It was interesting that he was learning to read her so well—even though they had only known each other for a couple of days. He didn’t know how she would get them out of this one, or if it was even possible for them to break away from this newest threat, but he kept his eyes and ears open, looking for any chance to help Whitney, just in case she saw an opportunity for them to escape.
He continued to paddle as the storm rolled in. What had begun as a misty rain was now a regular downpour, and it was raining so hard it was difficult to even see straight. Large drops of water pelted against them and there was nothing to block them from the weather assault that had tripled in strength in a matter of minutes. The wind had picked up, as well, and Theo found himself paddling into the gusts, making it even harder to make any progress. He glanced behind him at the drug dealers, and noticed that they were also struggling against the elements. As he watched, Jose lost his hat to the wind and it went flying into the water, several yards behind them.
Theo smiled and turned back, still paddling toward the building the short guy had mentioned. He couldn’t see it yet, especially since his glasses were covered with rain water, but he imagined they would come upon it soon and it would give them some shelter from this storm.
About fifteen minutes later they arrived on a beach of sorts. It was small—only about twenty feet long—but there was a gradual incline of sand rather than mangrove roots or marshland, and the land was actually solid and walkable, even though the water was steadily rising as they landed their boats and disembarked. In the distance, Theo could just make out a small ranger station and a dock that bordered the water.
“Pull the boats out and bring them with us,” Shorty ordered, his gun still wavering between Theo and Whitney.
“Are you going to help?” Jose whined. “These boats are heavy.” He was obviously not enjoying the sudden storm and was anxious to get out of the rain. Despite his size, the expression on his face made him appear like a petulant child.
Some plant fronds blew toward them and caught against Whitney’s legs. She sidestepped them, but the motion made Shorty nervous.
“My job is to hold the gun. Your job is to get those boats on higher ground. Do it, and do it now.” Shorty motioned with the weapon, his patience clearly ebbing, as well.
There was only one way to quickly get out of the storm. Whitney grabbed the front of their kayak while Theo took hold of the back. Jose clutched the front of the canoe and followed them toward the building, dragging the canoe behind him. Luckily for him, the drug dealers’ boat was only about fourteen feet long, and on the smallish side for a canoe, so one person could manage it fairly well.
Theo did his best to ignore Jose and focus instead on doing as much as he could to help Whitney with their kayak. Although it wasn’t very heavy, it was rather awkward to maneuver, especially with the wind gusting against the thermoformed plastic. Still, they were able to get the boats up to the outside of the building and wedge them both between two trees to keep the wind from destroying them. Theo then reached over and grabbed their backpack, which Shorty immediately took from him and searched. Finding nothing of interest inside, he tossed it on the ground at Theo’s feet. “Let’s go.”
Theo leaned over, grabbed the backpack and slung it over his shoulder, very aware that Shorty was keeping the gun trained on them the entire time.
He followed them up to the front porch, where they got their first reprieve from some of the rain, and then started entering the code on the lock that secured the door. It opened with a click, and Shorty pointed them inside the building, then followed them in and closed the door firmly behind him. He motioned with his weapon toward Jose. “Go ahead and zip them up.”
Theo wasn’t sure what the lingo meant, but he stood in front of Whitney, offering her what little protection he could. He was realistic, however. There wasn’t anything he could do against the gun, and since the drug dealer had taken the weapon Whitney had been carrying, they were basically defenseless. And, for all he knew, Jose had a gun, as well, tucked away somewhere on his person. A wave of adrenaline surged through Theo and he turned and met Whitney’s eyes. Should they attack, despite the guns, and run for their freedom?
But where would they go? As Whitney shook her head in response to his silent question, disappointment swamped him, even though he knew she was right. Now wasn’t the time. The storm had pinned them down, and running around lost in the Everglades during a gale held no appeal. They would watch and wait for a better opportunity. But would they get one?
Jose pulled several colored zip ties out of his pocket. “Give me your hands,” he ordered gruffly, motioning to Theo.
Theo held out his arms, as if he was getting handcuffed, and the man pulled against the plastic strip and secured his wrists. Jose then physically pushed him out of the way and turned to Whitney, whose eyes were alert and vigilant. Jose zip-tied her hands, and then Shorty pushed the two trussed victims farther into the small room.
The building had one main room that contained a counter, and behind it, three desks and office chairs, as well as a bathroom and a supply room. Each desk had an assortment of papers strewed around, as if the workers would be returning at any moment. Theo could just make out a smaller office through an open door at the back, but it was hard to see inside or to tell what the room might contain. Despite the condition of the office, he was fairly certain the building hadn’t been recently utilized. A layer of dust covered everything within sight, and there were large spiderwebs in two of the four corners.
Shorty pushed them toward the supply room, kicked the door open wider than it had been, and motioned for them to go inside. “After you,” he said with a sneer.
Theo and Whitney moved into the room and Shorty closed and locked the door behind them. Theo sighed as he glanced around. There wasn’t much to the supply room beyond a couple of shelving units and a copy machine. There was a small window that let in some light, but it was too small to crawl through. There wasn’t any furniture, and he didn’t see any food or useful items that would help their escape. One of the shelves contained mostly office supplies, such as pencils, pens, and paper for the copy machine, while the other contained boxes of T-shirts and hats that the rangers sold in the gift shop at the park entrance.
“Do you see any scissors?” Theo asked. He kept his voice low, realizing that the men outside could probably hear them if they spoke too loudly.
Whitney was checking through the boxes and looking around, as well, despite being hampered by the zip tie. “Nothing so far,” she responded, also keeping her tone low. “Nothing sharp enough to cut through plastic.” She checked a few more boxes, then turned. “Guess we’ll have to get out of these the old-fashioned way.”
Theo’s eyebrow quirked. “The old-fashioned way?”
Whitney smiled, as if she knew a special secret, and gave him a wink, as well. She had a nice smile. He thought back, trying to remember if she had smiled at him like that before. It made her appear as if she was up to something, not trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Of course, there had been very little to smile about over the last couple of days, and he didn’t know all of her looks and expressions. Still, despite her usual positive attitude, at times, she seemed to have a tinge of sadness about her. He couldn’t really put his finger on what made him think so—she’d certainly never claimed to be anything but a tourist on vacation. But something about her general demeanor made him think there was definitely something going on under the surface that worried her. He wondered if they would get close enough during this ordeal to actually talk and share any truly personal details about themselves, or if she would even feel comfortable confiding her intimate thoughts to him.
That thought left him pondering for a moment. Did he want to tell Whitney about his wife and daughter’s death? Theo had always been a very private person. He rarely opened up to others. Yet, even so, there was something about Whitney
that drew him to her—something that made him want to protect her and bare his soul to her. Some vulnerability seemed to exist that she might not even recognize in herself.
Was he totally misreading her?
It was certainly possible. He was no expert in the female species. But Whitney challenged him to think about something other than himself and his experiments, and he found himself actually enjoying the quandary that this beautiful woman presented.
He found her utterly fascinating.
Theo watched as she grabbed the end of the zip tie with her teeth and maneuvered it so the locking mechanism was right in the middle between her hands. Then she pulled the tie even tighter against her skin.
“Are you tightening that?” he asked incredulously.
“Yep,” she responded with a wink. She raised her bound hands above her head, then brought them down quickly into her stomach. Her elbows flared out and it looked as if she was trying to have her shoulder blades touch. There was a short snap, and the zip tie broke, right by the locking mechanism, freeing her hands.
Theo was amazed. He didn’t know it was possible to escape zip ties, but Whitney had just made it look incredibly easy. He followed her example, and was soon free himself, rubbing his wrists where the tie had been biting into his skin only moments before.
“If they want to zip-tie us again, put your hands like you did before—like you’re about to get handcuffed with your fists clenched, your palms down and your thumbs together. Then, unclench your hands and turn them so your thumbs are up.” She demonstrated with her own hands, then grabbed his hands, and showed him what she was talking about. “Yeah, that’s right. Then just start working your hands out, starting with your thumbs. It takes a little bit of work, but you can do it, and it doesn’t hurt quite as much as breaking the tie like we just did.”
It made sense. He smiled in appreciation. “How did you ever learn this?”
Shrugging, she met his eye, “A few years ago, bad guys started using zip ties to restrain victims in home invasions and robberies, so we were trained on how to break free if the need ever arose. Then, of course, being the competitive group we are, we had to try to see who could escape the fastest. We even had team contests during an ice-breaker at a training program once. It was actually a lot of fun.”
Theo shook his head. “Well, I’m sure glad you did. You made short work of those.” He pulled off his glasses and wiped them on his T-shirt. Finally he could see again. “I’m getting hungry. Want a power bar?”
Whitney nodded. “Sure thing, unless you have some fried chicken in there. I could eat a few pieces right about now.”
“Yes,” Theo added, “with coleslaw, potato salad and a large glass of sweet tea.”
“Don’t forget the biscuits and butter,” Whitney quipped. “Or maybe a bit of strawberry jam.”
He pulled out the power bar. “But until we can get a good Southern meal, this will have to do.”
Theo handed her a bar. She took it and opened it, then bit off a large chunk. He liked the way she ate with enthusiasm, as if she was savoring every bite. She seemed to do everything with gusto. It was a very endearing personality trait.
She walked over to the door and tried the knob, then turned and shrugged at him. Neither of them was surprised that it was locked. She put her ear up against the crack then suddenly froze.
“What do you hear?” Theo asked, trying to keep the anxiousness out of his voice.
Whitney held up her finger to silence him, then took another bite of the power bar but kept her ear pressed against the wood.
“They’re arguing,” she whispered. “Jose is saying they should just shoot us and leave us in the swamp.” She grinned. “I guess he still hasn’t forgiven me for tying him up and shooting him on your island.” She paused with a raised finger. “Now he’s saying he’s afraid of the weather and doesn’t want to get stuck here for the next few days. He thinks it is a hurricane, not just a bad storm.” She took another bite of the power bar. “He says if they throw our bodies in the water, the alligators will get us and no one will ever even miss us.”
Theo shook his head. He couldn’t keep the anxiety from creeping inside him, no matter how hard he tried. He fisted his hands, then said a short but heartfelt prayer. God, please help us find a way out of this mess.
TWELVE
The men were no longer talking. Now they were shouting at each other. Whitney pressed her ear against the crack between the door and the frame again, then turned and reported what she’d heard to Theo. “I’m not sure I’m catching everything because now they’re yelling in Spanish and English. My Spanish is not so great. The short guy is pretty angry. He’s saying something about waiting to hear from El Jefe. I’ve heard that name before. He says this whole thing has blown up into one giant mess, and he can’t do anything to us without El Jefe’s approval. I think this El Jefe guy has to be the one pulling all of the strings with the drug cartel.”
She paused again and took another bite, chewing thoughtfully as she listened at the door. “Jose is threatening to kill us all and just disappear...” She glanced back at Theo. “Now the short one is saying that they figured out I am a US Marshal, and El Jefe needs to know that before they make any other moves.” She leaned back. “That’s unfortunate. I was hoping they wouldn’t figure that out.”
Theo seemed surprised. “Why?”
“Because they don’t guard me as closely if they think I’m just a helpless tourist. I use that to my advantage whenever I can.” She pulled away from the door just as it rattled and shook. There was a large thumping sound, as if the two men had begun physically fighting and the battle suddenly brought them up against the door. She motioned to Theo. “Step back, just in case. They both have guns and might end up shooting each other.”
Whitney didn’t know quite what to expect, but she did know she didn’t want Theo hurt if the scuffle escalated any further. She started pulling against the wooden shelving unit, trying to push it in front of the door to add one more buffer between them and a bullet if the fight in the other room became lethal. Theo started helping her and together they moved it in front of the door. It was full of office supplies, including paper and notebooks, so Whitney hoped that if a gun did go off, they would be somewhat protected. She motioned to the copy machine and they moved it to the center of the room, as well, then crouched behind it.
They hovered there together as the fight in the other room intensified. The argument was now completely yelled in Spanish alone. Even though Whitney’s Spanish was rusty, the intent was clear. The short man wanted to get permission before acting. Jose wanted to save himself and get somewhere safe before the storm got any worse.
Suddenly there was a gunshot and the sound echoed across the room. Whitney tensed, but the bullet must have gone in a different direction because she didn’t see any evidence that it had entered the storage room where they were being held. Silence followed; the only thing they could hear was the wind blowing outside and gusting against the building. Then they heard a door slam. Had one of the men just left the building? It was time to take a chance and find out.
She motioned for Theo to continue to stay out of the way, then moved the shelving unit aside and gave the door a vicious kick. It shuddered against the frame. What she wouldn’t give for a good pair of boots! All she had on her feet were the clogs Theo had given her back on the island. They were made from soft rubber—hardly the material needed to break down doors. Still, she had to keep trying. She kicked the door again and felt the wood start to buckle. A third kick put a large hole in the hollow door near the doorknob.
Whitney reached up through the hole, unlocked the knob and the dead bolt, then slowly opened the door, unsure of what she would find. Was Jose waiting for her around the corner, waiting to pay her back for disarming him at Theo’s house? Her heart was beating a mile a minute. The front door to the building was swinging on the hinges and bein
g tossed to and fro by the wind. Whitney quickly crossed the room and closed the door, stopping the racket and also keeping the rain out that had started pouring in through the opening.
She turned quickly and scanned the room. Theo had emerged and was standing over Shorty, who was slumped against the front cabin wall. A bullet hole was visible on his chest, a red circle of blood pooling on his shirt. Theo pulled his hand away from the man’s neck, then closed the man’s eyes, which were staring sightlessly across the room. “No pulse. He’s gone.”
Whitney nodded. “Can you get his gun and phone?”
Theo ran his hands over Shorty’s pockets. “Looks like both are gone. I imagine Jose grabbed both on his way out of the building.”
Whitney sighed and rolled her eyes. “Good grief, we just can’t catch a break.” She shook her head. “Does he have anything that will help us?”
Theo searched the rest of the man’s belongings, then shrugged. “Doesn’t look like it. He doesn’t even have any ID or a wallet in his pocket.”
She quickly searched the rest of the building. The bathroom was empty, as well as the small office at the back. There was really no place to hide. “The building is clear. Jose must have disappeared right after he pulled the trigger. He’s got to know Shorty was pretty high up in the cartel food chain. I’m sure his life isn’t worth beans now. Once El Jefe figures out what happened, I bet the next contract he orders will be for Jose’s life.”
She looked out through the window and watched the storm blow and bend the trees. The weather was getting worse. Branches and debris were already strewed around the building, and plants were bending and breaking in the wind. She’d been through enough tropical storms and hurricanes during her life in Florida to know a dangerous storm when she saw one. The rain had let up a bit, but she knew it would be back with a vengeance in only a few minutes. “That guy probably grabbed the canoe and is going to try to head out to find higher ground. That seems like a pretty dumb move, though. He’s not going to get far in this storm.”
Everglades Escape Page 10