Uncharted Passage

by Julie Cannon

  Synopsis

  Two women on a vacation that turns deadly face down one of nature's most ruthless killers—and find themselves falling in love.

  Refusing to allow her absent lover to ruin her vacation in an exotic corner of Thailand, Emily Stone determines to set her private disappointment aside and enjoy herself—until a natural disaster strikes and turns her world upside down. Major Hayden Caldwell plans to escape the restrictions of her job for a rare few days of freedom when she and Emily are forced into the fight of their lives. Together, Hayden and Emily face death, disease, despair, and imminent death, and find in themselves and each other the strength to deny the tsunami two more victims. But can their intense bond survive outside of the extreme situation in which it was forged?

  Uncharted Passage is the story of two women who face one of life’s deadliest challenges and find their hearts forever changed.

  Uncharted Passage

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  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

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  Uncharted Passage

  © 2008 By Julie Cannon. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-337-2

  This Aeros Ebook is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.,

  New York, USA

  First Edition: October 2008

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Jennifer Knight and Stacia Seaman

  Production Design: Stacia Seaman

  Cover Design By Sheri(graphicartist2020@hotmail.com)

  By the Author

  Come and Get Me

  Heart 2 Heart

  Heartland

  Uncharted Passage

  Just Business

  Power Play

  Descent

  Acknowledgments

  My thanks to everyone behind the scenes at Bold Strokes Books, especially Jennifer and Stacia, who have once again made this a work I am proud to put my name on. Sheri has once again weaved her magic making this cover extra special for me.

  Thanks to L, A & E for letting me wade through millions of gallons of water last summer on our vacation in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

  On December 9, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale triggered perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history as it rolled across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal communities in a dozen countries and leaving millions homeless. Waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters) in some places traveled as far as 3,000 miles (nearly 5,000 kilometers). A variety of reputable sources have reported the death toll as anywhere from 175,000–275,000 people. According to an HBO documentary, 176,300 bodies were recovered. Two years later 50,773 were still reported missing. One third of the victims were children.

  Dedication

  For Laura—I’d do it all over again.

  Chapter One

  Khao Lak Beach, Thailand

  26 December, 2004

  Salt water burned her skin raw and churned around her feet as she clung precariously to the branch. The noise was deafening. She rested her cheek against the rough bark and closed her eyes, too exhausted to move any higher, at least for the moment.

  She tried to gather her senses. The last sane thing she remembered was lying on fine white sand with a cold drink in one hand and a hot woman in the other. It was her third day on Khao Lak Beach, a pristine paradise on the southwestern coast of Thailand, and she was looking forward to another afternoon of casual flirting leading to a warm, tropical night tangled in the sheets, definitely not alone.

  Finding herself clinging to a tree was not what she’d had in mind.

  There had been no warning. First came the rumble, a crescendo of sound growing louder and louder until the softly cresting waves along the shore receded and an ear-splitting roar announced a thirty-foot wall of water bearing down on her. Before she could move, she was swept off her feet and carried inland along with everything that stood in the water’s path. Beach chairs, umbrellas, uprooted trees, and entire buildings rushed past like twigs bobbing in runoff from a hard rain in a street gutter.

  But this vast tide of destruction engulfed more than sticks and leaves and the occasional unlucky bug. Dogs and cats panicked in the brown murky water. Farm animals landed on the roofs of buildings. However, it was the people Hayden would never forget. The bodies of the already dead as they floated by, and the desperation on the faces of those fighting for their lives. And the children. They had absolutely no hope against the surge of millions of gallons of water thrust upon the beach by the tsunami that rolled across the Indian Ocean. Those bodies, those faces, would forever haunt her dreams.

  Nothing had prepared Hayden Caldwell for this. A graduate of West Point and several Army survival training schools, she was seldom overwhelmed, but she’d never had to fight the unstoppable power of nature. Liquid dripped into her left eye and Hayden was surprised when she touched the area and found her fingers covered in bright red blood. It was only then that she noticed the throbbing above her left eye. Gingerly, she explored a gash that was about an inch long and ran through her eyebrow. Before she had a chance to dwell on her injury, a movement caught her attention. The water was carrying someone directly toward her.

  Hayden judged the distance and knew that if she could reach out and grab an arm, the flailing swimmer might have a chance. Or Hayden could be pulled from her precarious perch and they both could die. She had a split second to make her decision. Instinct won out, and she grabbed the victim’s arm. A sharp pain pierced her shoulder at the sudden jolt of weight. She was strong from her habitual trips to the gym, but for a moment she almost let go. Dark, frightened eyes locked on hers and Hayden tightened her grip on both the victim and the tree branch. Both arms felt as though they were being ripped from her shoulders. Every breath burned her chest. With the strength she had left, she lifted. The drag was intense, but the raging water finally released its prey. The victim, a woman, dangled barely conscious above certain death. Hayden didn’t know if she had the strength to lift her onto the branch.

  “Wake up,” she bellowed over the roar. “You’ve got to help me.” She was rewarded when the dark eyes opened once more. “That’s right, stay with me. Can you move? Can you grab a hold of this branch?”

  The woman was naked, her clothes torn from her body by the force of the water. She blinked a few times and spotted the branch. Hayden shouted encouragement as she reached up. The muscles in her arm screamed for relief. When she thought she couldn’t stand the pain any longer, the woman got both legs around the branch and pulled herself up. She did not let go of Hayden’s arm, but the insistent pressure was gone.

  Emily Bradshaw hugged the branch, breathing heavily. She was aware of a hard texture pressed to her cheek, but her mind was still bobbing in the water. The feeling reminded her of drinking too much and falling into bed, swearing the bed was moving. She was afraid to open her eyes in case she was hallucinating and the woman she had clung to was a mirage and she was still being thrashed about in the raging water.

  “Mary Mother of God.”

  A cry drew her fully present and she opened her eyes. Two children no more than three or four years old were headed right toward them, perched on what looked like the remnants of a door. Her rescuer prayed again and scurried far
ther out on the branch. Emily watched in disbelief as she hooked her legs around the branch and hung upside down over the raging water. Before Emily had a chance to move, the woman scooped up both children in her arms as their makeshift raft slammed into the tree, shattering into pieces.

  “Help me.” Hayden didn’t know if the woman she’d rescued was conscious. In her current position, she wouldn’t be able to lift both children onto the branch, but she could not fathom letting one of them go. They were amazingly calm as they clung to her arm like stripes on a candy cane.

  Hayden’s thigh muscles had begun to cramp when she heard a thin voice insist, “Give him to me.”

  Emily summoned her remaining strength and reached down to grip the child closest to her. Dragging him up and gripping him firmly, she shimmied back to the hollow where the branch intersected with the tree trunk.

  “You’re okay, buddy. Stay right here and hang on to the tree. I’ll be right back.” With one last look at his pale, frozen face, Emily retraced her path.

  She almost lost her balance as she reached down for the girl, swinging precariously over the raging water below. Saying a silent prayer, she gripped a small arm and yelled, “Got her.”

  Hayden breathed a sigh of relief. Her muscles threatened to give out when she tried to lift herself upright, but then her hand was grasped, giving her the leverage she needed.

  When her rescuer was safe on their perch once more, Emily shifted the little girl from her arms and placed her behind the boy. She scooted behind both children, forming a cocoon around them as they leaned into the tree. A pair of strong arms slid past her to wrap all of them.

  From behind her a voice rasped, “Thanks.” Warm breath blew in Emily’s ear. “I didn’t think I could hold on.”

  “But you did. You were very brave.” A question about their mysterious rescuer passed quickly through Emily’s mind. Who would risk their life for a complete stranger? And then do it again for two more? Who was this hero?

  The body pressed against her back was warm and solid, and Emily felt safe for the first time since she was swept out of her chair on the beach. With a long sigh, she let her head relax sideways on the sturdy bicep near her cheek.

  “We’re going to be all right,” Hayden said as the woman in front of her shivered.

  She sounded far more confident than she felt. Everywhere she looked was water, demolishing all in its path without regard to size, shape, or inhabitants. With the exception of the one they were perched in, almost every tree was ripped out of the ground. Moving closer, she enclosed the woman and two children in her arms. The girl was crying quietly. The sight tugged at Hayden’s heart.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re safe now. Nothing’s going to hurt you. We’re going to take care of you.” She continued saying soothing words, and almost immediately, both children fell into exhausted sleep.

  “What are we going to do?” The woman in front of her spoke quietly.

  Hayden didn’t answer. What was she supposed to say? Given the circumstances, it seemed ridiculous to say they were going to be fine. It wasn’t going to be that simple. Far from it.

  The water marked a steady upward progress on the trunk of the tree as if claiming its stake. Hayden watched doggedly, unable to measure time except in the passage of debris and bodies, until the water slowly inched down and began to recede.

  Chapter Two

  Teetering on the precipice between wakefulness and slumber, cocooned from the world, Emily was slow to surface. A vague memory of a woman with desperate green eyes floated in and out of her mind. Emily tried to bring the image into sharp focus before it faded away, but in doing so she became more conscious and grimaced as she tried to move. Every bone in her body ached. Something hard pressed against her back and her ass hurt. When she finally forced her eyes open, she was disoriented.

  The pale walls of her hotel room were gone, supplanted by the naked glare of daylight. Emily blinked in case she was still caught up in the remnants of a bad dream. She noticed the eerie quiet. There were no sounds of birds squawking or dogs barking, or the constant hum of people carrying on their everyday lives. As if on cue, her memory unlocked, and every sight and sound came flooding back. With it came an intense awareness that she was alive. Naked, in a tree. With strangers.

  Destruction spread as far as she could see. Trees ripped from the ground lay strewn across the landscape like matchsticks. Building materials littered the area like confetti, a door here, a window over there. A sheet of plywood with stenciled letters lay propped against a car that was embedded in mud, the only thing visible its hood and headlights reflecting the midday sun. A piece of mangled corrugated steel waved in the soft breeze like a flag erected after a long, bloody battle. Emily squinted recognizing one of the chairs that had been lined up like perfect solders around the hotel pool earlier that morning.

  Her stomach churned, and she whispered, “Oh, my God,” when she realized that the shapes she thought were more debris were actual bodies. For some inane reason she started counting and vomited when she got to twenty-three.

  “It’s okay.”

  Startled by the voice behind her, Emily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

  “I feel like throwing up, too. It’s pretty awful.”

  “What happened?” Emily knew the answer but couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “It must have been a tsunami.” Hayden had read about the massive waves but, like most people, had never come close to experiencing one. That had changed hours ago, at least she thought hours had passed. It could have been minutes. She’d lost track of time, guarding the three people she’d saved and waiting for the water to recede.

  “A tsunami? That’s incredible.”

  Hayden suppressed another bout of nausea. While her neighbors on the tree limb slept fitfully, her analytical mind had worked overtime to piece together the chain of events. “There must have been an underwater earthquake somewhere that triggered it. A fairly large one, to cause the wave that could do this kind of damage.”

  “I went down to the beach after breakfast,” Emily said. “I’d just gotten there and I was trying to decide whether to get in the water first to stay cool, or wait till I got hot and then jump in. I remember seeing the water recede and I thought it was kind of strange that the tide would go out that far, almost to the reef. Hundreds of yards. All the seashells were exposed, and it was quiet, kind of like it is now. The next thing I knew I was in the water.” She shivered as she realized just how narrow her escape from death really was.

  Immediately a pair of tanned arms wrapped around her and a soft voice tickled her ear. “Are you cold?”

  “No, just a flashback.” The hands moved slowly up and down her arms in a gesture of comfort that felt like a caress. The air was still. The only sound was the soft, rhythmic breathing of the children in front of them. Emily shuddered again and leaned into her rescuer’s comforting embrace.

  “It’s okay.” The voice behind her was low and reassuring. “You’re in shock. We all are.”

  Emily nodded, knowing if she tried to speak she would sob. She let herself relax, and for few minutes she didn’t move. Slowly she became aware of the source of the two hard buds pressed against her back and realized she wasn’t the only naked inhabitant of the branch. She started laughing.

  “If you can find some humor in this situation, please share it with me.” Hayden held her breath, hoping it was humor and not hysteria that was causing her limb partner to laugh.

  “Well, usually when I’m stark naked in a woman’s arms, we’ve at least exchanged names.”

  Hayden wasn’t certain she’d heard correctly. “Excuse me?”

  “I said I usually know the name of any woman I get naked with.” Emily was amazed that her sense of humor could survive in such a bleak situation. She bit her lip when she realized what she’d just said. If this woman was straight, she might just toss her off the branch. Somehow Emily doubted it.

  Her neighbor chuckled. “Usually
?”

  “Well…” Emily didn’t get a chance to qualify her statement.

  “I’m Hayden,” her rescuer said. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but the angle’s awkward and we’d probably fall out of the tree.”

  “I’m Emily.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emily. Do you come here often?”

  Emily laughed. “I hope that’s not the line you use to get a woman naked.” She felt the nipples against her back tighten even more.

  “No, I’m usually much more suave, but considering the rather compromising position we’re in, I thought I’d just jump to the chase.”

  From her position behind Emily, Hayden had an unobstructed view of a pair of perfectly shaped breasts. Her hands tingled when she imagined how they would feel, and her lips ached to cover a tattoo of red lips on Emily’s left shoulder. Chastising herself for having such thoughts in an extremely serious situation, she moved back a little and immediately missed the warmth of Emily’s skin.

  Obviously misunderstanding her withdrawal, Emily extended the space between them. “I’m sorry if I offended you. My mouth gets me in trouble all the time. I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just…uh…look, forget I said anything.”

  “I’m not offended. On the contrary, I was hoping I’d have a beautiful woman in my arms this afternoon. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it’s certainly going to make a great story at parties.”

  Emily expelled a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She turned around as much as she could, wanting to see the woman who’d saved her life. Clear green eyes looked back at her. Their faces were close enough that Emily could see the dark flecks that surrounded Hayden’s pupils. Short blond hair framed a face with just enough laugh lines to signify experience but not enough to give away her age. Strong cheekbones gave her face character, and at this moment she was smiling.