by Dawson, Zoe
Her stomach rumbled. He had given them only water then locked them up. Huddling for warmth, they had slept fitfully. Emma was standing, looking out the small window.
“He’s going to come for us. We have to be ready,” she murmured.
“I know he will. I’m so scared for him.”
Emma came to her from the window and knelt down, taking Willow’s hands. “Don’t be. My brother may act civil when he’s off-duty, but he’s a special operator in the Navy. He knows what to do and how to help us.”
“Eze said he couldn’t contact the authorities or his commander.”
“He’ll find a way.”
Willow stood up and paced, her hands twining as the ache from the hard floor started to subside. “He could lose so much.”
“Everything is going to be all right. I promise you.”
“What is it that Eze wants?”
“I don’t know. But since we’re here, he either wants Hollywood to do something against his will, or he wants revenge.”
Willow walked to the window and looked out. “Hey, there are two guys here. They look like Americans.”
Emma rose and peered out as Willow made room for her. “Yeah, they do look American and they’re talking to Eze. I wonder what is going on.”
Both women stopped talking and strained to hear what they were saying.
“Are they done with it?” Eze asked.
The blond man replied, “Yes, the tests are finished, and we’re ready to take the next steps.”
“Good. I will meet you in Cartagena in two days at two o’clock in the afternoon.” Eze rattled off an address. “We will finish our business and move on to the next step.”
The brunette man looked toward their jail cell, but it was too dark for him to see them. “The blond woman. Is she available?”
The tall, lanky, dark-haired man laughed and nudged the shorter, stocky blond. “I think the brunette is stellar.”
Eze frowned. “They are off limits. No harm can come to them until the SEALs show up. Once they’re dead, we can talk. Just do what I’m paying you to do. Then my revenge will be complete.”
The men headed up to the house after that, and they couldn’t hear any more conversation. They eased away from the window.
Willow asked, “What do you think that all means?”
That he’s planning something else. Something horrible, and it probably involves the SEALs. They seem to be his target. “My brother and whoever was with him when Eze’s brother was killed. I’m sure they were bad people doing bad things. Otherwise Jude wouldn’t have killed anyone.”
“That’s not a stretch after meeting Eze. He’s a terrorist, I’m sure. Probably wanted internationally.”
Emma nodded. “Obviously, Joe can’t tell me anything about his missions, but he was recently in an African country, Mobutu.”
“Seems right. Maybe Jude and Joe faced off against him once.” Willow sat down and leaned her back against the wall, her voice still low. “What do you think he has in that small box he carries around?”
“I haven’t a clue, but it must be important. He has it with him all the time. Money maybe?”
“That’s a pretty big wallet.”
“Internationally wanted criminals need immediate cash on hand. It would make sense.”
The heat only got more oppressive as the morning went into afternoon. Willow’s stomach cramped from lack of food, and her mouth was now even drier. Finally, she rose and walked to the bars of the cell and called out, “Excuse me?”
The guard barely stirred, and Emma waved her off, her message clear: Don’t cause trouble. But they were human beings and had needs that were not being met. The squeaky wheel also got the oil.
“Excuse me?” she said even louder.
The guard roused himself and turned around. His black, beady eyes went over her again, and she wanted to punch him in the face for the message he sent. The pig.
“We need some water, food and a bathroom break. We’re not cattle,” she said firmly.
He rose, and she lifted her chin, refusing to leave the cell bars. He walked over, reached out, and touched her hair, but she jerked back.
“Don’t touch me. We just want decent treatment. You took us against our will, and it’s the least you can do.”
The guard chuckled again, reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Unlocking the door, he grabbed Willow around the waist. Emma surged forward, but he was too quick. He closed the door and locked it as Willow fought against his hold. His arm was a band of steel around her middle, crushing her so hard she could barely breathe. When she pummeled him with her fists to get him to release her, he did then slapped her so hard across the face she fell into the excess hay next to the cell.
Emma shouted, “Leave her alone.”
He ignored her and reached for his waistband.
Willow backpedaled on her hands and feet, sheer terror gripping her, but then she remembered her father’s words when he’d been training her in self-defense. Fear will get you killed. You’re going to feel it, and you have to overcome it. If you don’t, you’re as good as dead or violated—or worse.
She remembered his tone and his serious-as-hell expression. It was clear to her then that he had seen so much horror in the world.
But she didn’t have any more time to think about what her father had said. She pushed away the fear, focused on how she had been taught to defend herself against a brutal rape. She prepared herself for what she knew was coming. He pulled his pants down with a grin on his face and knelt, jerking her to him. As soon as his hand went to her clothes, she performed a movement called shrimping. With her right shoulder on the ground, she pivoted on her left hip, quickly bringing her legs into play. She kicked him right in the groin, and as he went to double over, her heel connected solidly with his chin. He was down for the count.
“Oh my God, Willow,” Emma said. “You’re going to have to show me how to do that.”
Willow scrambled out from his prone, unconscious body and searched in his pants for the keys, her hands trembling with the dump of adrenaline into her system. She got the door open to release Emma. Bending down, she unsnapped his side arm and grabbed it out of the holster, the make familiar.
She handed it to Emma. “Do you know how to use this?”
“Not really. Jude wanted to teach me, but I kept putting it off. I don’t like guns.”
“I get it.” Willow couldn’t agree more, the gun felt heavy in her hand, almost offensive. “I was the same at first, but my dad wouldn’t take no for an answer. Boy, am I glad he didn’t.”
“Boy, am I glad I got kidnapped with the daughter of a Navy SEAL.”
Willow gave her a smile then pointed to a lever on the side of the gun. “This is the safety. When it’s in its current position, it won’t fire. Just flick it off with your thumb. Don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you’re going to fire it. Just keep your index finger on the side of the guard, like this,” she said, showing Emma. “Then just squeeze the trigger, and it’ll discharge. Aim for center mass.”
“Like his chest?”
“Yes.”
Willow grabbed up the automatic weapon and studied it. It looked straightforward, and she slung it over her shoulder. Searching through the drawers, she found some ammo and a canteen tucked in the bottom drawer. She grabbed it and snapped it to a belt loop on her jeans. They ran to the door that led out into the compound. There were guards walking around, but no one near the small house.
“Oh, how they underestimate women,” Emma said, low and smug.
“That is exactly what my dad said when he taught me that move. He says we have the advantage because men think we’re weak and helpless.”
Emma looked back at the unconscious guard. “Ha,” she said. “You showed him.”
“Thanks to my dad.” She had never been so grateful to have had a SEAL for a dad. He’d taught her so many things she needed to know. How to survive in the wilderness, how to read maps for
direction and how to protect herself.
This was the real world she was facing right now, and all those years she’d whined about his absences made her ashamed to think that he was fighting this kind of scum of the earth. To keep her and her mom safe so that she could pursue her art and serve at her cute diner. She’d been so naïve about what he did for a living and selfish in thinking it was all about her and losing him as a dad. The world was a dangerous place, and men like her dad and Hollywood made it safer for all of them.
Willow closed her eyes. She’d never lost him as a father. It was all about perception.
“Let’s go,” she said as she eased the door open, and they slipped out the side, taking cover near some water barrels. While Emma watched out for guards, Willow dipped the canteen in and filled it up. She allowed herself two long swallows then gave it to Emma, who did the same. When Emma handed it back, Willow filled it to full again. It was heavy when she snapped it back to her waist, but they would need this if they were going to have even a slim chance of surviving before they got to civilization.
They ran to the edge of the property and then into the shaded jungle. She was under no illusion that they were in almost as much danger in the Amazon as they had been with that scum Eze. They could get lost in here and never found.
The hum of the jungle sizzled with snaps and chirps, the air motionless, the slightest sound magnified.
Willow crouched. She kept her voice low. “Let me see your watch.”
Emma followed her down. “Sure.”
Willow grabbed Emma’s wrist and lined up twelve o’clock to the sun. She triangulated the direction with the hour hand. “That’s north toward Colombia.”
Emma nodded, relief on her face. “I’m so glad I got kidnapped with the daughter of a Navy SEAL.”
Willow gave her a bolstering smile. “I’m not Willy Wonka, so I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you. It’s going to be a hike at our top speed with no food, little rest and little water.”
“I can make it,” Emma said firmly. “Joe’s been making me run with him for the last six months.”
“Good.” Willow took off, both of them running as full out as they could. She wasn’t going to mention that Eze had the equipment, the communication and the soldiers to hunt them down. He also had the vehicles and time was on his side. They were city girls in one of the most dangerous jungles on the planet—poison centipedes, ants, frogs, spiders, mosquitoes, jaguars, anacondas who could swallow things whole and the scariest predator on the planet: a man hell-bent on revenge.
In the distance, she heard the braying of…
Oh, God. Dogs. That, she hadn’t expected. Damn that bastard. But she had other tricks up her sleeve when it came to losing her scent in the jungle.
After all, she thought with confidence, I’m the daughter of a Navy SEAL. Dad, thank you for teaching me well.
14
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Panama City, Panama
Dragon pointed to the screen. “Recognize that?”
Hollywood peered in closer, and his memory sparked. “Alízon’s little hide-a-way.”
“Exactly. That’s her communications tower. I remember it because I used it as a marker to set up overwatch.”
“That was an excellent catch,” Hollywood said, elated.
“You know this place? This will give us an advantage?” Will asked.
Hollywood nodded. “We had a mission here and discovered that the local drug lord Inés Alízon was in bed with Eze.”
Fifteen minutes later, Hollywood stowed his bag in his rented vehicle in the parking garage of the Crowne Plaza. He got in the driver’s seat and said loud enough for his earpiece to pick it up, “Keep things sharp.”
He was wired to Dragon, Will and Dozer in the second vehicle.
“We’ve spotted them. Sit tight and we’ll take care of this,” Dragon said about the tail that Eze had put on them. “Threat neutralized. We’re set to go. We have their radios and cells.”
Hollywood pulled out of the garage and started for the airport. Dragon’s buddy was going to chopper them into Attiago, and they had a vehicle waiting for them. After they landed at the small airport, they all piled into the Range Rover.
Dozer took the front passenger seat, and his tension radiated to Hollywood.
“This isn’t your fault, Joe,” Hollywood said.
“I should have protected her better.” He rubbed his hands over his face, his voice uneven. “I love her, man, more than my own life. If anything happens to—”
“Nothing is going to happen to either of them,” Hollywood, said giving Dozer’s shoulder a hard squeeze. “The smartest thing we can do is keep our cool. Rushing in without a coordinated plan won’t work. We have the advantage here. We know where they are.”
Dozer nodded. “I copy that hard.”
“Good.”
“The only people dying today will be tangos,” Dragon said.
“Hoo-yah!” they said in unison.
“The turn is up ahead,” Dragon warned, shifting his rifle to the front, just over Hollywood’s left shoulder.
“Hang on, then,” Hollywood said. He turned the wheel, and the big vehicle swung to the right into the overgrowth lining the road. Hollywood made his own path, Dozer slapping his hands on the dash as the tank of a truck rolled over uneven ground.
The Rover burst through the trees, smashing foliage, the rims sparking on rocks as it slid sideways then righted itself as they hit a dirt road.
“This is a backwater country,” Dozer said.
“The government is almost nonexistent. Inés Alízon was the authority here, using elected officials like puppets,” Dragon said.
“You pay attention in briefs,” Hollywood said, flashing Dragon a grin in the rearview. Dragon gave him the middle finger, and Hollywood laughed. “You fit right in.” He glanced at Dozer. “Drugs rule here.”
Hollywood remembered the poor, hapless people in that village. He now knew that Eze was responsible for their deaths. He had absolutely no doubt he was mixed up in deadly, toxic gas. The question was—what was his target?
They drove for several more miles then came to a spot he recognized. The village would be to his right, and then a mile beyond was the compound.
He pulled to the side of the road and carefully worked the truck into hiding with an easy out then turned off the engine. Willow and his sister were so close. The urgency in him to move faster was nothing more than his desire to see them safe. Hurrying was like worrying, but controlled speed, humping that distance into a fast mile worked for him. They all opened their doors.
The radio sparked to life, and someone said in Spanish. “Report.”
“The American is still waiting as you asked at the hotel.”
That satisfied the guy, and Hollywood tucked the radio into his pack. He made sure his phone was accessible.
“This way,” Dragon said as they all started at a jog, Hollywood bringing up the rear. When they passed close to the village, the stench was more terrible than it had been when they’d nabbed Alízon.
Without deviating from their trajectory, they moved through the jungle, Will keeping up without any problems. He was a tough old man, and he had been really good with Hemingway. Hollywood intended to make sure he stayed off the bottle and in his own bed. He never wanted to see Willow as stressed with worry over her dad as she had been for the last six months. Hollywood had promised when he’d gotten his trident that he would have his brothers’ backs, and he had no intention of failing with Will. The man wasn’t a legend for nothing. Rookie SEALs could learn so much from him.
Hollywood was drenched, the wet vapor of the rain forest smothered down around him as he ran. His thoughts were never far from his sister and Willow. Willow’s laughter echoed inside him, and he moved faster. He could still taste her on his mouth, not remembering when a woman had kissed him with such power.
This area was pretty much uninhabited, except for the now-empty village with the rotting corpses.
The jungle stretched out before him, the sun beating down on them, just reaching its apex.
They hit a pretty dense area, but the signs of his team moving through here included the hacked foliage. It seemed as if the thick jungle swept closed behind him.
Before him lay the shadowed rain forest more dangerous than just about any place on earth. Primal and beautiful, it held a dark, evil presence. Willow and Emma were in his grasp. He had to get to them in time. Birds called to each other, and monkeys chattered in the trees. They recognized the strongest, smartest predators on the planet—a special ops team, hell-bent on a mission that could not fail.
Hollywood would never be the same if he lost either of them. The urgency that drove him recognized it was his fault they were in danger. It was his job to keep them safe, and he had already failed them. Eze had been resourceful and escaped. His plan to seek his revenge on Hollywood and Dozer would be complete with their deaths. He wasn’t sure he wanted to come back alive from this if he lost them.
They slowed as they came up to the compound then stopped at the very edge. Guards walked the perimeter. Hollywood’s eyes went to the small jail. That’s where they would be. Dozer moved forward, and Hollywood reached out and hauled him back.
“I’ll go. You all stay here. Keep a look out.”
Dozer nodded, and Hollywood moved with the darkness of the forest like a wraith. When he got to the spot behind the jail, he waited for the guard to pass then darted to the window and looked inside. Shock coursed through him. The cell was empty.
Then in the distance, he heard the bray of dogs as if they’d treed something.
Willow and Emma?
They wouldn’t have stayed put. They had tried to escape, and admiration spiraled through him, along with a healthy dose of frustration. The dogs brayed again, and Hollywood swore softly.
