WAR: Disruption (29 page)

Great. How was she supposed to retrace her steps and climb out of the ravine if she felt this weak?

Come on. You can do it. Get to your feet. Don’t faint. You’ve found the briefcase. Now get back to Max.

The mini pep talk helped. This time she managed to push to her feet. She swayed a moment, then caught her balance. After waiting to make certain she wouldn’t faint, she pulled on a clean pair of latex gloves from the medical kit. Then, steeling herself, she turned around.

Resolutely keeping her eyes just on the briefcase, she followed the chain to the chewed-up mess of bone and sinew that was all that was left of the courier’s arm. “All right, Max,” she muttered. “I hope I’m earning extra points for this, because I am totally grossed out.”

Telling herself to think of it simply as a meal for a cat, not a human body part, she located the wrist and the metal security bracelet. She cut the wrist tendons with Max’s knife, then managed to twist and fold the fingers in such a way that she could pull the bracelet free. Snatching up the briefcase, she carried it into the jungle until she couldn’t see or smell the dead body.

Yay! She’d done it.

She leaned back against a tree until her pulse calmed and her stomach settled. Once she felt steadier, she poured water over the bracelet and the briefcase to remove the traces of skin and fluids, cleaned them using alcohol wipes, then removed her contaminated gloves and threw them into the jungle.

She was just about ready to leave, when it occurred to her that the dead man might have family in the area. They’d want to know what had happened to him.

“Dammit.” She unpacked her camera and marched back to the corpse. Once she was close enough, she marked the coordinates on the GPS and snapped several photos. Looking at the scene from behind her lens helped fight back the nausea. Then she returned to where she’d left the briefcase, picked it up, and headed back toward her exit point. As she went, she made frequent stops to hide the debris trail she’d followed. She didn’t want to make it easy for the rebels or Dietrich’s men to find.

Dark clouds had been building up since she left the corpse, and halfway back to the tree the heavens opened up in a downpour that obliterated visibility. Cursing at the poor timing, Emily took shelter underneath a wide overhang of branches. She was already soaked through to the skin, but at least the leaves protected her against the sting of the large raindrops. She removed her rucksack, glad that it was waterproof, and sat down with her knees up and her chin resting on her crossed arms. She stared out at the rain, feeling an odd sensation of being cut off from the world. Safe from the prying eyes of the helicopter. Safe from being tracked by an aggressive leopard.

The rhythm of the rain had almost lulled her to sleep when the wind picked up. A crack of thunder split the air. Emily’s eyes opened in time to see a brilliant flash of lightning, which was followed by another clap of thunder.

O-kay. So much for the peaceful, safe storm. Worried about sitting next to the metal briefcase and under a tree during a lightning storm, Emily left her shelter and found an open space. The rain continued to fall in torrential sheets. Well, since she was going to have to wait the storm out anyway, she might as well get some benefit from it. At least the rain was warm. Wishing she had some shampoo, she unbraided her hair and let the rain soak into it. But the enjoyment of finally rinsing days worth of sweat and dust out of her hair was mitigated by the fear that struck her each time the sky flashed and thunder boomed. Still, she took advantage of the deluge to also rub down her clothes and exposed skin.

It took over an hour for the storm to pass. Emily returned to the place where she’d left her things, shrugged into her pack, and lifted the briefcase. The going was slower now as she slogged through mud and dodged tiny rivers. Humidity permeated the air, so her clothes didn’t fully dry. The clouds remained overhead, bringing an early twilight.

By the time she reached her climbing tree, the light was noticeably failing. She considered staying the night at the base of the tree, but knew Max would freak out. It was almost five o’clock, so she was going to be late as it was. No sense throwing him into a full panic by not showing up at all.

Besides, although exhaustion tugged at her, she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep easily down here. Not with the leopard on the loose, and not with the possibility of the helicopter returning. She wanted the safety of the Jeep. She wanted to curl up in Max’s arms. To wrap herself in his safety and strength.

Sighing deeply, she fortified herself with a long drink of water, stretched her sore body until a few of the aches disappeared, then hung the night vision goggles around her neck for easy access once the light vanished.

She picked up the briefcase, hoisted it onto the first branch, and resigned herself to a long, tiring climb.

WHERE THE HELL was Emily?

He’d told her to be back by five o’clock and it was now pushing six.

God dammit, once she returned he was never letting her out of his sight again. His heart couldn’t take it. Not only had he panicked when she’d stepped into the branches of the big tree and disappeared, but he hadn’t been there to protect her when the helicopter flew overhead. The fact that it had returned less than twenty-four hours after its last pass made Max think they knew something—or someone—was here.

The good news was that the bushes overhung the slope enough so Emily’s rope wouldn’t be visible from above.

The bad news was that in the light of day, he’d gotten a good look at the helicopter. It was painted black, not army green, so it belonged to Dietrich. Which only increased his worry over Emily. His gut screamed that the helicopter’s double flyby meant that Dietrich had switched his attention to this area. Giving weight to his theory that Dietrich had arranged to get infrared technology.

They needed to get the hell out of here before Dietrich’s troops arrived.

Come on, Em. Come on.

Max hobbled for the dozenth time to the edge of the slope. Eyed the rope waiting for her return. He almost said to hell with his wounded leg and went after her. But he had to be smarter than that. First, the ground was soft and muddy after that heavy rain, making it treacherous. Plus, what if he reached the tree? Climbing down would probably reopen his wounds. Even supposing that he made it to the bottom and found Emily, at that point he’d be in no condition to climb back up. And there was no way he was going to put Emily in additional danger by forcing her to spend the night babysitting him at the bottom of the ravine.

He’d wanted to set up some sort of signal that Emily could use to prove that she was okay, but everything he’d thought of could have been spotted or heard by an enemy. So he was left to wait and worry.

He checked Emily’s watch, then glanced at the sky. In a few minutes, the sun would sink out of sight. If only—

Emily’s head came into view.

Max’s heart soared.

Something glinted next to her in the failing light.

Hot damn. She’d found the briefcase. “That’s my girl,” he murmured.

Emily stepped onto the foot of the steep slope and looked up at him. “I’m sending the briefcase to you,” she called, reaching for the end of the rope.

Stifling his impatience—he wanted
Emily
safe, screw the damn case—he pulled the briefcase toward him. He barely spared it a glance as he dragged it over the edge. All he cared about was releasing the knot holding the rope in place and sending the rope back to Emily.

Hauling her up the steep slope was a much slower process. Max’s ribs protested and he knew he’d be hurting tomorrow. Still, he wished he had the strength to just yank on the rope and send her flying toward him.

But eventually she scrambled over the rim of the gully. “I did it!” she crowed, grinning at him. Then she bent forward in a dancer’s curtain bow.

Max tucked his cane under his arm and clapped. “You’re a superstar, Em,” he said.

She straightened up. “Superstar.” She nodded in approval as she walked toward him. “I like it.”

He chuckled. “It suits you.” Balancing on his cane, he caught her up in a one-armed hug, then took her mouth in a kiss that started out full of pride, then shifted to include all the worry and longing that had plagued him during her absence.

He broke away and glanced at the sky. “Much as I hate to let you go, it’s getting dark. We’d better head back to the Jeep before all the light is gone and before the helicopter returns.”

With a groan, Emily picked up the briefcase.

He stared at the muddy, yet barely dented silver case. The people who’d manufactured the weapon clearly had money and access to top-level security supplies. Cases like this cost an arm and a leg.

Emily dipped her chin toward the case as they hurried back toward the Jeep. “So this is what everyone is after. Doesn’t seem like it contains the key to killing hundreds of people.”

“Yeah.”

She looked over at him. “Now what?”

“I checked the maps while you were gone. Since the helicopter has become more active in this area, I want to head toward the minor north-south road to our east. Then we’ll find a place to hole up while we wait for Kris to tell us the safest way out of the country. The underground group will take care of the briefcase once we hand it over.” Now that he’d done his good deed, it was time to get Emily out of the country, find Dietrich, and end this thing.

By the time they made it back to the Jeep, they were both shuffling with exhaustion. He stowed the briefcase inside a bag that had once held food, then stuffed their sleeping bags around it to disguise the fact that something important was hidden in the middle.

“Damn, woman,” he said once he was behind the wheel and driving away, night vision goggles in place. The fact that Emily hadn’t even offered a token protest about him driving proved that she was at the end of her strength. “I had no idea how difficult it was to find a path through these trees. You’ve got some mad skills for a woman who barely drove before she got to Africa.”

“I’m good at finding my path,” she murmured. “I have to be able to weave through a throng of dancers without stepping on anyone’s toes, knocking into anyone, or disappearing from the audience’s view.”

“Who knew that the perfect companion on this mission would be a ballet dancer? I’m going to have to get you to take me to a performance when we get out of here.”

She snorted in disbelief, but he was too tired to argue.

“You were gone a long time, Em. Did you run into trouble?”

“You mean besides having to wait out the thunderstorm?”

“Yeah.”

“Some. It took me longer than expected to find the briefcase. And…uh… You were right. The animals had been at the courier’s body. I found what was left of his arm, still attached to the briefcase, partway up a tree.”

“Leopard.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Worse, a local man’s body was at the base of the tree. His throat had been torn out. I think the leopard killed him.”

Max suddenly had a vision of Emily being savaged by a large cat and his heart lurched. “Jesus. You’re lucky the leopard wasn’t there.” He could have lost her. Again.

“I know.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Do you think it’s our friend from the other night?”

He shrugged. “Probably. I don’t think they share territory.”

She nodded. “Anyway, his body was uh…fresher. Seeing the bloated, maggot-infested corpse made me sick. Not to mention the stench.” She put her hand on her belly as if even now she fought not to vomit.

He clenched his teeth. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “Max, it’s not your fault. It had to be done.”

“Still…” She’d already endured so much on this trip. She didn’t deserve more trauma. “I’m sorry.”

“Forget it,” she answered. Then added drowsily, “I tried to make it harder for any searchers by hiding as much of the debris as I could.”

His heart swelling with pride, he picked up her hand and placed a kiss on the back. “That’s my girl.” Even though he was driving, he didn’t want to release her. He couldn’t remember ever having such a craving for the simple touch of a woman’s hand before.

“Grab some food, then climb into the back and try to rest,” he said.

Emily’s only answer was a slight snore.

He reached over and smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her face. She certainly deserved some uninterrupted sleep. It took a lot of fortitude to deal with a swollen, dead body and maggots. The fact that she’d done it despite throwing up multiple times filled him with fierce admiration. He might not agree with all of the choices she’d made these past few days, but he loved how Emily just kept going, doing her best to handle whatever life threw at her.

With a little training, she’d make a good partner.

What? Hell, no. Emily deserved a hell of a lot more than to become an operator in his shadowy world.

Yet the knowledge that he’d soon have to say good-bye to her made his chest ache. Not that he had a choice. His coming confrontation with Dietrich would be violent. Odds were good he wouldn’t survive. Better to end things with Emily once she was safe than to leave her with the impression that they had a future.

Even if part of him wanted to make a relationship work with her. How, he had no idea. He didn’t know if he could give up the covert ops world. And he certainly would never ask her to join him.

At the same time, the idea that Emily might go on to find another guy filled him with such possessive fury that the steering wheel creaked under his grip.

Emily murmured softly in her sleep and turned toward the window.

Tenderness filled him with an unfamiliar warmth. He might have to say good-bye, but he’d damn well enjoy every remaining minute they had together.

It didn’t take long to reach the road. Max checked that the way was clear, drove out of the jungle, then stopped in the center of the muddy road where he had a clear line of sight to the sky. He shot off a quick text to Kristoff.
Success,
was all it said, but it would be enough.

That done, he maneuvered into the jungle on the opposite side of the road from the festival village. He didn’t know how long it would take to hear back from Kris about their exit strategy, but he wanted to be as close to the border as possible when the call came.