by Connie Mann
23
I’M SORRY. I’M SORRY.”
Brooks fought his way back to consciousness, unsure whether the voice was his or someone else’s. It must be his; who else had anything to be sorry for? Details floated just out of reach, but his failure shone clear as the night sky above the trees.
His chest felt like a boulder was crushing his lungs, but the need to apologize forced words from his throat. He had to tell her he was sorry. Was she close by? Could she hear him?
“I’m sorry, Reggie,” he croaked.
He heard a gasp and then the weight on his chest shifted, sending waves of pain radiating all the way to his toes. He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn’t obey.
“You’re alive,” Regina cried.
He felt her hands cradle his head, felt droplets hit his face and wondered when it had started to rain. She babbled incoherently in Portuguese and then something smashed into his wounded side.
As his eyes rolled back in his head, he realized he’d been shot.
Regina could barely see for the tears of joy pouring down her face. He was alive. Oh, thank you, Father, he isn’t dead. She cupped his beloved face between her palms and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
When she shifted her weight to check his injuries, he slid back into unconsciousness. Looking down, Regina bit back a word she hadn’t said in many a year. Idiot, she mumbled instead. She must have bumped his wound.
Scrambling to her knees, she peeled back his leather jacket. Her stomach roiled, but she ignored it. Blood welled from a wound in his side, but she’d treated street children in worse shape than this. Think, girl. Now is not the time to fall apart.
Ever mindful of Jair—no, Raul—she cast a worried look in his direction. He posed no threat at the moment. He lay still, eyes closed, hugging his knees. Farther into the woods, Regina heard Eduardo’s fretful cries.
“I will be there in a moment, little one,” she called, gratified when the baby lowered his volume to listen to the sound of her voice.
With deliberate calm, Regina called to Eduardo, making soothing noises and singing softly while her hands grappled with the hem of her skirt. She needed a bandage, fast. She tore off a wide strip, then another. She folded one piece and carefully placed it over Brooks’s wound to staunch the flow of blood. Then she looked at her patient. She would need to tie the other strip around his middle to hold the bandage in place while she went after Eduardo.
Biting her lower lip, she gripped Brooks by the shoulders and tried to roll him onto his side. He weighed far more than she thought. Her shove had no effect other than to illicit a mumbled groan.
“Roll over, Brooks, please,” she cajoled, leaning over to speak directly into his ear. She pushed again, stunned when he moaned and rolled onto his side. Praise God, he’d heard her. “That’s it. Good.”
She spread the strip of fabric on the ground and then gently rolled him back to his original position. Gathering up both ends of the fabric, she wrapped it snugly around his middle, using the ends to secure the makeshift bandage firmly in place. Then she buttoned his leather jacket all the way up. She hoped that would be enough to keep him from going into shock.
Before she headed for Eduardo, Regina brushed a gentle hand over Brooks’s forehead, her panic returning at the sweat beading there. She leaned closer. He needed to be in a hospital. Now.
She scanned the clearing, torn. Where had Jax gone? Hadn’t he come to help? Several grim pictures flashed into her mind, but she pushed them away. She had more important priorities.
Brooks labored for every breath. She didn’t want to leave him, even for a minute, but Eduardo had resumed his crying in earnest. He was a defenseless baby, out in the jungle. She had to get to him.
With a last check on the still-unconscious Raul, she sprinted toward the sound of Eduardo’s screams.
Brooks slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus. Everything faded in and out, like someone adjusting the lens on a camera. He had to think. He heard a moan and slowly turned his head, gritting his teeth against a wave of nausea. As the world gradually righted itself, he saw that Raul lay on the ground near him, curled up in the fetal position. But where was Regina?
He tried to sit up and a wave of dizziness sent him back down. Pain shot through his side, burning as though flames leaped under his skin. He propped himself on one elbow and looked down. Blood seeped from under the edge of his leather jacket.
Ignoring the way the ground seemed to tilt and whirl, Brooks searched the tree line, straining to hear Regina’s voice, the kid’s cry.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he heard it. Her soft crooning wafted over the lazy clattering of the leaves. She and the kid were okay. Thank you, God. The instinctive prayer shocked him, but he’d deal with that later. Right now they had to get out of here.
Brooks turned to his left, pain slicing through his right side. Eyes closed and jaw clamped tight, he rode out the wave. He had almost reached the other side when movement near him snapped his eyes open. Still sweating, he focused on the clearing and froze.
Raul inched his way toward his gun, one hand stretching as far as he could, the other cradling his middle.
Way to go, Reggie, Brooks thought.
He scrambled to his feet, but before he managed to get completely vertical, the world started rocking and he stumbled like a drunk aboard ship, listing to one side. He dropped to one knee before he fell face first in the dirt.
Eyes trained on Raul—both of him, since his vision was decidedly blurry—Brooks crawled over to the gun, scuttling like a crab when Raul realized his intention and made a lunge in that direction.
“Not on your life, pal,” Brooks grunted.
By the time he reached the weapon, Raul’s fingertips just barely touched the barrel. One more little scoot and he’d have it in hand. Brooks lunged, landing with his knee on Raul’s forearm, effectively breaking his grip. His arm, too, judging by the ominous snap and spate of curses streaming from the other man’s lips.
Brooks squinted and shook his head to clear his vision. He tried to blend the two Rauls into one, but his mind wouldn’t cooperate. He knew he had a concussion, and the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Feeling his way between shifting images, Brooks scooped up the gun and then inched backward, out of Raul’s reach. To steady his aim, he pulled his knee up and rested his gun hand on it. As far as he could tell, Raul hadn’t moved, but had curled farther up into a ball and lay holding his injured arm close to his chest.
Brooks listened for Regina and Eduardo and heard nothing. Panic returned and he closed one eye, hoping that would help his vision.
“Regina?” he called. “Are you okay?”
No response.
He waited a beat. “You can come out now. I’ve got the gun and it’s trained on Raul.”
Still no response. Either she was in trouble or waiting to be sure this wasn’t another setup. The first option didn’t bear thinking about, so he assumed she was simply being cautious.
Brooks slowly pushed himself to his feet and stepped to the middle of the clearing, careful to keep the gun trained on Raul.
“Reggie, I need to know you’re okay. I’m up, and I have the gun. If you’re okay, let me know.” He paused. “Otherwise, I’m coming after you.”
He stood still and waited. His side throbbed, and he wondered how long before he dropped like a stone. Just as he began swaying, he heard a slight rustling to his left.
Brooks turned his head and saw Regina crawling out of the thick underbrush. His pulse rate kicked up another notch. Where was the kid?
He squinted and then realized she had tied Eduardo in front of her with her sweater, like a papoose. As soon as she gained her feet, Regina launched herself at him, skidding to a stop just short of smacking into him. He reached out his arms to stop her and braced himself. For a moment he didn’t say a word and neither did she, both content to simply look at the other. His relief that she and Eduardo were all in one piece almost buck
led his knees. But then her face came into focus and he saw the bruise purpling one side of it. His grip tightened and she flinched.
He loosened his hold and stepped back. “He hurt you,” he growled, resentment burning the back of his throat.
“I’m okay. Now,” she assured him.
His relief disappeared under a surge of temper like nothing he had ever felt. He wanted to strangle the idiot woman. Slowly. One centimeter at a time. With what he considered remarkable restraint, he shouted instead.
“You almost got yourself killed with that fool maneuver!” he shouted. “Give me that knife.”
Her chin came up at that infuriating angle. “I helped you, in case you’ve forgotten. And I’m not giving you my blade.”
Brooks’ anger whooshed out of him and he yanked her into his arms, pain or no pain. “I thought I lost you,” he murmured into her hair. “I thought I lost you.” He held her until the panic eased enough to let her go.
Over her shoulder, he saw Raul lying on the ground scowling at them. Brooks realized his burst of anger had weakened him and the ability to stay upright slid from his grasp. He stumbled over to Raul and sank down opposite him, gun again propped on his knee.
Without taking his eyes from the other man he said, “Take off your belt, Raul. Nice and slow. One-handed.”
“As if I could use both,” the other man shot back.
Brooks merely raised one eyebrow. “Now.”
Beside him, Regina said nothing, merely watched as Raul struggled to remove his belt with one hand, while lying on his side in the dirt.
When he finished, Brooks said, “Toss it over here. Gently.”
Raul did, with obvious reluctance.
“Reggie, untie my boots and take the laces out,” Brooks said.
Regina didn’t comment, but he could see the question in her eyes as she bent over his legs. When she had them out, he addressed Raul. “Stand up, turn around, and put your hands behind your back.”
Raul snorted, his expression malevolent. “This isn’t over, Senhor. Not, as you Americanos say, ‘by a long shot.’ ”
“Oh, I think it’s pretty much over,” Brooks responded casually, then barked, “Do as you’re told.”
As Raul struggled to his feet, Brooks rubbed a hand over his face, grateful the two Rauls had merged back into one, but concerned about the cold sweat beading his forehead. He needed to secure this lunatic and then get Reggie and the baby out of here before he collapsed. Adrenaline could only take him so far.
He risked a glance down and lifted the edge of his jacket. Reggie’s makeshift bandage had slowed the flow of blood, but he still felt like someone had lit a campfire in his gullet and was roasting his flesh over a spit.
“Regina, put the baby down. Then take Raul’s belt and wrap it around his wrists. As tight as you can make it.” He saw Regina’s gaze dart to Raul, and then drop to the arm that hung at an odd angle by his side. “It has to be done,” Brooks added quietly, for her ears only.
She nodded once, unwrapped Eduardo from his makeshift carrier and set him down next to Brooks. Taking a deep breath, she marched over to Raul, belt in hand. Brooks admired her more at this moment than ever before. This woman looked fear in the eye and still did what had to be done.
“Raul, you make a single move I perceive as threatening to Regina, and you’re a dead man.”
The other man nodded once, but said nothing.
When Regina sent a frightened look over her shoulder, Brooks sent her an encouraging nod. She returned the nod and Brooks stood and moved closer to Raul, so that the barrel of the gun stopped less than two feet from the man’s head.
“You even think about grabbing her, your brains will be splattered on the ground.” Brooks saw Regina flinch at his choice of words, but he ignored her. He’d do it in a heartbeat.
Regina grabbed the man’s uninjured hand in one of hers, then reached for the other. Raul moaned when Regina brought both his hands together behind his back and wrapped the belt around both wrists. Sweat poured off Raul’s forehead and his breath came in quick pants.
Regina sent Brooks another beseeching look. He understood her unwillingness to inflict deliberate pain on another—even if the scum had tried to kill them—but sometimes it couldn’t be helped.
Brooks eyed the belt, then met Regina’s gaze. “Tighter.”
She did, and Raul gasped. “For the love of God, man. Have mercy,” he choked out.
There was still a gap between the belt and Raul’s wrists he could slip a hand through if he worked hard enough. Brooks couldn’t take that chance.
“I’ll leave the mercy to God.” To Regina he said, “Tighter. Make sure there’s no way he can slide his hand out.”
With gritted teeth, she did as he asked. Just as she tied off the ends, Raul gave one last gasp and melted to the ground in a boneless heap. Regina reached to catch him as he fell, but Brooks yanked her back and out of Raul’s reach.
“Why did you do that?” she demanded.
“Might have been a trick to grab you.”
She looked at the unconscious man on the ground, then planted her hands on her hips. “Grab me with what? His nose?”
Brooks led her back to where Eduardo lay on the ground, investigating his toes. With one hand still on her arm, Brooks looked her right in the eye. “No. With his feet.”
Annoyance radiated off her in waves, but he didn’t care. “I’m not taking any chances.”
He opened his mouth to tell her to tie Raul’s feet with his shoelaces when a familiar birdcall pierced the silence between them. Brooks listened for a moment, then returned the call with one of his own. Seconds later, Jax strolled into the clearing, limping slightly.
Brooks abruptly released Regina and turned toward his friend. “Where have you been?”
Jax sent him a sheepish look and pulled a clump of leaves from his blond hair. “Got caught in the spider’s web, so to speak.” He angled his chin toward Raul.
Brooks eyes widened a fraction. This was not like Jax. “What kind of web?”
Jax’s ears reddened. “Net. Very simple trap any new recruit would have spotted.”
“So how’d you get caught?”
“This really pretty macaw flew overhead, and just at the second I looked up, I stepped into it. Took me all this time to cut myself down.” He turned his attention to Raul. “How is he?”
“Unconscious, for now. I need to get Regina and the kid out of here.”
Jax turned back and studied him. “You look like you’ve been keelhauled.”
“Bullet. Side. It’ll be okay.” Even as he spoke, telltale spots started dancing across his field of vision.
Jax summed up the situation and took charge, for which Brooks would forever be grateful—though he’d bite off his tongue before he said so.
“Let me finish tying up this carcass and then we’ll go,” Jax said, bending to tie Raul’s feet securely with the shoelaces. Then he examined the knife wound in the man’s side and tore a strip from his shirt for a temporary bandage, much like the one Regina had wrapped around Brooks.
While Jax tended to Raul, Brooks gingerly lowered himself to the ground, resuming his position as guard. He shook his head several times to keep his vision clear. Beside him, Regina folded Eduardo back into her sweater and tied him snuggly across her chest, eyeing him all the while.
After Raul had been secured, Jax turned to Regina. “You all set?” At her nod, he eyed Brooks. “Can you walk out, or do I need to carry you?”
Brooks heard the challenge in the words and responded as his friend knew he would. “I’ll walk,” he ground out, levering himself up like an arthritic old man.
Jax checked Raul’s bonds one last time, then swung Brooks’s good arm over his shoulder and reached around his waist with the other. Brooks locked his jaw against the pain and then blocked it from his mind. One foot in front of the other. Nothing else. Just one foot in front of the other.
24
REGINA HURRIED THROUGH
THE JUNGLE BEHIND THE TWO MEN, CROONing softly to an increasingly restless Eduardo. Anything to keep her mind off the way Brooks leaned more heavily on his friend with every step. She knew if he didn’t lie down soon, he would fall down. Jax must have sensed the same urgency, for he suddenly stepped up his pace, half-carrying Brooks by the time they reached the asphalt path leading to the Hotel Cataratas.
Thankfully, he’d parked in the hotel lot. He tossed Brooks into the back seat of the car so quickly, the other man groaned.
“Have a care, Senhor,” she snapped as she climbed in beside Brooks. She twisted sideways so that Eduardo remained strapped to her chest and Brooks’s head lay in her lap.
Her words didn’t seem to faze the other man. He simply climbed behind the wheel and cranked the engine.
“That wound needs checking,” Jax said. “And I need to get our friend out of the woods before some well-meaning park ranger finds him and sets him free.”
Jax roared out of the parking lot and raced down the gravel road leading to the national park’s exit. Brooks muttered softly, and Regina smoothed the hair from his brow, murmuring the same soothing nonsense to him that she did to Eduardo when he fussed. She couldn’t have told anyone what she said, but the tone of her voice had the desired effect. Both her charges dozed as Jax sped through the crowded streets searching for a hotel off the beaten path.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up to a nondescript two-story older hotel. It looked clean, though unpretentious. Regina glanced at the neighborhood. Not the best, but the bars on the windows were a good sign. At least they wouldn’t have any unexpected company.
Jax left the engine running and returned minutes later with a room key in hand. He drove around to the back of the building, parked, and moved to help Brooks out of the car.
“Let’s go, my man. We’re here.”
“Where’s here?” Brooks asked groggily.
Jax gave him a minute to get his legs under him, then wrapped his arm around his shoulder again. “Hotel. You’re upstairs. Can you make it?”