Operation Turtle Ransom

by Kimberli A. Bindschatel

  Noah’s expression changed to surprise. “Doug?” Then realization crossed his face. “Ah, checking up on your friend’s choice.”

  My turn to shrug. Was that it? Was I just concerned about Chris?

  “He’s a good guy. A true supporter of wildlife. I mean, I’ve known him since he joined the group in Costa Rica. Did what he said he’d do. That’s worth a lot.”

  “But you didn’t know him before that?”

  “You mean from Wall Street?” He chuckled. “You’re the one who works for the government. Can’t you run some kind of FBI background check on him or something?”

  The way he said it made it sound ridiculous. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “You should get some sleep. It’s going to be a big night I think.”

  “Yeah.”

  I brushed my teeth, changed into comfy pajamas, and found an empty hammock, but sleep didn’t come easily. There was a reason Doug wanted me and Noah here—a federal wildlife agent and a well-funded eco-warrior. It wasn’t just to re-ignite our relationship. Something was brewing. And it all centered around the arribada. That many turtles would surely bring trouble.

  Chapter Five

  I woke to the clanging of the bell, my head in a fog. Right, baby turtles. I ran a comb through my hair, rubbed some toothpaste across my teeth, and headed toward the hatchery. Doug and Chris met me coming the other way.

  “False alarm,” Doug said, turning to Chris, grinning with infatuation. “We saw movement. Chris got over excited.”

  Chris gave me a sheepish grin. “It was a crab.”

  “Ah, I can see how—”

  “Oh stop.” He pushed past me.

  I spun around. I had to make things right with my friend. “Hey, Chris. Hold up a minute. I want to talk.” I gave Doug a dismissive glance, hoping he’d take the hint.

  “I, ah, I’ve got a question for José,” he said. “See you at the briefing. I’ll get your pack and things together for you.”

  “Thanks, my love.” Chris hung back, looking impatient. “He always does those little things. Spoils me.”

  “I can see he cares about you. And, I’m sorry about what I said before. I didn’t mean anything by it. Doug seems like a great guy and I’m really happy for you. Truly. You make a great couple.”

  He sized me up with skeptical eyes. “What gives?”

  “Nothing. You were right. Maybe it’s my job, I don’t know. I overanalyze, I guess.” I paused. I wasn’t imagining it. “I’m just wondering if maybe something’s going on here, something more dangerous than they let on. Maybe Doug and José are worried, and he was hoping I could help. Me and Noah. But he didn’t want to ask. Do you think? Maybe?”

  Ugh, I’m terrible at this.

  Chris crossed his arms. “Why wouldn’t he just ask?”

  Good question. “I don’t know. You’re right.” I shrugged. Maybe I was seeing something that wasn’t there. “I like him, I really do.”

  “Uh huh.”

  I gave him a smile. “I’m sure I’m just feeling out of sorts because this isn’t what I’d expected. You two did conspire to get me here with Noah.”

  “I don’t know.” His expression turned warm, the Chris I love. “The word conspired sounds so—”

  “Chris! You’re meddling.”

  “I’m counseling. What’d I say? I said you need to explore all your options. Have a little fun. See where it takes you.”

  “I’m pretty sure you called me a hot mess.”

  “Well, that too. But what’s the issue?” He leaned toward me as though he had a secret. “He’s hot. He’s here. He’s in to you.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “But nothing. Either you’re with Dalton or you’re not.” He crossed his arms and stood there, eyebrows raised. “I’m just sayin’.”

  I gritted my teeth. “The timing is—”

  He threw up his hands. “Whatever. I’m going to get something to eat before we head out on patrol.”

  He walked away.

  Dammit. It’s not that simple! Dalton is—and Noah and I—dammit. Chris had a way of poking my wounds. I sighed. But I always loved him for it. Fine. Maybe he was right. Maybe I should go with it. Maybe right now I needed to trust Chris’s judgement instead of my own.

  If I were going to open that door again, I owed Noah more of an explanation than I’d given about my exit in Costa Rica.

  “Wait up,” I said, and followed Chris to the cooking area.

  Everyone was gathered, fired up about the potential for an arribada this evening. José handed out extra supplies, explaining how we might be out all night without taking a break or stopping back at the camp. He suspected from historical data that the turtles would all come ashore to the south of the camp and we’d all head out together in that direction. When he was finished, he asked, “Who are partners tonight?”

  Doug and Chris grabbed hands. The college kids quickly paired off and Rosie made eyes at José.

  Noah put his arm around my shoulders, snugged me close, and, in his best John Wayne voice, said, “I guess you’re stuck with me, babe.”

  My breath caught in my throat. “I guess I am.”

  We filled our water bottles and headed out.

  Right away, I noticed Noah dragging his feet, moseying really. He’d stop to look at a shell or listen for sounds in the woods that lined the beach. He was making space between us and the others. Finally, he sat down on a log and gazed out at the ocean. The sun hovered near the horizon.

  I sat down next to him. “You ever notice how the sun sets faster the closer you are to the equator?” I asked.

  He fiddled with a tiny piece of driftwood.

  I went on, filling the silence. “In Norway, the sunsets took a long time. I watched a video on the internet that had a graphic. It’s the angle, you know, the Earth’s axis. From that latitude, you’re seeing the sun at an angle relative to our rotation. It really does take longer to—”

  “Uh huh.”

  Okay. Something was on his mind. Maybe something to do with the officer being here earlier? “So, tell me again, how’d you end up here, protecting turtles?”

  “Doug called, said they needed me. And after getting arrested in Costa Rica, I figured I should lay low for a while.”

  “Yeah, um, sorry about that.”

  “Sorry?” He turned to face me. “You didn’t ask me to do anything I didn’t want to do.”

  “Yeah, but if I hadn’t—”

  “What? You mean, if you hadn’t left?”

  My mouth hung open, wanting to object, but I didn’t have words for that one. “I told you, I—”

  “Had to get back to work. I know. What I don’t understand is why you left without saying goodbye, why your job would keep us from being together. Why now you’re still…” He let the words hang there.

  I frowned. Because I can’t be undercover for six months with a boyfriend on another continent. Because boyfriends have a way of influencing my life decisions. Because you’d pushed me to work outside the law. Because…because of Dalton.

  “Silence, huh?”

  The sun had finally dipped below the horizon, leaving us in that dusk where everything is shadow. “I was undercover, Noah. I never should have…done what I did.”

  “Sleep with me?”

  “It was unprofessional.”

  “Okay, fair enough. But it happened. And I thought we had something. Why’d you break it off?”

  “Hey, you guys coming or what?” It was Doug.

  Noah spun around. “Yeah, we’ll be along in a bit.”

  Doug kept walking toward us. “You won’t want to miss it. Tonight’s going to be the big night.”

  “Yeah, we know,” Noah said.

  “The arribada.”

  Noah huffed. “Yeah, we know.”

  “Poppy, don’t let him distract you,” Doug went on. “It’s going to be spectacular.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said.

  “Okay. I guess we’ll see you down the b
each in a few minutes then?”

  “Yeah,” Noah said over his shoulder.

  Once Doug and Chris had finally turned and continued on down the beach, I whispered, “What’s that all about?”

  “I have no idea. Probably some weird reverse psychology thing. I think he and Chris are trying to get us back together.”

  “You think?” We both laughed. “Honest, I had no idea you were going to be here.”

  “Are you saying you wouldn’t have come?”

  I hesitated.

  “Oh, I’m so stupid.” He leaned back, brought both hands to his head. He ran his fingers through his hair. That hair. “There’s another guy.”

  “No, no, that’s not it,” I said. I put my hand on his knee. “Really, it’s just, you have to understand, being with you in Costa Rica, I took a big risk. I could have lost my job, blown my whole career. Saving animals means everything to me. I mean, if I couldn’t do it, I don’t know what I’d do.”

  He squeezed my hand. Nodded. “I do understand. And you’re good at it. Not just good at it. You’re brilliant.”

  “Thanks,” I said, feeling a little awkward.

  “But being an agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service isn’t the only way to save animals, you know.”

  “Noah, I can’t—”

  “I know,” he said with a tone of acceptance. “I just mean I wish I could recruit more people like you, with your brains and willingness to do what it takes. Take this camp for example. Half the kids who come down here just want a vacation on the beach. Nikki and Rosie are great, but the others, well, I guess they help out, but you know what I mean.”

  “Not really. José made it sound pretty simple. Walk the beach, measure shells, count eggs.” I shifted on the log so I could look into his eyes. “What’s going on? I saw the officer here earlier. What’s up with that?”

  He hesitated before he answered. “Nothing really. I guess he stops by once a week or so, checks in on the camp.”

  That’s what Doug had said. The exact same words. “Is there reason for the authorities to be concerned about our safety?”

  “You know how it is. Poachers are unpredictable,” he mumbled.

  Okay, that was a vague answer.

  “So what are the local LEOs doing to help?”

  “Nothing really,” he said, but I was sure there was something more there. “But you’re trying to change the subject.”

  “No I’m not.” What subject were we on?

  “So there’s no boyfriend back at headquarters? No high school sweetheart waiting in the wings?”

  “No.” I blushed, thankful for the darkness so he couldn’t see.

  “But you’re determined to work for the government? With all the red tape? I just don’t understand. I know you know the only way to stop traffickers is to damage their business, hit their bottom line.”

  “Maybe, but the government has the resources to go all the way to the top of the pyramid.”

  “Yeah, but will they?”

  “I know they have the power to put the bad guys in jail, where they belong.” I knew how he’d respond to that, so I added. “Yes, after due process, which takes time, of course. That’s part of the deal. But I wouldn’t want to live in a society that doesn’t uphold the right to a fair trial, would you? We have to play for the long game.”

  “Long game? Are we still talking about protecting animals? You know damn well that by the time a poacher goes to trial, the animals are dead and gone. What about their suffering? By the time you’ve dragged the bad guys off in cuffs, it’s only about punishing them. I’m talking about stopping them in the act.”

  We can’t save them all, I started to say, but this conversation felt oddly familiar.

  “Sounds like you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid. You’re not the Poppy I met in Costa Rica.”

  “I am. It’s just that—” He was right. Those were Dalton’s words. But Dalton wasn’t wrong either.

  “Are you out to save animals or is it about punishing people?”

  My hand instinctively went to the bracelet at my wrist. I thought of my dad and how the poachers who murdered him were still at large. “Both.”

  “But you do understand that most of the people involved are stuck trying to make ends meet, right? Sometimes they have no other choice. Or they’re forced into it. It’s the traffickers who need to be stopped. The guys at the top. That’s what I’m saying. Take the money out of the equation and poaching disappears.”

  “That doesn’t make it right. Poachers kill without remorse.” I gripped my wrist with my hand, holding tight to the bracelet. “They take what they want without any thought to the consequence. Not just the animals. Anyone who gets in their way.” My pulse hammered in my ears. “They’re the worst kind of murderers.”

  “Poppy,” he said softly.

  “They deserve to rot in jail. Or worse.”

  “Where is this coming from? What happened?”

  I could feel his eyes on me.

  “Nothing.”

  “Poppy.” His tone of voice changed.

  I let out my breath. “My dad. Alaska.”

  “What happened to your dad in Alaska?”

  “Nothing. He was, Alaska was my last op. My dad—” I hesitated. Did I want to tell Noah?

  Noah’s full attention was on me. “I don’t follow.”

  “It’s just—poachers. My dad was killed in Africa. By poachers. When I was in high school.” I gave my bracelet a twirl around my wrist, let out all the air I’d been holding in. “He gave me this. The last time I saw him.”

  “Oh Poppy, I’m so sorry.” He squeezed my hand and we sat together for a moment as the waves lapped on the shore.

  I kicked at the sand with my feet. “Yeah, well, it is what it is.”

  “Is that what this is all about? The reason you chose this career? Where you get your drive? Revenge for your dad?”

  “No. It’s about the animals. My dad gave me a love of all creatures. He was a passionate man. I don’t know if I told you, he was a wildlife photographer.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “The thing is, he wanted to make a difference with his photography, bring these issues to light. I think he caught some poachers in the act. I think he got pictures of them. When his body was found, there was no film in his camera.”

  He squeezed my hand again.

  “But he kept a journal. I have it. I think he stumbled onto something big. Some day, I’m going to find out.”

  “What are you saying?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. I’m just ranting. Really. I just miss him.”

  He tugged my hand, pulling me closer to him. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

  “I know.”

  He ran his finger across my cheek and gently lifted under my chin. “If he could see you like I do, he’d be so proud of you.”

  I blushed again.

  “That fire in your eyes, the passion in your heart. It’s so—”

  “What? It’s so what?”

  “Irresistible.” And he kissed me.

  I gave in to his kiss. I wanted to. To get lost in his world. Out of my own head.

  This man, who was so right for me. He was trouble, all right. My kind of trouble.

  And he smelled so good, felt so good. Tasted so good.

  In one gentle motion, he drew me to him and we were pressed together, his body and mine. His hand ran up my back to the base of my neck where his fingers tugged at my hair. He gently held my head, keeping me from pulling away. But I had no desire to stop.

  My head felt light, dizzy. All the blood from my brain had surged to other parts of my body. I kissed him harder. I was all in and I couldn’t get enough.

  His lips dropped to my neck, where he placed one kiss after another, trailing to my ear, which he nuzzled, his hot breath on my skin, making me shiver.

  “I can’t stop thinking about us,” he murmured in my ear. “Together.”

  “Um hmm,” was all I could m
anage.

  The stubble on his jaw brushed against my cheek as he came around to my lips again.

  I shifted to meet him and we were on the sand, his body on top of mine, pressing against me. His knee came up, gently pushing my legs apart while his tongue caressed mine.

  Heat began to spread over my entire body. I hooked my ankle around his calf.

  His body tensed and he pulled away, pushing himself up on his hands. “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” I said, wrapping my hands around his neck and tugging him back toward me. “Kiss me.”

  He remained rigid. “No, I hear something. Something’s wrong.”

  He rolled off me and got to his knees, facing the direction where the others had gone, listening. “Don’t you hear that?”

  He was right. “Is that Nikki? She’s calling your name.”

  “Something’s going on.”

  Then a scream.

  Adrenaline shot through my body. “Chris!”

  I was on my feet and running. In the dark. As fast as I could.

  “Hold on,” Noah shouted behind me, but I had to get there. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  I headed for the treeline, slugging through the deep sand. Life shifted to slow motion. I had to get there. Then I was in the woods, my hands out in front of me. Branches whipped me in the face. How far? I paused to listen. Where was he?

  Another scream. I shot forward. Blind. Running. The surf pounding.

  Which way?

  Someone grabbed me by the arm. I spun and was thrown to the ground.

  “Poppy! Quiet! It’s me. Be quiet.”

  It was Chris, holding me down and growling in my ear.

  My chest heaved. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

  “Shhh!”

  I got to my knees.

  Chris crouched next to me. “I don’t know. Doug told me to run. I hid in the bushes.”

  There were voices again. And the sounds of—horses?

  “They came out of the woods so fast.”

  “Did you see them?”

  “No. I heard them. I guess. Doug told me to hide. He—”

  “Okay. Just stay down. Stay hidden. I’ll see what’s going on.”

  I moved closer, picking my way from bush to bush. The night was too dark. I couldn’t see anything. I walked blindly toward the noises. They were hard to pick out over the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. But before I got close enough to hear any voices clearly, there was a commotion, horses on the move. Many of them.