He placed several on the area Anna had cleared and grinned. “Not the Ritz, but not bad for sleeping.”
Anna bent to touch one of the leaves and stumbled, almost falling onto them. She caught herself just in time and stepped back. “I’m so tired, I think I could sleep on glass tonight and wouldn’t notice it.”
“Know what you mean.”
He sat down and unzipped his backpack. Anna followed suit. They each drank a bottle of water and ate a protein bar.
“Should’ve brought some MREs but figured we could exist on these for one night. Now I’m having second thoughts.”
Since she was having trouble staying awake to eat all of her bar, Anna had doubts she could have finished a whole meal without falling asleep in her plate. She forced the rest of the bar down and swallowed the rest of her water.
Without a word, Aidan got up and walked away from their campsite. He was about five seconds from doing something he would regret. Anna looked so bedraggled and exhausted, but her mouth was set in that determined slant that he’d come to know so well. He wanted to feel that sweet mouth under his own again. The memory of what had happened only a few hours ago played in his brain. She had tasted so damn good, and her sweet body beneath his had been better than any fantasy. The temptation to kiss her again had been a living thing. Leaving, albeit abruptly, was his only choice.
A few minutes later, he returned to find Anna still sitting in the same place. He handed her the flashlight. “I’ve cleared out an area for you a few yards that way. Didn’t see any animals slinking about, but—”
“I know. Don’t dawdle.” She gave him a quick smile as she passed him. “One snakebite in a lifetime is one too many for me.”
Before he could ask what she meant, she was gone. Less than a minute later, she was back.
Since it was now pitch dark and they were both exhausted, there was nothing more to do other than sleep. While Anna had been gone, Aidan had covered the leaves with a thin blanket.
“We can use our backpacks for pillows.” He waved at the makeshift bed. “After you.”
She lay down, and Aidan followed suit. They lay quiet for several seconds, not touching. Aidan wasn’t even sure if Anna had taken a breath. Figuring she was uncomfortable lying beside him after what happened earlier, he rolled onto his side to face her. Hoping to dispel her uneasiness, he asked casually, “So how’d you get a snakebite?”
She didn’t answer. He was about to ask the question again when he realized something amazing. Anna wasn’t so still because the situation made her uncomfortable. She was already asleep.
Aidan knew he didn’t have the right to hold her, but he couldn’t resist touching her fingertips with his own. Then, despite the ache in his groin and the even more painful one in his heart, he fell asleep with a slight smile on his face.
Chapter Twelve
Garcia’s Compound
Diego appeared at the door of Julio’s office. “Señor, the doctor. She says she needs to talk to you again.”
Julio waved a hand in consent. He had spent a miserable night trying to convince himself he wasn’t sick. It hadn’t worked. His skin was clammy, his gut was a roiling mass of pain. He had thrown up twice and knew it was only a matter of time before he vomited again.
More worried for Elena and his child than for himself, he had insisted she stay on the other side of the house in a guest room. He had talked to her via intercom, and she had been so sympathetic it had made him smile in spite of his condition. Marrying her had been the best decision he’d ever made. Not only had he pleased his papa, which was no easy feat, but he had brought a peace between two powerful families. In addition, he had married the most beautiful woman he’d ever known.
The doctor entered his office. Even though her expression was bland, he could feel her disapproval like a thick cloud. What did he care about her opinion? He had brought her here to care for his men, nothing more.
“One of your men has died. Two others won’t survive the day.”
Fear clenched his already-aching gut, twisting it into a tight ball of pain. Julio turned away from the doctor. He didn’t need her seeing his weakened condition.
“What’s wrong with them?”
“I don’t know.” She sounded both furious and exasperated.
Allowing anger to cover his fear, he whirled back to her. “Then you’d better find out, or you’re the next person to die.”
“Your threats mean nothing to me, Señor Garcia. If the illness is an airborne virus, we’re all dead.”
Panicked, Julio grabbed her arm. “No. My wife and the baby inside her. You must save them.”
Compassion melted Carrie’s anger away. She had watched a man die an agonizing death and had been unable to do anything but mop his brow, hold his hand, and pray his suffering ended soon.
Last night had been one of the longest in her entire life. Trying to keep the men hydrated and their fevers down, while hoping and praying that she didn’t get sick, too, had been unbearable.
Not only was she exhausted, she felt as helpless as a newborn left to fend for itself.
She’d come to see this man, to demand he do something. The fear in his eyes stopped her from castigating him. Julio Garcia might be an amoral criminal, but in this he was as mortal as the rest of humanity. He loved his wife and child.
“How far along is your wife?”
“I believe almost four months.” He gave a little wave of his hand as he spoke. To Carrie, it was the universal language of some men who found the entire cycle from conception to birth a confusing mystery and wanted to keep it that way.
“I can check her. Make sure she is healthy. I would recommend that she stay as far away from everyone as possible.”
“She’s had no contact with my people.”
He didn’t elaborate. She assumed he kept his business dealings away from his family. She wondered about the poor girl, who was probably lonely. Had this been a love match? He seemed to care about her, but was that because of the baby she carried? Too often in her work she had seen men treat their wives as brood mares and nothing more.
Carrie mentally shook her head. Exhaustion was making her brain get off track. Whether Julio and his wife were in love was the least of her problems.
Returning to her main worry, she said, “If this isn’t an airborne virus, there’s a possibility of poison.”
“What kind of poison?”
“I don’t know. They all ate at the cantina Friday night. Perhaps that is where it happened.”
“Food poisoning would cause these kinds of reactions? Even death?”
“Possibly. But some of the men claimed they didn’t eat anything. And while all of them had alcohol, they claimed to have imbibed different kinds.”
“So you’re saying this could be deliberate?”
“I’m only stating what I’ve learned,” she said calmly. “You’ll have to make your own conclusions.”
“Can you do nothing for them?”
“Your medical supplies are abysmal. I’m keeping them hydrated, but your supplies need to be replenished.” She held out the piece of paper he’d refused to take from her last night.
As he stared down at the long list of items, she continued. Her no-nonsense tone was the one she often used to urge the most stubborn of her clients. “I’ve drawn several more vials of blood. Until they’re analyzed, it’s doubtful we can figure out what’s wrong. You have ten sick. One has already died. They need to get to a hospital where they can receive proper medical care.”
She watched as his face went from stark white to a light green. He grabbed his belly. Comprehension came quick. “You’re sick, too.”
He whirled away and vomited all over the floor.
She reached out for him. “Let me help you.”
Instead of accepting her help, he turned around to glare at her. “It can’t be food poisoning. I don’t eat with my men. And I don’t drink alcohol. You do nothing but guess. You know nothing!”
He turn
ed toward the door and bellowed, “Diego!”
The portly man came running into the room. “Si?”
“Take this woman and lock her in her room. I’ll deal with her later.”
Her sympathy at an end, she said, “If you don’t get those men to a hospital, more will die. You might, too.”
“Get her out of here!”
Carrie jerked her arm away from Diego and walked out the door. There was no talking sense into this man. He was either too stupid or too worried about his own neck to get help for his people. If this was an airborne virus, what would happen if his wife became ill? Would he change his mind then?
She stepped down into a sunken living room and glanced outside, through huge sliding glass doors. A giant pool sparkled in the sunshine. A young woman in a minuscule bikini stood on the side of it. She was young and incredibly beautiful. Who was she?
Risking censure from Diego, Carrie gestured with her hand. “Who is that young woman?”
“That is the señor’s wife, Elena.”
The woman turned, and Carrie got a good look at the woman Julio Garcia seemed to be so enamored of. She was stunningly beautiful. Tall, long-legged, curvy but not voluptuous. The woman walked with an indolence and supreme self-confidence. She drew closer, and Carrie thought she was quite possibly one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. She stopped at a table and lifted a glass of something cold to her lips, and then she turned. Carrie got a side view of her, noting her tight, flat stomach. Elena might be many things, but there was one thing that she was not. The young wife of Julio Garcia was not pregnant.
Carrie’s hand touched the reassuring weight in the pocket of her jeans. While one of the men had been throwing his guts up, Carrie had taken the opportunity to go through his pockets. Whatever was going on here was becoming more troublesome as time went on. Whether Julio wanted help or not, she was going to see that he got it.
***
Anna stopped for a second to adjust her backpack. Her muscles were aching, but not as badly as they had last night. After almost six hours of sleep, she’d woken with a much lighter heart. It hadn’t hurt that she’d woken in Aidan’s arms. Since she was practically lying on top of him, she knew she was the one who had made the contact. Aidan had been nice enough to let her use him as a mattress.
Other than a gruff “Good morning,” Aidan had been characteristically silent. Anna wasn’t much of a morning person, so it had been easy enough to go along with his quietness. After everything that had happened in the last thirty-six hours, she had more than enough to keep her occupied.
A melodic noise came from her backpack. She stopped again and, reaching over her shoulder, quickly unzipped a pocket, and retrieved her cellphone. Before she could say hello, a breathless voice said, “Anna, it’s Carrie.”
“Carrie?” Her eyes, wide with shock, zoomed to Aidan, who had stopped in front of her. “Where are you? What’s happening? What—”
Aidan took the phone from her and pressed the speaker button. He heard an older woman’s voice, sounding both tired and angry.
“I was abducted, brought to this little village in a helicopter. There’re a lot of sick people here. I’m worried it’s contagious.”
“Carrie, my name is Aidan Thorne. I’m with Anna right now. We’re coming up the mountain for you.”
“The Aidan Thorne from Last Chance Rescue?”
He caught the embarrassed grimace on Anna’s face before she turned away.
“Yes. That Aidan Thorne. Can you tell me how many people are there?”
“It’s hard to say. I’ve spent most of my time in the infirmary since I got here. The man in charge, Julio Garcia, he’s sick, too. He’s also scared.”
“What are the symptoms?”
“Vomiting, diarrhea, fever. One of the men died this morning. Two are close to death. I don’t know how long the others will last.”
“Any coughing or difficulty breathing?”
“No.”
“Headaches or joint pain?”
“No.”
“Any rashes or sores?”
“None that I’ve seen.”
“We’re maybe three hours away from you. Turning back for a doctor or medical supplies isn’t an option, but I can help.”
“You have a medical background?”
“Yes.”
“But Anna—”
“I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
“Can you get more help? Even with your assistance, these men won’t last much longer if we can’t figure out the cause of their illness and get them medical care. I’ve drawn blood, but Garcia refuses to send someone to get it tested.”
“I’ll see what I can do. If you can, without endangering yourself, find out what kind of security Garcia has set up. Call us back when you can.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“To be on the safe side, drink only bottled water, if it’s available. And consume only pre-packaged food.”
“Thankfully there seems to be an adequate amount of bottled water. With what’s going on, I don’t think anyone has the appetite to eat anything.”
“Probably for the best.”
“Anna?” Carrie said.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“Don’t be silly, Carrie. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
“I’ll call back when I know more.”
The line went dead.
“What are we going to do?” Anna asked.
What he wanted to do was find a safe place for Anna to hide until he could come back for her. Since that would go over as well as a furnace store in hell, he said, “We’re going to triple-time it up the mountain.”
With a nod, she started to run. Aidan hit speed dial for McCall and took off after Anna.
Her thoughts whirling like a tornado, Anna kept a good, steady pace as she listened to Aidan’s conversation with Noah. Of all the things she thought they would be confronting, an airborne illness that might kill them all was not one of them.
Her normal optimism was taking a serious hit. How on earth were they going to rescue Carrie in addition to helping the men who were sick?
“Yeah,” Aidan was saying. “From the sound of it, he’s got a dozen or more men guarding the place, but if more than half of them are sick, our chances for infiltrating are better.”
She couldn’t hear Noah’s response but assumed it was about her, because Aidan sent her a sideways glance and said, “I agree.”
Whatever that meant. She knew he was worried about her. Heck, she was worried about her, and him, too. And she was worried for Carrie. If the illness was airborne, there was no way Carrie wouldn’t become ill. Her throat clogged with emotion. Carrie had been her mentor and friend for years. If anything happened to her...
A hand grabbed hers and squeezed it. She glanced over at Aidan, who was still talking to Noah but his eyes were on her. He knew she was scared, and he was trying to comfort her. She told herself it should bother her that he could read her so well. Even though she had never been one to hide who she was or what she was feeling, a little self-preservation would probably be wise when it came to dealing with this man.
Aidan ended his call to Noah with, “I’ll wait to hear back from you.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Let’s stop for a minute and talk.”
When she halted, Aidan noted that even though Anna’s breath was slightly elevated, she’d been able to keep a steady pace. Anna being in good shape was a plus for them both.
“McCall has a contact with the CDC. He’s going to see if they can determine what the illness might be with the symptoms Carrie described.”
“That’s a long shot, isn’t it? Don’t a lot of illnesses have the same symptoms?”
“Yes, but there were some particular aspects in Carrie’s description that could narrow the options down.”
“You told Carrie you have medical experience.”
“Yes.” Aidan had
never gone out of his way to hide his medical background. It just wasn’t something that ever came up. It’d been helpful when he’d been in the military, as well as on LCR ops, but he knew that bringing it out in the open would raise more questions than he wanted to answer.
He figured Anna would be full of them, but instead of asking what his medical experience entailed, she said, “Then you have some ideas on what the illness might be?”
“Diagnostics wasn’t my field, but this sounds like poisoning, not a contagious virus. I’m hoping McCall’s contact with the CDC can confirm that.”
“Could it be food poisoning?”
“It’s possible. We don’t know what kind of health the man who died was in. He might’ve had other health factors that contributed to his death.”
“Or it could be intentional poisoning.”
That was Aidan’s biggest worry. If there was an enemy in Garcia’s camp, then that raised the stakes. If someone was willing to poison a dozen men, they’d have no problem killing a lone woman who might figure out the problem.
“If it is intentional, then there’s going to be more than one element of danger we’re going to have to look out for.”
“But we’re not going to wait on anyone, are we?”
“If it’s an airborne virus, I’d say yes. Carrie’s already been exposed, and there’s not much we could do until help arrived. Hopefully, by the time we arrive at the village, we’ll have heard from McCall.”
“And if we haven’t?”
The next part would be the hardest for her to accept.
“Then we wait.”
“But—”
He held up his hand. “Running in blind isn’t going to benefit anyone. From the sound of it, Carrie has very few medical supplies. We’re not going to be able to help her without more supplies or knowing what we’re dealing with.”
The obstinate look on her face told him she didn’t agree. She didn’t, however, argue, and that was a point in her favor.
“When we get there, we’ll assess the situation.”
He didn’t know why he was softening his stance. He had been involved in dozens of rescues and was a seasoned operative. Allowing her to have any input was ridiculous. So why…
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