The pile blocking their way seemed never-ending. No sooner did they remove some of the loose face than more slid forward to take its place.
“Are we getting anywhere?” Layla asked.
“We’d better be. I don’t intend to stay stuck in here when you and I have such a wonderful future ahead of us.”
“You meant it? You love me?”
“Of course I did. Have I ever lied to you?”
“No.”
She bent her head, letting her loose curls drop beside her cheeks to hide new tears that insisted on being shed. It wasn’t fair. She and Michael had just discovered their mutual love. They couldn’t lose that.
“I love you, too,” she said quietly. “So much I can’t even tell you.”
“Then save it for later, when we’re safe and sound.”
A tender, poignant vow came to mind. Layla kept it to herself rather than trust her voice.
I will love you, Michael Vance, for the rest of my life. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. Till death do us part. Even if that’s only a few hours away.
Julianna’s dog had lost the scent of the humans she was tracking soon after they’d left the barn area. While the others followed the horse’s hoofprints on foot and aboard four-wheel-drive ATVs, she piled into a truck with Norberto. Angel sat between them, eager as ever.
“Take it slow,” she cautioned. “Make sure we don’t get sidetracked because we’re in too big a hurry.”
He was leaning out the driver’s window. “I can see the trail. We will find them.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I do not know. We have much trouble here. Señor Sam has been investigating.”
“Really? Investigating what?”
Norberto filled her in on the details as they drove, then suddenly slammed on the brakes.
“What is it?”
“Here. This is where the horses were when they started to run!” He stared at the disturbed ground, then triggered his walkie-talkie. “Señor Vance? Doctor? Can you hear me?”
The radio crackled, sounding like someone was frying bacon instead of responding. Norberto leaned on the truck’s horn; three long bursts, three short, three long, three short.
“SOS.” Julianna grinned. “Okay. C’mon, Angel. Here’s where you go to work!”
Inside the mine, Layla and Michael had worked to near exhaustion. She knew they’d been pumped up by an initial surge of adrenaline that was now dissipating. She also knew that although they should have been tired from their hard labor, there was more to their current fatigue than that. They must be running low on oxygen.
Michael had shed his jacket. Clearly, he was forcing himself to go on when his muscles were screaming for rest. Hers certainly were.
“Stop,” Layla said, reaching to clasp his hand and still it. “That’s enough. Rest.”
“No!”
“Michael. Look at me. Please? The light’s fading. The batteries are almost dead. I don’t want to spend our last hours together fighting with you.”
Tears glistened, unshed. His shoulders sagged. “I won’t give up. I can’t. We’ll get out of here.”
“And if we don’t?”
“Don’t talk like that.” He grasped both her hands and gazed into her eyes. “God won’t let us die.”
“I hope you’re right. Then again, who are we that we should be given more second chances than anyone else?”
He set his jaw and didn’t answer, so she went on. “I used to pray for things all the time when I was a child. When I didn’t get answers, like a kid with a wish list of expensive toys and a rich daddy, I thought God wasn’t listening to me.”
“Now you think He was?”
“Yes. If I’d been raised differently, if my parents had been able to give me everything I’d asked for, I might never have become the person I am today.” She smiled sweetly. “I might never have met you. Never have discovered where I belonged.”
He pulled her closer and she rested her cheek on his chest, listening to the solid beating of his heart.
“I do belong here with you,” Layla said quietly. “Believe me, I’m not ready to give up and die. I just want you to rest a little. To hold me like this.”
“Without a chaperone?”
She raised her face to him and smiled. “We have Wilbur. He’s taking a nap but I think he still counts.”
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Uh-huh. About time you realized.” Ignoring the grime they were both covered with, she slipped her arms around Michael’s waist and gave him a squeeze before letting go. “Okay, cowboy. That’s enough R & R. Back to work.”
Michael smiled condescendingly. “All right. You can be the boss for once. Just don’t get too used to giving orders.” He sobered. “You might want to pray more while you’re at it, too.”
“More? I haven’t stopped praying since somebody tried to blow us up.”
To her delight and comfort, Michael nodded and said, “Neither have I.”
“It’s through here,” Julianna called. “Follow us. Angel has the scent!”
Norberto was trailing them with an additional spotlight. He played it over the pile of rock blocking the tunnel ahead. “Are you sure?”
“Angel is. That’s good enough for me.”
The eager dog had started to whine and dig at the base of the slide. Julianna restrained her. “Easy, baby. You’ve done your part. We’ll get them out for you.”
Trying to inform the other searchers of their find, Norberto discovered that his cell phone was useless inside the mine.
He dashed outside to make the call. “We found them! The horses led us this far and the dog did the rest. Follow my tire tracks. And be careful when you leave the road. I almost got stuck.”
In seconds he’d returned to Julianna. “I’m not going to wait. Start digging.”
“With what?” She scowled at him.
“Hands.” He was already flinging stones the size of concrete blocks out of the way.
“There’s a shovel in the truck. I’ll get it and help you,” she said. “C’mon, Angel.”
The German shepherd dug in her claws, crouched by the wall of loose rock and began barking frantically in spite of Julianna’s tugging on her harness.
“Angel. What’s gotten into you?”
Norberto held up his hand. “Hush. Listen. Do you hear something?”
“Only barking.” She managed to quiet her dog long enough to gain a few seconds’ peace. “Maybe. Was that a voice?”
“I think so.” Norberto renewed his efforts. “I left the phone in the truck. Tell the rescue party to hurry!”
Layla was so exhausted she was imagining things. Considering the way every little sound echoed inside the sealed chamber, it wasn’t surprising that her ears were playing tricks on her. First, she’d imagined the far-off tooting of a horn and now she was almost convinced she could hear talking. No wonder. Not only was there still a buzz in her head from the explosion, whenever Michael tossed aside another boulder it seemed to make the very walls of their prison vibrate.
Michael sank to his knees. Layla knelt beside him. She thought he might be praying until he asked, “Do you hear something?”
She listened. “No. I thought I did, but…”
“I thought so, too.”
Layla gently touched his forearm. “It’s okay.” The gesture was meant to comfort, not upset him.
He froze. Shook her off. Held up his hand. “Shush.”
“Why? I don’t hear a thing.”
“I don’t either, now.”
“Well you don’t have to grumble at me. It’s not my fault. I…” She was silenced by Michael’s unexpected kiss.
Her pulse hammered in her ears. She shivered in spite of his warm embrace. Maybe fear and exhaustion had unhinged his mind and destroyed his grip on reality. He certainly wasn’t behaving as sanely as he had been.
Nevertheless, Layla embraced him with all the love in her heart, wil
ling him to accept the truth of her devotion. They might not be granted years in which to express their love, to grow in understanding and deepen their ties the way other couples did. If these few minutes or hours were all that remained, she couldn’t deny Michael the kisses he wanted.
Suddenly, her whirling thoughts broke away from the moment at hand and zeroed in on something else. Something in the distance. It sounded as if mice were scratching on the other side of the rock slide!
Her eyes flew open, met Michael’s knowing gaze.
He eased his hold and nodded. “Now do you hear it?”
“Yes!” Layla squealed in delight. To the slide she shouted, “Help! We’re in here. Help!”
A muffled answer was punctuated by the barking of a dog. Layla grabbed Michael’s hand. “You’re not crazy!”
He managed a chuckle. “I sure hope not. It sounds like we’re going to be rescued.”
El Jefe stood back and grinned. His enemies had walked right into his trap, like the fools they were. It was a fitting end for Michael Vance and his pretty vet. The only thing that would have been more to his liking was the opportunity to actually watch them die. To see the looks on their faces when he stood over them and they breathed their last.
He reached for his phone and punched in a familiar number. This was too precious a moment to keep to himself. He had to share the victory, to let his closest cohort know how clever he’d been once again.
The moment he heard, “Hello,” he began to relate the details of his latest triumph.
“I have done away with Vance and the woman,” he said. “They died knowing about that idiot Ben, the foreman I killed, and the poison. It was a brilliant ending.”
“What will you do now?”
“Move on,” El Jefe said. “There are many more of my enemies to tend to.”
“But they will suspect.”
“Not if I plan carefully and leave the right clues.” He paused to chuckle with conceit. “Vance’s first foreman disappeared without a trace. The second can easily fall victim to the same fate. So can any of his ranch hands. No one will suspect me.”
“I thought you said Vance and the woman had found the foreman’s body in the mine.”
El Jefe laughed again, this time with more gusto. “They found the body all right. And they were buried with it. I saw to that. With Michael Vance gone and no one ready to take his place, the Double V will either fail or be sold. Either way, I win.”
“Where will you go?”
“Into hiding, for the time being. I can operate out of the same tunnels we use to smuggle the drugs. If I have needs, you can supply them.”
The sputtered answer on the other end of the line disgusted him. He broke the connection and slipped the phone back into his pocket. No one truly understood a superior intellect like his. They were all fools. He tolerated them only because they were necessary, not because he intended to honor his promises. Let them complain. He didn’t care. He answered to no one but himself. Not even God could touch him.
Turning away, he started for the Double V. There was work to do. Loose ends to tie up. Clues to plant. The place was practically deserted, thanks to the useless rescue efforts that had drawn everyone into the hills. He’d never have a better opportunity than he had right now.
Norberto’s hands were raw and bleeding. He’d dug until the rescue unit arrived. Then, fatigue had overcome him and he’d allowed himself to be helped from the mine and properly cared for.
A portable generator had been set up at the entrance to provide light. An air compressor was already pumping oxygen to the trapped victims via a pipe that had been driven through the thinnest portion of the slide, near the tunnel roof.
“They’ll be all right. You’ll see,” Julianna told him. “It’s just a matter of time now.”
Norberto had the strength to do little more than nod as a medic bandaged his hands and eased his pain.
Finally, he spoke to the young, dark-haired woman who had been the answer to his prayers. “Thank you for coming. I know it is hard for you.”
“Yes,” she said. “Very hard.”
“But still you do it. That is a gift.”
“I suppose you could say that. Angel’s the one with the gift, though. Sometimes I think it’s as hard on her to be too late to save someone as it is on me. When we lose a victim she mopes for days, like she’s failed.”
“Ah,” Norberto said softly, “I see. But you are wiser. You know it is not in your hands.”
“But it is.”
“No. Your job is to do your best. To do what you have been trained for. The rest we must leave to God.”
Chapter Fifteen
Michael heard the rescue workers clearly when one of them shouted, “Stand clear. We’re about to break through.”
He stepped beside Layla and put his arm around her when he saw she was shivering. “Know what I’m going to do first when we get out of here?”
“Take a shower?”
“After that,” he said with a low chuckle.
“No. What?”
“Buy you a decent jacket. Preferably one with sleeves.”
“My vest is comfortable.”
“Fine. You can wear it when you’re working with animals. The rest of the time, I want you to have a coat that actually keeps all of you warm.”
“Picky, picky, picky.” She smiled. “Are you going to let me have my truck back pretty soon, too? I miss having wheels.”
“You think I’ve kept your truck from you?”
“Probably.” Her smile widened. “And I forgive you. After all, if I hadn’t stayed around we wouldn’t have gotten stuck in here together and finally admitted how we felt.”
Michael’s grip tightened into a hug. “True. A lot has happened in a very short time. If you change your mind after you’ve had time to think about it, I’ll understand.”
“Oh, no. If you expect me to grant you the same concession, you have another think coming,” Layla said, slipping her arms around his waist. “I don’t plan on changing anything, especially not the way I feel about you, so you’d better get used to having me around.”
“Yes, ma’am. Like I said before, it’ll be my pleasure.”
Above them, the rocks at the top of the pile began to move. Bright light flooded the cavern.
A rescue worker in a yellow helmet poked his head in. “You folks all right?”
“Never better,” Michael said, shielding Layla with his body to protect her from any falling rocks. “We’re sure glad to see you guys.”
“Same here,” the man said. “We’ve got an ambulance standing by. Have you out of there in two shakes of a calf’s tail.”
“Speaking of calves,” Layla called, peeking around Michael, “we have a little one trapped in here with us. Can you take him out first?”
“Better do as the doc says and keep her happy,” Michael added. “If she gets mad she’s liable to make us all eat vegetables.”
He and Layla were already smiling as the rescuer retreated. When they heard him tell his fellow team members, “You’re not going to believe this,” they burst into gales of laughter.
Layla giggled and chortled until tears ran down her face, streaking the dust.
Michael wiped his eyes. “I think we’re overreacting.”
She nodded, gasping for breath. “Probably. I get silly when I’m overtired.”
“No doubt you’re relieved, too.”
“Boy, that’s the truth.” She managed to regain control of her emotions. “I’m glad it wasn’t our time to go.”
“Yeah. Me, too. I’m definitely not ready.” He drew her closer. “You and I have a lot of living to do. Together.”
“I think it would be wise to give ourselves a little time to get over all this trauma before we make any definite plans, don’t you? We’ve been through a lot.”
“We sure have. It’ll probably take weeks to get all the dust out of our hair, let alone heal what we did to our hands trying to dig our way out of here.�
��
“I still wouldn’t trade a minute of it,” Layla said. “It was exactly what we needed.”
Michael agreed. He didn’t believe the cave-in had been divine intervention but things had turned out for the best anyway. Whoever had set off the explosives, thinking to end their lives, had inadvertently given them a new start.
No doubt Pastor Gabriel would imagine the Lord’s hand in the disaster, Michael mused, in spite of their ending up trapped by it. He disagreed until he remembered the way the calf had balked and delayed Layla’s intended progress toward the main tunnel.
His mouth went dry, his breath caught, his gut tied in a knot as hefty as one of those boulders.
If Layla hadn’t been so concerned for Wilbur’s feelings she would have been buried by tons of loose rock. And he’d have been right beside her.
It didn’t take a theologian to recognize a beneficial, even providential, act when he saw it.
Wilbur had been reunited with his unhappy mama and had nursed, to Winona’s great relief. By the time Layla and Michael got cleaned up and met with the police in the kitchen of the main house, everything was back to normal. Smokey and Molly were snoozing beneath the table and King lay at his master’s feet.
Norberto and Imelda had gone home but the capable cook had prepared enough food for a small army so Michael insisted Sam and Becca stay for supper. He had more than the detectives’ well-being in mind, however. He wanted to stay close to Layla, no matter what, and was using the others as a convenient buffer.
“I should be getting home.” Sam pushed away from the table. “Jessi will worry. I try to always be there to tuck in Amy and the twins.” He smiled proudly. “Guess I’ve spoiled them.”
“Have some dessert first,” Michael urged. “Imelda’s cakes are delicious.”
Sam patted his stomach. “No, thanks. I’m stuffed. But I will let you send some home with me.”
“Done.” Michael jumped up and brought the cake to the table with a flourish.
Layla and Becca exchanged glances. Layla’s eyebrows arched. “I don’t know how you do it, cowboy. I’m so sore I can hardly move and you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” The analogy made her wince. “Sorry. Poor choice of words.”
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