“What the hell is going on?” said Burt. “How did they get the stuff?”
“Oh, fuck.” Before Grant had a chance to aim his gun, Tom butted him in the back of his head with his elbow.
“Okay, now run,” Rebecca whispered.
Hearing footsteps behind them, Rebecca looked over her shoulder to see Tom running, closely pursued by the four men.
Shots rang out in the forest and leaves sliced into their calves as they ran. Invisible or not, making this much noise made them too easy to track. A bullet whined over her head. “Come on, Amanda, you can run faster than that. Let’s pick up the pace.”
All at once, Tom veered in a different direction “Oh, crap,” cried Amanda. “He’s trying to route them away from us.”
Rebecca whipped her head around. Realizing they were safe for the moment, she leaned forward, resting her hands on her thighs to catch her breath. Sweat poured down her face and her lungs burned from sucking the humid air so deep in her lungs. Exertion here felt more like breathing liquid than oxygen. Amanda was no longer invisible, so Rebecca placed a hand on her shoulder. “You must have dropped your powder. I’ll give you some more in a second.”
Amanda’s pale face seemed to glow in the dark forest. She waved her arms in frustration and her voice rose in panic. “We’ve got to do something and fast. It’ll only take one shot to kill him.”
“Don’t worry. Tom will be fine—Kent’s out here somewhere, too. But let’s pursue him just in case. But first, take this—and hold onto it this time.” Rebecca tipped some powder into Amanda’s hand.
The women crept through the forest. Running footsteps and gunfire intermittently interrupted the sound of falling rain. Rebecca slowed her pace and whipped her head around, trying to determine the source of the sound.
Amanda stepped around her and strode ahead. “This is so awful. Where is he?”
“Wait, I see two of the men over there,” said Rebecca in a whisper. She pointed over Amanda’s shoulder.
“Bloody hell, the other one disappeared, too,” said Grant. “How did that happen? I thought you said they didn’t know about those rocks. How did these people get their hands on the stuff?”
Rebecca patted Amanda’s arm. “I told you Kent would get to him.”
“Beats me, but we can play the same game.” After spitting another glob of tobacco into the surrounding grass, Doug pulled a vial from his pocket. “It’s time to go undercover boys.”
Chapter Eleven
Bunny dialed the number Kent had written down and drummed her fingernails on the kitchen counter. A gruff man answered.
She cleared her throat. “Hello, this is Bunny Miller. I’m one of the assistants on Kent Dunbar’s mission. I’m calling because I have some information you need to know right away.”
Bunny strained to hear Rich’s voice—he sounded like he was talking from another solar system. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I can barely hear you.”
Bunny rubbed her sweaty hands together and fidgeted on her feet. From across the room, Winston gave her a thumbs up sign. Keep trying.
Shouting to make her words more intelligible, she introduced herself. Once Rich urged her to continue, she launched into her story. She told him Amanda and Tom had been kidnapped, that Kent and Rebecca had gone after them, and that people had tried to kill her at the Sheraton in Dong Hoi.
“Where are you now?”
Bunny explained how she’d been rescued by a man outside her door and taken to his residence.
“Are you sure you’re safe there?” Rich asked.
That all depended on how he defined safe. Her life wasn’t at risk with Winston, but her heart was anything but secure. “Yes, I’m positive. There’s no need for you to worry. This Winston has been more generous than you can imagine.”
“Very well. Can you give me a phone number I can reach you just in case?”
“Sure, just a minute, please.” She stepped out on the patio and held the phone away from her mouth to ask Winston for the number. Once he answered, she shook her head, mimed thanks and spoke back into the phone. “I’m really worried about my friends. Will you call here as soon as they’re found?”
“Yes, as soon as we have some concrete information, I’ll be in touch.”
Bunny thanked the man before concluding the call.
She walked out on the deck, which offered a stunning view of the South China Sea. Winston stood leaning on the railing, one foot crossed over the other ankle. She wasn’t sure what looked more tantalizing, the turquoise water glistening under the sunlight or the sculpted shape of Winston’s backside in dark-blue swimming trunks. “I just finished talking to Rich, the leader of the Vietnam Vets who is tracking those smugglers. He’s out in the jungle with a bunch of other soldiers trying to get to their cave camp. But now he’s going to double back and see if he can help rescue my friends who have been kidnapped.”
Winston turned toward her and took her hands in his. The sudden skin-to-skin contact caught Bunny by surprise, making her feel light-headed. “I’m sure they will rescue them before you know it. You’ve done your part now, so why don’t we go enjoy the sea?”
“I’d like that. Let me run and get a swimsuit.” Bunny pouted, more to get attention than anything else. “I bet your sister’s skinny like you, though. Maybe they won’t fit me.”
Winston’s one-sided smile and wandering gaze suggested he imagined her body outlined in a swimsuit already. “If it shows a little more skin than it’s supposed to, I won’t mind in the least.”
Bunny blushed and bolted up the stairs toward her room. She peeled off her clothes and rifled through the top drawers. One was crammed with swimsuits. She decided to pass on the string bikinis—one wave would carry it away and leave her naked.
Sparks danced over her body as she imagined standing unclothed beside Winston. The man had brought her libido back to life. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to experience flying high feelings of attraction after four years with Jason. Now I feel alive again, not to mention barely able to think or speak coherently.
She wriggled into a confining black maillot, accented with sheer panels on either side and between her breasts. She admired herself in the full-length mirror, liking how the suit accented her curvy shape. She descended the stairs and joined Winston on the deck. “I’m ready.”
He gazed at her over the rim of his sunglasses. “Yes, I see that. You look brilliant in that suit.”
Bunny felt her whole body blush. She batted her eyelashes and dropped her eyes to the ground. “Thanks.”
Winston cleared his throat and slid his sunglasses back into place. “Well, let’s walk on down to the beach then.”
“Great, let’s go.” As he walked past her, a rush of tingles raced up her neck. Bunny wrung her hands, feeling suddenly awkward. This man stole all her control, which she found both frightening and exciting.
He turned toward her after he stepped inside. “Let’s go out the front door so I can secure these sliders. On a day like today, you can never be too careful.”
After sliding the glass door shut, Winston stretched the gate of bars across and bolted it. Wrought iron bars were already in place on all the windows. He opened a drawer in the kitchen and grabbed his gun and waved it in the air. “This should keep those buggers away.”
They walked side by side down the steps into the sand. Bunny relished the squeeze of sand between her toes. Equatorial sun warmed her back. Everything about this moment feels so perfect. She wondered what Winston’s hands would feel like skimming down low on her spine. A flicker of breeze on her skin made it easier to imagine.
Bunny shuffled her feet into the shallow water, which lapped soothingly around her ankles. “The water feels great.” She touched the water and brushed it over her arms. It feels so sensual.
* * * *
Winston’s male instincts kicked into overdrive when Bunny massaged water over her body. The water glistened on her smooth skin, exaggerating its curvy contours. When she spil
led water above her breasts, he muffled a gasp. Oh, to be a lucky drop of water gliding down there.
Despite his above-average libido, he couldn’t remember lusting after a woman’s physique quite like this before. Although Bunny was an extremely enticing woman, their life-and-death struggle had enhanced the attraction, he told himself.
They’d be alone together for days with not a lot to occupy their time. The more he feasted his eyes on Bunny’s curves, the more he ached to have her naked and panting under his weight.
He tried to push aside his lascivious thoughts. But then he thought about Bunny’s big puppy-dog eyes. They spoke more directly than her mouth. Every time they gazed in his direction, they said I want to be touched. How could he not respond to this kind of persuasion?
As long as she knows it’s just fun, we can just have a bit of a fling and then go our separate ways.
For some reason, the thought of Bunny leaving didn’t sit well in his belly. He found that strange. Relationships lasting more than days or weeks had never been his style. But there was something about Bunny he’d never seen in any other woman. It wasn’t just the way the sun glistened on her soft damp curves. Her energy and ability to bounce back and dive into life thrilled him. The woman had been through hell.
For some reason, he found himself wanting to protect her from bastards like her ex.
“Well, are you going to get in the water or not? You’re looking way too serious over there.” Bunny pouted and turned away before plunging in the water.
When she surfaced and began swimming a jerky breaststroke, he slid into the water and swam up beside her. “Hey, don’t go out over your head. Sometimes there are currents out here.”
“So you think I can’t handle myself?” She gazed over at him, her brows raised flirtatiously.
Blimey, she’s alluring when she’s wet. Her wet dark hair clung to the sides of her face, exaggerating her cheekbones and making her brown eyes look bigger and livelier than ever.
His penis swelled inside his swimsuit. Oh, shit. I’m going to be the one drowning here if I don’t watch it. “No. I just don’t think we should go out any further, that’s all.”
“Look, I know how to do the survival float,” Bunny proudly proclaimed before she flopped forward, letting her arms and legs dangle down in the water while her back and bum floated up.
His tongue slid over his lips as he absorbed the stunning view of black lycra clinging to her rounded backside. “Yes, I see that,” he said when she bobbed up for a breath, wiping water from her pink lips. “I’m very impressed.”
“I’d say more like aroused.” She teased. “Were you looking at my butt?”
“Of course—” A wave splashed into his face. “Not.” He sputtered out the final word, blushing.
Bunny burst out laughing and then splashed him again. “You’re a really bad liar, you know.”
“It was hard not to notice the way it rose up in front of my face.” He treaded water and started tracing its shape in the air before he realized how ridiculous his gestures must look.
“I can see it had an effect on you. I’ll try to keep it out of sight from now on.”
“You don’t have to do that. I rather liked looking at your bum.”
“Well if you want to look again, you’ll have to chase me.” Bunny surface dived and started breaststroke kicking underwater toward shore.
He paddled after her until she broke the surface to draw in an urgent breath.
“You better watch out—I’m catching up,” said Winston.
“Yes, I can see that.” By now, Bunny was red in the face and out-of-breath.
The surf quickly carried them back up to the beach. Bunny allowed a wave to carry her up on the sand. She jumped up, sand sticking to the front of her swimsuit and the pearly white skin above her breasts.
He sucked in a breath, aching to peel her swimsuit off. But he knew he didn’t dare. The woman had been hurt, so he had to ensure she was on board before things got heavy.
“My butt isn’t even visible, but you’re still staring at me.” Bunny waved a hand in front of his eyes.
Winston blinked and refocused his gaze. “Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right. But I couldn’t help noticing the sand.”
“The sand? Is that the new term for these?” She bounced her breasts under her palms and then turned and sprinted toward the house. Her out-turned feet scattered sand in every direction.
Winston was too entranced by her bouncing backside to notice she was a clumsy runner until she tripped and stumbled to her knees. “Ouch.”
“Here, let me help you up.” Winston reached for her sand encrusted hands and pulled her to her feet, steadying her with his other arm. Her enormous brown eyes begged him to step in closer. While his libido urged him to crush her lips in a kiss, his intellect told him to keep his distance.
This close to her magnetic, pleading eyes, he was a caught fish. Closing his eyes, he leaned in to claim her glossy pink lips. But his mouth met empty air. He opened his eyes to see that Bunny had stepped away.
“I have to pee so bad, my bladder feels like it’s going to explode.” She strode briskly toward the house.
Winston clapped his hands to his head, following reluctantly behind her. She had to know what he was about to do. He wondered if she was as afraid of involvement as he was. It made sense after all she’d been through with Jason. Winston wanted to be the man to let her know that everything could be all right. With him.
Chapter Twelve
Rich stuffed the phone back in his pocket and motioned for the men to stop walking. “We’ve got a new development. Bunny Miller just called to report that Amanda and Tom have been kidnapped and Rebecca and Kent are pursuing them. I propose we split up into two groups. One can proceed to the cave to protect the onsite personnel and the other can backtrack and attempt a rescue.”
Rich and Duc An, the local militia leader, worked out the logistics of dividing up the troops and within minutes the groups had split apart.
Rich, leading the group to rescue Kent, hacked his way through the jungle with his machete and sloshed his way through the intermittent rivers. He used his compass to match the trend they’d walked, while cutting a new path through the brush so they’d be less likely to be surprised. He knew the best way to stay ahead of the game was to act in an unexpected manner. His logic had kept him and others alive in numerous cases in the past.
Still, these new developments distressed him.
In a matter of hours, they’d lost the upper hand. He’d expected to reach the cave the next day, have a quick gun battle, and call it finished. This kidnapping had already forced them to split up into smaller groups.
He wasn’t sure if Bunny was secure or not. For all he knew, she was calling under duress just to set him up. Either way, she was one person and sometimes minimizing casualties was the best you could hope for.
Right now, his number one priority was getting Kent back alive. He owed that much to his father for saving his butt out here before. If necessary, Rich would sacrifice his life to make sure Edward’s son left this jungle alive.
Serving his country and protecting people with purpose meant everything to Rich.
He’d always lived a solitary life, never allowed himself to get too close to anyone. The men he’d served with had mattered more to him than anyone else. They’d been his family.
Hell, he’d never even known his parents. Both drug-users, they’d abandoned him when he was five. And he’d passed from foster home to foster home until he turned eighteen. No one had wanted him. He was too stoic, too unemotional, his temporary caregivers would say. Emotions are worthless in a situation like this, he thought.
Little light filtered through the trees and cutting their way through the forest became increasingly difficult. No breeze stirred the sticky, still air. Rich wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Discomfort and hardship were a way of life for Rich, the price paid to get a job done.
His men had already b
een briefed on his intentions—they’d walk all night if they had to. Rescuing Kent and the others had become their top priority, sleep be damned.
He knew the biggest thing he had to be careful of on a trek like this was getting too comfortable. Hacking and pushing his way through the leaves in this sticky heat, he could easily fall into a stupor. That had gotten too many men he knew killed in the war. The men would reminisce about the people they’d left behind instead of remaining silent and vigilant. And then a shot would ring out and half the person’s head would be missing. He sighed, wanting to push those grisly images out of his mind.
Stay alert and on top of your game. He blinked often, turning his head this way and that, directing his gaze on any sudden movement like an eagle on the hunt for new prey. His arm muscles flexed as he kept his weapon up in front of his chest ready to fire. As the group leader, he knew he’d be the first to fall. In case that happened, he’d have to stay alive long enough to fill his attacker full of holes.
Rich jerked his weapon toward some low-lying underbrush. “Over there,” he whispered, motioning his men in the direction of the sound. They formed a circle around the perimeter, surrounding it from every side.
“Wait, don’t shoot,” said a voice that sounded like Kent’s. “And be careful. The smugglers are as invisible as I am.”
Rich raised his hands to stop the approach of the rest of the men. “Hold your fire, men.” He inched his way toward the source of the sound. “Say what? Kent is that you? Why can’t I see you?”
The men lowered their weapons and turned their heads toward Rich. Their mouths had fallen open and confusion registered on their faces.
Kent’s voice called out from empty space. “Hey, I really appreciate your putting the guns down guys. I rather wanted to keep my head intact a little while longer.”
The men looked at each other and shifted uneasily on their feet.
The Unseen Page 10