The nap she’d taken had made her feel better, she realized. She even felt hungry. Reaching into the pack, she pulled out the two bags of snacks and divided them carefully into two portions. Then she handed one to Caine and began eating the other one. After a moment, he sat down next to her and ate, too.
The moon was a sliver of light in the black sky and the sounds of the jungle surrounded them. Caine looked down at the woman who slept at his side, reluctant to wake her up. As soon as they’d finished their small meal she’d fallen asleep, and he’d sat and watched her as the sun set.
He still couldn’t believe that she’d managed to walk as far as she had today. He’d seen her rubbing her back when she thought he wasn’t looking, and he’d heard her stumbling behind him. He’d ached to turn around and catch her in his arms, to ease her to the ground and massage her aching muscles while she slept. But he knew he didn’t dare.
Their lives depended on getting into Limores, then staying hidden until he could arrange transport out of the country. Every delay, every stop they made, gave the rebel leader more time to organize his search and tighten the noose around the city. The roadside checks Caine had seen during the day had been somewhat cursory, although more troops had arrived while he’d watched. He guessed that El Cuchillo had calculated that it would take them longer than this to reach Limores, and that he wouldn’t really step up his checking until tomorrow and the next day.
With any other woman besides Lexie, it would have taken a hell of a lot longer to get here. He couldn’t think of another person, man or woman, who would have kept on walking without one word of complaint after what had happened to her yesterday.
He ached as he remembered what she’d said after he’d pulled her out of the water. She’d wanted him to kiss her, not so that she could reassure herself that she was alive, but so that she could reassure herself that she hadn’t lost him.
Eleven months ago, he would have given anything to hear Lexie say those words. Hell, who was he trying to fool? He wanted even more badly to believe them now. But it wasn’t so simple anymore. He glanced over at the sleeping baby. She might be tiny, but she packed a hell of a wallop—one that he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to deal with.
As he watched the baby sleep, he noticed that she was beginning to stir. Just as well, he told himself. He was starting to get sentimental, sitting out here in the moonlight next to Lexie. It was time they got moving, anyway.
“Wake up, Lexie,” he whispered.
She woke up a lot more quickly than she had when he’d returned that afternoon. Stretching once, she opened her eyes and looked around. He saw the flash of fear, quickly controlled, when she saw it was dark. Then she looked for the baby.
“I think she’s getting hungry,” he murmured.
Lexie nodded. “It’s time she was fed.”
Caine closed his eyes as memories of the night in the tent swept over him. He remembered in vivid detail how she’d held his hands to her breasts, letting him feel their weight filled with milk. And he remembered how she’d trembled against him when he’d slipped his hands under her bra and felt her satiny-smooth skin.
All his senses were unbearably sharp. He heard the rustling of the material as she opened her blouse, heard the tiny sucking sounds the baby made as she ate. He could even smell Lexie’s scent, sweet and warm, on the slight breeze.
“Caine,” she said, and he turned to look at her. Even though the moon was only a small sliver in the sky, its light seemed to shine on her breasts, turning them a pearly white.
“What?” he asked hoarsely.
“Can you tell me what we have to do?”
“Do?” He stared at her breasts, able to think only about how much he needed her and how it would feel to reach out and touch her now.
“Caine?”
He tore his gaze away from her breasts and looked up at her face. Even in the dim light he could see she was blushing. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Don’t be.” Her voice was a whisper on the breeze. “I... I like it when you look at me.”
He closed his eyes as fierce need almost overwhelmed him. He wanted to take her right now, to drive himself so deeply inside her that neither of them would know where he ended and she began. But he forced himself to sit motionless, teeth clenched, until the desire had receded to a throbbing memory. Getting into Limores alive was more important right now.
“I’m sorry, Lexie. As much as I want you, this isn’t the time or place. Finish with the kid, and I’ll tell you what we’re going to do as we walk.” He silently shouldered the pack as he watched her change the baby’s diaper, then settle the kid in the shawl. He didn’t protest when she tied the shawl around her neck. The kid needed to be kept quiet, and she was better equipped to do that than he was. Besides, he needed his hands free. Just in case.
He began walking at an angle parallel to the city. “The jungle ends suddenly, about fifty yards in front of us,” he said in a low voice. “It looks like they just hack it away when they want to build more houses on the edge of Limores. There’s a major road to the right, and it’s swarming with soldiers. We’re going to walk about a half mile to the left, to where I saw a cornfield this afternoon.”
“How is a cornfield going to help us?”
“They can’t be guarding every row of corn,” he answered. “On the other side of the field the houses begin, and we’re going to crawl through the corn until we get to those houses. I’m sure El Cuchillo has some men around those houses, but once we’re in the town our chances improve.” He tossed a grim smile over his shoulder at her. “My specialty is blending into the shadows.”
“You’ll get us into the town safely, Caine. I’m sure of it.”
“I wish I was as sure,” he muttered, stopping abruptly. The moonlight silvered the pale rows of corn just ahead of them. The ears had been harvested long ago, and only the dry and shriveled stalks remained. It would have been better to find a field of thick, green, growing plants that could have hidden them more completely, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
He could feel Lexie watching him, waiting for him to say something, but he stared into the distance at the houses on the other side of the field. They were there somewhere, the soldiers who had been commanded to capture them. Or had they merely been told to stop them, whatever it took? He looked over at Lexie, holding the baby against her chest, and shivered. What was he leading her into?
“We’re going to walk between the rows of corn. When I put out my hand, you stop, no matter what. If there’s a place where the corn isn’t higher than your head, you stoop or crawl.”
He reached down to be sure his knife was in place inside his boot, then took her hand and walked into the field of dry cornstalks. The broad leaves rustled in the breeze, making it hard to hear anything else. Lexie walked along carefully in the row next to him, looking up from time to time to make sure that the stalks were higher than she was.
They were almost to the end of the field when a dog started barking. Caine motioned for her to drop to the ground, and they squatted in the dirt and waited.
A light came on in the nearest house, and a man’s voice yelled at the dog to be quiet. When the dog didn’t stop, a door slammed and the same man’s voice grumbled as he seemed to get closer.
“Damned worthless mutt. Some watchdog you are, barking at a lousy cat. Get in here and be quiet before you wake the whole neighborhood.” A door slammed again, and then the light went out.
He looked over at Lexie and gave her a faint grin. She tried to smile back at him, but her face was strained. “It’s okay,” he said, scarcely breathing the words. “We’ll give him a few minutes to go back to sleep, then we’ll keep going.”
She nodded and shifted the baby in her arms. Caine waited twice as long as he thought necessary, then started to move again.
When they were at last near the end of the field, he stood for a long time scanning the houses around them. There was no sign of soldiers, no evidence of anyone waiting and w
atching. He wished there had been. At least then, they would have known where the danger was.
Finally he knew they had to move. He touched Lexie’s arm and they glided silently out of the protection of the cornfield and into the deep shadows next to another house. The mud brick felt cool against his back as he plastered himself against it, listening for any sounds that shouldn’t be there. He didn’t hear a thing.
At first he moved them cautiously and slowly through the villages ringing the city of Limores, expecting to see a soldier at every corner. But as they approached the center of Limores itself he began to relax. There were people in the streets here, some hurrying home after working late, some laughing and talking and obviously out to have a good time. They stopped clinging to the shadows and began walking freely along the streets, Caine slinging one arm over Lexie’s shoulder. When she looked up at him, fear in her face, he tried to reassure her with a squeeze to the shoulder.
He could feel her trembling, so he finally backed her up against a wall on a dark street and bent over her. To an onlooker, he would simply be a man who couldn’t wait until he got home to kiss his sweetheart.
“It’s all right,” he whispered into her ear. “We’d look more suspicious around here if we were skulking down the alleys. We blend right in with all the other people.”
She held on to his arms with a desperate grip. “Why haven’t we seen any soldiers?”
“I don’t know.” He didn’t want to admit how much that worried him. “But let’s not worry about it now. We only have a little way to go—maybe another half mile. Can you make it that far?”
She nodded and shifted the baby in her shawl. When she reached up to arrange the knot on her shoulder, he saw her wince. He longed to reach out and take the baby, but knew he didn’t dare.
“I want to carry her for you, but I can’t.” He leaned closer as if to kiss her neck. “It would be noticed right away. Men don’t carry babies in this part of the world.”
She nodded again. “I know. I can do it ”
He wanted to sweep her into his arms and carry her the rest of the way. Hell, he wanted to rush her to the airport and take the first plane out of Limores. But he knew that wasn’t possible. The airport was the first place El Cuchillo would look for them.
As he pushed away from the warmth of her body she looked up at him. “Do you know where we’re going?”
He nodded. “I checked the city out before I left for Santa Ysabel. I found a place that I think will be okay.”
Lexie glanced around as Caine started walking again. They were leaving the fashionable part of the city, with its fancy shops and restaurants and the crowds of people on the street. This part of Limores wasn’t nearly so prosperous, and she looked around nervously as they turned a corner. This was more like a slum, with people huddled asleep in doorways and small, run-down shacks lining the street.
Dark shapes flitted in and out of the shadows, startling Lexie every time she saw one out of the corner of her eye—people on missions as secretive as theirs, she assumed, but that didn’t reassure her. She didn’t want to think about the reasons for people to be on the street this late in this section of town.
A darkened building loomed ahead, and suddenly Caine drew her into the shadows at the side of a vacant house. Leaning against the wall for support, she tried to focus on him instead of their surroundings.
To her surprise he pulled the pack off his back and rummaged in the bottom of it. When he removed his hand, she saw a key on a rusted ring.
“What on earth is that for?” she breathed.
He flashed her a grin. “It’s our room key. I told you I’d checked the place out when I first got here.”
“You got a room?” She stared at him. “In this part of town?”
“Nobody asks too many questions around here. Especially if you pay your money up front and make it clear you want some privacy. They respect only two things in places like this, money and strength. I made sure they saw I had both.”
She took a deep breath. “So what now?”
“I’m going in to check and make sure the room hasn’t been disturbed. I’ll be right back.”
“You’re not leaving me here alone.” She grabbed his arm. “I’m coming with you.”
“I want to make sure it’s safe first.”
Pulling him around to face her, she said, incredulous, “You think it’s safe for me to stand around out here by myself? You’re nuts if you think I’m going to do that.”
His eyes narrowed, then he looked over her shoulder and his mouth tightened. “You’re right. Let’s go.” But instead of walking away, he pressed her into the building and bent to kiss her.
“Shh,” he whispered. “Someone’s watching.”
He brushed his lips over hers, and she felt herself begin to melt. It was all a show, she knew that, but she couldn’t stop herself from responding. Caine’s muscles were rock hard, and she knew that he was concentrating on whoever was behind them and not on her. It didn’t seem to make any difference. When he touched her, she forgot about everything except him.
Caine raised his head and slid his arm around her, urging her away from the wall. To anyone watching them, they would simply be an eager couple who couldn’t wait to get to their room in the motel. As they walked slowly toward the decrepit building, she could feel Caine’s watchfulness and she saw him looking carefully around the almost-deserted streets.
She slowed down as they reached the door to the large building Caine had pointed out, but he tightened his grip on her shoulder and kept going. Maybe he hadn’t meant they were staying in this building, she thought. It didn’t look much like any motel or inn she’d ever seen, anyway.
The front was painted mud brick, but the paint had begun peeling years ago. Now there were only irregular blotches of some dark color left on the building, surrounded by curls of weathered paint. The windows had shutters, but most of them hung crooked, missing a nail or two. No lights were visible in any of the windows. Altogether, the building looked dark and menacing.
They sauntered around a corner, then Caine began to walk faster, leading her to the back of the building. Opening a door, he pulled her inside, then eased it shut.
They stood in the darkness for what seemed like a long time. She didn’t hear anything outside the door, and finally Caine took her hand and led her up a rickety flight of stairs. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, but she was still barely able to see the steps in front of her.
“Why don’t they have lights on these stairs?” she whispered.
He looked over at her and his lips curled up in a faint smile. “Usually they do. I took care of that before I left. I knew nobody would bother fixing it for a while.”
He had planned such a small detail that far in advance? She stared at him as they entered a long, narrow hallway. Bare, low-watt lightbulbs hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly as they passed. The doors all had numbers on them, and they all stayed firmly closed. Caine had apparently been right when he’d said this was the kind of place where everyone minded his own business.
When they got to the last door in the hall, Caine placed her against the wall and motioned for her to be still. He scanned the doorway, looking for something, and after a few minutes he nodded once. Fitting the key into the lock, he eased open the door and stood watching the room for a moment.
When he disappeared inside the room without turning on the lights, she hugged Ana closer and looked nervously up and down the dingy hallway. Caine might be just around the corner, but she didn’t like standing out here by herself. She was just about to go into the room after him when he appeared in the doorway and motioned her inside.
Once the door was closed he turned on an overhead light. It was just as dim as the ones in the hallway, but at least it illuminated the room. The shutters on the windows were tightly closed, so no light could shine through to the outside.
The room had one double bed and an old, scratched dresser. Above the dresser hung a mirror
with wavy, pockmarked glass, and a straw mat covered the floor. As she was looking around the room, Caine opened the other door in the room.
“It may not be the Ritz,” he said, giving her a smile that made her legs weaken, “but it does have indoor plumbing.”
The tiny bathroom was no bigger than a closet, but it had a white tin shower stall in one corner. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until we get back to Washington for your bath, but go ahead and take a shower.”
She looked over at him sharply at the mention of Washington and opened her mouth to reply. But then she looked at the shower again and decided that the argument could wait. Washing off the river mud couldn’t.
“A shower would be heaven,” she said fervently. Walking over to the bed, she untied the shawl and laid the sleeping Ana carefully on top of the old but clean bedspread. Her muscles screamed in protest as she bent over, but she gritted her teeth and thought about streams of hot water pounding down on her aching back.
Opening her backpack, she found a clean T-shirt and took it into the bathroom with her. When she turned on the water and felt the warm steam drift over her face, she exhaled softly and closed her eyes as she stepped under the stinging needles of the spray.
When she emerged from the bathroom she saw Caine leaning back against the headboard of the bed, wearing nothing but his shorts. When he looked over at her, she was suddenly too conscious of the T-shirt that scarcely reached the middle of her thighs. As she stood frozen in the doorway of the bathroom, he slowly sat up and swung off the bed.
“I thought I’d take a shower, too. Did you leave me any hot water?”
She nodded as she watched him come closer to her. His legs were just as long as she remembered; sleek and firmly muscled and covered with fine golden hair. The mat of dark blond hair on his chest covered taut, lean muscles that glided under smooth skin as he moved toward her. When he stopped in front of her she realized she’d been staring at him.
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