Armed And Dangerous (The McKinnon Legends - The McKinnon American Men Book 2)

by James, Ranay

  The two jeeps were making slow, but steady progress east then south down the famed PanAmerican Roadway heading to Yaviza, a small town at the edge of the Chucunaque River. They would camp there at the river’s edge tonight before taking the boats west down the estuary heading back to the Gulf Of San Miguel on the Pacific side. It was an extremely roundabout way to achieve their goal. However, coming in from the jungle side would give them the necessary cover which they would not have if they went by boat straight to Del Torres’s private beach access. It also gave then culpable deniability, keeping their cover intact. Running the rapids was exactly something he would be doing on a vacation. Should anyone look into his background, they would find high adventure trips were a mainstay. They would not find this trek as out of the ordinary.

  Robert’s genius strikes again, he thought.

  Getting into the jeep, he glanced over at Barbara who had not uttered a word of complaint. She was holding up remarkably well considering they were in some very rough terrain. The road was as much nonexistent as it was existent and this far to the southeast they were very close to the terminus just before the marsh lands of Darien Gap.

  She had asked questions from time to time and Darien Gap seemed to tweak her curiosity. He would satisfy that, if nothing else to keep the smooth lines of communication open and flowing. He was pleased he could feed her mind with knowledge that she did not have herself. Barbara was very intelligent, yet she did not make him feel less so.

  “The Gap is a one-hundred mile long and fifty mile wide gap in the Pan-American Roadway. This is the only break in the road leading from Alaska all the way to the tip of South America.”

  “So why stop here? Is it a native reserve?” she asked knowing there were large tracks of land expressly set aside for the indigenous peoples.

  Mason shook his head. “No, marsh land. And because of the topography and habitat it provides....”

  “Construction is costly, controversial, and nonexistent,” she finished the sentence.

  He nodded. There was nothing slow about Barbara Allen, he mused as they hit a particularly nasty rut in the road tossing her sideways and nearly out of the jeep. The seat harness gave way. Lightning fast, Mason grabbed her arm pulling her torso back inside the frame of the jeep just as it slid sideways down the edge of the roadway.

  The jeep tumbled, rolling over leaving it stranded upside down in a muddy ditch.

  “Barbara, are you all right?” Mason loosened his safety harness and came around to her side to help her out.

  “Yeah, I think that I’m still all in one piece.”

  He helped her out of the jeep and wiped the mud from her face. “You sure you’re all right?” he questioned again. They had taken a fairly rough tumble and she had no safety belt to keep her from being tossed around. “Did you take any blows to the head?”

  She shook her head. “But you did.” She took her thumb and lightly pressed against his forehead to stop the bleeding.

  He had a gash along his hairline. He simply tied his bandana around it and went back to making sure she was uninjured and getting the jeep upright again.

  Two hours later, they were finally able to get the jeep back onto sold ground, but only after getting both jeeps stuck first. There was not a single one of them who was not covered in mud before getting both jeeps back on the roadway.

  They would be jumping off before the Gap and heading back out to sea, and at the rate the road was deteriorating that was probably a good thing. Mason needed to remember the make and model of these jeeps. They were tough and he really needed to buy himself one for his off-roading at home.

  Through determination and a little luck, they arrived at their destination just a half hour before dark with just enough time to make camp before the sun dipped, disappearing for the next twelve hours into the Pacific.

  Chapter 11

  Mason was on his way back to camp after taking a quick bath in the river. He had that much pity on Barbara. She probably wouldn’t like it, but she would be bedding down with him in their tent. If she were going to have to sleep next to him, then the least he could do for her was not to stink. He was thinking how she was a smart woman and would understand they had to keep up appearances. It was a bittersweet prospect for him.

  Much to Mason's surprise, Barbara already had the bed rolls out and prepared for bed even before he returned.

  “Mason? Is that you?” She heard him approaching. She almost dreaded asking the favor.

  “Yeah, it’s me?” he answered, coming into earshot. He could plainly see she wanted something from him, and he felt he knew simply by her looking longingly over his shoulder. It surprised him she would hesitate. What was the worst he could say? Besides, he was really not seeing a downside to having a clean bed partner.

  “I could really use a good hosing off myself. Any way you could give me some cover? I promise I won’t take long,” she said, looking at the sun which was making a quick escape from the day. “I know it is almost too dark for us to go wandering off.”

  “Sure. You ready?” He saw the quick smile on her lips and it somehow pleased him he could give her a small token of comfort in the form of a cooling dip in the river.

  “Yeah, I just need to get my clean clothes.”

  He watched her dip into the tent and quickly come back out with a fresh change of clothes and a flashlight.

  “Leave it,” he commanded.

  “But...,” she began to protest.

  “No buts, leave it. You won’t need it.”

  She looked warily at him. He sighed inwardly. She was so slow to give her trust over to him in spite of the fact he was nothing other than cooperative and receptive to her company.

  He took the flashlight off the top of her clothes and tossed it back into the tent closing the zippered opening. The last thing he wanted was something other than each other bedding down with them for the night.

  “Barbie Doll, you have got to learn to trust the fact I will take care of you.” He held out his hand and waited for her to take it. “Now, come on. We’re burning daylight.”

  He checked the clip in his gun as they moved along the pathway, and he followed her to the shallow pool which was located not far from the camp. The jungle blocked the remaining daylight, leaving the trail more treacherous than just a few minutes before. He handed her one of the two pairs of night vision goggles that Robert so thoughtfully packed. No need to alert any potential company with a flashlight to the fact the two of them were here and separated from the rest.

  He stopped short bending down to make it easier for her to hitch a ride.

  “Hop on my back. The vegetation gets a little rough from here on down and you are in shorts. It will shred your skin.” He was thinking how they did not have time for her to come down with a fever from an infection gained from open wounds.

  “I’m too heavy. I’ll be fine,” she whispered.

  He just shook his head at the comment. Too heavy? He didn’t think so. She was nothing after hauling one hundred and twenty pounds of deadweight in gear through sandstorms in the desert and a foot and a half of snow in the Afghan mountains.

  “Just get up here, woman and quit giving me lip,” he growled, guiding her up onto his back and adjusting her as if she weighed nothing whatsoever. He mused she hardly weighed more than the rucksack and all his gear he carried in combat. And she was way softer than the Remington 870 usually strapped to his back or the M40A1 which was also a mainstay for a Marine Force Recon solider.

  They kept conversation to a minimum as they made their way to the river’s edge. He deposited her on top of a waist-high rock allowing her to simply step off his back, and then he helped her down to even ground.

  “I won’t be long,” she promised placing her hand on his forearm.

  “No rush. Take your time. Tomorrow will be a hard one, and I’m not sure we will have this little luxury of fresh water at the end of the day.” He understood they would be much closer to the sea and fresh water would be scarcely av
ailable for use as bathing water.

  He turned his back to give her some privacy and could hear the rustle of clothing dropping on the boulder beside him, then the gentle intake of breath as she hit the cool refreshing waters.

  “You can turn around now,” she whispered quietly, understanding his desire to keep their presence as secretive as possible. The closer they got to the coast, the more danger they would face. And for all she knew there was a traitor already in their midst. It would not surprise her since the police already knew they were there in country, and if the police knew, then chances were good Del Torres did too. She did her own research of Juan Redondo while Mason was off having his dessert the previous night. She was wondering if they needed to step up the pace on this little mission. The longer they took, the more likely it was to go sour on them.

  He took a sentry position on the rock as she bathed, watching as she first washed her hair and then rinsed the grime from the day from her body. Barbara decided to swim a few laps around the general area before deciding that she had probably overstayed her welcome. Besides, she was getting hungry.

  “You ready?” he asked as he saw her coming closer to the shallows.

  She nodded knowing that he could still see with the night vision goggles. He turned around again as she got out of the water. He closed his eyes as he felt her press her hand to his back to steady herself while reaching for the towel just past him on the rock.

  “Thanks for the backup,” she said while pulling on a clean tank and jeans.

  “Anytime.” He picked her up under the arms and effortlessly set her on the boulder so she could slip her socks and hiking boots back on before heading back.

  “Ready?” He hesitated. She was eye to eye with him and he had the urge to crawl up on that rock with her and make love to her under the Central American night sky. She was quickly becoming an obsession with him. His desire was to know her both body and mind.

  “Ready,” she said as she saw him turn his back again.

  He turned around pulling her arms around his neck to pick her up to carry her back up the trail. “Put your legs around me and let me, at least, get you out of this area and back on firmer ground.”

  “I have on jeans. I should be fine. Put me down, Mase,” she argued. She did not want to feel him pressed to her for starters. Second issue was her leg.

  “You either do it this way, or I’ll toss you over my shoulder, and I’m going to give you about three seconds to decide.” He was not fooling around with her, not on this. There were snakes, spiders, and scorpions out by now and she was vulnerable to the bites. He had developed immunity through time and experience and was not in danger, but she was.

  “Fine, but I’ll have you know you would have a fight on your hands if you even tried to play the caveman,” she informed him with a light playful thump to his shoulder.

  “Humph,” he grunted an answer back. She was probably overconfident and that could get her killed if she displayed that attitude at the wrong place and time.

  However, she did not argue any further. She would continue to pick her battles with Mason. Besides, she was sore from the long jeep ride and her leg ached painfully. She was sporting a fairly nasty cut on her upper thigh courtesy of the rusty rattletrap they were driving. When they hit the pot hole and rolled, it tossed her into a jagged piece of metal on the door. She really needed stitches. However, where was that going to happen out in the middle of nowhere? She had done a quick dressing and hoped the jeans would hide the inconvenient truth, and that truth was that she was hurt, a fact she had kept to herself, lying to Mason in the process. Nevertheless, it was not stopping her one way or the other, and if he wanted to be her mode of transportation, then why not let him?

  He never acknowledged her one way or the other as they trekked back to camp. Her arms wrapped around his neck felt good giving him a crazy feeling of taking care of her. It was a small thing, but one he was happy to do. She was a burden that he was beginning to tolerate with pleasure, and they were companionable. Something was definitely happening between them and the bickering was happening less often as the mission moved forward. He, for one, was feeling the need to poke the bear less and the need to kiss the Bride more.

  “Mason, you can put me down now,” she said with an exasperated sigh. He had refused to drop her down at her request as they made their way back to the campsite. Why he continued to carry her on into the campsite was a mystery and just made her feel like child. Up the trail was one thing, this was another.

  He took her to the jeep and let her step off onto the bumper and instead of offering her his hand to help her down, he stepped into her putting his arms around her waist. On impulse he let her slide down his body to the ground and did not let her go. Instead, he went in for a kiss almost taking her by surprise and would have except for the small hesitation just before his lips met hers.

  Then she realized what he was doing. They were lovers just coming back from a few stolen moments together away from prying eyes. He had to finish it off with a grand finale and in public view.

  It was all for show, he kept telling himself.

  She slowly brought her arms up around his neck and returned his kiss. Unlike the kiss from the previous night, he was tender with her, slow and easy, and very seductive. She slowly opened her eyes and he was looking down at her. His look was guarded. His words were not.

  “Umm. Nice. You have the most kissable mouth I have ever tasted.”

  His compliment caught her off guard.

  “Speaking of taste, I’m hungry,” she said covering her surprise.

  He was thinking if he did not break this contact with her his hunger would not be for food. It had been several days since he had been with a woman and she was looking very tasty at the moment.

  “Come on. Let’s go eat.” He took her hand and went to the fire where Enrique had created a decent meal considering the surroundings. The coffee smelled wonderful. The beans were extremely fresh and the aroma was heady. They ate in companionable silence letting the others carry the conversation.

  She majored in linguistics at Kansas State and was fluent in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, French, and Italian. She did not let anyone know, including Mason, she understood every word they said. Needless to say, the conversation was far from clean as the men traded rowdy barbs with Mason about the hot little piece he had saddled up with as his mate. Much to her surprise, he kept it much cleaner than she would have anticipated fully expecting him to tell stories just to have one-up bragging rights. Had she pegged him wrong as the type to kiss and tell? It was looking like she had misjudged him in several ways. Yet, the jury was still out where Mason was concerned.

  All turned in early because daybreak would find them already on the river and miles away from this small spot in paradise.

  Chapter 12

  Her sleeping roll was beside his as he crawled into the tent and then zipped up the flap. The tent was bug proof and there was generally no threat of creepy-crawlers getting into the bed rolls, so he took the cots out to give his big frame more room. She could not fault him. It just put them side by side with no room for personal space, and contrary to what she told him back at the resort, she actually had been sleeping alone for a while.

  The last man she was involved with had somehow neglected to tell her one small detail: he was married and he had kept that fact secret for over a year. She was very cautious after that encounter. She did not allow anyone that close to her again. It had really played havoc with her moral compass and had also shaken her faith in a man being honest.

  Mason listened to the night sounds of the jungle as the evening wore on. She was still awake. He could tell from her breathing.

  “What college did you go to?” He ventured a question tossing out a test balloon. It was a safe question unlike the ones which he really wanted to ask.

  “Kansas State,” she offered without hesitation.

  “What was your major?”

  She hesitated on th
is one. “Linguistics.”

  Ahh, he thought, she did understand the conversation floating around the camp. He was glad that he kept the banter as clean as he did. He had to sleep next to her and a knife through his ribs would not have been a welcome byproduct.

  “What about you?” She vaguely remembered he had graduated.

  “Texas A & M. Did you know I have a double masters?” He was proud if that accomplishment for the first time. And she heard it in his voice.

  “So,” she paused rolling over to face his. Her hunches were right. This man was not the village idiot after all, but a highly intelligent man capable of intense learning and follow-through. No one earns double masters degrees just by accident. It takes true commitment, something she had seen in him before with something he loved. “There are some brains in that head of yours after all.” She softly teased, knocking in his temple with her knuckle.

  “Are you saying that all this time you thought, ‘he’s just a pretty face.’” Mason sighed dramatically completely comfortable with her for the first time. He felt no barriers, no walls, and total openness. He liked the feeling.

  She laughed softly. “Mason, if eye candy was all I thought you were good for then you never would have stayed on the payroll, trust me.”

  It was the first time, he thought of the fact she was his boss, and it was the first time she brought it up. He wondered how he felt about that. Upon inspection, it did not bother him in the least. He knew his place in Barbara Allen’s world. That place was to keep her alive and get Jesse home. After that, who knew? He was contract labor. He could pick his assignments. So, in reality, he was still master of his own destiny. Fate was still his to control.

  “You go by Allen. So, how does Bride come into the picture?” he asked after turning on his side and propping up on his elbow so that he could face her.

  “Jeff,” she only said the first name of her ex-husband. She and Jeff had been college sweethearts. He divorced her, wanting a woman who was home and could cook and give him babies. It wasn’t happening for her. Not at that stage of her life, at least. She might consider it at some point with the right man. She figured Jeff had never been the right man for her.