Lightning Lingers

by Barbara Freethy

  "I'd like to believe that," he said heavily. "But I have to admit I wasn't expecting anyone to come after us—to blow up the plane, for God's sake."

  "I wasn't, either. If you hadn't stopped me from yelling out to those men, we might not be alive right now."

  "I had a bad feeling."

  "Your instincts were right. What does your gut tell you now?"

  "That we're up against more than Mother Nature. It's not going to be easy, Kat."

  "But we're going to make it." She reached for his hand and gazed into his eyes. "I need you to believe it, Jake. I need you to help me make it true."

  He gave her a long look, then said, "I believe it. You don't have to worry. We'll be okay."

  It was exactly what she'd wanted him to say. Whether it was true or not, she'd needed to hear his reassurance.

  "Thanks."

  He squeezed her hand. "Ready to run again?"

  "Yes."

  She jogged and walked behind Jake for several more hours. A few dark clouds soaked them with rain, but she couldn't worry about being wet. Every step forward could take them closer to safety.

  They headed into the mountains around four o'clock, hoping the shadows thrown off by the taller peaks would shield their presence. The hillsides were steep and often slippery, making the journey that much more difficult. Aside from stopping to get water or catch their breath, they kept going, knowing that they had to make each minute of daylight count.

  Finally, their climb brought them to a plateau. Katherine set her bag on the ground and shared the second-to-last bottle of water with Jake as they looked out at the view. She saw an endless sea of trees and some grassy areas that could possibly be farmland, but it was difficult to tell from this distance.

  "There's a road over there," Jake said. "See that brown patch that winds through the trees? It looks like there's a river down there, too. A road and a source of water leads me to believe there might be people nearby."

  "That road is at least a few miles from here."

  "Should we try for it?"

  She hesitated. "We won't make it before dark. And once we get down in those trees, it will be easy to lose our way."

  "Maybe we should spend the night here and go at first light."

  As much as she didn't want to spend the night on the mountain, she thought it was the best decision.

  Jake pulled out his phone. "Hey, wait a second, I have two bars now."

  "Really?" she asked hopefully. "That's the first piece of good news I've heard all day."

  "I'm going to send a text to Rusty and Alicia. Maybe they can trace the signal of the phone and that will help them find us."

  "Can you have them check in on my mom? She may not be able to understand that I'm missing since I'm gone all the time anyway, but I just want someone to see if she's worried or upset about anything."

  "Of course." He typed in a brief message stating what he knew about their position and asking them to send help as soon as possible. He hit Send and it seemed to go through. "I think it went."

  "I hope so. We might finally catch a break." She sat down with a groan of relief. "I think I have ten blisters, one for each toe."

  "My feet have taken a beating too." He gave her a smile as he sat down next to her. "Can I just say that you've been amazing today?"

  "You can definitely say that."

  "You haven't complained. You haven't slowed us down. And you haven't wasted time arguing with me."

  "I only argue with you when you're wrong."

  He rolled his eyes. "Just take the compliment."

  "Thank you. You've been great, too, Jake."

  "Today reminds me of when I used to think we made a good team. We complemented each other."

  "At least part of the time."

  "There was more good between us than bad. I don't think I remembered that until recently."

  She nodded. "It's easier to focus on the end instead of everything that came before. We're going to need to be a good team for a while longer if we're going to get out of here."

  "Agreed."

  She reached for her bag and pulled out the candy bar she'd won the night before. "Time for chocolate."

  "I thought you ate that hours ago."

  "I never had time." She opened the wrapper and took a bite. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted. It's like a piece of heaven."

  "Way to rub it in."

  "I won it fair and square."

  "I know you did; that doesn't make it easier."

  She took another bite, then broke the bar in half and held out the other piece to him. "I'm willing to share."

  "No way, it's yours. I was just giving you a hard time."

  "I know, but it's ours. I wouldn't feel right eating the whole thing. Come on, take it."

  "You should save it for later."

  "If you don't take it, I'm going to throw it down the mountain."

  "That would be a stupid thing to do," he said with annoyance.

  She shrugged. "And not sharing it with me would be a stupid thing for you to do."

  He took the chocolate. "Thanks."

  "You're welcome."

  He demolished the bar in two bites. "I have to admit that was good. The best thing I've tasted in years. I just hope you won't regret your generosity when you wake up hungry in the morning."

  "The only regrets I've had involve moments when I was being selfish, not generous." She paused, her gaze on the view for a long moment. Then she turned her head to look at him. "I know I've been self-absorbed the last several years, Jake. I need to work on that."

  "There's a flip side to every negative trait. That dedication helps you to accomplish your goals."

  "But I don't want my accomplishments to be at the expense of others. When I get home, I'm going to make things right for TJ and my mom. I can't believe that her condition has gone downhill so fast or that she changed doctors without telling me. I wish TJ would have called me and told me to get my ass back to Corpus Christi sooner. I don't know why he didn't do that. If he needed help, he should have asked."

  "He did ask; that's why we're here," he reminded her.

  "I'm talking about before Friday."

  "Is it possible you missed some phone calls or texts?"

  She frowned. "It's definitely possible, but if there was a big problem, I would respond."

  "Maybe TJ didn't want you to come home. He wanted you to finish what you started."

  "It's possible. He's always supported me."

  "Is there any chance your mom will get better?"

  "The prognosis isn't great, but there are new drugs coming out that might slow the progression of her disease. I need to do some research. It's not my field, but I definitely need to become an expert in it. I asked one of my friends, who's a neurologist, to look in on my mom this week. Something is a little off with her care, and it needs to get straightened out."

  "Then that's what you'll do. When you put your mind to something, you usually succeed, Katherine."

  "Wow, another compliment. That chocolate must have gone to your head."

  He grinned. "I just call it like I see it."

  "You're like me in that regard, Jake. You go after what you want, too."

  "Sometimes," he conceded. "Not always."

  "What haven't you gone after?" she challenged.

  His answering look sent a chill through her.

  "You," he replied. "I should have gone after you, Kat. I should have tried to change your mind. I should have done better by you."

  Goose bumps ran down her arms. "I don't think you could have changed my mind back then."

  "What you said yesterday about me being the drowning man and you being the one who couldn't rescue me because I wouldn't let you…"

  "Yes?"

  He held her gaze for a long minute. "I didn't see myself as drowning until you said that yesterday. I knew I was angry, reckless, a little out of control. I wasn't giving you enough attention, but I never realized that you thought I was in real danger
or that you had to save me."

  "I was afraid for you, Jake," she admitted. "You were so light and easygoing on the outside that most people didn't realize how deeply you cared, how intense your emotions could be. But I could see how much pain you were in behind the partying and the thrill-seeking dares, and it scared me. Of course, as you know, I scare pretty easily, so that's probably not saying much."

  "The big stuff doesn't scare you," he said quietly. "Spiders, yes, you're a big baby. Riding on the back of a motorcycle, no way; you could recite statistics of motorcycle deaths in your sleep."

  She couldn't believe he remembered that. "I didn't want you to be one of those statistics."

  "I think you were more concerned about ending up a statistic yourself, and that's okay. Back then, sometimes I needed someone to pull me off the edge." He took a breath. "But sometimes I think you needed someone to get you to that edge."

  His words reminded her of the dream she'd had the night before when he'd asked her to jump off a cliff with him to save her brother. She'd tried to say no, but in the end she'd taken his hand…

  Jake had always gotten her to the edge, which was partly why she'd broken up with him and ran as far away as she could get.

  "Nothing to say?" Jake prodded.

  "What can I say? We're different people. We were good for a while, but when life got tough…"

  "We were young, Kat. We didn't know what we were doing."

  "I can't argue with that." She paused. "I'm glad we got a chance to talk things out."

  "Yeah, I feel much better about crashing the plane now," he said dryly.

  She grinned. "You always could make me laugh."

  "I could make you do a lot of things," he teased.

  She blushed. "We're not talking about any of that."

  "I don't know. We have a lot of hours to kill."

  "Well, we can talk about other things—politics, religion, movies, books, sports, whatever..."

  "When's the last time you went to a movie?"

  "Four or five years ago."

  "And read a book that wasn't a medical textbook?"

  "Maybe eight or nine years ago."

  "Watch a sporting event?"

  "I did see the Cowboys play the Seahawks three weeks ago," she said, relieved to be able to answer one question in the affirmative. "They won after a Hail Mary pass in the final twenty seconds. The bar I was in went crazy."

  "That was a good game. They got lucky, though. They could have lost just as easily."

  "See, we can talk about other things besides us."

  He laughed. "Tell me about your life in Houston. Do you have a roommate?"

  "I have three roommates, all medical residents. We live in an apartment next to the hospital. We had some fun in between all the work. But it's over now."

  "Do you ever keep in touch with anyone from high school?"

  "Just Rebecca Saunders, because we went to medical school together. She's going to look in on my mom while I'm gone."

  "Becky. I remember her. Nice girl. Anyone else?"

  She shook her head. "No, I lost track of everyone a long time ago. It will be strange to come back to Corpus Christi."

  "Would you come back if your mom wasn't there?"

  She sucked in a breath. "Probably not."

  "Why not?" he asked, tilting his head as he gave her a questioning look.

  "I don't know who I am there."

  "You're whoever you want to be."

  "In Corpus Christi, I have a past. Going somewhere new would be a clean slate."

  "Wouldn't you be lonely?"

  "I think I'd be more lonely in a town where the people I once loved were either gone or slipping away." She was talking mostly about her parents, but Jake was part of it, too. At least he had been until now. Now, she wasn't so sure how she would feel living close to him again. They'd been in each other's pocket the last twenty-four hours. It was going to be strange to go back to never seeing him again.

  "You still have TJ," he reminded her.

  "Once I find him. Do you think I was stupidly impulsive to come down here?"

  He glanced over at her. "Impulsive maybe, brave definitely. Stupid—not so much."

  "I should have come up with a better plan. I should have told someone to come and find us if we didn’t report back."

  "Even if my texts don't go through, Rusty will come looking for me, and if he's told Alicia, I can guarantee she'll be a bulldog trying to find us. And Dani has political connections. She might be able to get someone in the government to work with Mexican authorities to find us."

  "I wish I had some family or friends to contribute to the search effort, but I don't."

  "I have enough for both of us." He stretched out. "As hard as this ground is, it feels good after all the walking and running. You should try it."

  She lay down beside him, looking up at the darkening sky. Big, black clouds were creeping over the mountains. It was going to rain again, and she doubted the overhang of rocks would provide much protection, but it was better than nothing.

  Jake closed his eyes, and she did the same. But as tired as she was, sleep didn't come easily.

  Opening her eyes, she rolled onto her side and looked at Jake. Her chest tightened as her gaze ran over his strong features. He really was a beautiful man. She'd always loved watching him sleep. His features were so sexy and so male with his strong jaw, stubbly cheeks, and his full but firm and often demanding lips. It would be so easy to lean over and kiss his mouth. He wouldn't push her away. He might not like her, but he still wanted her.

  She rolled onto her other side so she wouldn't be tempted to touch him. She tried to sleep, but the wind picked up, making her feel cold and even more uncomfortable. It was going to be a long night.

  She turned onto her back, wincing as she tried to get a rock out from under her hip.

  "Come here," Jake said suddenly.

  She jerked as his eyes flew open, and he looked right at her. "I thought you were asleep."

  "With you tossing and turning like that?"

  "There are too many rocks, and I'm cold." As she said the words, she realized she was quickly ending her great day of not complaining.

  "Come here," he repeated.

  She shook her head. "No."

  "I've got a nice shoulder you can use as a pillow, and we'll warm each other up."

  She vividly remembered just how nice his shoulder was, just how comforting it had been to fall asleep with the sound of his heartbeat under her ear. But she couldn't move. If she got closer, she didn't know if she could stop at just sleeping with him. Which was a crazy thought. They were lost in the wilderness, for God's sake. They weren't on some romantic date.

  "Kat—"

  "I'm fine."

  "If you don't come here right now, I'm going to throw you off the mountain," he said with exasperation, repeating her earlier threat about the chocolate.

  "You don't have that much energy."

  "You want to try me?"

  She scooted across the ground and put her head on his chest as his arm came around her shoulder.

  "That's better," he said. "You need to rest, Kat. We'll figure everything out in the morning."

  She put her arm across his waist. "We're safe for now, right?"

  He didn't answer. The soft whoosh of his breath told her he was already asleep.

  "Yeah, we're safe," she whispered, hoping it was true.

  * * *

  Katherine awoke to large drops of rain pelting her face. Damn! She sat up and scooted back against the rocks, but the overhang offered little protection from the massive downpour of water. Jake huddled next to her as their life quickly went from uncomfortable to miserable. The rain was coming down in sheets. She'd never seen so much water in her life.

  Jake put his arm around her shoulders. There was no point in trying to resist the little comfort he was offering her. They sat there for almost an hour; wet, shivering and praying for respite.

  Despite those prayers, the sto
rm only seemed to get bigger. Lightning flashed, followed by more thunder. The strikes were minutes apart. The heavens had opened up with a vengeance.

  "I'm beginning to think you're a lightning rod," she told Jake.

  "Me, too," he agreed.

  "Have you seen anything in the flashes? Is your dad sending us more messages?"

  "I don't know," he said slowly.

  She gave him a speculative look. "That sounds like you did see something. What?"

  "Every time there's a flash, I feel like I see something round and gold."

  "Like a coin?"

  "Could be. It's not clear. And it's probably just the light bouncing off something that creates that illusion."

  "Probably." As the rain increased, she felt like screaming or crying or both. "Is it ever going to stop?"

  "Any second now," he said reassuringly.

  "You used to be a better liar."

  "I never lied to you, Kat. You might not have liked what I had to say, but it was always the truth."

  She had to admit that brutal honesty had been more his style.

  A loud roaring sound filled her ears. "What's that? It sounds like a plane. Would anyone really be flying in this weather?" she asked.

  He stared back at her as the roar increased. "It does sound like a plane, but…Shit!"

  "What's wrong?" She'd barely gotten the words out when a rush of water came over the rocks.

  Jake jumped up, and she followed, but then stumbled as another huge wave of water took her legs out from under her. She tried to grab for her bag, but it was already gone.

  She didn't know where the flood had come from, but the hillside had disappeared under the strong muddy current.

  Jake grabbed her hand as they both lost their footing and were swept down the hillside that had taken them so long to climb.

  Her body hit rocks and ground and trees. She felt like she was being battered and ripped apart, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  "Hang on," Jake yelled, a wild light in his eyes.

  She wanted to do just that, but the current was too strong. It was ripping them apart. "I'm slipping."

  "Don't let go, Katherine."

  "I'm trying not to," she screamed, but she couldn't fight the power of the flood.

  Her hand slipped away from Jake's. She went under the water and came up gasping for air. "Jake?" she yelled, seeing him nowhere in the dark, rushing water. Terror ripped through her as another wave sent her head back under the water.