Carter waited out the silence, allowing Lily to decide when to continue talking.
“Apparently Dad had a wife and daughter before he met Mom, but for some reason he kept their details a secret.”
Carter frowned. “Not everyone wants to talk about failed marriages. Especially not with a new wife.”
“Mom would’ve loved him regardless. But the fact that Dad had a daughter that he never mentioned was a brutal secret that Mom still struggles with.”
The urge to put his arm around Lily’s shoulders and draw her to his chest was so strong he almost ached for it. Instead, he reached out and placed his hand over her forearm. “There can be dozens of reasons why someone would leave their family.”
She turned to him, and in this light, her irises were the color of a stormy sky, blue and green struggling against each other. “Not Dad. He’d never do that.” Her voice was loaded with conviction. “But we may never know who they were or what happened to them.”
Lily ran her hand over the journal, prompting Carter to point at it. “So did any of the photos survive?”
She frowned at him. “What?”
“The water. I guess the photos are all ruined now.”
“Oh.” Her eyes lit up. “I didn’t bring the photos. This’s Dad’s journal.” She unwrapped the leather strap from around the book.
As her delicate fingers undid the knot and rolled the strap off, he wondered how someone so angelic could also be a master at survival techniques. He cast the thought aside as she opened the book and carefully peeled the wet pages over.
“It doesn’t look too damaged.”
She shook her head. “I think being wound up so tight helped. It’ll never be the same, but at least it’s still legible.”
“That’s lucky.”
“I know.” She opened the book about one third of the way in, and then turned a few more pages. Finally, she stopped and held the journal toward him. “Recognize anything?”
“Holy shit! Agulinta.”
“That’s exactly what I thought the first time I saw it on the news.”
He cocked his head. “But how can that be? Agulinta’s been hidden for thousands of years. If your dad found it, why the hell didn’t he tell anyone?”
“That’s what I’ve been questioning ever since the discovery. Now you know why I wanted to see it for myself.”
He nodded. It also explained why she wanted to cling to the journal. It was her only proof her father had discovered it first. “Hey”—he clicked his fingers—“I’ve got pictures on my camera. Let me grab it.”
“Oh, umm.” She clutched his wrist. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but the display isn’t working.”
“Oh shit.”
“The camera seemed to work though, at least it did when I took photos of your bullet wounds.”
He raised his eyebrows as he pictured his butt on full display.
“What? I thought you’d be happy about that.” She beamed. “Hey, it might win an award.”
“Yeah right, I don’t think anyone wants to see my ass.”
“It’s not all bad.” A cheeky twinkle in her eyes confused him.
Blazing heat rolled up his neck and he needed to change the conversation, stat. “Anyway, it’s a pity we can’t check the photos to compare the real statue with your father’s drawing.”
“Ahhh.” Lily poked him in the bicep. “Lucky for you, then, I did a few drawings myself.”
Lily reached for her own notebook. The pages were crinkled and swollen, displaying significant water damage compared to her father’s journal. After peeling over a few pages, she held her book open toward Carter. “See.”
She’d drawn a rough outline of the circular structure that stood at the entrance to the site. At the far left, to the top of the circle, Lily’d sketched in intricate pencil strokes the carved stone pictures. Her detail was exquisite. “Wow. You’re really talented. Just like your father, hey?”
“Thank you.”
“I mean it, Lily. Even the way you’ve drawn this vine and how it’s attached to the stone. It’s amazing.” Carter tapped the sketch. “Hang on a minute. If your father had actually been to this statue at Agulinta, then surely it would’ve been covered in vines, too.”
“Exactly. I wondered if you’d work that out.”
He turned to her and cocked his eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“Yes. Really.”
She looked very sure of herself, and Carter had a feeling he was going to regret asking his next question. “Okay. I’ll bite. What’s the significance?”
“Well, you know the cave I mentioned earlier?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t get a great look, and I was nearly drowning at the time—”
“Spit it out.”
She poked her tongue out at him. “I think the outside of the cave has been carved just like this.” She pointed at her father’s drawing.
“Let me get this straight. Rather than head toward a rescue, you’d prefer to head toward men with guns, to check out this cave.”
“Yep. I knew you’d understand.” Lily’s grin was magnificent.
Chapter 17
The charred lizard meat was strangely chewy and crunchy at the same time, but it filled the void in Lily’s stomach that’d been throbbing for hours. Carter, however, seemed to be struggling with the food and Lily couldn’t decide if he wasn’t hungry or couldn’t focus. Every move he made was met with a groan or a wince and each time he looked at Lily he appeared a bit woozy.
The sun had set swiftly, triggering a boisterous cacophony from insects and monkeys in the blackness around them. Carter’s silence, though, seemed amplified against the noisy backdrop. He hadn’t mentioned the cave since she’d handed him the meal, but she was fairly certain they were in for a heated discussion before sunrise tomorrow.
“How’s your meal?” She’d waited until he’d chewed through his final mouthful.
He nodded but didn’t lift his gaze from the fire. “Good, thanks.”
“Are you warm enough?” Her question was ludicrous, considering the temperature had barely dropped since night set in.
He cocked his head, indicating he too thought it was a stupid question. “Yep.”
She fell silent, conscious that he might need time to himself. He’d been through a lot in the last couple of days and God only knew what he was thinking. She’d hardly slept while Carter was unconscious, and struggled to keep her eyes open. Carter, however, stared wide-eyed at the fire, and she wondered if he was seeing something other than the flames.
His silence ticked on so long that she was near bursting when he finally cleared his throat and tossed the branch he’d been fiddling with into the fire. “How’d you light the fire, anyway?”
“Oh, lucky for me, I had a lighter in my pocket. My brother made me buy three lighters before I got on my first plane. I’m so glad I listened.”
“Your brothers look out for you, hey?”
“Yeah. We’re pretty close. Mom had seven babies in seven years, so we all grew up together.”
“Wow, that’s full on. Raising one child was hard enough.”
Lily shrugged. “I guess I wouldn’t know any different. We all pitched in where we could, and my brothers all worked on the farm.” She stifled a yawn and her head swooned with overtired dizziness. “Sorry. Early night for me tonight.”
“I’ve slept for days, so I’m not even close to tired. Go on, you get some sleep.”
The temptation was too good to refuse. “Thanks.” She stood and fussed about with their one and only sleeping bag, stretching it out to capacity. One of her T-shirts, filled with leaves and grass, constituted her pillow. After she crawled onto the makeshift bed, her body melted onto the padding. Shuffling around to get comfortable, she finally lay on her side to watch Carter poke another stick
into the blaze. The flames danced over his eyes and she wondered what he was thinking. His wild hair and bushy beard framed his face in a messy halo and she tried to imagine him clean shaven. His features were captivating. Hardened. Handsome. Yet nearly hidden.
“It’s good to have you back, Carter.”
His gaze met hers, and his eyes were a baffling mix of relief and worry. “It’s nice to be back.”
She nodded. “Good night.”
“Have a good sleep.”
As she closed her eyes and listened to the snap and crackle of the fire, she was reminded of one of the most valuable lessons she’d learned during her many camping adventures with her brothers: Spending quality time in good company was priceless. “Hey, Carter?”
“Yeah?”
“I made room for you on the sleeping bag.”
He turned to her, blinking. “Oh. Okay. Thanks. Good night.”
She closed her eyes, and despite being lost in the middle of the Mexican jungle, she felt completely at ease as the serenity lulled her to sleep.
* * * *
A strange whirring sound dragged Lily from sleep. Flickering her eyes open, it took a couple of moments to realize she’d slept right through to dawn. She sat up, stretched her back, and looked around for Carter. He was off to her left, peering through the camera, which she now realized was the source of the noise that had woken her. “Is it working?”
“Oh, morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Perfect. Slept right through.”
“Good. I think the camera’s okay; hopefully it’s just the LCD that’s stuffed. Won’t know till we look at the photos.”
“Did you sleep?”
“A bit, but that’s okay. I wasn’t tired.”
Lily trotted off into the bushes to relieve herself. When she returned, they had a quick feed of leftover lizard meat before Lily set about packing up their gear. “You ready to go check out that cave?”
His shoulders sagged. “You’re not gonna take no for an answer, are you?”
“No.” She chuckled. “I can do this by myself—”
“Like hell. We’re sticking together from now on.” Despite his overgrown beard, his clamped jaw was evident.
“Okay, but just remember you agreed to this.”
He winced as he stood and dusted off his pants. “Yeah, under duress.”
Lily zipped up the pack. “Well, as a matter of fact, I predict you’ll be thanking me pretty soon.”
“Really?” His sarcasm was obvious.
She hoisted the pack onto her back. “Yep, really.” Without a response from him, she set off with the torrential river on her right and the jungle on her left. She kept her pace a bit slower for Carter’s sake, and his crunching footsteps were the only indication he was behind her.
She’d counted one hundred and sixty-two steps before she sighted the little graveyard she’d seen a few days ago. “Here you go.” She turned to him and played her hand over the expanse as if showing off an art display. “You can thank me now.”
His brow furrowed but once his eyes followed the direction of her hand, they bulged.
“I thought you might like to photograph these. There are seventeen of them, and look at the one under the tree—it has an inscription.”
Carter fiddled with his camera. “Wow. This’s so unexpected. What do you think happened?”
“I have a fair idea. I’ll show you why next. Go have a look at that one.” She pointed under the sprawling tree. “I think they were all buried in 1980.”
Carter walked over, palmed the tree trunk, using it for support, to kneel beside the small cross. He peered through his lens, and seconds later she heard the familiar clicks. Her only hope, and no doubt Carter’s too, was that the camera did these graves justice.
She sat beneath the shady tree, pulled her knees to her chest, and watched Carter take his time with each and every one of the crosses. His attention to detail was fascinating as he moved around, presumably trying to get the angle and the light just perfect.
It seemed like hours before he returned to her. “This’s so bizarre, out here in the middle of nowhere.”
She jumped to her feet and slapped his arm. “Come on then. I’ll show you what I think happened.” Lily pulled her pack on. “Can you keep up, old man?”
He blinked at her. “Old man!”
“Well, you won’t tell me your age, so I assume you’re so old that you’re embarrassed to tell me.”
He rolled his eyes.
She hooked her thumbs into her pack. “Try to keep up.”
Giggling to herself, she strode off again. It wouldn’t be long before she reached the landslide, so she didn’t worry about waiting.
Barely forty steps later she arrived at the edge of the rubble. Carter was only a few paces behind her. Sweat trickled from his forehead and rolled from his temples. She instantly felt guilty for leaving him. “Here, let me help.” She reached for his elbow.
“I’m okay.”
“You’re not okay. You look terrible.”
He waggled his head. “Jeez, thanks.”
“I don’t mean it like that. You’re recovering from surgery.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Stop whining, I saved your life.” She thumped his shoulder. “Come and check this out.” Lily stepped up onto the dried mud and tried to retrace her steps to the rusted car she’d found the other day. “See this? I think this landslide may’ve wiped out a village.”
His jaw dropped and he squinted at the wreck. “Holy shit.”
“There’s all sorts of bits and pieces. I found coins, a bike, utensils . . .”
Carter shielded the sun with his hand to glance up the river of mud that’d cut through the jungle. “Wow, this would’ve come down the valley a million miles an hour and taken out everything in its path.”
She sighed. “And everyone. So sad.”
After a few moments’ silence, his eyes flicked her way and he touched her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s check out this cave of yours. The sooner we get going again, the better.”
She smiled. “Okay. Good plan.”
They picked their way across the debris, each of them gathering bits and pieces from the rubble. Lily kept some of the items she found: a few more coins, a necklace with a small heart on it, and a metal plate that might come in handy.
Once across, she stepped right back into dense jungle, and in an attempt to ignore her grumbling stomach, she counted her steps again. It only took thirty-seven steps before she found what she’d been looking for. She couldn’t believe how close she’d been to it the other day. Maybe her friend Fate had wanted Carter to be with her. She smiled at that thought.
“Holy shit. Look at that.” Carter’s eyes nearly jumped from their sockets.
His reaction matched hers. “I told you.”
“It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
“I know.”
Relief, elation, and curiosity tangled her emotions and she fought back tears. For several days she’d entertained the notion that what she’d seen while floating on the river had been a figment of her weary mind.
It wasn’t.
The cave was exactly as she’d remembered it. It was also exactly like the drawing in her father’s journal. With the downward spiral this journey had taken, she’d begun to believe she’d never find the answers she was looking for. Agulinta hadn’t provided any, but maybe, just maybe, this cave would.
They stood on the river embankment and several feet below was the gaping hole that appeared to have been cut into the side of a cliff. The cave entrance was almost a perfect circle, like the end of a pipe. It was recessed back from the river, and angled such that the only way to see it was to either be right on top of it, like they were now, or from the river.
Water oozed out of the cave, giving the appear
ance of a liquid tongue. It collected in a small, remarkably round pool, before meeting up with the river and catching in the current. Around the border of the cave were intricate motifs, carved into stone just like they’d seen on the donut statue at Agulinta.
Lily eased to the edge of the embankment, eager to get a closer look. She frowned at a few indents carved into the rock wall below her. They appeared to be regular in shape and spacing and curved down in a steady slope toward the cave entrance, about twenty feet below.
Like a bolt of lightning she realized what they were. Steps. “Oh look. I think this is a way to get down to the cave.”
Carter hobbled to her side and followed Lily’s outstretched finger. He leaned over the edge as far as he could without falling off. “I think you’re right.”
Her heart skipped a few beats. “Excellent, let’s get down there.”
He spun to her, scowling. “You’re kidding, right? These steps could be thousands of years old. One slip and you’re back in that water.” He pointed at the torrent as if reminding her it was there.
She swallowed a lump of trepidation and cleared her throat. “I’m willing to risk it.”
“You’re psycho, woman. You know that, don’t you?”
But despite what he’d said, the resignation in his tone proved that she’d won that debate. She just hoped she didn’t regret it.
“Leave the bag here. We’ll come back for it.”
She cocked her head as she deliberated a quick retort.
“Lily, it’s not negotiable. We’re just going there”—he pointed down to the cave for effect—“and your pack will still be here when we return.”
Accepting defeat, Lily shrugged the pack off, wedged it upright, zipped it open, and removed her father’s journal, her notebook, and a pencil.
“Really?” Carter scowled.
“I need my notes. Don’t worry; I’ll carry them.”
“Wow, you really are stubborn.”
“I like to think of it as determined.” She pushed her shirt into her shorts and fed the books down her top. When she shoved the pencil into her shorts pocket, she was surprised to find a lighter wedged inside. She must’ve put it there when she lit the fire last night. For some reason, it made her feel safe. Like a little lucky charm.
Out of Reach Page 20