Angel Falls

by Connie Mann

  “I didn’t want you to worry. When it’s time to go, I’m ready. I’ve done what God asked me to do in life.”

  She flinched from his words, trying to stand up, to run away from the truths spilling from his lips, but he held her fast. She could break out of his hold, but to what end? “I want more time with you,” she finally managed.

  He smiled then, the wonderful smile that made his eyes light up and made him look invincible. This was the man she’d always loved—the dreamer, the visionary.

  Then his expression sobered. “If you can find it in your heart to forgive me—for back then, and for just recently—I’d be grateful.”

  His pleading look made her want to weep. Her Noah didn’t beg. He had always been larger than life, a leader who dwarfed other men.

  “I forgave you for the past years ago, Noah. You gave me Nathaniel. I couldn’t stay angry forever.”

  “But I owe it to you to ask for forgiveness,” he said, before she could continue.

  She looked into his beloved eyes and tears blurred her own. Why did all this closeness come now, when it might be too late? Why couldn’t he have said the words then, when she’d desperately needed to hear them?

  Carol clasped his hand in hers and said the only thing that mattered. “I love you, Noah Anderson. I always have. I always will.”

  And in her battered heart, she prayed their son would forgive his father and save them all from this madman.

  Night was falling as they approached Cascavel. Regina felt so tense she wanted to scream. She was stiff and sore from sitting for so long, and Brooks’s silence had almost worn through her last nerve. She glanced at his profile periodically, but his lean features told her nothing of what he was thinking or feeling.

  Suddenly, they heard a grinding noise and the Toyota began slowing down. Fast.

  Brooks gripped the wheel and filled the car with some phrases even she’d never heard. She stifled a smile at his creativity and glanced nervously out the back window when he pulled off the shoulder of the road. Thankfully, there were trees along the roadside and he’d stopped behind them. At least they weren’t sitting out in plain view.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” He reached under the seat for the flashlight. “Sit tight. I’ll see what I can find out.”

  He poked around under the hood for a long time. Regina took the opportunity to lean over the back seat and change Eduardo. She’d fed him, burped him, and sung three lullabies when something made her look up.

  The traffic had thinned as night approached, but it was still light enough to make out the make and model of approaching vehicles.

  A scream lodged in her throat as she looked through the rear window and saw a farm truck moaning up the hill. Directly behind it, unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, was the brown Fiat. She prayed he wouldn’t see their hiding place even as she leaned lower to see his face.

  He seemed to be studying something on his dashboard and never glanced in their direction. In the deepening twilight, Regina could see only his profile and a ball cap. She shivered and tightened her hold on Eduardo.

  Brooks jerked her door open. “Grab the kid. We’ve gotta get out of here.”

  He leaped for the trunk, while she snatched Eduardo and however much of his gear she could grab, and hustled out of the car. “Did you see him?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He had their bags in one hand and grasped her elbow with the other as he steered them deeper into the woods. “Stay here,” he said, directing her to the shadow of a huge old tree.

  He turned and headed for the edge of the road, thumb out in the universal signal.

  “Come on, come on,” Regina mumbled. “Please let someone stop.”

  Finally, a pickup truck that had been ancient in 1950 slowed to a halt. After several hastily exchanged words with the driver, Brooks beckoned her over.

  The back of the aging truck contained crates of fruits and vegetables, but there was enough room for them to squeeze in.

  “Hand me the kid,” he commanded.

  She wanted to tell him again to stop referring to Eduardo as “the kid,” but decided to bide her time.

  He handed her up, tossed her the bags, and then nimbly leaped up after her, Eduardo tucked under his arm like a puppy. She reached her hands out for the child, but Brooks surprised her by saying, “Take a break. I’ll hold him for a while.”

  Surrounded by all this fresh fruit should have been pleasant, but some of it had been out in the sun too long. The pungent odor of rotting produce made her slightly queasy, so she concentrated on breathing through her mouth.

  Beside her, Brooks leaned against a sagging crate, Eduardo propped on his raised knees. The baby kicked and smiled, and Brooks grabbed his feet and tickled his toes.

  As she saw the tender way Brooks handled his brother, Regina’s heart constricted and she fought against another round of those dratted tears. Don’t think about it. Don’t wish for what you can’t have. Hadn’t Tia Carol always said, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride”? When would she learn to ignore her heart’s foolish dreams?

  Regina’s bruises had bruises by the time the old truck rattled into the heart of Foz do Iguacu. The bustling tourist town, cleverly named after the nearby waterfalls, was thronged with people, even on a weeknight. Her stomach let out a growl, and Brooks quirked an eyebrow at her. “I’m hungry. So shoot me.”

  His eyes watched her mouth in a way that sent funny little tingles shooting through her. Though whether she hoped he’d kiss her, or dreaded that he might, she wasn’t sure.

  After several more blocks, the driver pulled into the parking lot of a churrascaria, and the smell of barbecued beef made Regina’s stomach groan in anticipation. Brooks shot her an unexpected smile, making her toes curl. Maybe it was because he smiled so rarely, but he turned her to complete mush with that potent glance.

  “Guess this is where we’ll eat,” he commented as he swung down from the tailgate and reached a hand up to assist her down. After thanking the driver, they ducked behind a van and scanned the parking lot and those nearby.

  No brown Fiat.

  Brooks hitched Eduardo higher on his hip and curled his arm protectively around her. Dimly, Regina registered that his nearness didn’t make her jump anymore. In fact, it made her feel seductively safe. It was a false feeling, she knew, and wouldn’t last past the next twenty-four hours. But for now, she decided simply to enjoy it and pretend, for this one night, that they were a family out for a nice dinner together.

  Brooks scanned the restaurant’s occupants in that lazy way that wasn’t lazy at all, and took in everything and everyone in the space of several heartbeats. With a guiding hand at her back, he led her to a table, and surprised her by keeping Eduardo on his lap.

  She took that opportunity to duck into the ladies room to wash her hands. She washed them to her satisfaction and then, without thinking, raised her head, startled to see her reflection in the mirror. Normally, she avoided mirrors, combing her hair without looking. She didn’t usually like what she saw.

  Looking at herself now, surprise widened her eyes. With her hair shorter and without the glasses, she looked different. Softer, somehow. But most arresting was her eyes. They had lost their haunted look.

  Which amazed her, considering they were on the run from a lunatic with a silencer on his gun.

  Brooks watched her approach the table and saw her bewildered expression. His anxiety jumped up a notch. “Everything all right?”

  She nodded and slipped in across from him.

  Before he could censor the words, they slipped out. “You look beautiful. Especially without the fake glasses.”

  He expected a sharp retort, but instead she smiled, a slow, sensual smile that fried his brain and made him shift uncomfortably. Did the woman have any idea what she did to him?

  She lowered her eyes shyly, and he realized she didn’t. Which was just as well. They had no future, and she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d go
for a casual relationship. He’d heard enough horror stories about the street children of Porto Alegre’s favelas to have an inkling of what she had faced in her childhood. He completely understood her wariness of men; her acceptance of him a gift he didn’t deserve. He suddenly found that a casual fling was not what he wanted either.

  Soft candlelight fell over her cheeks and the urge to tear limb from limb whatever nameless piece of trash had hurt her and taken advantage of her had his fists clenching until Eduardo squealed.

  She looked up and blanched at his expression, even as he loosened his hold on the boy and crooned in apology. “I won’t hurt you, you know,” he said.

  She met his gaze directly. “Yes, you will, but it is unavoidable.”

  Her calm acceptance made him see red. “I’m not talking about physically.” What kind of man did she think he was?

  “I know.”

  “Or sexually,” he felt compelled to add.

  “I know that, too.”

  In that moment, he understood, though he wished he didn’t. This feisty, tough woman, who didn’t like men, but had gotten used to him, cared for him. Even after the childhood she’d suffered, she still had enough softness in her heart to care.

  Something inside him shifted, loosened. The cold, hard knot in his heart eased a fraction as she gave him her sad smile. He wanted to warn her off, to tell her he was no knight in shining armor, no hero who would sweep her away. He was a failure, a burned-out soldier without a future. The most he could offer was to try to keep her and the kid alive. After that, he’d be gone and she’d be alone again. She deserved better.

  But the waiter appeared before he voiced any of it, and the moment was lost. They ordered the buffet and filled their plates. Eduardo happily gummed crackers while they feasted on various cold salads and more meat than Brooks had ever seen.

  Every few minutes another server appeared at their table with a long skewer of meat. If they turned the little sign on their table green side up, servers kept coming and offering slices until either Brooks or Regina turned the sign to red.

  Brooks watched as Regina tucked into the food like a farm hand after a long day. The beef was saltier than he preferred, but it was so tender you could cut it with a fork.

  When neither one could eat another bite, they pushed back from the table, paid, and left the restaurant.

  At the door, Regina hesitated. “Um, I need to stop in the ladies room.”

  When she came back out with her hands still slightly dripping, he pretended not to notice. He couldn’t decide if this obsessive hand washing was something she did when she was nervous, or, and this next option made him scowl, a holdover from the way she felt about her early life. He hoped it was the former, but decided he could deal with the latter if it came to that.

  Then he remembered that he and the kid were leaving in another day, two at most. Whatever hang-ups and foibles Regina had would be some other man’s to deal with. The thought made him inexplicably and explosively furious, and he clamped his jaw to contain it.

  Keeping Regina behind him, he stepped out of the restaurant and scanned the parking lot. Still no brown Fiat. Turning back inside, he asked the host to call a taxi.

  When it arrived, he quickly stashed Regina and the kid inside and ducked in beside them. He didn’t bother stowing their bags in the trunk, simply pushed them inside in front of him. “Take us to Parque Nacional do Iguaçu,” he growled.

  “The National Park is closing soon, Senhor.”

  “We’re staying at the Hotel das Cataratas at the Falls.

  “Sim.” The driver nodded and stomped on the gas pedal.

  Brooks tried to ease up on his resentment and think about other things. How had he never noticed how nice she smelled? Casually, so as not to alarm her, he stretched his arm along the seat back and then slowly lowered it to her shoulder. When she didn’t shrug away, he increased the pressure just enough to pull her against his side. Something inside him relaxed when, instead of pulling away, she snuggled closer. It was a simple matter to gently press her head to his shoulder.

  He found he liked the feel of her too much, so he pulled the brim of his ball cap lower and whispered, “Keep your head down in case our friend is around.”

  He immediately regretted his words. The slack went out of her shoulders, and she stiffened like a broom beside him.

  “Relax. It’s dark. This is just a precaution.”

  Since it made his palms itch not to, he slid his fingers through her dark curls. He loved the way they wrapped around his fingers. “I love your hair,” he whispered, so as not to wake the sleeping Eduardo.

  Regina didn’t respond, but she didn’t slap his face either, which he took as a positive sign.

  The remainder of the trip passed in silence. When the cabbie delivered them to the front steps of the elegant pink hotel, Brooks kept his face averted as he paid the fare, then hustled them quickly up the stairs. Bypassing the check-in counter in the lobby, he maneuvered them down several richly appointed hallways and out a side door. Regina was a quick study, he decided, for she waited for him to check out the area before she quickly followed him across the grass and into the cover of the trees.

  According to the map he’d studied, if they went back into the trees for about half a mile, the cover became dense enough to provide a good place to spend the night. And then, if all went well, Jax would have everything set up and send a bird for him and Eduardo.

  He scowled as he imagined the coming confrontation with the man pursuing them. He didn’t question that there would be one. In fact, he was determined to create one. He’d been examining the angles all day and didn’t have it all worked out just yet, but he would. It had to be away from innocent bystanders, and Regina and the boy had to be safely out of harm’s way.

  “Slow down,” Regina whispered.

  He stopped and turned, shining the flashlight this way and that, surprised to see her several yards behind him. “Sorry.”

  “You’re walking like we have to get there in the next two minutes.”

  “Lot on my mind, that’s all. You okay?”

  She grimaced, panting slightly. “It’s not easy to hike in here in the dark.”

  He forced himself to take it slower. From somewhere up ahead, they heard a screech that sounded almost human. Behind him, Regina gasped.

  “It’s okay, just a bird. We’re not far from the Parque Das Aves. They have all kinds of birds in there.”

  Maybe it was because she was tired, and all the good food and the cerveja she’d allowed herself with dinner were relaxing her, but to Regina it seemed they were hiking to Argentina. It took all she had to keep up with Brooks’s long stride. He sped up again, but pride prevented her from asking him to slow down. She stumbled over yet another protruding root and bit back a few choice comments. In her arms, Eduardo slept. Near as she could figure, the child had put on several kilos in the past few days. He got heavier with every step.

  Finally, Brooks stopped in a small clearing. Efficiently, he pulled both sleeping bags out, zipped them together, and spread them out. When he held out some toilet paper and a moist towelette, she wasn’t sure if he was being helpful or making fun of her.

  “I’ll put him down while you go do your thing.” He handed her the flashlight. “Remember to watch for snakes,” he said to her retreating back.

  After the tangled-in-the-tree episode, Regina went far enough to hide behind some thick underbrush, but still close enough that she could hear Brooks murmuring to Eduardo.

  When she scampered back into camp, she gaped at finding Eduardo tucked into his jammies, sound asleep on one side of the sleeping bag. Without a word, Brooks turned his back on her, shucked his boots, and climbed into the bag, scooting Eduardo farther to one side. Which put Brooks squarely in the middle of their makeshift bed.

  Right next to where she’d sleep.

  18

  HE MUST HAVE SEEN SOMETHING IN HER FACE IN THE REFLECTION OF THE flashlight, for his voice drifted quiet
ly to her. “I just want to be near you tonight.”

  Her fingers shook as she fumbled with her shoes and then climbed in beside him, fully clothed. She had no idea how to interpret that statement. Confused and uncertain, she switched off the flashlight and lay still, her switchblade providing the courage she lacked and a measure of security in case she’d misjudged him. Her heart knew she could trust him, but . . .

  He propped himself on an elbow and looked down at her. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she tried to make out his expression, but the deep cover of trees blocked out the moonlight.

  “I’m not going to attack you, Reggie. Not tonight or any other night.”

  Though his words were reassuring, she felt duty bound to point out, “After tonight, there will be no other nights.”

  His hand snaked out and brushed her cheek. Though there were calluses, he was gentle. “Your skin is so smooth.”

  Suddenly wary, she blurted, “I’m not interested in sex, Senhor.”

  Even in the dark, she could see his eyebrow shoot up. “Was I asking?” he queried lazily. “Now a little kissing, I could probably suffer through.”

  “You’re teasing me.”

  He brushed his lips over hers so lightly she wondered briefly if she’d imagined it. “You looked like you needed it.” Then his voice turned serious. “Don’t be afraid of me, Reggie. I won’t force anything on you, ever.”

  She wanted to believe him, she really did. She wanted to be lulled by the sincerity in that wonderfully masculine growl. Since the moment they’d met, he’d been nothing but honorable in his treatment of her. But past pain still had the ability to wound, and a lifetime’s habits were not erased in a matter of days.

  “I want you to move away from me.”

  She expected a protest from him, but instead, his thumb slowly caressed her bottom lip, back and forth. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” No. I don’t know. She squeezed her eyes shut, swamped with indecision. She wanted more of that safe, yet fluttery, feeling his touch ignited.

  Without another word, he scooted over toward Eduardo and rolled onto his side, turning his back to her.