by H. L. Wegley
Hector snorted a reply in Spanish, then retreated to the fire.
“Good. It is settled. We take the girl with us and sell her at the first opportunity. Now, we should all get some sleep … except for you, Hector. Buenas noches.”
With one man standing guard, maybe he could free Allie. A plan had been perking in his mind since he surveyed the vehicles.
Hector plopped down on a log near the fire, folding his arms and apparently moping over the redress from their leader.
If only he would mope himself to sleep.
Jeff fished through his shorts pocket until his fingers wrapped around his knife. He smiled and began to mouth the words of a lullaby, words that Jeff hoped God would relay to the mind of the long-haired thug on the log.
Then, Jeff waited.
Chapter 13
Jeff's heart drummed in a wild percussion solo. Raw nerves churned his stomach to nausea. Could a man without a weapon steal Allie from armed thugs, men who faced danger on a daily basis and prevailed?
Dude, if you muff this, you don’t even want to think about what will happen.
Jeff squelched the annoying voice in his mind and focused on the guard.
Hector's head had slumped forward three minutes ago. His eyes hadn't glanced at Allie for at least five.
Jeff crept closer to her, feeling the forest floor for the dried leaves and bark of the Madrone trees, the early warning radar of Southern Oregon forests
His hand stopped on a cluster of dried Madrone berries. Perfect.
Jeff scooped up the berries and squeezed to crush the brittle stems. The berries rolled into his palm. He picked out several of these pea-size Madrone seeds.
Only ten yards from Allie now, he studied her silhouette. It showed her hugging a tree trunk, trying to use it as a pillow.
She shifted from cheek to cheek against the tree.
That picture of her discomfort ripped at his heart. But, if he couldn’t free her, mere discomfort didn’t compare to the plans the goons had made for Allie.
Jeff moved closer, positioning himself so the lingering flames of the fire lit his face for Allie without giving Hector an angle to spot Jeff through the tree branches.
He held up his hand in the firelight and studied it. Even in the dim light of the dying fire he could see the flesh tones in his fingers. Allie should be able to see him, but would she know it was him? And, after the note, how would she react?
He slid forward, gently pushing the layer of dry leaves to the sides ahead of him. Soon he had created a trail bare of any leaves or bark.
Now only a dozen feet from Allie, he pinched a berry between his thumb and forefinger. He aimed as if throwing a dart and launched the tiny missile at Allie's arm.
It bounced off the tree below her arm and landed quietly on the ground.
He adjusted his aim and tossed another berry. It hit the tree beside her head.
Allie moved her head and adjusted her cheek against the hard pillow.
He aimed and tossed two berries in rapid succession. The first found her arm, the second bounced off her head.
She pulled her head back and looked around her.
The next berry hit her between the eyes. Her gaze followed the berry's trajectory until Allie gasped. Her head turned. She shot a glance at the dozing Hector, then focused on Jeff’s face. Now her body shook in spasms.
Was she crying?
He shoved a closed fist at her then popped it open displaying five fingers while he tapped his watch. He mouthed the words, “Five minutes.”
Allie gave him a quick nod, then glanced back at Hector.
When she looked his way again, Jeff mouthed the words, “Don’t worry, I will save you, Allie.”
She nodded again.
He flashed five fingers again then backed away, using his approach path.
Unable to reach her face with her hands, Allie rubbed her cheeks on her upper arms, wiping away tears.
But what emotions had brought the tears? Guilt? Gratefulness? At this point, it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was getting Allie safely away from this scurvy crew.
Jeff turned and hurried toward the vehicles. He had to wreak as much havoc as possible in five short minutes while remaining silent.
The fire had died down to glowing coals. He could move more freely without being detected as long as he was quiet. After circling back to the pickups, Jeff crept ahead to the ATVs.
Somewhere in the distance the whop, whop of a helicopter rotor sounded in the night sky. It passed by far to the south.
McCheney must have finished his other task and was heading back to Jeff’s house. That would not be a pleasant place to be when McCheney found that the marshals had lost both of their witnesses.
Jeff opened his small knife and reached under the first ATV until he felt the engine. His fingers walked up the warm engine to the top. The rubber tube they encountered felt cool against his skin.
He grasped the tube with his left hand, pulling it taught, and slit the ATV's throat. After cutting the other end of the fuel line, he pulled the segment of hose out and cut it in half to prevent reuse. To be safe, he would hide the pieces of fuel line where the goons wouldn’t find them.
The air had cooled considerably in the mountain valley. The low-level inversion trapped the pungent odor of gasoline near the ground. Soon Hector, or one of the other men, would smell trouble and come to investigate.
He needed to hurry.
After another slice with his knife the second ATV oozed its life onto the engine, where it puddled before dripping onto the ground.
After killing the ATVs, Jeff circled back to the creek. Now the odor of gasoline was strong, maybe strong enough to wake them.
Jeff stopped at the spot where he had thrown the Madrone berries and studied Allie.
She held her cheek against the side of the tree and stared back onto the darkness, toward him.
Fifteen feet of dry Madrone leaves and curled bark slowed him. He carefully ran his hands under the leaves, like a plow, and pushed them to the sides to clear the way to Allie.
When he reached her, he touched her cheek. It was wet.
She avoided his gaze. Whatever her reasons, it hurt to see the woman he loved doing that.
Jeff pushed the knife into the dim light of the dying fire.
She looked at the knife for a moment, then pulled her hands apart, stretching the bands taught against the tree trunk.
In a quick, satisfying motion, he cut Allie's slavery.
Jeff glanced at Hector.
The man was out, breathing heavily.
Jeff guided Allie around the tree to the path he had cleared, then slipped behind her.
With his hands on her waist, Jeff guided her silently toward the brook.
At the water’s edge, Allie stopped and swiveled toward him. Severed nylon bands brushed his skin as her arms circled his neck, squeezing with surprising strength. The sobbing began again.
He needed to get her away before someone heard her.
Something pulled Jeff’s attention from Allie.
The air reeked of gasoline, burning his nostrils with each breath.
“Follow me, Allie. Be quiet and hurry.”
She took his hand. “I was a fool. They weren’t going to take me to my family … just sell me to—Jeff, take me away from here. Please.” Her soft whisper had grown more intense and far too loud.
He pulled her toward the creek without replying.
“Through the water?” She whispered.
“You'll understand in a few—”
“Gasolina! Gasolina!” Hector's frantic voice.
“La pollita se ha ido!”
Chapter 14
What had the goon’s last few words meant? “I understood the gasoline part, but—”
“He said that I was gone,” Allie whispered.
Jeff and Allie splashed through the water. He stepped ahead and pushed through the willows on the far side of the Creek, creating an opening for her.
Jeff climbed a few feet up the steep bank on the east side of the creek and pulled Allie up beside him.
The muffled rumble of ATV starters turning the engines repeated several times.
“Did you do something to their ATVs?”
“Yeah. I murdered them. Slit their fuel lines.”
He trudged up the steep hill holding tight to Allie's hand. “What does pollita mean?”
“I told you they were referring to me. But don't call me that, Jeff. You probably have a lot of things you want to call me right now. But maybe sometime, if you’d like, you can call me mi novia.”
This was interesting. Though he didn’t know what novia meant, Jeff understood mi and that lifted part of the weight from his heavy heart.
He pulled her over the top of the rise and descended the hill, putting a more comfortable distance between them and the camp.
“Okay, mi novia. Enough Spanish lessons. We need to circle around to the west and try to get back to Wes and Cliff. Did you hear the chopper fly by?”
“I heard it.”
Jeff stopped. “Listen.” He paused. “They started one of the pickups.”
Allie stepped beside him. “Do you think they're leaving?”
“Not all in one truck. My guess is that two or three of them will track us, even if they have to wait until daylight.”
Jeff turned south, parallel to the slope, and picked up the pace. “You haven't had much sleep for several nights. How are you doing?”
“You're here. I'm fine.”
They had a lot to talk over, but the clues Allie kept dropping gave him reason to hope that it would be a good conversation when it happened.
“Jeff, where do you think the pickup is going? I'm worried about my family.”
“I don't think it's headed to that third plantation.”
She moved up beside him. “So you overheard their conversation?”
“Yeah. I don't think that gang will do anything about your family until they deal with us. We're their greatest threat.”
Allie sighed sharply. “I don't feel like a threat, only threatened.”
“Whoever’s in the truck probably has orders to cut us off from the house. There's a forest service road about five miles due west of my place. From there, he can cut us off from the east or circle around to the Bolan Peak road and cut us off from the south.”
“But…” Allie looked up at the moon in the western sky, “… we're headed south. Why not north?”
He pulled her to a stop on top of a flat ridge. “I'll answer your question if you'll answer mine.”
She stared up into his eyes. The moon lit her face and her eyes sparkled its reflection. “Okay.”
“We can't go north because that's where the first pickup is headed. If the other one should leave, too, it would have to start out to the north. The terrain there is flat. If we were up there, they could even drive off-road to chase us. They’d run us down.”
“Then south it is.”
They walked along the ridge line for nearly a mile. When it curved to the southeast, Jeff led Allie off the ridge and down the slope into a sparse pine forest.
“What about your question, Jeff? You haven’t asked—”
“Don’t worry. I won’t forget to ask it.” The note, why she wrote it, what she really felt— it was sure to come up when they had a chance to talk.
Jeff glanced at his watch. 3:00 a.m. In another hour or so, the early dawn would send the cartel gunmen out looking for them. Unless the goons were good trackers, he should be able to get Allie to his house even if he had to carry her. But the man who left in the truck concerned him.
So did Allie. She was obviously tiring, slower stepping over obstacles, struggling up small banks. Her breathing grew louder and more labored.
He stopped. “I could use a rest.”
She stepped close and leaned on him, pressing her head against his shoulder. “Thank you, Jeff. I was really getting tired.”
This didn’t jive with the note. Thanking him. Her head pressed into him and her arms around him. It went far beyond mere gratefulness. Like her words, Allie’s actions would need some explanation.
“There's a big boulder ahead, and it looks flat on top. But wait here and let me check it out. I already ran into one timber rattler tonight.” He checked the rock and waved Allie up.
“Timber rattler? Cartel rattlesnakes. Jeff, you took too many chances coming after me.” She paused. “How did you leave? Wes wouldn't have let you just walk out.”
“Maybe I should be asking you that question.”
Allie backed away from him and wiped her eye.
He took her hands and lowered her onto a seat at the edge of the rock and sat beside her. “Wes is probably still kicking himself for letting me sneak out, especially after you disappeared.”
She hooked his arm with hers and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Cliff wouldn't have encouraged you either.”
“Encouraged me? Your note did that.” He draped an arm around her shoulders. But even as he held her, the words from Allie’s note ripped through his heart like a dull jigsaw blade.
“Jeff, that note was supposed to discourage you. It was—” Her voice broke and she cried softly for a while.
“The note was all lies. I lied because I didn’t want to endanger you. But there’s no excuse for lying.” Allie looked up at him. “Can you ever forgive me? Please, wait before you answer. You need to know the whole truth.” She slid a hand into the pocket of her shorts and slipped out a crumpled sheet of paper. “This is the first note, the one I couldn’t leave, the one that tells the truth.”
Jeff took the paper from her hand and unfolded it. “Allie, it’s too dark to read a note. Maybe in another hour—”
“No. It’s got to be now. I … I’ll read it to you. I’ve played it in my mind so many times tonight that I know it by heart.”
Allie began reciting the note in voice that was soft but heavy with emotion. “Please forgive me, Jeff. I lied to you. It literally made me sick to do it, but I didn't know what else to do.”
She continued, pouring her broken heart out to him through words she’d penned several hours earlier.
As Jeff listened, her words shattered his heart then they repaired it, piece by broken piece.
Allie slowed as her message concluded. “After what we’ve been through together, I know you, Jeff, and I love you.”
He drew a sharp breath at her confession.
“Please pray for me, Jeff. Allie.” She stopped and wiped her cheeks.
He tried to lift her chin, to see her face in the moonlight.
She resisted. “I lied to you. Knowing how we both felt, and I still lied. I love my family and would do anything to save them. I guess I’d even lie to someone I loved.”
“The most important thing isn't the lie. It's that you're sorry, and that I forgive you, completely. It never happened, Allie.”
“How can you say that after what I did?”
“Forgiveness doesn’t always have to be earned.”
She pulled her head from his chest and looked up. “You mean like … expiacion. You know, the Jesus thing.”
“Expiation? Maybe. But I can't do what he does mi novia.” He kissed her forehead.
“But you have, Jeff.”
No, he hadn’t. But this was no time for a theological debate with Allie. “You know, you still haven’t told me what mi novia means.”
“It depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“On the context.”
“Okay. What does it mean in the context that I used it?”
She didn't reply.
“C'mon, Allie. We've got a lot of ground to cover before daylight.”
“It could mean my girlfriend or … my fiancé.”
Jeff pulled Allie’s head back against his chest. “I see.”
How could he ever have doubted this incredible woman?
Dude, she lied to—
He choked the acc
using voice into silence, hoping he had killed it.
“Jeff …” Her voice came in a hoarse whisper. “It was a stupid thing to do.”
“You mean writing a note to discourage me? Yeah. I guess it was.”
“So you think I am stupid?”
“Allie, it was stupid to think a note could stop me from following you.”
“At the time I couldn’t think of anything else to do. But it’s more than just the note. Leaving like I did was stupid and it didn't help my parents. I should have known the cartel men were lying to me.”
Jeff touched her cheek. His hand came away wet. He wiped Allie’s tears away. “When you left, it scared me so much that I almost … never mind that. But you did accomplish one thing. You spread the cartel members in this area so thin that they can't do anything, effectively. Maybe not even guard your family.”
“I think you're just trying to make a moron feel better.” She looked up into his eyes.
He looked down at Allie's face. In the waning moonlight, he couldn’t see all of her features. But Jeff knew Allie’s face. Vivid memories replaced the shadowed places, creating the most beautiful face he had ever seen. “Do you feel better?”
“Some. But I need you to understand something. To really believe me. I’ll never lie to you again, Jeff. Never. You have my word.”
“I believe you, Allie. I—”
“No. Don’t say it until you feel it. Then you can say that to me.”
He nodded. And waiting was probably best, because there were things he had to tell Allie before this relationship could go any deeper.
He would wait. Not because of what Allie had done. The truth was, Jeff trusted her a lot more than he trusted himself. “Okay. I’ll say it to you, then. But we need to go, now. If I'm right, in about two miles we'll be close enough to my house and the Forest Service road to start worrying about that pickup.”
Jeff stood and pulled Allie up beside him.
She gave him a fierce hug, took his hand, and whispered. “I'm ready now, mi amor.”
Mi amor?
Allie had just moved their relationship to a new level and placed him on a pedestal he didn't deserve. There were things she needed to know before those words reflected reality. Maybe someday he could become mi amor, but only after she knew the truth about him. And after she heard it, only if she still felt the same. Until then, he wouldn’t reciprocate.