Secret Guardian (7 page)

Oh, how she missed the cool water. The sun was barely up and she was, once again, drenched in
sweat. She’d tied her long hair up in a braid and was thankful she’d found a small rubber band in the bottom of her bag to tie it back with.

Ethan looked like he could use another shower. She could see sweat rolling down his back. His shirt was soaking wet between his shoulder blades.

She’d lost her footing several times, and he’d been there to grab her and hold her steady.

She knew she was taking a big chance in being with him. After all, what did she really know about Ethan Knight? She thought she’d known Nathan Cruz, but apparently the arrogance had all been a show.

She knew what she’d heard from her father and her brother. Blake had called him GI Joe and he had told her in great detail how he’d rushed in and rescued him from the bad men.

Her father had mentioned his long-standing record with the military and said he was the best man for the job to save Blake. Her father had hired Ethan’s crew to watch Blake for a few months after the incident. Her father told her that he’d actually only met Ethan once, on the day he had delivered Blake to him in Austin. Since then it had been other members of his team that had done private security when he’d needed them.

Her father had been even more impressed that Ethan had come along on the short journey from Dallas back to Austin with the eight-year-old, rather than trust law officials to deliver him safe and sound.

Her mind turned and she wondered if he’d actually slept with any of the girls that had hung on his arms in Rio. After witnessing the power of what had happened back at the waterfall, she got the impression that it had been a while for him. For herself it had been well over six months since she’d broken things off with Scott, whom she’d dated for three months. Knowing how much she’d wanted him and how sexually pent up she’d been, she estimated by his reaction that it had been about that long since he’d enjoyed himself as well.

At least this all made perfectly good sense to her as she trudged through the jungle at a high rate of speed.

“So,” she said when the ground leveled and she felt like she could breathe again, “tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from?”

He looked over at her, and she could have sworn she saw humor in his eyes. “So now you get to the personal questions. Don’t you have it a little backwards, Princess?”

She smiled. “I guess I do. Usually I like to meet a man’s parents before I take them to a waterfall and let them…”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he interrupted her and chuckled. “I’m from a small town in Washington state. Both my parents are alive and well and I’m sure would be tickled to meet you. I have a half sister who—.” He broke off as he chopped a large vine that had been blocking their path with his machete. “…who was stolen as a baby. She found us almost four years ago. She’s married and living in Portland with a two-year-old daughter, Rose, who is the greatest love of my life.” He motioned for her to follow him down another steep incline and he stopped talking while he helped her. When she had jumped the short distance to the ground, he continued. “I went into the Special Forces right out of high school. Actually, they came searching for me. I guess I’d placed high in the college exams.” He tapped his head. “I have a wonderful memory, and they were looking for people like me. When they got a look at me, they put me through all sorts of special training, and I guess I just fell into my job. I worked in special ops for a while until I felt it was time to retire, then I went into business for myself. Nothing more to tell. Kind of boring if you ask me.” He smiled back at her.

“Boring? You call what you do boring?” She shook her head. “My father told me a little about you after you brought Blake back to us, and I wouldn’t describe your life as boring.”

He shrugged his shoulders and kept walking. “So, tell me about yourself.”

“Oh please, you can’t fool me. You probably knew all about me before you even met me. You probably knew what color underwear I was wearing the day we met.” She smiled as he stopped and turned around to face her. His forehead was creased and he looked like he was thinking about something.

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to hear it from you. Hearing the personal details is far better than studying someone on paper.” He started to turn around, but looked back over his shoulder. “And they were hot pink.” He smiled and started walking again.

She thought about it and figured he was probably right. “Okay, what do you want to know? I assume you know where I went to college, where I got my first job, and who I have dated over the course of my entire life.”

He chuckled. “Tell me why you chose journalism.”

She thought about it for a minute. “When I was a girl, I used to watch the evening news with my father. Since he was always such a busy man, it was really the only time we had to spend together. I always loved the anchor woman’s hair and outfits and could picture myself dressed up, telling the interesting stories I was hearing. I dressed up as an anchorwoman for Halloween every year until I was thirteen.” He chuckled.

“I can totally see that,” he said causing her to smile.

“Actually, it was one of the only careers my father ever truly gave his full blessing for. My other career choices weren’t so notable.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Really? What other choices did you have in mind?”

“She smiled and walked past him. “Well, in high school I decided I wanted to be a flight attendant or a stripper.” He pulled her arm until she stopped and looked at him. “Well, I’d spent the night at a friend’s house and we’d watched Flashdance. The movie made it look so glamorous, I’d rushed home to my father and told him that I had found what I wanted to do with my life.” She chuckled. “He banned me from ever seeing that friend again.

He smiled and pushed aside a strand of her hair that had been pulled from her braid.

“Well, if you ever want to change careers, you can always try your routines out on me first.” She punched his shoulder playfully.

Then she walked ahead of him into a clearing and stopped dead in her tracks. There, in the middle of the jungle, stood five large men with machine guns.

E
than pulled her back into the brush quickly and didn’t wait to see if they’d been spotted as they took off running back the way they’d come. When they’d made it twenty yards he chanced a glance over his shoulder and saw several heads bobbing in the trees, heading their way. Damn!

He grabbed her arm and they made a sharp turn, cutting to the right down a path he knew was dangerous. He didn’t think they had any choice.

He didn’t know if the men where the one’s looking for them. Hell, they could have stumbled on a drug deal or something else. All he knew was they couldn’t chance stopping and asking them what they wanted.

“Sorry, Princess. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. He grabbed her and flung himself off the cliff, trying to take the brunt of the impact himself.

The rains the night before helped their muddy journey down the slippery ravine. As they slid down the steep hill, Ethan grunted every time his back connected with a sharp stick or rock. Ann squealed and held onto his shoulders.

“Quiet!” He tried to get her to stop screaming. If they played their cards right, the men would just assume they’d been lost in the forest and wouldn’t think they were dumb enough to slide down a two-hundred-foot cliff on their backs.

Finally, he could feel his momentum slowing and felt a little relieved. He chanced a look ahead of them and almost screamed himself. There in front of him was a great drop off. He let go of Ann with one hand and reached for anything to stop their speed.

Damn! They were heading for the edge and he had no clue what was at the bottom. “Grab hold of something,” he grunted.

She began to frantically grab hold of tiny twigs and branches as they flew by their heads. Finally, about ten feet from the edge, he grabbed a hold of a large vine and felt himself slowing. When the vine ripped out of the ground from their weight, he dug his hand into the ground as Ann held onto his waist. Mud coated his back and legs and he even felt some down his pants.

Finally, they came to a slow stop less than two feet from the rocky edge. They lay there, holding each other, breathing heavily. He rested his head back in the mud and looked up through the thick leaves to the blue sky above, thanking God they had stopped.

He heard shouting and pushed himself up, pulling her with him. He rushed to the edge and looked over and was happy to see a deep river about twenty feet below them.

“
We aren’t done with the ride yet, Princess. Make sure to cross your feet when you land.” He grabbed her hand and when she nodded, they both jumped as far as they could into the open air.

He’d ridden plenty of water slides as a kid, and he’d had his share of solo jumps out of airplanes, but nothing prepared him for the drop into the unknown, especially since Ann’s hand was still in his.

They must have hit the water at thirty miles per hour. The wind was knocked from his lungs and Ann’s hand was ripped from his.

He fought to control his limbs and then
realized that his heavy backpack was weighing him down. Using his legs, he easily broke through the surface of the water and looked around for Ann. When he couldn’t find her, he thought about her heavy backpack. Ducking under the rushing water, he searched for her.

The turbulent water was muddy and he could barely make out his own hand in front of his face. Removing his heavy bag, he kicked under the surface again and this time felt around with his hands and feet. When he kicked something with his boot, he reached down and grabbed a handful of hair and quickly pulled her up. She grabbed for his hand and he rushed them to the top.

When they broke the surface, Ann began to spit up water and cough. They were being pushed down river by the quickly flowing water. He put his arm under her shoulders and kicked towards the left embankment. They were picking up too much speed and the river had widened, and when he tried kicking again, it felt like the shore was getting farther away.

“Ethan?” Ann noticed that the water was getting faster, no doubt from all the rain last night.

“I know, I know. Help me kick towards shore. Come on.” They started kicking together and had made it almost to the shore when he heard the loud sounds of more rushing water. He looked over and saw the spray of a large waterfall that they were heading right towards.

“Kick, Ann!” He used all his leg muscles and thought he felt the bottom of the river. It took a few more kicks before he could dig his toes into the pebbles and dirt at the river’s bottom. The rushing water started carrying Ann out of his arms, but he grabbed onto her bag and held on as she gripped the shoulder straps. Her head went under the water several times as he forced his body against the flow of the water.

He was totally focused on each step, but suddenly noticed that her weight had disappeared. He freaked out, thinking she’d fallen out of the arm holds of her backpack. He looked back and saw her moving beside him, taking each step he did, trying to make it to shore. She smiled over at him, and he knew he had lost a part of his heart.

How could this have happened so quickly? A woman who could smile as if she was looking at the gates of heaven after what they’d just been through deserved better than him. He was a soldier, a drone, used to doing other people
’s hard and dirty work. He didn’t deserve someone who took sunshine with her everywhere she went.

When they collapsed on the muddy shore, he looked around for his bag, hoping that it had somehow come ashore. He tried to gauge how far they’d gone and looked back up river to see if the men were in pursuit.

He estimated that they’d traveled a few miles. He didn’t notice anyone following them, but that could change. They needed to get away from the water and quickly. He looked over at Ann. She was resting the back of her head on the grassy shore. Mud was caked into her hair and her clothes were soaked and muddy. Her eyes were closed as she leveled her breathing.

“We have to get moving, Princess. The men might be right behind us.”

She nodded and started to rise, her bag still on her shoulders. He reached over and took it from her. “Since I lost mine, I’ll carry the extra weight.” She smiled and nodded again. He wondered why she wasn’t talking and asked, “Is your throat okay?”

She coughed a few times, then whispered. “I think I drank too much water and dirt. It will be fine, after I get a drink.”

He stopped and allowed her to pull out her canteen of water. As she took a drink, he realized most of the food had been in his bag. He could have kicked himself for not looking ahead and being smart enough to put some more in hers. He’d never lost his bag before. Never. He’d just have to deal with that later. Right now they needed to get as far away from the water as they could.

“Here, walk on the dry spots so we don’t leave tracks.” He held out his hand and showed her where to step. She followed his instructions and then he said, “Go stand under that tree.”

She walked over and after checking the branches for snakes, leaned against the trunk. He broke off a small branch and tried to wipe away their exit from the river. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. He threw the branch into the bushes and met her under the tree. Grabbing her hand, they started walking quickly.

“How do you know where we are? If we are even heading in the right direction?”

He tapped his head.

“Oh, come on. You can’t have a map in that big head of yours.”

He chuckled at her. He jumped a small ravine and then turned to help her across.

“I have a photographic memory. Actually, my sister has it, too. I guess we got it from our mom. I could never get away with anything when I lived at home.” He chuckled again.

She watched his back, almost tripping over a small tree that had fallen.

“Well? Go on…”

He turned and looked over his shoulder at her.

“What?”

“Tell me about your mother.”

He smiled and held a large branch aside for her. She noticed he made a point not to break it. If anyone was following them, they would have a hard path to follow.

She felt like they were zigzagging through the jungle, turning at every third tree. She noticed they never headed in the same direction for too long. If he did have a map in that brain of his, she was very impressed.

“Well, I was raised as an only child, so I got too much attention from my loving parents. At times I wished for my older sister’s return so I could have someone to take the blame once and a while. No matter what I did or said, my mother’s memory was long and always correct.”

“How about your dad?”

“My dad is a lot like me. He likes to hunt, fish, and spend time with his two brothers. They live near my parents in Washington. My parents had known each other all their lives, but a year after my sister was stolen, they fell in love and married. I came along a while later.”

“I always wanted a sister or brother, too. I guess that’s why I was so happy when Blake came along. Even though he’s half my age, I spoil him.” She smiled and realized that they had more in common than she’d thought they did to begin with.

An hour before nightfall, Ann was so worn out she could barely lift her feet. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, her hair had come undone from the braid, and she just felt frazzled. She could see that Ethan didn’t look any better than she felt. Not having to carry her bag did help a lot, but her feet were just so heavy, she desperately wanted to stop for the night.

“Ethan?” He stopped and turned to look at her. “Can we stop soon?” She could see him think about it, then he looked around like he was trying to gauge where they were. There was no possibility that he knew where they were. They had continued to zigzag through the thick forest for the remainder of the day. At this point, she wasn’t even sure which way the sun was setting. The clouds were thick and hung low in the trees. There was even a mist hanging around the top of the trees. It was still in the high eighties, and she wanted another shower in a cold waterfall.

“There’s a small creek with a pool near here. It’s only about half a mile away. Can you make it that far so we can clean up?” She nodded. Okay, so if he knew there was a creek a half a mile away, she was going to stop underestimating him.

A short while later, they cautiously approached the stream. There was a
very
small waterfall and the water was only a few feet deep, just deep enough that she could probably sit in it. There was no cave in case it rained again that night. They’d just have to get wet. She’d gauged all this as he was scouting out the area to make sure no one was around.

“It’s a popular camping site,” he told her as they sat by the stream. “We’re about half a day’s hike from civilization. There are a few small towns we will have to pass through. We’d better do it in the middle of the night, so we aren’t seen by anyone.”

She nodded her head in agreement, but in truth she was only half listening to him. She’d sat down by the pool on a large round rock and had removed her shoes. Nasty red blisters covered her heels and when she dipped her feet into the cool water, she almost cried at the relief it provided. She stood up and walked cautiously over the large rocks right into the clear water, clothes and all.

She turned and watched him set the bag down and do the same. He smiled at her. “You know, you sure are taking all this very well.” He stopped right in front of her and sat down.