by Desiree Holt
“We’ve got the boy.” Marsh appeared in the doorway. “Ethan, we have to get the hell out of here. One of the guards said Las Tormentas are on their way. We got everyone we could, but there’s more in the bunkhouse and they heard the commotion.”
“We’re set,” Ethan told him.” He ripped a pillowcase into strips and used them to bind Lisa’s wounds. Then he pulled off the shirt he’d thrown on over his T-shirt, slid her arms into it, and buttoned two buttons. “I’ll take better care of you when we get back to camp. Okay?”
She nodded.
Ethan heaved her over his shoulder and took off down the stairs. He heard the rapid staccato bursts of MP5s firing, guessing that Nick and Angel were backing around the side of the house. There were two bodies in the front hall, and two more on the wide porch. Ethan detoured around them and kept running.
The roar of gunfire followed. The resident guards didn’t have suppressors on their weapons, and the sounds were magnified in the still night of the jungle.
“Go, go, go,” Marsh yelled at him, running with Jamie over his shoulder. The child was flopping against his back, screaming for help.
Ethan covered the distance to the perimeter wall in seconds and heaved Lisa to the top. She rolled off and was waiting for Ethan when he climbed over.
Even in the danger of the moment, he had to admire her guts and strength. She’d been terrified and tortured yet she hadn’t collapsed. She stood waiting for Marsh and her frightened child.
“It’s all right,” she yelled when she saw Marsh breech the wall. “I can take him.”
He landed beside them, and Jamie held out his arms when he saw her.
“Mommy! You came. I knew you weren’t dead.”
“You and Mommy can have a reunion later,” Marsh said. “Ethan, we’ve got to get the hell out of here. Nick and Angel are laying down cover fire, but Cortez and his men just pulled up so the game’s changed. Those guys skin people alive just because they’re bored. Mallory’s guards are like pussycats compared to them.”
“Can you run?” Ethan asked Lisa.
“I can do whatever I have to.”
“All right. Come on.” He grabbed her hand, and they took off running, Marsh right behind them with Jamie.
Lisa ran, heedless of the pain the jarring steps caused to her bleeding breasts. The sound of men crashing through the foliage behind them was too heavy for just their small band, and she had no intention of being caught by any of Charles’s people.
Before they even reached their clearing, they heard the helicopter overhead.
“Ethan?” she yelled.
“Keep going. Don’t stop.” He tossed a look at Marsh as they ran.
“Nick called him in when we hit the house,” Marsh said as if reading his thoughts. He should be here right about—” He looked up. “—now.”
They’d reached the clearing, and sure enough, the helo was hovering. A ladder dangled from the open door, and a man crouched by it, ready to help.
“Who’s that?” Ethan asked.
“Angel’s brother. He was visiting and decided he’d like a little excitement.”
“He got that all right.” Ethan boosted Lisa up to reach the ladder. “Can you grab the rung? Start climbing and don’t look down. Diego will help you at the top.”
“I can do it,” she told him between clenched teeth.
“Good girl. Go on, now.”
As soon as Lisa reached the top, Marsh began the climb, holding tightly to Jamie. Ethan heard the firing of rifles and the soft answering sounds of the MP5s moving closer. In a moment, Nick and Angel backed into the clearing.
“Get the hell up that ladder,” Nick yelled at him. “Then you can cover us.”
Ethan scrambled up the ladder with more agility than he thought he still possessed. As soon as he tumbled into the cabin of the helo, he positioned himself at the door and began firing his own weapon. First Nick and then Angel made the climb. As each man reached the top, he, too, knelt and fired at the gathering mob below. Angel flinched as one of the bullets hit his leg, but he kept on coming.
The minute he threw himself on the floor, Nick yelled, “Go, go, go “.
Hogan pulled back on the collective, and they were airborne.
Chapter Nineteen
Despite the intense pain in her breasts, Lisa cradled Jamie to her as tightly as she could. He was crying against her shoulder, and her own tears ran down her cheeks onto his tousled hair. His tiny hands clutched her shirt as if he’d never let her go. She felt the same way.
She glanced behind her where Nick attended to Angel’s wound.
“Is it bad?” she asked.
“Nah.” Angel forced a grin. “Don’t worry, pretty lady. I’ve had much worse.”
“I’m so sorry you got hurt.” She tried to smile.
“He’s a tough nut,” Nick told her. “Anyway, it just scraped him. I’ve hurt myself worse reeling in a marlin.”
Lisa hiccupped a laugh. “I don’t know how to thank you. All of you. You don’t even know me.”
Nick gave Ethan a long look. “No, but we know this big jerk sitting next to you. Guardian owes him a lot. We thought it was time to pay it back.”
She felt Ethan’s arm around her, his breath warm against her neck, and she wondered if it was just for show.
“We ought to take a look at those knife wounds,” he told her softly.
Lisa shook her head. “I don’t want Jamie to see. I can wait.”
“You’ve been running and climbing with two open wounds, and the front of this shirt is soaked with blood. I need to put something tighter around you”
“A—all right.”
Ethan pulled thick rolls of bandages from a first aid kit, but when he tried to move Jamie a little to tend to her, the little boy just hung on tighter to his mother.
“Don’t let go,” he wailed.
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” she soothed. “Mr. Caine just has to wrap something around Mommy. I’m right here.”
Ethan tied the wrapping in back as tightly as he dared. “I’m getting you to a doctor as soon as we land.” He shook out two tablets from a container and handed them to her with a bottle of water. “Swallow these. You’ll need them.”
“Where are we going, anyway?” She tightened her arms around Jamie again, biting her lip against the pain from the pressure. She bent her head so Ethan wouldn’t see, but he reached a hand under her chin and tipped up her face.
“I know you don’t want Jamie to know you’re hurt,” he said in a low, soft voice. “But we will get you taken care of when we land.”
“We’re heading for Sailfish Key,” Nick told her in answer to her question. “Guardian has…contacts there. Then we can go anywhere by car or boat.”
He introduced the others who smiled at her in an easy manner, then went back to what they were doing.
Jamie had fallen asleep on her chest, exhausted from his ordeal, and she shifted him slightly to give herself some relief. Ethan sat with his back against the wall of the copter, his legs bracketing her as they’d done the night before. There was a warm sense of comfort in their position, a feeling of security. Which was idiotic, of course. As soon as they were back in Tampa, he’d be hiding out in his farmhouse again and she’d probably never see him.
Why did she care, anyway? He was a man with his own isolationist policy. This morning she’d wanted to talk to him about what happened between them, but now she realized the futility of that. Despite the fact that she was sure in her heart something real had clicked between the two of them, he would never acknowledge it. She needed to concentrate on getting her life and Jamie’s back on track.
She was sure her son would need counseling. The last few months had to have been a nightmare for him. Being snatched away, finding out his father was alive. Held as a virtual prisoner miles away from anyone. She couldn’t afford to indulge her own emotional needs when her son’s were so much greater.
Anyway, in her heart of hearts, she had the fee
ling she’d forfeited the right to a happily ever after. She’d made so many unforgivable mistakes. If she could just get herself and Jamie through the next few years and he turned out to be a normal human being that would be enough for her. She hoped.
“What about Aaron Burke?” she asked, pushing her hair out of her face. “God, that was the shock of all time.”
Ethan grunted. “I left him trussed up like a pig in the hallway. Cortez may just hack him to bits to pass the time of day.”
“I can’t say I’m sorry about whatever happens to him. He was part of this all along.”
“I like to think people get what they deserve,” Ethan said in a quiet voice.
Lisa leaned back against him, Jamie cradled in her arms. She wasn’t aware she’d dozed off until something startled her awake, and she realized it was the absence of noise and motion
Ethan bent his head to her ear. “We’re here. Let Angel take Jamie while you climb out.”
Jamie put up a mild protest, but they all managed to debark without problems. Lisa climbed down onto the tarmac and looked around. To her left were two enormous hangars, to her right a row of SUVs.
“Is there a regulation you all have to drive these?” she asked Nick.
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am. Part of the uniform.”
“They’re good anywhere,” Angel explained. “Sometimes the places we need to go don’t exactly have roads.”
She decided that was as much as she needed to know.
Ethan led her to one of the vehicles, Marsh behind her carrying Jamie. In what seemed like seconds, they were all buckled in and Ethan was pulling away from the airfield.
“I don’t think I thanked them properly,” she told him. “What they did… They could all have been killed. You, too.”
He shrugged. “Goes with the territory. They know I’d do the same for them.”
“So where to now? I’m so exhausted I think I could sleep for a year.”
“There’s a doctor on the Key here that we’ve used before.” He paused. “That I’ve used before.”
“Okay.” She really didn’t care where it was as long as they could give her something for the pain.
“He’s got a little two-room hospital-type setup at his clinic,” Ethan explained. “I want him to check both of you out.”
“Oh, Ethan, I really want to go home.”
He nodded. “And you will. But not until I’m sure you’re both okay.”
She was just too tired to fight with him. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, vaguely aware of Ethan drawing Jamie into a conversation. The soothing sounds of their voices lulled her to sleep.
****
Josh arrived on Sailfish Key within hours of Nick’s call. He’d been in a murderous rage when he learned the details of what happened.
“It’s a damn good thing that bastard’s dead,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Otherwise, I’d be down there letting him know what it feels like when someone takes a knife to him.”
“We’re safe now,” Lisa soothed. “Please. I just want to try and get past this.”
Since then, he’d been dividing his time between her and Jamie. She had been sleeping and recovering in one of the two airy patient bedrooms in the clinic where Ethan had taken her. Now she lay propped up on several pillows, the soft island breeze stirring the curtains at the window, the ceiling fan turning lazily overhead. Applications of ice had taken down the swelling in her eyes and cream had helped the bruises and the split lip. The danger of concussion had passed, and the doctor Nick had sent her to assured her she was mending well. Except for the pain where her knife wounds were healing, and the bruises on her face, the hellish escape from Quintana Roo was beginning to seem like a bad dream.
Dr. Keith Wardlow, tall and lanky with a thick shock of red hair, was possessed of a natural bedside manner. From the instant Ethan delivered her to his office, his demeanor was soothing and comforting. The only time she’d seen a change of expression was when Ethan told him how she’d been hurt. His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping in his cheek, and his eyes darkened with fury.
Right now, he was changing her dressings again.
“I’ve been here for three days,” she pointed out. “I’m doing much better. Don’t you think it’s time for me to leave?”
“You’re healing nicely,” he told her as he spread more antibiotic cream on her wounds. He’d loaded her with antibiotics the minute he examined her and kept her wounds medicated with the cream.
“The pain isn’t quite as bad as it was,” she told him.
“That’s always a good sign. Of course, I’ve been keeping you pretty well sedated, too.”
“So,” she prompted, “back to my question. When can I leave? I can’t stay in bed forever, you know. And where’s my son today?”
“I believe Ethan and your brother took him fishing.”
Lisa jerked up in bed. “Fishing? Ethan is still here? And he took a child fishing?” She shook her head. “It’s funny. I would have thought he’d have been out of here as soon as Josh arrived.”
Keith laughed. “I know what you mean about Ethan. I’ve never seen him as someone particularly fond of kids.” He shook his head. “Strange.”
She had to agree. Ethan, the last person in the world she would have expected to relate to kids, had formed some kind of bond with Jamie. She’d been more than amazed that her son had allowed himself to be sidetracked while she was tended to and expected a real emotional crisis. But Ethan and Josh had managed to keep him occupied and distracted.
Keith cleared his throat. “I just wanted to say I’m happy Ethan was able to get you out before any worse damage was done. To either you or your son.”
She shifted her eyes to the window, staring out at nothing. “Yes, I owe him a lot.”
“I’ve known Ethan a good many years. He’s given up a lot of his life to help others, and it’s scarred him. But I think the right person could help him heal.”
A brief flash of some deep emotion racked her. “That’s a noble thought, Keith, but I’m probably not that person. I know Ethan would agree with me.”
“Yes. Well. We’re not always the best judge of our own lives, are we?”
“Not to be rude, but I think Ethan’s business and mine is concluded. Lord.” She leaned back on her pillows. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to wash his hands of us once and for all. So. What about it?” she pushed. “Can I leave?”
He sighed. “I’d like you to stay at least two more days, but I know you’re anxious to get back to your life. I told Ethan and your brother they could probably spring you loose tomorrow. I guess Hogan’s flying you all up in the helo.”
She grinned. “Jamie will love that. It’s all he’s talked about since we landed. But I’m glad. At least it took his mind off everything else.”
“Yes. Well.” He turned toward the door. “I’ll tell Ethan when he gets back to make the final arrangements.”
And then what?
She’d hardly seen him since the night they’d arrived. Helping Josh with Jamie gave him a perfect excuse to avoid her except for the most perfunctory of visits. Twice a day, he stopped in to check on her, then made himself scarce. At night, he seemed to disappear altogether. His actions made it plain he was pulling away from her. She forced herself not to show her disappointment or to ask where he was.
Ethan Caine was the last man she’d ever expected to form a bond with, yet there he was, sitting in a corner of her heart. And her soul. What the hell was she supposed to do?
****
Ethan drove them home from the private airfield where they landed outside of Tampa. Lisa had seldom been so glad to see any place as she was her house. She continued to be amazed at the way Jamie seemed to adjust in such a short time. Keith had told her he was a very resilient young boy, but it also had a lot to do with the way Ethan and Josh handled him during the days she was in bed and healing.
Ethan again.
He didn’t get out of the car in her drivew
ay, just waited until they’d all piled out. Josh took Jamie inside, but when Lisa realized Ethan was still sitting in the SUV, she walked back over to the driver’s side window.
“Won’t you come in for a while? Have a celebration drink with us?”
He shook his head. “No, you need to be by yourselves. As a family. I’ll just head on home.”
“We wouldn’t still be a family if it weren’t for you,” she protested.
“I’m just glad everything turned out okay. I’ve still got all the stuff from your purse at the house. I’ll send it along to Josh.” He took his battered hat off his head and handed it to her. “Give this to Jamie, will you? He begged for it the whole time at Sailfish Key.”
“Give it to him yourself,”
“No. Better if it comes from you. He can keep it as a souvenir of his great adventure.”
Lisa snorted. “Yeah. Great adventure. I hope he never has another one like that. Ethan, I’ll never be able to thank you enough. We owe you so much.”
He shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. I told you. Josh is my friend.”
“I hope I’m your friend, too.” Lisa looked down at her feet. “Or maybe even a little bit more.”
She wanted to find out if what happened between them meant anything, but of course, she couldn’t voice her words.
Ethan was silent for so long she finally raised her eyes to his face, wondering what she’d see. Something undecipherable flashed in his deep black eyes.
“Ethan, I—”
“You don’t want what’s left of me, Lisa. Believe me. Finding Jamie and bringing him home helped me put some demons to rest, but there are still too many fighting for my soul.”
“Maybe I could help you battle them.” She searched for something, anything, but she couldn’t seem to find the right words to make him stay.
“I don’t think so.” He looked at her for a long time as if memorizing every inch of her before he put the car in reverse. “Have a good life, Lisa. You deserve it.”
And then he was gone, leaving her standing in the driveway feeling as if part of her had disappeared.
“Is Ethan gone?” Josh asked as she entered the house.