by J Theron
She looked up and their gazes locked. “Why do you care what happens between the two of us. You hardly know me.”
“I know enough,” he murmured. “I know that he doesn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as you.”
They stood completely still and simply stared at each other. The air between them became charged and it felt as if everything around them came to a complete standstill. She inched forward and then seemed to stop herself. She had a slightly startled look on her face and stepped back abruptly.
He stared at her and he could see the rapid pulse beating in her neck and her uneven breathing. Her face was flushed and in that moment he knew without a doubt that she was as attracted to him as he was to her, and that everything was suddenly different. He would never be able to stay away from her now. He had to have her. It was inevitable. It was fate.
CHAPTER 6
Colombia, present day.
It was dusk when Gabrielle woke and she felt rested for the first time in days. She sat up and immediately noticed that she was alone in the cabin. The rain had stopped and she threw back the blanket to get out of bed. She used the bathroom and when she was done she turned her attention to the Dover stove.
The fire was burning very low and she quickly added a few logs that Ryan had brought in from outside. She filled the large tin kettle with water and placed it on the stove to boil water for coffee, her one vice she could not do without. It started when she was a medical student. She drank too much coffee to help her stay awake and she had never been able to shake the habit.
She pulled one of the chairs closer to the stove and sat down to try and warm her hands and feet. She had forgotten how chilly the mountain air could be in late autumn. She sat quietly and tried not to think too much about her current predicament. Obsessing about it would only make it worse. Instead of wondering where Ryan was, she thought about difficult surgical procedures and how she could improve her technique.
It was dark outside when the door finally opened. The cabin was partially lit by the candles Gabrielle found in one of the drawers. She lifted her head and was momentarily apprehensive before the figure in the doorway stepped into the light. It was Ryan and he was wet and full of mud.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
He pulled his wet clothes over his head and she had to look at his naked torso a second time that day. She noticed a few scars that had not been there when they were together as well as what looked like an old gunshot wound on his upper right arm. She started to ask him about it when she stopped herself. She did not want him to know that she noticed anything about him.
He dropped the wet garments in the shower before coming to a halt in front of the stove with his back towards her. His hair was wet and she watched as the drops trickled between his shoulder blades over the muscles of his back. His cargo pants were wet and hugged the tight muscles of his upper legs and buttocks. She used to love running her fingers over his back before kissing a trail down to his lower back and then around to his abdomen.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to banish the image of his naked skin from her brain. She had the childish urge to pour scalding water over her head to purge her mind.
She was still sitting with her eyes tightly shut when he said in a subdued tone, “I was worried about the airfield. I went to check it. The rain caused a mudslide perpendicular to the runway and a strip about thirty feet wide is filled with rocks and debris. We’re in trouble. We have to clear it before the weather clears, otherwise we’ll miss the window for our extraction. If we can’t manage we’ll have to go back down the mountain and find another way out of here because staying here too long is dangerous. I’ve been in contact with the pilot and the weather is changing constantly. We might have to leave on short notice.”
She looked up again. “How did you manage to contact the pilot?”
“I have a satellite phone.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to clear it?” she asked.
“I think so, if we work together,” he replied. “The mud is not the real issue. I’m more worried about the rocks hurting the landing gear. We should be able to move those. I had a look and it seems possible.”
She watched as he walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. She heard the shower and stared straight ahead when he finally emerged. She could see him in her peripheral vision and even though she tried her hardest, she couldn’t help but notice that he only had a towel around his waist and that it was sitting low on his hips. She could hear that he was getting dressed, but she carefully kept her gaze averted.
“Shall I make us something to eat,” she asked.
“Thanks.”
Gabrielle got up and was relieved to see that he was dressed and looking for something in the rucksack. She inspected the canned foods and found some fig jam. Self-raising flour, sugar and one of twelve beers completed her collection and she decided to make beer bread. She busied herself with that, trying her best to ignore Ryan.
Gabrielle was kneading the dough and her hands were full of flour when Ryan strolled in her direction and came to a stop, only inches away. He was standing behind her and his hands came around her to press on the wooden surface in front of her, effectively trapping her body.
He leaned over her shoulder and said in a low voice, “What are you making?”
The heat from his body scorched her skin and she could smell the clean smell of the soap he had used along with something that was uniquely him. Her heart started racing and she became completely tongue tied. “Uhm…breer, I mean beer bread.”
“You surprise me, Doctor. I never knew you could cook. But then again, Afghanistan wasn’t exactly a great environment to explore your culinary expertise. We didn’t get around to cooking when we were alone together. We had more interesting things to occupy our time.”
She turned slightly and elbowed him. “Please get out of my personal space.”
He chuckled and lifted his hands before he stepped back. “I remember a time when you used to like me in your personal space.”
“That was a long time ago,” she grumbled. She turned back to kneading the dough and ignored him. Ryan did not move away and she could feel his presence right behind her.
“I know how your mind works,” he said. “You think if you ignore something it will simply go away. Well, I have news for you. I’m not going away.”
Suddenly something in her snapped and she swirled around to say angrily, “I don’t want to be here with you. Get it into your thick skull. I will never forgive you!”
Ryan gaped at her. “Forgive me for what? I’m the one who should be angry with you for leaving without a word and without any means to contact you. It fucking crushed me, Gabrielle, but I’m not going to beg you to tell me why you left me. To hell with that! I’m done trying to figure you out.”
He walked to the stove and shoved more logs into the confined space of the little burner. He sat down in the chair facing the fire and she let go of the breath she had been holding since he admitted being crushed. His words played over and over in her head and she completely forgot about the dough in her hands as she stared at the back of his head.
To hell with that, she thought. He deserves to be crushed. She oiled one of the pots and shoved the dough unceremoniously into the pot before slamming the lid shut. She imagined it was his face as she slammed the lid down with force and felt some satisfaction as she pictured his face after being hit with the lid of the pot.
She was not a violent person, but Ryan was managing to bring out the worst in her. She thought about the many conversations she had with her best friend during her years in medical school after her first big break up. A toxic relationship can make even the sanest person completely crazy. And this situation was as toxic as it gets.
She did not say anything as she walked past him and opened the door to the stove. She placed the bread in the oven and stood back. She was about to walk back to the kitchen when he reached out and caught her hand.
“Thank you for the bread,” he murmured.
She looked at him and tried to figure out what he was thinking, but he managed to keep his face devoid of any expression. She did not want to say anything for fear of making the situation worse. She nodded briefly before pulling her hand from his grasp with slightly more force than she intended and walked back to the kitchen. She absentmindedly rubbed her hand against her thigh because it felt like there was an imprint on her hand where he had touched her.
She took some plates and started to set the table when he asked, “So what’s the story with you and Carlos Rodriguez?”
She dropped the plates with a clang and had to take a deep breath to prevent her from lashing out at him. “I hardly know him,” she managed to reply in an even voice.
He turned in the chair and stared at her. His gaze was unflinching and she immediately felt like she was a criminal and he was the CIA agent interrogating her. “That’s not what I heard,” he said.
“What exactly did you hear, Ryan, because I’m really not in the mood to be interrogated by Mister CIA Agent.”
He narrowed his eyes and stood up from the chair in front of the fireplace. He sauntered to the table and sat down, never taking his eyes from her. “I was in the village before I came for you and some of the villagers were talking about the special relationship Mister Rodriguez had with the beautiful doctor who saved his sister.”
“Careful Ryan. You’re starting to sound jealous.”
He snorted. “Not happening. I’m not a sucker for punishment. I forgot about you the moment you left me.”
“That’s not what you said earlier,” she retorted.
“Yeah, sorry about that little white lie. I was testing your reaction.”
“You’re a real bastard. I’m sorry I ever met you,” she whispered. She turned around to hide the tears threatening to spill over. She shoved the dirty dishes into the porcelain sink and started to wash it with a vengeance. He did not move and she knew he was watching her. She could feel his eyes burning into the back of her head.
She finished washing the dishes and managed to get her turbulent emotions under control. When she felt controlled enough to face him, she turned around and walked to the stove to check the bread. She was relieved to see that it was ready and she removed it from the stove. She placed the pot with the bread in front of Ryan, who had not moved or said anything else.
“I’m not hungry anymore. I’m going to bed. I’m still tired,” she said.
“You have to eat,” he said in a stern voice.
“I don’t have to do anything,” she replied as she turned around and walked to the bed. She sat down and removed her shoes before lying down. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain in the centre of her chest. She did not move when the mattress shifted, indicating that he had sat down next to her on the bed.
He touched her face and her eyes flew open. He was sitting next to her with a slice of bread on the plate in his hand. “I’m sorry. Please eat.”
He stood up and left the plate on the bed. She watched him as he walked back to the fire and this time she could not control the tears running over her face. She took the bread and ate it, not because she was hungry, but because she knew he would continue to harass her until she ate something. She had to swallow repeatedly to get the bread down, because her stomach was not cooperating, and she felt almost too nauseated to eat. She placed the plate on the floor when she was finished and turned so that her back was to Ryan. She prayed that sleep would come swiftly, because she was caught in a living nightmare and the only way to escape, even for a few hours, was to sleep.
Gabrielle opened her eyes the next morning and realized she was feeling cold. She finally focused on the familiar form next to her and moved closer, seeking his heat. Her head was on his shoulder and his arm was around her, pulling her closer to the warm skin of his naked torso. Her hand was in his neck with her fingers splayed over the stubbly surface of his jaw and her lower leg was flung casually over his thigh.
It took her a few seconds to come to her senses and she flew from the bed when it dawned on her that she was embracing Ryan in her sleep. She was even more appalled when she saw that he was awake and watching her with an unreadable expression on his face. She was shivering where she stood next to the bed as the cold morning air chilled her to the bone.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.
He sat up and folded his arms over his naked chest. “I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who climbed over me during the night.”
She turned around and pulled a sweater from her pack. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m a man.”
Gabrielle felt like punching him in the face. “You’re driving me insane!”
He laughed as he got out of bed and did not seem to be embarrassed by the impressive erection straining against his boxer shorts. He quickly dressed in a pair of cargo pants and a T-shirt and she felt a slight measure of relief when his skin was covered.
“We’re not sleeping in the same bed again,” she said.
Ryan dropped the pack he was holding in his hand. “Will you stop with this shit? You’re the one driving me insane!”
She opened her mouth to reply when the cabin door swung open. For a moment she thought it might be the wind. Then Carlos, dressed in hiking clothes, stepped inside and smiled at them as he closed the door behind him. “Now isn’t this quaint. Fighting already? That didn’t take long.”
Her gazed flashed to Ryan and he had a Glock in his hands. The gun was pointing at Carlos’s head. They all stared at each other in a frozen tableau and Gabrielle felt like she was going to pass out. Of all the things that could have happened, this was probably the worst case scenario.
She gaped at Ryan when he slowly dropped the gun and said, “What the fuck are you doing here, Carlos? And why are you on foot?”
Carlos sighed. “Hello, Ryan. I see your manners haven’t improved much since the last time I saw you.”
Gabrielle looked from Ryan to Carlos and it felt as if everything she had ever known about them disintegrated. “What the hell is going on?” she asked.
“Carlos dropped in unannounced and it wasn’t part of the plan,” Ryan snapped.
Carlos smiled at them. “The plan has changed.”
“You can’t just do whatever you feel like. We talked about this,” Ryan replied in an irritated tone.
“Something’s come up and I had to make a decision, and quickly. So here I am,” Carlos said before turning to Gabrielle. “Glad to see me, love?”
Ryan stepped forward and his attitude changed from irritated to threatening. “I want you to leave.”
Carlos shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m not leaving. I can’t leave actually, because I pushed my jeep over a ravine into the river. So you’re stuck with me. Thanks for not blowing my cover, by the way, but I expected better from you, Evans. You took your goddamn time in getting Gabrielle out of there. You’re getting sloppy.”
Gabrielle slapped with her hand on the wooden table. “Who the hell are you, Carlos? And how do you two know each other?”
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to put a bullet in your pretty head,” Carlos replied.
“You have to get out of here, right now. Before someone tracks you here,” Ryan said.
Carlos pulled out the chair and sat down at the table as if he did not have a care in the world. “Maybe the good doctor should take a look at you, Evans. Perhaps that stick up your ass can be surgically removed?”
Ryan said nothing. He simply stared at Carlos and Gabrielle could see he was assessing the situation, trying to decide what to do. “Who knows you’re here?” he asked after a few tense seconds.
“I told my housekeeper and my sister and the guy who waters my garden,” Carlos replied.
Ryan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “This isn’t a joke, Carlos!”
Carlos sat forward and his tone tu
rned serious. “I’m not a fucking idiot.”
“That doesn’t mean that they can’t find you!” Ryan snapped.
“I was careful,” Carlos replied.
Gabrielle followed the exchange and her confusion grew by the second. “I think I deserve an explanation.” She pointed at Carlos. “I spent more than two years thinking you were a murdering psychopath.”
Carlos smirked. “I’m afraid that’s all true, love.”
She turned to Ryan. “You! Tell me!”
Ryan shrugged. “He’s DEA.”
Gabrielle gaped at them open mouthed. “D.E.A. DEfrigginA! Are you kidding me?”
Carlos leaned back in the chair and shook his head. “You’re such a pussy, Ryan.”
Ryan glared at Carlos. “I’m pretty sure your secret is safe with her. Who’s she going to tell? Daddy? O Shit! I forgot. Her daddy is the director of the CIA!”
Carlos narrowed his eyes. “You can’t make that decision. What if she’s captured and tortured.”
“Over my dead body, and you’re the one who ended this assignment by coming here, so protecting your cover is no longer my problem,” Ryan said.
Gabrielle stared at the two of them as she tried desperately to make sense of the situation. “Your family has been running the most lucrative drug cartel since the seventies. How is it possible?”
Carlos narrowed his eyes and regarded her with a serious expression on his face. “You’re not going to drop this, are you?”
She walked to Ryan and held out her hand. “Give me the gun.”
Ryan handed it to her with an amused expression on his face. She turned to Carlos and put the gun to his head. “I swear to God I’ll pull the trigger. I’ve had enough of lies and deceit.”
Carlos smiled at them, seemingly not bothered at all by the fact that Gabrielle had a loaded gun to his temple. “You know I can disarm you and have you on the floor in seconds?”
Gabrielle glared at him and hissed through gritted teeth, “I dare you to try.”
Carlos chuckled. “Nah. I’ll play nice for now.
