She watched Winston pace back and forth inside the house, the phone clutched to one ear. Worry lines creased his normally boyish features, making him look ten years older as he explained why a woman not registered to drive his truck not only took off in his truck, but also ended up being attacked in the process.
When he concluded the call, he strode outside and sat in a chair across from her, fixing his eyes on the ocean, leaving the glass of wine he’d poured for himself untouched.
“How did it go?”
He glanced in her direction and some of the tension lines released from his face. “All right, I suppose. They’re a tad confused by my story, but they said if I submit photos and got a police report, they’ll process the claim.”
“You haven’t called the police yet, have you?”
Winston sighed and scratched his chin before picking up the wine bottle to refill Bunny’s glass. “Not yet. What if there’s something dodgy there, too? I’m inclined to wait until morning so I can stop by the British Embassy first and let them know what’s happening.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me.”
Winston pressed his lips together, apparently considering what she had said. “Well, perhaps I will wait then,” he said after a long pause.
“I think we should assume everyone’s suspicious unless they give us good reason to trust them. I could call Rich—the expedition leader’s father saved his life during the war so I’m sure he’s loyal—maybe they could send someone here to help.”
“That’s brilliant. Why don’t you try to get him on the line?” Winston handed her a wireless phone that lay on the table.
“Okay.” Bunny punched in the number, but the phone rang a few times and then the call got disconnected. “No one’s answering—they must be out of range at the moment. I’ll try a little later. And as for whom to trust, I promise from now on, you can count on me. I just got confused over my feelings, that’s all.”
Tas scratched on the screen door and Winston slid the door open to let her out. The dog took a few lilting steps and collapsed in a fluffy heap beside his chair.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Winston crossed one leg over the other and gazed out toward the ocean.
Bunny wasn’t sure where to start. How about with the truth? If she’d been honest in the first place, Winston’s car wouldn’t be wrecked. “Actually, I do. But this isn’t going to be easy.” She paused. “I only left because I worried I’d end up a burden to you later.”
“Why on earth would you think you’d be a burden?”
Bunny shifted uneasily in her chair. “The first time we met, I felt instantly attracted to you. That rush of energy snapped me right out of that funk I’d been in for too long. And as much as I wanted to just run with the emotions that made me feel so happy I felt like I could fly, you’re not a man I could have a one-night stand with. I know that sounds ridiculous. After all, I barely know you. But so many little things about you have grown on me and I worried if we slept together, I’d end up all weepy and emotional. You don’t seem like someone who would want to deal with romantic hassles, if you know what I mean.”
Bunny paused, thinking again about Kent and Rebecca. “But I haven’t really seen any meaningful relationships develop that didn’t involve turmoil, so I guess I was being really unrealistic about all this anyway.”
Winston scratched his chin and leaned toward her, resting his hand over hers. His brilliant green irises shimmered like sunlight on a shallow sea. “I’m thrilled you were able to share that with me, Bunny. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but I understand much better now what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours. And you’re right, I am a bit of a live day-by-day kind of bloke, so I can’t make any promises. I won’t deny I wanted to peel that swimsuit off the instant I saw you wearing it, but there’s more than that. I respect you and care about your feelings. If you don’t want this to escalate, it doesn’t have to. We can enjoy each other’s company without any slap and tickle if you want, and I’ll just let you know when I need to step out for a cold shower.”
Bunny laughed, feeling like a heavy load had been lifted off her shoulders. “I appreciate that you listened to what I had to say and that you’re so understanding. And I do want to explore my feelings for you. I don’t know why I panicked. I guess I’m kind of a relationship train wreck.”
Winston picked up her hand from the table and raised it to his lips, kissing one finger at a time. “It’s going to be hard for you to start over again after someone mistreated you for so long. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences myself that I’d rather forget.”
“Any you can tell me about?”
Winston frowned and shook his head, laying her hand gently back down on the table. “I dated a woman named Cheryl once who never trusted me. She hired two detectives and had me followed to and from the University, grocery store and every other place I went over the course of a day. I kept seeing these same two blokes everywhere and one morning, I confronted them in a coffee shop. After I told them to mind their own business, I told Cheryl I couldn’t carry on a relationship with someone who couldn’t trust me. She threatened to kill herself if I left. I felt like such a cad for leaving, but I couldn’t stay on with a woman like that.” Winston clenched his fists and his face reddened. “I called her mother and suggested she watch out for her for a while. It was such a bloody mess.”
Bunny reached for one of his hands, massaging it with her fingers until he finally let it loosen. “That’s just awful. It must have been terrible for you. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that.”
“Yeah, well at least it’s all over now. I’d much rather spend the moment enjoying your company.” A boyish smile spread across his face. He pulled his chair closer.
Bunny raised her wine glass and waited for Winston to pick up his. “Here’s to better luck finding romantic partners.”
Winston clinked glasses with her as his gaze locked on hers. “I’ll toast to that.”
Chapter Fifteen
Late the next afternoon, the group approached the yawning cave mouth, which looked like an enormous black hole in the middle of the jungle. Duc An and his men had already set up camp and strode over to welcome them. Kent studied the others—the women in particular looked totally exhausted. Rebecca and Amanda had dropped their backpacks on the ground and sagged against a tree. Kent wanted everyone to stay alert and watchful. “Be careful where you step around here. And where you set down your stuff. The Asian Lance-head and his relatives hang around these cave entrances.” Kent hacked at the ground with his machete and then picked up two ends of a brilliant yellow snake.
Rebecca gasped and Amanda jumped back.
“So you’re saying there are more snakes around the caves than everywhere else we’ve been?” Rich brushed a calloused finger over the dead snake, which continued twitching. He pursed his lips, studying it curiously.
Kent passed half of the snake to Rich so he could examine it more closely. He understood why his father respected the man so much. He was always curious to know more and never seemed to let his guard down for even a second. Kent sometimes doubted he even slept. “That’s right. Vipers love caves because they’re full of bats—and bats are snakes’ idea of fine dining. The snakes around caves tend to be the most venomous, because that bat has to die quick so it doesn’t fly away.”
Rich pried the mouth open with his pinky to study the razor-sharp fangs. “Seven steps and you’re dead?”
“Not always, but bites can kill if the person’s physically weak or not treated immediately.”
Rich scratched his chin and turned his gaze toward the cave mouth. “Let’s not take any chances. I’ll have my men clear all the vegetation from the perimeter of the cave mouth so no one gets bitten during the climbs.”
“That’s an excellent idea, Rich. While you work on that, I’ll radio my men. They’re hunkered down below at Camp One.”
He depressed the button on his radio. “David, are you there? This is Kent
here. We finally made it back—we’re up above you now. Is everything okay down there?”
“Everything’s good down here,” said David. “As far as we know, other than Duc An, who communicated with us several hours ago, no one’s been in the area.”
Rich wasted no time organizing the men. Within seconds, they were hacking down small trees and plants and slicing up snakes whenever they found them.
The tension from Kent’s shoulders slackened. He was relieved that David and the others were safe. “That’s great to hear, David. I’m glad to hear your voice. Hey, I’ve got a few surprises to tell you about.” He explained that the ladies hadn’t left the country and what they’d learned about the mysterious powder.
“Are you coming down?”
Kent didn’t want to make any decisions without consulting Rich. They were working as a team now. “I’d like to, but let me confirm that first.”
Kent released the talk button on the radio and turned toward Rich. “I’d like to take the women to the camp down below for the night if you don’t mind. They’ll be safer there, and I’d like to bring David up to speed on everything that’s happening.”
Rich looked up from his weed hacking work to give him a quick nod. “I’m good with that.”
“We’ll surface once the archaeologist arrives so we can make the march to the cave where we found the gemstones. Would you mind calling our helicopter pilot, Ray, to confirm the plan and ask when we should expect them to arrive?”
“Sure. I’ll do it right away.” He slid his machete into his belt and pulled a satellite phone out of a side pocket of his cargo pants. Kent was astounded at the size of the man’s muscles. Veins bulged from his flexing biceps as he held the phone to his ear.
Kent walked a few steps away and pressed the button on his radio. “David, I just talked to Rich. He’s okay with us coming down. We’ll start our descent in a few minutes. I’ll radio again once we’re underway.”
Once Kent wrapped up his conversation with David, he started unpacking the climbing gear.
Rich strode toward him. “Kent, I got Ray on the line. He’ll arrive here with Roberta at oh-nine-hundred.”
“Great—thank you for lining that up,” said Kent.
Worry lines etched Rich’s forehead. He pulled a bandana from his pants pocket and mopped dirt and sweat from his face. “But I also wanted you to know another call came through while I was on the line—from Bunny’s last location—I tried to put Ray on hold and transfer, but the call got dropped. Once I finished talking to Ray, I re-dialed the number but got no answer.”
Kent wasn’t sure whether to worry or not. “That’s strange. Maybe when no one answered, Bunny left to shop for more makeup or some new platform shoes. I made her leave those behind.”
Rich laughed and his lips curled up in a sardonic smile “Hmm, well she sounds way too high maintenance for a caving expedition.”
Kent sighed. “That’s the understatement of the year. But bottom line is I feel responsible for everyone here and would like to see her safe.”
“We’ll probably reach her in a minute. I already configured the phone to redial every five minutes until she picks up. Now why don’t you take your crew down below and we’ll set up camp. You can radio me when you’re settled, okay?”
“Will do. And thanks for all you’ve done for us so far, Rich. We never could have gotten this far without you.”
Rich’s subtle nod with his head and upper torso resembled the bow local people made to show respect. “Assisting Edward’s son is an honor, sir.”
“Thank you.” Kent reached out and shook Rich’s hand. He’d rarely encountered people he admired, but he couldn’t remember having ever met anyone who impressed him this much, other than his father.
Clearly his father’s leadership had made a permanent impression on Rich and his men—all of them spoke about his dad in a way that showed deep respect.
“Having you here means a lot to us. There’s plenty of extra climbing gear here for Roberta, the archaeologist, and for the rest of you, if you need to descend for any reason.” He turned toward Rebecca, Amanda, and Tom. “Come on guys. We need to be on our way. Let’s get our climbing gear on.”
Even though they’d done it before, the three-hundred-foot descent wasn’t a trivial endeavor. The long downward rappel required a dangerous transfer of ropes, so Kent required that each climber wear two rappel racks.
Kent reminded Rebecca and Amanda to ensure their carabineers were locked when making the transfer from one rappel rack to the other one so they were always attached to a secure line. “I’ll go down first to make sure everything’s in good order. I’ll radio when I’m down.”
Kent peered over the edge into the dark hole beneath him. Cool air wafted up from the depths and fog obscured his few of the enormous stalagmites that jutted up from below.
In a matter of minutes, the temperature would drop thirty degrees and the blue sky and lush greenery would transform into a rocky world of perpetual night. As he made his grueling, careful descent, water trickled on Kent’s helmet. Once he broke through the layer of underground cloud, he had a clear view of the chamber filled with enormous phallic-shaped stalagmites.
Kent greeted David and the others before radioing the surface. “Let’s have Bec followed by Amanda and Tom,” he said.
Rich responded, explaining that Rebecca had just clipped her rappel rack to the rope and was about to descend.
Kent shifted uneasily on his feet, waiting for Rebecca to appear. Time felt like it had screeched to a halt. What’s taking her so long? He glanced at his watch and realized only ten minutes had passed. It would likely take her at least twice that long to get down.
She’d shown herself to be a cautious and conservative climber, but they were all running on empty after walking most of the night. Foggy brains can translate into accidents . . . He knew he had to stop worrying about her all the time. If she planned to travel the world with him from now on, he’d have to get used to her risk taking or lose his mind.
He puffed out a relieved exhale when the ropes above him bounced and Rebecca’s legs and hips, supported by the harness, swung below a ledge of limestone thirty or so feet above the cave room floor.
When she dropped to the floor, he smiled. He unhooked her rappel rack from the rope and hugged her in close, pressing her up against a wall. He loved the way they fit together—her curves conformed so well to all his hard edges. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Of course I made it. You have to stop worrying so much.” Rebecca brushed her sensual lips over his, sending an electric current straight to his groin.
Worry faded from his mind as his body’s impulses stepped into the foreground. His cock stiffened as her pert nipples and warm curves pressed in closer. He ached to have her naked.
Unfortunately, he knew sating their desires would have to wait until bedtime. “Sometimes I can’t help it—I just love you so much, that’s all. And right now, I want to make love to you over and over again until neither of us can walk.”
As she stepped back, her gaze dropped to the bulge in his pants. “Yes, I can see that. A little kiss did that to you? Or was it my squeezed gluteus maximus in the rappelling harness?”
“Hmm. I’d have to say a little of both.”
“Well I guess we’ll have to wait awhile to resolve your big problem.”
Kent heard an uncomfortable ahem and looked toward David, Phan, and Andrew—one of his friends he’d recruited for the trip—but they were huddled in conversation a distance away, apparently focused on something else. Suddenly the three men burst out laughing and looked his way. Kent released his hold on Rebecca and threw up his hands. “What is it?”
“According to Rich, your finger or another part of your body depressed your radio button and he’s hearing your whole romantic fantasy loud and clear.”
“That’s just great.” Heat rushed to Kent’s face.
Rebecca’s cheeks flared pink and she covered her face with her hand.
“That’s really awkward. How will I ever look that man in the face again?”
Kent reached for her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. “Don’t worry—it was my fault. He’ll get over it. I guess I better apologize, though.”
He snatched the radio from his pocket. “Sorry about that, Rich.” He hammered the button with his finger until it seemed disinclined to stick in the on position.
“No problem. At least I had confirmation the lady safely arrived.”
“Uh, yes. Well, can you bring me up to date on Amanda’s progress?” Kent frowned when David and the others burst out laughing again. Feeling awkward, he waved them away with his hand. “Don’t you people have work to do?”
Once Amanda and Tom finished descending the jagged limestone walls, Kent showed the group what remained of the invisibility powder. The three men leaned in for a closer look. He poured a few grams into a container and mashed it into a tablet. He inserted the sample into a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer he’d stored on a shelf of rock.
All the analytical equipment he’d been using ran off of portable generators. “It will take a few minutes for the scan to go through, but then we should know a little more about the composition of this powder. David and I will finish with the analysis here. In the meantime, I’d like the rest of you to walk this level with lights and see if you can find any unusual bluish-colored rocks. I’m not really expecting to find them in this area, but it won’t hurt to check anyway. We’ll reconvene for dinner in one hour.”
Once the analysis finished, Kent pulled up the data on the computer monitor to see which elements were evident in the powder. “Kent, are you there?” Rich’s voice projected over the radio, echoing in the enormous chamber. Distress registered in his voice.
Kent plucked his radio from his pocket. “Go ahead, Rich, I’m reading you. Is something the matter?”
“We’ve had no luck contacting Bunny. We’re starting to suspect the phone line might be dead. I’m wondering if you want me to send some men back with Ray in the morning to check on her. We never told her about the invisibility powder, either, so she could be in for a surprise attack.”
The Unseen Page 13