by Amy McKinley
Relief rushed through Mari as she tore the packet open and poured it into the half-empty canteen. The powdered electrolytes would aid her focus and clear some of the fogginess from her brain.
“I think we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement—a fair trade. I need help with something, and clearly so do you. But let’s start with the obvious. I saved your life.” Hannah paused until Mari gave a curt nod. “And it seems you want to get safely across the border. I have a way to get you through here and across, without being killed, but I need a favor.”
The reality of their situation whispered through her mind, telling her there would be no guarantee this woman would keep her safe. But no matter what, her odds were better with someone who also knew how to shoot a gun. “What’s the favor?”
“A life for a life. I saved yours, now there’s someone I want you to do the same for.”
“That’s pretty broad. How do I know that what, or who, you’re trying to saddle me with won’t bring me down and keep me here indefinitely? Or kill me?” Mari frowned. “Why don’t you save them?”
“I have somewhere I need to be, and you’ll be going the opposite direction, since you’re planning to get out of Colombia. If we don’t get to him soon, others who are searching for him will. That wouldn’t be good. You can help this person get far away from here, too.”
Lovely. Are more guerrillas on their way? “Fine.” Maybe, but only once I know who and what the person I’m supposed to save is. The goal here was to keep Hannah’s damn gun pointed elsewhere. If her cold gaze and unhurried demeanor were any indication, ice pumped through her veins.
If Mari got shot in the leg, there wouldn’t be anywhere she could go. She’d be a sitting duck, ripe for enemy plucking. “Who are you?”
“Hannah. I told you that.” The woman’s gun lowered completely.
Not exactly what I meant. “I’m Mari. And who’s the person you want me to help?”
“I’m going to show you.”
Mari dropped her pack from her back then fell to her knees and riffled through it. “Okay, I guess.” She didn’t really have a choice. If she ran from Hannah, there was a high probability she’d get shot, so she’d have to go along with a new adventure as her next move. With a hard yank, she unzipped her pack and rooted around for her own canteen, which she’d stowed inside. When her hands clamped on the smooth plastic and she brought it to her lips, she almost cried. Almost. She doubted she had any tears left in her dry husk of a body.
Water poured down Mari’s throat in a warm stream, and she instantly felt better, less likely to drop to the ground, never to get up again. It helped to restore a little energy to her flagging will and would keep her going. Swiping a hand over her brow, she stopped the sweat from dripping into her eyes. What she wouldn’t give for a fan, an ice-cold drink, or a freezing shower.
With careful movements, she re-capped the container and put it back in her backpack before slinging the heavy thing on her back with a groan. She shifted it to a more comfortable spot on her shoulder.
Hannah waved her gun in front of Mari, and she pushed out a breath as she got to her feet. “Okay, I’m ready. Where is this mysterious person who needs my assistance?” If she could see the humor of the situation, she would have laughed. How she was going to help anyone else when it seemed like she went from one crisis to the next was beyond her.
Reaching up, Hannah tugged on her high ponytail until it was tighter. Mari couldn’t understand how the eye-catching platinum blonde survived out here. Being a woman was dangerous enough, but she didn’t blend in at all with that light hair. She probably made it because she was a damn good shot. Looking her up and down, Mari wondered how much ammo Hannah had on her. Once that ran out, she’d be a sitting duck—just like Mari.
Out of one terrible situation and into the next. What has my life become? After her aunt had passed away, she’d felt so alone. She’d hated the isolation, but would welcome it in the predicament she was in.
For the first several months after her aunt had died, Mari had struggled with an unwavering loneliness because she had no one left. As she’d left the relative safety of her last hovel, she’d realized she would die if she didn’t try to make it out of South America. Either from the emptiness inside her, those in authority, or the man she ran from. None of the options were pleasant.
She took a quick glance at Hannah, and a part of her relaxed. Traveling with a woman through this hellhole might be nice. At least she’d have someone to talk to.
With her brows scrunched together, Hannah turned behind her, obviously contemplating something about their direction. “I wonder.” She motioned for them to head deeper into guerrilla territory.
“Wait.” Mari stood her ground and spoke through her teeth. “That’s suicide. You want us to go closer to their camp? We just got rid of one of them. Why would we go into a nest? How is that not insane?”
Hannah turned back to look at Mari, and her cold gaze latched onto her. Mari bristled. The woman was intense, and something about her penetrated Mari’s exhausted mind. She was powerful, confident, and cunning. Yeah, I’d do well to stick close to the scary woman. At least for now, it’ll up my odds of survival until I can get out of this godforsaken nightmare.
“We need a few things. What better way to get them than from their camp?”
“How the hell are we going to do that and stay alive?” Mari swatted away a bug, wanting to smack Hannah as well.
A half smile curved Hannah’s lips. “As long as you’re quiet, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Dios mio, this woman is crazy. Realizing she didn’t have much of a choice, she fell into line with Hannah, trudging through the brush. Pressing her lips together, she restrained the string of insults that she longed to hurl at Hannah about her new idea.
Their progress quickened as the terrain became easier to traverse. Unlike the rest of the vegetation Mari had traveled through, there was a narrow path where someone had hacked a trail with a machete. With each step her feet weighed more, her legs burned, and her mouth leeched of all moisture. At least she didn’t have to fight through leaves, trees, and bushes.
“Be quiet,” Hannah snapped, her voice a whip-like whisper. “Do you hear that?” She stopped and waited for Mari’s tight-lipped nod. “They’ll be close to the river. You need to be quieter, or we’ll have company we don’t want.”
That’s for sure. Mari took care to step where Hannah did, falling directly behind her. The woman glided like a ghost through the harsh environment, very unlike Mari, who struggled to pick up each foot and move it forward.
A hand clamped down on her forearm, and Hannah leaned close. “They’re right up there. See them moving through the trees?”
Squinting, Mari jerked her arm away from Hannah. Fear doused her exhaustion. They were outnumbered. Many bodies moved around a fire, getting their rations of lunch. Her stomach growled. She watched through a break in the leaves as each got a bowl, ladled something—probably stew of some sort—into it, and found a place to sit. Tan camouflage hats, shirts, and pants identified them as belonging to the same unit as the man who’d chased her. Sick dread churned in her empty stomach. This was the camp he’d been driving her toward.
“Follow me.”
She trailed behind Hannah as they skirted around the base with enough distance to avoid detection. The sounds increased the closer they came to the river.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Hannah held her gaze, waiting a beat until she got the reassurance she sought in Mari’s expression.
Bossy much? She fought from rolling her eyes. Really, where am I going to go right now? Mari sank to the ground at the edge of the river, cupped the water, and with care not to make noise, splashed it on her face and over her head. Sticking her face in and drinking her fill was tempting, but the water was most likely contaminated by the men, given how close she was to their camp. Fresh water sloshed around in one of her canteens. She could wait to refill the empty one when they located
a stream, which tended to have cleaner water, or so she’d heard growing up near the Darien Gap. If it wasn’t rainwater, she would prefer to use the few iodine pills she’d brought or to boil it, if given the opportunity.
By the time she sat back up from leaning over the water, Hannah was nowhere in sight. Wow, she moves quietly. She hadn’t even heard Hannah leave. Mari leaned against a tree, inches from the water, wanting to plunge herself in. Fatigued, she eased her head against the bark and tried to make herself as small as possible so as not to be seen from the other side of the trunk. Her nerves leapt in fear of being so close to the enemy. Their grueling pace was exhausting, and her fight-or-flight reaction to the guerrilla who had chased her had sapped precious energy. She fought to remain awake and aware, but her eyelids fluttered closed.
Something woke Mari from a light doze. Holy hell, I passed out. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep. A prod on her shoulder sent white-hot fear through her nonresponsive limbs, and she fell over. Her body jerked, and she reacted, pushing to her feet and swiveling, ready to take on who’d found her.
A shit-eating grin split Hannah’s serious features. The woman’s silent chuckle made Mari see red, and she took an adrenaline-fueled step forward, tempted to slap that expression from Hannah’s face.
Hannah shoved a palm flat into Mari’s chest, stopping her in her tracks. “Let’s go.”
Cursing under her breath, Mari pushed aside the confusion that swirled following Hannah’s command and quick change of mood. Mari fell in line behind the taller woman and glanced over at the river. Thank the heavens. A long, narrow canoe, tethered to a branch, bobbed in the water. On Hannah’s back rested two of the guerrillas’ packs, complete with sheathed machetes.
They had a way out.
Chapter 3
Mari
The sky darkened with angry clouds as she and Hannah traveled down the Atrato River at a pace too quick for Mari’s liking. While she wanted to get out of the area, she would rather not capsize and risk the loss of their dugout canoe.
She’d seen it all when it came to makeshift boats—tied logs, inflatable kayaks, and long, narrow canoes such as what they were in. Some had motors. She considered them lucky to have one of the dugouts, even if it lacked power. The thought of being on a log vessel made her edgy. There were crocodiles in the river.
Hannah had stolen the canoe farthest from the rest, the one the guerrillas would be least likely to notice if it went missing, or so they hoped. With one of the hand-carved paddles, Hannah guided them close to the overhanging trees, which offered some coverage from the beating sun. Mari, tired and sore from her trek through the harsh jungle, was grateful for the break. They’d traveled through the hottest part of the day. A nap, or even lying in a stream, would’ve been preferable to any type of movement just then.
A scuffling sound came from the underbrush not far from them, causing Mari to look over her shoulder. Are we being followed? With narrowed eyes, she searched the bank of the river for any indication that someone was there. When nothing emerged from the cover of the trees, she dismissed it, assuming it was an animal. Mari pressed her lips into a stubborn line as she turned back to Hannah. “Where are we going?”
Hannah spared her a cursory glance. “I told you.” The dominant tone she used set Mari’s nerves on edge.
“Yeah, yeah.” She swept her arm out, gesturing to the vast jungle. “To find someone. And when we find this mysterious person?” Her patience was drawing to an end. They hadn’t stopped to eat, assuming there was food in the packs, or even to hunt. Ever since they left the outskirts of the guerrilla camp with the wafting smell of stew, her stomach had felt as though it was eating itself. She’d even settle for munching on a few leaves if it would ease the cramping.
Hannah’s miraculous presence when she most needed aid still sat askew in her gut, as did her fair complexion, which screamed “foreigner.” “Why are you here?”
“Why are you?” Hannah countered. “Just be glad I was in the right place at the right time. If I hadn’t been, that man would have caught you. Do you think he would have outright killed you, or perhaps he had other plans? Then where would you be?”
Thinking of the terror she’d narrowly missed caused a shudder to wrack her body. Hannah’s quiet, measured words reminded Mari of the debt she owed her and of the reluctant promise she’d given—one she had no doubt Hannah would still collect. She just hoped it wasn’t something she’d regret more than taking her chances alone.
Mari pulled on her ponytail, tightening it even more and wishing her long hair wasn’t so thick. Her shoulders slumped, as she swallowed what little pride she had. She had to admit that she would be in a world of hurt if it hadn’t been for this woman. “I never said it earlier, because, you know.” Her annoyance with Hannah—in addition to the threats, running, and all they’d already been through—had stopped her from expressing her gratitude. “Thank you for helping me.”
With a nod, Hannah accepted her poorly offered words of gratitude. Scanning the trees and horizon, she paddled them to the bank. She must’ve made a decision and figured out where this mysterious stranger would be.
Even though she’d yet to meet him, she felt a small kinship with him. From what Hannah had said, someone with ill intent was after him, and they needed to get to him first, maybe to save his life. She considered how she needed to leave before she was captured and returned. Maybe they could help each other and form a mutually beneficial relationship.
She and Hannah jumped into the shallow water. Sloshing around in the roots and mud that tried to keep them as payment for their passage, they tied the canoe to a tree. Hannah pursed her lips. “We may need this.”
“The canoe? Of course we will. That’s our transportation out of here.”
“No.” Hannah’s ice-blue gaze swung her way. “To bring with us.”
“Ah, it looks pretty awkward and heavy. I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”
With her brows furrowed, Hannah looked around the dense jungle ahead of them. “You’re right. We’ll figure something else out.”
What? “Can you give me a little more information? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Her irritation at the situation flared. There was a reason she’d entered the jungle where she had—there had been less chance of being stopped by the cartel that searched for her. “We need to get out of here, and from what it looks like, you’ve maneuvered us very close to where I started in Turbo, Colombia!” Alarm spread through her as, once again, the direction they were heading in registered in her tired brain. After all she’d been through, trust wasn’t easily given. They were going farther into the swamps she’d already traveled, not out and toward the mountainous Panama border that she’d planned to cross.
Hannah’s face was suddenly an inch from hers, a snarl curling her lips. “You ask too many questions.”
Mari held her ground and tilted up her chin. With her heart pounding, she straightened, balling her hands into fists at her sides. “Tell me why we’re going deeper in the swamplands, and why I should trust you.” She swiped away the sweat that trickled too close to the corner of her eye. “How am I supposed to know if you’re leading me to some other pack of wolves?”
“You don’t. But would it make sense for me to save your life only to end it?”
She frowned. “No.” God, I want to lie down and sleep for a week. “Look, I’m having trouble with this whole situation. I mean, look at you. You’re obviously not from here, so what are you doing?” When Mari felt Hannah press the unyielding point of a knife against her throat, she went silent.
“We’re done with the questions. We had a deal. Now, hold up your end of the bargain.” Hannah waited a moment then slowly lowered the blade.
Dammit. Who is this woman? Annoyance crawled through Mari’s tired mind.
Hannah turned and pressed on through the dense vegetation, and Mari trudged behind her. She’d play the complacent follower, at least for a time. The fact remained th
at Hannah needed her help, which meant she was most likely safe for the moment. As long as the arrangement benefited Mari in the long run, she’d go along with it.
Hannah alternated from looking around them as they walked to scanning all the way up into the trees.
“What are you doing?” Mari cringed, hearing the panic in her own voice as she considered who might be lying in wait. If they had to contend with armed lookouts in the branches, their journey would become outright hellish. “Seriously, why are you looking up there?”
“The man we’re searching for could be anywhere. Just look for anything unusual.”
Why did I agree to this? She should have just run, as fast and as far away as she could. Maybe she would have been close to crossing the border, instead of on a crazy hunt in the opposite direction. She should have called Hannah’s bluff and risked being shot in the leg. God knows whose territory we’re in now. We’re asking for trouble.
Swatting at mosquitos, Mari struggled to put one foot in front of the other. Hannah was like a freak of nature or a robot—she seemed never to get thirsty, hungry, or tired. If Mari had the strength, she’d yank that swinging blond ponytail until Hannah fell. Then she’d sit and rest.
Mari’s gaze was trained on the ground as she carefully stepped over a dead branch. She slammed into Hannah’s back and stumbled back a step before she hit the ground. “What is your problem? Why did you stop?”
Too fast, Hannah turned around and shushed her. “Look at the trees.”
Mari huffed before she looked to where Hannah indicated. At first, she didn’t understand what she was looking for, but then she saw a diagonal line of broken branches, damaged and angling downward until the breaks disappeared behind a large tree.
“He may not be the only one here. Follow me. No talking.”
Mari nodded, and took Hannah’s hand when the other woman offered to help her up. Things just got real. Adrenaline pumped through her veins at the thought of who they could encounter. One crazy run from a guerrilla was enough for her.