She scooped some mud from a puddle and smeared it on her shirt, arms, and legs. Her hair was probably plastered to her head from the bandana, and sweat had soaked her top, so it wasn’t like she looked fresh from a shower, but still… Every second she could delay the rebels from becoming suspicious gave Dan and his team precious time to disarm them.
God, was she delusional to think she could pull this off? What if—
From down the road, three sharp bird whistles cut through the din of chirping bugs and frogs. No time to second-guess her choices.
The van was on its way.
The grumble of a sick engine preceded the beater as it rounded the bend, its headlights cutting across the leaves, blinding after so much darkness. Alexa bent at the waist and wrapped her arms around her middle.
As soon as the lights touched her, she shielded her eyes and froze. Then she staggered toward the side of the road.
Through the van’s open windows, a man shouted. “It’s her!”
She stumbled in the soft earth as the large vehicle skidded to a stop with a squish and a door opened, a high-pitched dinging sound warning that the keys were still in the ignition.
Thwack, thwack. Footsteps approached from behind. “Oy, stop!”
Alexa pushed to her feet and tried to scramble out of reach. She didn’t even have to pretend that her trembling limbs were nearly useless. Her heart pounded so hard she pulsed like a pool of water under a dripping faucet.
A rough hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around, bringing her face to face with George, one of the guards who’d taken her to see the children earlier. “Where’s your man?” he asked, his rushed, angry words tinged with fear.
She kept her mouth shut and her eyes fixed on the gun George had pointed at her chest. Behind him, Dan was sneaking up along the passenger side of the van.
The door burst open and the other rebel dropped to his feet, his rifle trained on Dan. “Down! Down!”
No! Oh, God. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Where were Todd and Jason?
George spun her toward him and snagged her around the throat, now holding the gun to her temple. “No funny business, or I shoot her, Army Man.”
Dan dropped to his knees and clasped his hands behind his head, eyes down.
Her stomach roiled. No, no, no. If anything happened to him…
A soft thud came from behind, and George bumped against her with a strangled exhalation. Then he released her and crumpled. She yelped in surprise, jumping to the side.
When she looked up, the other rebel was face down in the mud with a knife in his back. She finally realized that her captor, now at her feet, had suffered the same fate. Her first instinct was to kneel down and help him. But Jason materialized from the dark jungle, yanked the blade from George’s back, and wiped it on the man’s shirt.
He slipped the knife into a holster on his hip, shoved the dead man’s gun into the back of his pants, and braced Alexa’s arms. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and locked her knees so she wouldn’t collapse. Now was not the time to lose it. She was okay. Dan was okay.
Her glance strayed to George. She’d seen dead people before—too many—but this was different. For the first time in her life, she was glad. Bile rose in her throat.
“Stay here,” Jason said, his voice gentle but firm, like a nanny to a beloved but errant child. “Once we clear the van, you can check on the kids.”
She envied his calm, his cool confidence as he and Todd approached the back of the van while Dan covered the front with a rifle.
The three of them were so different, and yet the same. If she hadn’t known better, she’d think nothing fazed them. But Dan had once assured her that he got scared just like anyone else. The difference was that he acknowledged the fear and kept going in spite of it. Those who couldn’t didn’t make it through PJ training. “Fear is good,” he’d said. “If I’m not afraid, I’m not alert, and I’ll make a mistake. The secret is not to let it overwhelm you.”
“How do you do that?” she’d asked.
“Practice.” He’d winked and kissed her then.
But now things were deadly serious.
The irritating chime from the vehicle’s console was the only sound as Todd cut a zip tie that locked the back doors together. He yanked open one of the doors, and Jason rushed forward, pointing a gun and a flashlight into the dark space.
A child started crying as he entered the cargo area and Alexa cringed. The poor kids had been through so much. Most of them were young enough that they’d likely forget their ordeal, but somewhere deep it had to leave a mark on their psyches.
“Clear!” Jason called from inside.
Dan slung the rifle over his shoulder and jogged over to her. “Are you all right?” He smoothed his hands over her shoulders.
“Yes.” Her voice came out high-pitched and rusty, like an old hinge on a long-forgotten gate. She cleared her throat. “Can I see them now?”
He nodded and released her. “Climb in back and we’ll get moving.”
She rushed to the rear of the van. Jason had set his flashlight on the floor, beam up, spreading a faint glow over the bare metal box with dirty wool blankets covering the floor. He stood by the rear door, watching the jungle, holding one of the rebel’s rifles to his chest. “They’re a little shaken up,” he said, his voice soft like velvet, “but otherwise okay, I think.”
Alexa stepped forward and peered into the dim space. Relief flooded through her as she surveyed the children. “M’lyssa!” Carter jumped up and raced to her, leaping into her arms.
She hugged his trembling body tight as the little boy told his story in a jumble of words that flowed over her like a cool stream on a hot summer day. Reluctant to give up the comfort of his embrace, she hefted him on one arm and climbed into the cargo hold on her knees.
Flore sat cross-legged in the far corner, all three of the infants crowded onto her lap. The toddlers—Laurette, Noeme, and Phillip—huddled around her. Thank God she was okay. They all were.
Still dehydrated and malnourished, but alive.
“Miss Alyssa!” A huge smile crossed Flore’s face. “You found us.” Then her eager expression crumpled and she erupted in tears.
“Oh, sweetie.” Alexa shuffled forward and set Carter down with a quick squeeze. She leaned over the babies in Flore’s lap and wrapped her arms around the girl’s narrow shoulders.
“I was so scared,” Flore cried, her body shaking with her sobs. “I didn’t want to lose you too.”
Alexa’s heart cracked. How much tragedy could one girl take? She kissed Flore’s forehead and smoothed her messy braids. “I know, baby. You’ve been through so much. Too much.” Leaning back, she held the girl’s cheeks. “My friends and I will do everything in our power to keep you safe. Okay?”
Flore nodded and sniffed, her tears slowing. She straightened and swiped at her wet face.
Sitting up, Alexa gave the girl some room to regain her composure, turning her attention to the toddlers who stood next to her angling for hugs. She obliged them all. It was too soon to celebrate success, but the heavy weight that had been pressing on her chest for days slowly lifted as if attached to a helium balloon.
“You were all very brave. We’re going to take you somewhere safe now.”
Dan clambered inside the van and set his bag on the floor, nestling the butt of Jason’s flashlight under an elastic strap. He adjusted the bundle so it pointed upward, then he closed the doors behind him.
Laurette gasped.
“It’s okay,” Alexa said quickly. “This is my friend. He and the men up front helped me save you.”
Carter eyed the newcomer openly while Noeme peeked at him from behind Alexa’s shoulder.
He waved at the kids and tossed Alexa the pants she’d removed earlier. She released the toddlers and quickly donned her jeans as the van coughed to life. The clunker lurched forward before settling into a low rumble as they bounced down the road toward the airstrip.
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sp; Noeme sucked her thumb and held onto Alexa’s sleeve with her other hand, her wide brown eyes never leaving Dan’s face.
“He’s a good man,” Alexa said. “He’ll take care of us.” And he would, she had no doubt. He took care of everyone. Protected everyone. Even her.
Carter ambled over to the object of her thoughts—nearly all of her thoughts that weren’t of Flore and the other children—and put his little hands on Dan’s painted, stubbled cheeks. “W’as’r name?”
“Dan.”
The boy climbed into his lap and rested his head against the solid, reassuring chest of the man Alexa couldn’t have. Not for long. How pathetic was it that she was jealous of a three-year-old?
Dan glanced at her, his expression unreadable, and put his hand tentatively on the child’s back.
Regret hit her then, square in the chest like a battering ram. She had buried her love for this man so deep, pushing it away, walling it up, and locking it in a box, but it burst forth now like water from a broken dam. Unstoppable.
A pain unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
She couldn’t be with Dan. And she would never feel whole without him.
Dan could see Alexa’s love for Flore—for all of the children—in every gentle stroke to the girl’s back, and hear it in every soothing word she uttered from her beautiful lips. She was incredible.
How the hell could he go back to a life without her?
The van lurched to a halt, a welcome distraction from his depressing thoughts.
“I didn’t see anyone. No lights,” Jason called back. “No birds on the field.”
Dan glanced at his watch. Their pilot was still about ten minutes out. A lifetime if the rebels arrived. “Todd and I will light things up.”
“Copy that.”
“Carter?” Dan shifted to his knees and lifted the boy to a standing position. “Can you sit here with Miss…Alyssa for me?”
The boy pouted, but plopped down next to her and hooked his chubby little arm around her wrist.
“Thanks, bud.”
Flore sat on Alexa’s other side, her delicate fingers wrapped around Alexa’s forearm, so the woman was tied down by children.
At that moment, Dan wanted nothing more than to kiss Alexa. Once more. His time with her was coming to an end, and he couldn’t help but feel that she was slipping from his grasp a little more each minute.
But he couldn’t give her a soul-baring kiss surrounded by all of these kids. Not to mention Jason and Todd. So he simply cupped the nape of her neck and caressed her soft skin until she turned those heart-stopping baby blues his way.
His chest pinched. “Be safe.”
She frowned, but he released her before she could respond. He hooked a small headset on his ear and gathered his backpack. Then he spoke to the kids. “Move close to Miss Alyssa. We’re going to hide out in the dark, okay?”
The toddlers scrambled to huddle around her, their eyes wide, but trusting. Their capacity to believe in him even after all they’d been through humbled him. He hoped he deserved it. “Here we go.” He doused the flashlight.
The kids were silent.
“All clear,” Todd’s voice came through the earpiece.
Dan opened the rear door, scanning the shadows for threats before he stepped onto the muddy earth and gently clicked the door shut behind him. The van hid among the unkempt plants that abutted the runway, and he crouched low and met up with Todd and Jason, taking concealment behind a thicket of low palms while their eyes adjusted to the faint light from the moon and stars.
“No movement,” Todd said.
Dan nodded and crept toward the airfield until he could see it from end to end. The makeshift landing strip had been carved out of a plantation that now appeared abandoned. Native jungle plants had begun to infiltrate the papaya and bananas that surrounded a long swath of low-cut grass. There was no hut or porta-john for the pilots, but somebody obviously maintained the runway.
“I’ll take the other side,” Dan said, scanning the dark space for lights or movement. “That end.”
“Roger.” Todd patted his ruck and hitched his chin at Jason, who was staying behind to keep watch over the kids and Alexa, and provide warning if anyone approached the airfield from the road.
Dan took a deep breath and ran flat-out across the clearing until he reached the far corner of the field. He slipped a flare from his bag and removed the cap. Holding it out from his body, he stood with the wind to his back and struck the coarse surface of the cap against the flare’s ignition end. The pyrotechnic hissed to life as molten metal sprayed from its tip in a dazzling display.
He averted his eyes, but bright spots were already burned onto his retina. So much for his night vision.
Moving quickly, he stuck the butt end of the signal into the moist soil and ran forward a hundred feet before placing another. The light show would only last ten to fifteen minutes, so they had to move fast. By the time he reached the other end of the runway, he was breathing hard, but he could hear the faint buzz of a plane engine in the distance.
“She’s coming in,” he said into his mic.
“Copy that. We’re ready,” Jason said.
Dan hoofed it across the width of the field and met up with the other men near the van. The flight line was now marked end to end with bright red flares. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best they could do.
Rifles at the ready, he and Todd kept lookout while Jason climbed into the van and started the cranky engine. The old motor choked and coughed before establishing an uneven grumble that initially drowned out the approaching plane.
Finally, tiny red and green wing lights appeared on the horizon. When the plane got close, a bright landing light cut across the dark landscape like a lighthouse beacon. The small aircraft took a quick dive and then pulled up short, touching down softly on the wet grass and coasting to a stop just past the road, dousing the spotlight on her nose.
“Damn,” Todd said in awe.
“No shit.” Dan waved at his teammate to cover him, and then ran toward the plane. Even at idle, the engines were a far cry from quiet. His nerves ratcheted up a notch. They needed to load the kids and get the hell out of here.
As he approached the passenger side of the cockpit, a woman peeked through the side window, barely visible in the red light off the wing and the white taillight. “Stop there.” Her voice was strong and clear.
He halted in his tracks and let his rifle hang loose against his chest, putting his hands out, palms up. “Dan Molina. I work for Steele,” he shouted.
A flashlight bathed his face and ruined any night vision he’d managed to recover.
“Jesus,” he said, blinking against the glare. “Turn that fucking thing off.”
The light shuttered. “Everything ready?” Apparently she hadn’t taken offense. She also didn’t apologize.
Whatever. They weren’t here to exchange pleasantries. “Yeah. We’ll drive over and load from the van.”
Dan signaled Jason.
“On our way.”
Reverse lights punctured the dark and then the van lumbered toward them with its headlights off, a blot of darkness against the swaying play of light and shadows of the overgrown plantation. Jason circled the nose of the plane and stopped next to the aircraft’s side door. Dan followed.
The pilot stepped down from the back door, shoving what he suspected was a gun into the back of her dark cargo pants. As she approached, her features crystallized in the misty moonlight. She was beautiful enough to be walking runways in Paris instead of landing cargo planes on runways in this hellhole. Apparently she was as crazy as the rest of them.
The woman came forward with her hand out. “Caitlyn Brevard.” Her brisk voice was all business, her handshake firm.
Dan made hasty introductions as Jason and Alexa emerged from the van.
Caitlyn actually smiled at Alexa and gave a little nod of sisterhood or whatever. “Let’s get everyone loaded. I’d like to be wheels up in five.”
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Todd was rooted to the ground, staring at the pilot with his mouth slightly agape. Dan would have laughed if they weren’t in the middle of SIR territory with a bunch of children they’d liberated from the black market, and two dead rebels in their wake.
He thumped his teammate on the back. “Get moving, lover boy.”
Once Alexa and the others got the children loaded into the plane’s cargo hold—which looked and felt much like the van, but cleaner—things moved quickly.
Jason conferred with the pilot, then settled into one of the second-row passenger seats. Todd had finagled his way into the copilot position and seemed unable to take his eyes off the pretty pilot. She politely ignored him as she got the plane into the air.
Alexa and Dan huddled in the back with the kids. Her eyes drooped with fatigue, but as tired as she was, rest wouldn’t come until the children were safe. She let the drone of the plane’s engines lull her as the little ones snuggled against her side. Damn Frederick and his men for treating them like commodities, and damn him for making St. Isidore too dangerous for Alexa to stay.
If only there were some way for her to stop him for good. She might be able to save these kids, but he would take more. As long as the country suffered from poverty and government instability, there would be children at risk, whether from Frederick or someone else.
She stroked Carter’s hair and sighed. For now, saving these eight would have to be enough.
The little plane dipped and began a sharp descent that made her stomach turn. Within minutes, they were drifting to a stop in the smoothest landing she’d ever experienced. Clearly, Caitlyn Brevard was a pro.
The woman shut down the engines and removed her headset, then stood and worked her way down the aisle to the door.
Two of the infants started crying weakly and Alexa bent over them, attempting to soothe.
Caitlyn hopped out and opened the side cargo door. “I have diapers and formula, plus some snacks.” She hefted a box. “I’ll take the guys up to check the house and then help you with the kids.”
Blind Ambition Page 15
