CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Stephanie crashed to a sudden halt, her legs refusing to take another step.  Bending over at the waist, she gasped for air, out of breath from their dash through the jungle.  Etienne stood at her side, the M4 carbine held in his hands like he knew how to use it.  His eyes swept the area, searching for any sign of threat.  And she was pretty sure there would be one, because Gareth Prescott wasn’t the type of man to give up easily.  Otherwise, he’d still be rotting behind bars in the Nevada prison.

A light rain continued to fall, though they were sheltered from most of the deluge by the dense foliage surrounding them.  Most of the ground was invisible, buried beneath heavy layers of green vines and twisted plant roots.  Thorny bushes left stinging scratches on her skin, and she was just starting to feel them, now that the adrenaline high was dissipating. 

“Do you think anybody saw us?”  Her words came out a raspy wheezing sound, as she drew gulps of air into her lungs.  Damn, she was more out of shape than she’d thought.  Looking at Etienne, he didn’t even seem to be breathing hard.  Though a fine sheen of sweat dotted his skin, his shirt plastered to his chest from a combination of sweat and rain.  His dark hair showed a slight curl from the dampness, and she couldn’t help thinking it looked cute.  Totally not the time to be thinking about how he looked, or that his hair made him look like an adorable little boy, but that’s precisely where her mind went.  His words pulled her from her thoughts.

“Don’t know, but I doubt it’ll take them long to find our trail.  We weren’t exactly cautious.  But we’ll do better now that I’ve got my bearings.” 

“What happens now?  We need to get a message to Samuel that it’s Gareth.  He knows the depths Gareth will stoop to get what he wants.”

Etienne’s stare met hers.  “Samuel already knows it’s Prescott, I relayed that information as soon as I knew who was behind this little coup.  Prescott apparently came looking for Jasmine DuBois.” 

Her heart plummeted.  Oh, no, he knows.  “I haven’t been Jasmine in a long time, and never will be again.  As far as the world knows, Jasmine DuBois is dead and buried, and that’s how it has to be.” 

With a shaky hand, she brushed her bangs off her forehead, knowing the rest of her hair was plastered to her head.  The rain was coming down harder, and the huge leaves and branches, while providing some protection, wouldn’t hide them from searchers.  They needed to get moving. 

“We need to move.”  Etienne words echoed her thoughts.  They started moving forward, using the gun’s barrel to push aside some of the vines tangling the path, making walking treacherous.  Thankfully, she’d put on sneakers earlier, instead of the rubber-soled flip-flops she’d been wearing most of the trip, because they wouldn’t have lasted two minutes in their mad dash away from the villa. 

“Any idea which way to go?”  She really hoped he knew, because her sense of direction was lousy at the best of times, and this definitely didn’t qualify as a jaunt in the park.  Forget telling her to head north or south when providing directions.  She needed specifics, like turn right at the McDonalds on the corner, or park beside the white mailbox with the green numbers.  This stroll through the underbrush was definitely missing a few of the salient landmarks. 

“We’re heading north and west, away from the mountains.  The Navy SEAL helping coordinate the rescue, Dylan Roberts, has a place there.  Hopefully we can get through this rainforest and figure out how to get there, before Prescott catches up with us.”

“What about calling Samuel or the rest of the team?” 

He glanced over his shoulder, and gave her a roguish smile.  “Sorry, sweetheart, Bas has the satellite phone, and the guards took my cell.  Unless you’ve got yours...” 

“Dead battery.”  She smiled at the memory of hiding her phone in her swimsuit from the guards. 

“I figured it had gone dead, after you called me.”  He stopped walking, and turned to look at her.  “I can’t tell you how I felt when I heard your voice.  Sitting on the plane, waiting to take off, and having no clue what I’d be walking into.  The only thing I knew was I had to get here, to Costa Rica.  Then I heard your voice.”  As she watched, she saw him swallow, his Adam’s apple moving.  Remembered the fear coursing through her while hiding in the bathroom, making that final call. 

“I knew I should call Samuel, give him more information about the situation, but,” she brought her hand up to cup his cheek, “I had to talk to you.  If it was going to be my final call, the last voice I wanted to hear was yours.” 

His pupils dilated as he stared at her, and her tongue came out and moistened her lips.  More than she wanted her next breath, she wanted him to kiss her.  Standing here, in the midst of primitive civilization, she wanted to feel Etienne’s kiss. 

Without thinking, she took a step forward, moving closer to him.  Close enough she could feel the heat emanating from his body, knew the exact moment when he gave in and bent his head closer.  Barely a hairsbreadth separated them, and her lids started to close, her body coiled in anticipation. 

The loud snap of a branch behind her caused her eyes to snap open, and she jerked around.  Etienne stepped in front of her, pushing her behind him, the M4 pointed toward the sound.  Her whole body tensed, expecting armed mercenaries to burst from the dense jungle’s shroud, guns drawn.  Instead, after several moments, Etienne lowered his gun and drew in a deep breath. 

“We’ve gotta keep moving, honey.  The villa’s still too close, and no telling how much of a head start we’ve got.  Bas and Roberts bought us a little time, and we’d better make the most of it.  Besides,” he brushed his fingertips across her cheek, tucking her wet hair behind her ear with a gentle caress, “the boss will gut me if anything happens to you.” 

She huffed out a laugh, knowing Samuel had probably mentioned that possibility.  Too many years and memories between them had made them as close as family, and he tended to be a tad overprotective at times.  Think Big Brother on steroids overprotective. 

“Okay, Boudreau, lead the way.”  Looking up at the gray overcast sky, she really wished they’d picked up an extra gun on their mad dash across the back patio.  But she’d been too busy running for her life, and racing for the bushes, to worry about weapons.  At least Etienne was armed, because more than once during her stay at the villa, in the middle of the night, she’d heard sounds emanating from the jungle that still sent chills down her spine.  Not anything she wanted to meet up close and personal. 

“Try and keep up.  I’m going to set a pretty fast pace, because the more distance we can put between them and us, the better.” 

Etienne broke into a swift jog, and she took off after him, trying to match her shorter stride to his long-legged gait, and watch for hidden obstacles along the undergrowth, which seemed to get thicker the further away from the house they ran. 

She wasn’t sure how long they’d been running, but it seemed like hours before Etienne finally slowed to a walk.  The rain had lessened, though the sky remained covered with dark, dangerous looking thunderclouds. 

Listening for pursuers, she heard nothing except the patter of raindrops against the leaves and ground.  Even the animals were hidden away, out of the elements, because she didn’t hear even the sound of birds around them. 

“How far do you think we’ve gotten?”

“Three miles, maybe three and a half.”  He leaned against a tree, looking calm and barely out of breath.  Unlike her, because she felt like she had lead weights tied to both feet, and her whole body wanted to collapse into a heap in the puddles of mud and rainwater on the jungle floor. 

“That’s it?  It feels like we’ve been running forever.” 

“Distance is harder when you can’t see the destination in front of you.  Plus, we cut through some pretty dense growth, so hopefully that will throw them off our trail.”

“But you think they’re still following us.”

Lie to me.  Tell me that we’re safe, and almost to your friend’s house, and we can contact the authorities and everybody can go home.  Yep, that’s what I want to hear.

“They’re coming.  Probably following our trail, though I took us in a couple of roundabouts, so it might fool them for a little bit.  Not for long, though.  These guys seemed pretty well trained.  Makes me think they’re professionals and Prescott’s paying them big bucks.” 

She drew in a shuddering breath.  This was all her fault.  “What about Tabby?  They’ve still got her, and Gareth won’t hesitate to use her as a bargaining chip.” 

She didn’t bother asking about Marie.  Gareth had told her that he owned Marie, and she worked for him.  She’d been the one to convince Tabby to invite them for the Costa Rica getaway. 

“Boss has already talked to Donnelly, and apprised him of the situation and the rescue team.  Dylan Roberts, the guy who’s with Bas back at the villa, is a former Navy SEAL.  Recommended by Commander Hunt of the Riverton SEALs.  They’re helping coordinate the rescue operation.” 

“I guess we need to keep going then, because I want to get out of here.” 

“Don’t worry, Steph, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” 

She shook her head.  Etienne was a warrior, trained by the United States to serve and protect, and she knew he’d do everything within his power to keep her safe.  But she knew Gareth Prescott, probably better than anybody else still alive.  The man was a possessive monster, unafraid and undeterred by anyone or anything.  And she was afraid she didn’t have the strength to stand up to him again. 

“Let’s hope I’m heading in the right direction.  Would be nice if the sun was still shining, so I could be sure.” 

“Wait, Mister Boy Scout didn’t bring a compass?  I’m shocked.”  She couldn’t help teasing him, because he was probably the most prepared man she’d ever met.  And he had a wicked sense of humor, always teasing the guys. 

“Hardy-har-har, Ms. Funny.  The guards stripped away everything I had on me.  Except the blade in my boot.  They missed that one.”  He didn’t sound happy, either. 

“Etienne, why did you let them capture you?”  She’d been dying to ask, because she knew he had to have done it deliberately.  He’d grown up in the bayous of Louisiana, with a daddy who’d trained all the Boudreaus how to live off the land and to be invisible when they needed to be, a skill which had come in handy on more than one mission. 

He nodded toward the rainforest path ahead of them, and moved past her, brushing aside the bigger branches for her to get through.  It took him a while to answer. 

“I saw the car drive up to the front of the villa, and saw Prescott get out.  Didn’t recognize him, of course, but my gut said this was the man in charge.  That meant the timetable had moved up considerably, and we needed to do something.” 

“Oh.”  Why did she feel so disappointed?  He was doing his job, the one Samuel Carpenter paid him for, not coming for her because he cared.  They were friends, nothing more.  Coworkers for the same company.  Anything more was simply in her own head—and heart. 

He barked out a gruff laugh.  “And that’s a bald-faced lie.  I knew we should wait, assess the situation.  Get more information.  But all I could think about was you in danger.  You’d already been in their hands for twenty-four hours, and now the head honcho was there.  So I turned things over to Roberts and Bas, and walked right out like the biggest decoy you’ve ever seen.  Because I had to get to you, Steph.” 

Her heartbeat raced in her chest, and it had nothing to do with their situation or the danger around them.  Except for the danger to her heart, because she knew she was a goner.  Head over heels in love with Etienne Boudreau.  What a place to have such an epiphany.  In the middle of a Costa Rican rainforest, with armed mercenaries chasing them, intent on capturing her and taking her back to her former fiancé, and she was in love.  With Etienne Boudreau.  Her lips turned up at the realization Samuel was going to have kittens when he found out. 

He’d warned her from the beginning that all the men working for Carpenter Security were off limits.  Women too.  Heck, if they got a paycheck from Carpenter Security Services, they were so far out of bounds they might as well have been in the next hemisphere.  Though she knew it was an empty threat—he might grouse and complain—but he did it out of love.  If he thought Etienne would make her happy, he’d back down off his edict—she hoped.

They picked up the pace again, plunging deeper through the dense foliage, as the rain continued soaking them.  The ground beneath her feet shook with the force of the thunder, and giant arcs of electricity spread across the sky as lightning flashed, the sulfur smell pungent in her nostrils. 

Her feet sank deeper and deeper into the muddy earth, slowing her down with each step.  Finally, Etienne stopped walking, staring into the darkening distance. 

“We’re going to need to find shelter.  The storm’s getting worse.” 

“You don’t think we can make it to your friend’s house?” 

He shook his head.  “Clouds are moving in.  It’ll be pitch dark soon.  We need to find someplace to hole up until morning.” 

“Okay, Tarzan, what do you suggest?”

He chuckled at her quip.  “Listen.  Hear that?” 

Straining to hear something, anything, above the pounding rain, she finally shook her head.  “I can’t hear anything in this.” 

“Sounds like there might be a waterfall over in that direction,” he pointed past her shoulder.  “If we’re lucky, there might be an opening behind it, with enough space to fit us both.” 

A waterfall?  Like she needed to get any wetter?  Although at this point, she was game for anything, if she could sit down and rest for a little while. 

“Lead the way, jungle man.  Maybe the bad guys will give up and head back to shelter if they can’t find us.” 

The look on his face said he didn’t think that was likely, though he didn’t say anything.  Probably a good thing, because she had the feeling one more thing added to the craptastic day she’d been having, and she’d burst into uncontrollable sobs and never stop. 

They slogged through the mud for another half an hour or so, the sounds of rushing water growing enticingly louder.  Finally, when she didn’t think she could take another step, the overgrown jungle life parted, uncovering a garden paradise. 

The waterfall itself wasn’t huge, and the water flowed in a cascading sheet down into a vast pool of clear blue, the surface dotted with the raindrops hitting it’s otherwise pristine surface.  Flowers of every shade and color imaginable surrounded their hidden oasis, red hibiscus, yellows, oranges, and pinks too.  More exotic flowering plants tumbled in an abundance of beauty, making it appear like a photo from an exotic paradise. 

The rain lessened a little, but from the deep rumbles overhead, the storm was far from finished.  Etienne pointed toward the rocks around the base of the waterfall, and she gave a small nod before striding forward.  Time to find out if they had shelter for the night—or would just get wetter. 

Reaching the base, Etienne touched her forearm.  “Stay here.  I’m going to take a quick look.  I’ll be right back.” 

Chills began creeping along her skin, now that she’d stopped moving.  “Okay, but hurry.” 

He started climbing over the wet rocks, agile and moving fast.  She watched his foot slip a couple of times, holding her breath that he didn’t get hurt, because there was no way she could drag him free of the slick boulders. 

When he disappeared from view, she held her breath, wrapping her arms across her chest.  Now that she’d stopped moving, she felt the drop in temperature accompanying the coming darkness. 

The wait was interminable before Etienne’s head finally popped back into view, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.  A smile flashed across his face, and she felt her lips curl in response.  Looked like they’d finally caught a break. 

He clamored over the rocks, more surefooted on the return trip.  “We’re in luck, hon.  There’s a good-sized cave behind the falls, with plenty of dry space.  Let’s get you inside.” 

As a chill raced down her spine, she decided that sounded like a great idea.