Lightning Lingers

by Barbara Freethy

  Frowning, she realized there was one thing wrong with waking up from the nightmare—she wouldn't be with Jake anymore. They'd be strangers again.

  Maybe she didn't want to wake up just yet…

  * * *

  "Wake up," Jake said. He straightened his arm, wincing a little at the cramp in his bicep, but holding Katherine had been worth a little pain.

  She gave him a sleepy blink of her blue eyes. "Where are we?"

  "Our stop. Come on, we have to get off."

  She straightened. "Oh, we're still on the bus."

  "Yeah, where did you think we were?"

  "For a moment, I thought this was all a dream."

  "Or a nightmare, but it's not."

  "I feel like we just got on."

  "You fell asleep fast. I, on the other hand, watched a man cut his toenails for at least a half hour."

  She smiled. "Sounds like fun. Sorry I missed it."

  He got up and led the way out of the bus. There was no bus depot—just a bench and a sign—but fifty yards away there was a gas station and a convenience store, a motel with adjoining restaurant and bar and a dozen or so houses.

  He walked over to the sign. It listed the bus schedule. The next bus to Nic Té Há would be at seven o'clock, two hours from now. Damn. He really didn't want to wait that long.

  "What do you think?" Katherine asked.

  "The clerk at the depot said this stop was only four miles or so from the village. We could walk that in the two hours it will take the next bus to get here."

  "But we don't know where we're going."

  "We've got the map."

  "It's not on the map."

  "True. But there must be some road signs. How difficult could it be?"

  She frowned. "Don't ask that question. You're just begging the universe to show us exactly how hard it could be. Why don't we go over to that convenience store and ask them if the bus is usually on time and/or if there's any other way to get to the village? I have to use the bathroom anyway."

  "All right. Are you game to walk if it comes down to it?"

  "Sure. Four miles is a piece of cake these days."

  "Maybe we can buy a flashlight at the store."

  They walked across the street, past the empty gas pumps and into the store. A middle-aged man sat behind the cash register. A very old TV played a Spanish soap opera on the counter next to him.

  While Katherine went to use the restroom, Jake used his limited amount of Spanish to ask for directions and get the clerk to draw the route on his map. Then he used what was left of their cash to purchase a flashlight, two bottles of water and a big chocolate bar for Kat.

  As he finished the transaction, he saw a Jeep pull up in front of one of the gas pumps. The man who got out of the driver's seat had on a baseball cap. His short-sleeved shirt revealed heavily tattooed arms. Jake's heart jumped against his chest. It was the same man he'd seen by the plane right before it blew up. Had they been followed all this way?

  There were two other men in the car, and one of them had a gun in his hand.

  Shit! He moved quickly toward the back of the store. Katherine was coming out of the restroom. He grabbed her hand. "We have to get out of here."

  "What's wrong?" she asked in alarm.

  "I just saw the men from the woods."

  "What?"

  He ignored her gasping question, thankful there was a way out of the building that allowed them to leave without being seen. Once they were through the back door, he moved quickly around the wall of the motel next door, pausing in the shadows to see if they were being followed.

  Katherine was plastered against his side, and he could feel her fear, but he didn't want to talk or move or do anything to draw attention. It seemed to take forever until he heard an engine. He carefully peeked around the wall and saw the Jeep pull out of the gas station and continue down the highway.

  "They're gone," he said, blowing out a breath of relief.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah. They didn't see us. Thank God I saw them before they came into the store."

  "I'm glad we weren't sitting at the bus stop." Her worried gaze met his. "Do you think they're tracking us? Was it just a coincidence that we're on the same road?"

  "I don't think it was a coincidence."

  "But how could they follow our trail? We've been in a car, a truck, a bus. We haven't talked to anyone since you called Rusty and that was from Eduardo's phone."

  "We've been seen, Kat. At the rental car place, the bus station, and the café where we had lunch." He paused. "They might have been following the bus and were far enough behind that they didn't see us get off."

  "That would be a break. Did you get directions to Nic Té Há?"

  "The clerk drew some lines on the map for me. He didn't speak much English, but I think he understood where I wanted to go. I just hope whoever went into the store to pay for gas didn't ask him if he'd seen us."

  "If that had happened, they wouldn't have left. The guy would have told them we were in the store minutes ago, and they would have searched for us."

  He cupped her face and kissed her mouth. "Sometimes I love your logical mind."

  "I'm going to remind you of that," she said dryly.

  "I'm sure you will. Let's start walking. With any luck we'll be sitting down with my great-grandmother in a few hours."

  * * *

  "Remember when you asked me how bad could the walk be? And I said you were tempting the universe to show us?" Katherine asked, as they took a break from walking three hours later. "Shouldn't we have gotten to the village by now?"

  He pulled out one of the water bottles and took a swig, then handed it to her. She was right. They should have reached the village by now. "I followed the directions exactly. See for yourself."

  She traded the bottled water for the map and the flashlight. After a moment, she said, "I actually can't make any sense of this, Jake. It's a bunch of lines and squiggles. Obviously, when we picked one of the paths off the main road, we made a mistake."

  He frowned. "Yeah, but that was an hour and a half ago. Do you really want to walk all the way back there and pick the other path?"

  "What's our other option?"

  "Keep going."

  She let out a sigh. "There's one good thing about this trip, I'm getting a lot of exercise." She pulled off her jacket. "It's a lot warmer tonight."

  He nodded. "We're a lot farther south than we were. We're getting into a more tropical climate."

  "Well, I'm happy not to be cold." She handed him back the flashlight and map. "Let's go."

  They walked for another ten minutes and then stopped abruptly as a large cement structure came into view. It was at least twenty feet high and fifty yards long.

  "What's this?" Katherine murmured.

  "It must be one of the Mayan ruins. They're all over the place down here," he said. They walked the length of the wall, then turned the corner and stepped into what had once been some sort of a courtyard with long cement steps overlooking a moonlit pool.

  "Wow," Katherine said. "It's beautiful."

  "It's called a cenote or a sacred well. The Mayans believe these wells to be portals to the gods. The water is purified by mineral-rich algae that can nourish the skin, so they sometimes believed the wells to also be similar to fountains of youth."

  She gave him a surprised look. "You know a lot about them."

  "There's one by my great-grandmother's house. She told me many legends about that pool of water. I suspect there are lots of stories to be told about this one, too." He felt a strange sense of reverence to the water, to the site that had been built so many years ago, to the people who had come before him. "It's strange to think I'm descended from the people who built this monument."

  "It is strange," she agreed. "I never thought much about the fact that your heritage was mixed. You were an American Texas boy to me."

  "But I have the blood of the Mayans running through my veins, too."

  "Do you feel cl
oser to that side of your family down here?"

  "I do," he admitted. "Especially here." He pointed to the far end of the pool. "It looks like the water flows into that cave. The Mayans thought that if you dove into the water and swam into the caves, you would find your way to the underworld. The men who tried and didn't come back were believed to have passed through a portal to another time and place and were raised to godly status."

  "Maybe they just drowned."

  He smiled at her practicality. "You're probably right, but don't tell my great-grandmother that."

  "I wouldn't do that."

  He looked around, thinking that the structure provided some protection from the elements in case the sky opened up again. He'd wanted to get to the village tonight, but he didn't see that happening, and they were both getting tired. "I think we should spend the night here, Kat. I messed up on the directions. We need some sunlight to help us find the village."

  "As much as I'm not looking forward to sleeping outside again, this place seems like our best option."

  "Yeah," he said roughly, frowning at the map once again.

  "It's not your fault, Jake. He could have misunderstood where you wanted to go."

  "I just wish the village was on the damn map. Maybe he did think I was talking about another place."

  "The good news is that I don't believe anyone is following us—at least I hope not."

  "I think we're safe."

  Katherine walked over to the steps under an overhang and sat down on the top step, stretching out her legs.

  He sat down next to her and pulled out the candy bar he'd been hoarding. "Look what I saved for you."

  Even in the shadowy moonlight, he could see the flicker of joy in her eyes. "You spent our last dollar on chocolate?"

  "You bet, just so I could see you smile."

  "You know me too well. Let's split it."

  "It's all yours if you want it."

  "I'd rather share it with you."

  He broke the candy bar in two pieces and gave her one.

  They slowly savored each bite. Katherine even licked her fingers as she popped the last piece of chocolate into her mouth. "That was…" She stopped and laughed. "I really can't say that was the best chocolate ever, can I?"

  "Why not? You're on a roll."

  "You definitely appreciate food more when it's in short supply."

  "Mamich will cook us a feast when we get there. She can take herbs from the garden and turn a potato into something magical."

  "It's too bad you didn't get to spend more time with her in your life."

  "My dad brought us a handful of times when we were really young, but my mother was grounded in Texas. She didn't like Mexico, and she didn't think my dad's family liked her much. Maybe that was true. My mother can sometimes be harsh and judgmental, and she certainly didn't have anything in common with my dad's side of the family. There was a huge cultural barrier."

  "Well, your great-grandmother will be happy to see you now. How old is she?"

  "Let's see, I think she's eighty-nine, maybe turning ninety this year. When I saw her ten years ago, she was very sharp, but that was a long time ago."

  "You haven't spoken with her since?"

  "I wrote to her a few years ago." He shook his head. "I should have kept in better touch. I know Alicia writes to her more often."

  "You said that you always spoke English with her; that's surprising, isn't it?"

  "Not for my great-grandmother. She was a teacher for many years, and she taught English to the villagers. She felt the children would need it as they moved away and went to the bigger cities and eventually perhaps to the States. I think it also always reminded her of her husband."

  "I'm glad she's fluent in English. It will be easier to communicate with her."

  "Definitely."

  Katherine looked up at the sky. "The moon is bright tonight—the stars, too."

  "No other light to block them out," he agreed.

  "It's beautiful here with the tropical trees, the majestic ruins, the water sparkling in the moonlight."

  He was surprised she could find the beauty in the moment. Katherine really had changed. She was usually worrying about the next potential problem, but apparently she had surrendered. "I agree."

  "Kind of romantic, in fact."

  He smiled. "You think so?"

  "Don't you?"

  "I suppose."

  "Come on, Jake. This is like a film set for a romantic movie."

  He laughed. "If you say so. It's beyond me to know and understand what women find romantic."

  She cocked her head to the right. "Tell me about the last woman you dated. How did you meet? How long did you go out?"

  "I don't know."

  "Yes, you do."

  "Fine. That would be Hannah. We met at a friend's birthday party a couple of months ago. We went out three times, and the third time was not the charm. I thought she was hot at the party, not nearly as interesting on the second date, and a bit of a mean girl on our third outing."

  "What did she do?"

  "We were at a bar with some of her friends, and she couldn't stop talking about how that one was too thin and the other one was a secret binge drinker and how she was sure they all talked about her behind her back. She was, in fact, the biggest gossip in the group. I knew she was going to be way too much drama. So that was the end of that. It was not a sad event. Your turn, Kat. Who was your last date?"

  "Harrison Carmichael. He was another resident. His family was Texas royalty. Not Houston, but Dallas."

  "Was he as pretentious as his name?" he teased.

  "No, he wasn't a snob; he was a nice guy. But I soon realized that he was as driven and anxious as I was. We revved each other up in a bad way. We didn't bring out the best in each other but rather the worst."

  "So you broke up with him?"

  "I was going to, but before I could do that I saw him having sex in an empty hospital room with a lab tech. I was shocked that he would do something like that. It was out of character. But you know what—he was so happy with that woman. I think he needed someone to push him in a different direction."

  "Where's the most interesting place you've ever had sex?" he asked curiously.

  She stared back at him. "You mean since we had sex in the car and at the beach and in your friend's boat?"

  "Yeah, since then," he said, her words arousing all kinds of beautiful memories of the passion they'd shared.

  "Well, let me think."

  "It should stand out in your mind. It should be one of those crazy moments that just happen without a lot of thought, so if you can't remember any, then—"

  "Hold on," she said, putting up her hand. "I don't have to remember, because…"

  "Because what?" he asked, his pulse taking a leap as she stood up. She tossed her jacket to the ground and then peeled off her top and bra.

  "Holy hell, what are you doing?" he asked, unable to tear his gaze away from her breasts.

  "I'm going for a swim in the sacred well."

  "No you're not. That would be crazy. There could be—things in there."

  She paused as she was about to unzip her jeans. "Things like what?"

  Now he was sorry he'd stopped her. "Fish, snakes, I don't know—creepy stuff."

  "You said the ancient Mayans bathed in these wells because the water was pure and rich in nutrients. I think we should try it."

  He stood up. "You didn't want to skinny-dip in a pool with me; now you want to jump into a dark pond in the Mexican jungle."

  "Yes. The old Kat was way too scared of nothing." She slid her jeans down over her legs. "I'm going in the pool. Are you coming with me?"

  "You're seriously going to do this?" His tongue felt thick in his mouth as he tried to make sense of what she was saying.

  "I seriously am. And if you want to join me, then the most interesting place I've ever had sex will be in a sacred pool by a Mayan ruin somewhere deep in Mexico." She turned and walked toward the water and the sight of
her bare body in the moonlight had him shedding his clothes as fast as he could.

  "It's cold," she said as she waded up to her knees. "How deep do you think it gets?"

  "Deep enough to take you to the underworld."

  She shot him a dark look. "Not your best line for foreplay, Jake."

  "I'd be happy to have sex right here. We can use our clothes for a blanket. It will be awesome."

  "Or…" She drew in a deep breath and plunged into the water up to her waist. "I can still touch the bottom."

  "What does it feel like?"

  "Come in and find out."

  He quickly found out the water was very, very cold. "What the hell? How are you not running out of here?"

  "I'm waiting for you to warm me up," she said, standing up in the pool so that the water came just above her hips. "What are you waiting for?"

  That was a very good question. He scrambled across the water, almost tripping in his haste to get to her.

  She laughed as he put his arms around her. "About time."

  "Hey, give me a minute to catch up. This is not the Katherine I know. I feel like I'm dreaming."

  "It's not a dream," she said, pressing her breasts against his chest. "It's what you always wanted to do—skinny-dip. I was just too afraid to do it, but I'm not anymore. I don't want to be that boring girl who never did anything exciting."

  "After this trip, I don't think you could ever say that."

  She gazed into his eyes. "Feel like helping me make a good memory?"

  "I think you can feel just how much I want to do that." He pulled her body even closer, so she could feel every hard inch of him. "Even in this freezing water, I still want you."

  "Then have me." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with a passion and a fervor that was a mix of the old Kat and the new Katherine.

  Then something splashed in the water next to them. Katherine screamed, and he jerked backward as he saw the water rippling toward them.

  He didn't know what the hell it was, but he didn't intend to wait around to find out. He grabbed Katherine's hand, and they ran out of the water.