”

Grant jumped out of the vehicle and walked toward the gully. The washed-out section spanned the length of the road as far as he could see in both directions. Going across the fifteen-foot gap in the road wasn't an option. Which meant the only way was around.

Antonio stepped out of the car behind Grant. “Talk about bad timing. I knew there'd been a lot of rain these past few days, but no one in town mentioned a washout.”

“Do you think we can go around?” Grant asked.

“I don't know. Driving toward the sea isn't an option. I think we're going to have to find a way through one of the rice field paths.”

“Grant?”

He turned back to where Maddie stood, the wind tugging at her long hair. She was depending on him to get her and Ana out of here alive.

“Let's get back in the car.” He tried to mask the concern in his voice as he headed back toward her and the car. Then he stopped beside her. “We're going to get you out of here, Maddie. Home by Christmas, remember?”

She nodded.

He squeezed her hand, wanting to assure her, but knowing he was making promises he wasn't sure he could keep. They needed to make it to that ferry, get off this island and make it to the capital, all without running into the wrong people.

And time was running out.

Back in the car, Grant found a narrow path that ran parallel to where the road had washed out that he hoped would eventually get them back to the main road. Bushes and shrubs scraped against the sides of the vehicle. He glanced back at Maddie, her fingers gripping the armrest. Her expression sober. Once he'd found out where they were holding her, his plan had seemed straightforward, though admittedly risky. A swift night rescue with a plane waiting in the wings. He'd counted on the element of surprise to tip things in his favor.

But so far, nothing had gone as planned. And not only had his rescue attempt gone wrong, his heart had somehow managed to get tangled up in the process as well. Maddie Gilbert. His best friend's little sister. He'd come to bring her home. Nothing more. But instead those brief smiles she'd given him, in the face of such danger no less, had managed to start chipping away at the wall around his heart—

He felt a sharp tug on the left side of the car. The suspension vibrated as Grant stepped on the brakes.
You've got to be kidding me, God...

He shifted the car into Neutral and pulled on the emergency break. “I think we've got a flat tire.”

“What?” Antonio said.

Maddie and Antonio jumped out of the car behind him. Sure enough...the back tire was flat.

Okay, I could really use some help here, God...

“This is crazy,” Maddie said.

“And we're not going anywhere, for the moment. I don't even know if this car has a jack, let alone if the spare tire has any air.”

Grant headed around the car to the passenger side and thankfully found the jack under the seat. “How much time do we have, Antonio?”

“Not enough time for something else to go wrong. They're going to leave as soon as they can off-load everything from the ferry. And with the storm coming in, they'll be in a hurry to get back to the mainland.”

“Need some help?” Maddie asked. “My stepfather taught me to change a tire before I got my license.”

“Yes, thanks,” Grant said.

“Better you than me, then,” Antonio said. “I might be able to deactivate a land mine, but I'll leave changing a tire to the experts.”

Maddie laughed. “If you'll find Ana a dry place to sit and see if she'll take some more of the rehydration drink.”

“Tell me about Antonio,” Maddie said a minute later while she worked to loosen the spare tire secured to the back hatch of the vehicle. “Where did you meet him?”

“Right here in Guinea-Bissau. He was one of the recruits I worked with when I was assigned here to teach how to clear land mines. He was—and still is—one of the best. He had a degree in Development Studies from the UK, so was well educated and already spoke English perfectly when we first met. We've become close friends over the years.”

“He's connected with Ana,” Maddie said, glancing where he'd found a place for her to sit and was now encouraging her to drink.

“I'm not surprised. He's always been great with kids. He and his wife have twin daughters of their own. They just turned four. But they've also taken in three older siblings, two nieces and a nephew whose parents died a few years back. He's a good man.” Grant crouched down beside the flat. “We're going to need something to stabilize the jack in this sand once I loosen these lug nuts.”

She stood next to him, hands on her hips, lips pursed. “Like what?”

“In ideal conditions I'd take a proper 3-ton jack on a flat surface, but we're not exactly looking at ideal conditions, are we?”

Maddie laughed. “Trust me, after living here these past few months and working in less than ideal conditions, I'm used to improvising. How about a floor mat?”

“I'll take about anything at this point. Let's give it a try.”

She opened up the passenger door, pulled out the mat and handed it to him. Then she slid the spare wheel under the chassis rails next to where he was going to jack up the car. “On the off chance that the jack decides not to cooperate.”

“Smart move,” he said, setting up the jack. “Is your stepdad still into cars the way he used to be?”

“Oh, yeah. He's got an old vintage Mustang from the '60s in the garage right now that I've helped him on some. It's a beauty, though I'm not sure he's ever going to finish. I've finally decided he likes the process as much as he likes the cars.”

Grant moved to loosen the last lug nut. It was stuck. “I knew that Darren had restored a couple classics, but I didn't remember you being interested in cars.”

“Darren had a passion for them, too. For me, I just enjoyed hanging out with my stepdad on my days off. And since that was what he loved to do, it wasn't hard to pick up a few tips along the way. Though to be honest, I'm perfectly happy to call AAA to take care of any problems back home.”

“If only that was an option out here,” he said, placing the wrench on the nut and using his full weight to loosen it.

The rain had stopped for the moment, but the wind was kicking up.

“Do you think we're going to make the ferry?” she asked.

“We'll have a better chance if I can get this last lug nut loose...”

“Why don't you try this,” she said, handing him a four-way wrench.

He tried to loosen it again with the wrench she'd given him. A second later, the lug nut was free. “You know, you're pretty handy to have around.”

Her fingers brushed against his as he handed the wrench back to her. He caught her gaze and felt another chip around his heart fall away.

“There's...um...a streak of dirt across your chin.” He reached up to wipe his thumb to brush it off, but only managed to smear it further. He shot her a grin. “Well, it looks like all I've done is make it worse.”

* * *

“Forget it.” Maddie felt her cheeks heat up at his touch and quickly pulled away. But she couldn't escape those blue eyes of his. “As thankful as I am for the clean set of clothes, first on my list when we get off this island is a hot shower.”

She quickly positioned herself in front of the side mirror and did her best to remove the streak of dirt. And to stop the irregular beating of her heart. She still wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to affect her so deeply. All she knew was that he did. And the timing couldn't be worse. She had enough to worry about without the man beside her making her feel like she was still that same young girl who'd had a crush on her older brother's best friend.

“Another few hours and this will all be behind us,” he said, “and I'll make sure you get your shower.”

“I'm counting on it.” She managed to rub off the rest of the dirt. Then she glanced back at him. Part of her was certain she'd stepped into the Twilight Zone. Because how else had an ordinary girl managed to get herself involved with an international drug trafficking ring? And in the middle of her crisis, how else could she have found a man who managed to make her heart feel completely vulnerable? But she had to remember, Grant had come to rescue her. To make good on a promise to her brother. Nothing more.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked, sliding the jack under the frame and turning the lift.

“Of course,” she said, pulling her thoughts back to the present.

“You've told me
how
you came to be here. But
what
made you chose to come here?”

Maddie hesitated. His question took her off guard. Maybe it was because she'd spent so much time over the past few days second-guessing if her decision to move here really had been the right one. The week before she left, her mother had sat her down and told her she was throwing her life away. Her fiancé, her job—everything she had going for her. And Maddie had understood why. It wasn't as much about Ben or her practice, but instead her mother had been afraid of losing her...like she had Darren.

But as much as she'd understood her mother's fears, she'd known it was a risk she needed to take. She'd lived her life doing what was expected of her, and she'd succeeded. But it had been time to veer off in a direction that was right for her.

She decided to put him off. “I'm not sure it's something I can begin to answer in the span of changing a tire.”

He removed the last lug nut and smiled up at her. “Try me.”

“Okay.” Maybe he was right. Maybe with everything that had happened the past few days, she needed to remember why she'd decided to come in the first place. “I heard this guy speak at a fund-raiser. He'd been working overseas and told a story about three women's experiences with complications during their pregnancies in a place that has one of the highest death rates in the world. And how a new center for pregnant women was saving lives by specializing in high-risk pregnancies. There they received nutritious food and medical supervision that helped detect potential life-threatening complications that were normally diagnosed too late. I sat there, knowing I wanted to be a part of it.”

She stopped for a moment as he pulled the flat tire off the rim, and helped switch it out with the spare. “I went home and realized that I'd been living out everyone else's expectations for me. But I was still torn, and I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my skills. I was working for a great practice doing something I loved. I was planning to marry this great guy. It wasn't as if I was unhappy, because I wasn't. But something was missing, and I wanted to find out what else was out there. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?”

Her mother had definitely thought so.

“Actually, not at all,” he said, lowering the jack.

“I decided I'd been living my life on the sidelines, taking the easy route. I wasn't living boldly,” Maddie continued. “You take risks every day, but I hadn't even stopped to take the time to think about what I really wanted in life. So I started praying that God would open up doors if He wanted me somewhere else. And He did.”

“And the location?” Grant asked.

“The place the man spoke about at the fund-raiser was Guinea-Bissau. Since I grew up speaking Portuguese with my mom, it seemed like the right place. Before I knew it I'd called off my engagement with Ben, officially signed up to come here and had bought my plane ticket.”

“Any regrets?”

“None, though I'm not sure my family would say the same thing. Especially with all that's happened the past few days. This was my mother's greatest fear. That I'd come here and something would happen to me.”

“She's stronger than you think.”

“I hope so. Because I saw her go through the loss of my brother. It tore her world in half. And I think made her hold me even tighter.”

“What about Ben?” Grant asked, tightening the lug nuts on the spare tire. “Are things over between you?”

She winced at the personal question. The hardest part had been knowing she'd hurt him. “I—”

“You know, forget I asked.” Grant looked up at her, frowning. “That's none of my business.”