Standing next to her, it was easy to see that she only came to the top of his shoulder, and he had to look down to see her face. She twisted her head and looked up at him, another smile gracing her face. Shrugging, she said, “I don’t know a lot about the ancient history here, but I’ve tried to learn as much as I could.”
“How did you become the girls’ chaperone?” The question surprised him because he could not remember ever being so curious about a mission before. Normally, a mission was meticulously planned and carried out. Caring about why someone was in a position to need a mission was rarely an issue.
“I’m a counselor at their school,” Julie said. “I was actually a last-minute substitution when their Ancient History teacher became ill. Senator Daniels asked if I would take over, assuring me that everything was already arranged, and I would just need to be the adult supervision.”
Shaking his head, he said, “Three teenage girls. I can’t imagine.”
He looked down in surprise as she placed her hand on his arm, her eyes peering up intently into his.
“Oh, they’re so mature. Drew won’t have any problems with them if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s been an absolutely amazing trip…well, with the exception of an earthquake…and then looters.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I can see how that would put a damper on your vacation.” Looking around again, he asked, “What about some of the other structures here?”
“Much of the rest of Chichén Itzá is to our right. There are several more temples, a palace, and even their ball courts. It wasn’t all built at the same time, but the city was added onto over several centuries. In the mid-to-late 1800s, vegetation from the rain forest had completely grown over almost all the buildings. In the early 1900s, some people from the Yucatán wanted to encourage tourism and so they began to build roads to some of these monuments, clear them off, and make them readily accessible.”
Scanning the area, he could perceive no threat and allowed his gaze to move back to the woman standing next to him. The breeze was blowing the loose tendrils about her face. Her hands, which waved in excitement as she spoke, were now clasped in front of her as she calmly gazed out over the other ruins.
Turning toward him, she said, “This is going to sound like the strangest comment, but part of me is almost glad that I got to experience this without any other tourists around. Right now, only able to hear the sounds of the jungle, I can almost imagine myself stepping back into time."
Her comment caught him off guard, and he looked out over the area, trying to see it from her point of view. He appreciated the architecture. Admired the engineering. And understood a little bit of the history. But imagining being in a different time held no fascination for him. But seeing the smile on her face, it was easy to see that it meant something to her, and for some strange reason, he was glad she had that chance.
Noticing the dark circles under her eyes, he said, “I’m going to keep a lookout. Why don’t you settle down in the shade and see if you can catch a little sleep?"
He wondered if she would argue, but she did not, a testament to how tired she really was. He watched over her as she found a spot at the top of the stone observatory temple, placed her bags against the wall, and lay down. He hoped she would be able to sleep until Drew came back for them, but as he continued to scan the area, he realized he missed the sound of her voice.
12
Drew glanced to the side toward Jackie who continually twisted around in her seat to look at the two girls in the back. “How’s she doing?” he asked softly.
Jackie jerked her eyes up toward his and gave a jerky shake of her head.
Fuck! Forcing a smile on his face, he said, “We’ll be there in a few minutes.” The sound of retching met his ears, and he was glad Andrea had managed to find an empty plastic bag for Tiffany to throw up in. Continuing to radio to Joseph, no reply came in return. Where the fuck is he? He knew we were coming right back!
Circling the small landing strip, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he noticed no activity in the area at all. No cars or trucks on the roads nor parked near the hangar. Fear that his plane was no longer parked in the hangar gave the normally unflappable Drew a sense of dread.
“Girls, I need you to listen carefully. I’ve got to get into the hangar to get the plane ready,” he said, not giving voice to the possibility his plane may not be there. “I’m going to land as close to the hangar as I can so that we can be together. Jackie, I’m putting you in charge of the other two.”
He looked over, seeing a flash of fear move across her face before being replaced with a quick nod. Smiling, he said, “Good girl.”
“What do you need me to do?” Jackie asked, her voice shaky.
“I want you to get the other two out of the helicopter and see if you can get a little bit of water down Tiffany. She’s getting dehydrated, and we need to at least get her to sip some water."
“I can do that,” Jackie said. “What will you be doing?”
He hesitated for only a second before saying, “Just getting the plane ready. All I need you to do is just stay with Tiffany and Andrea.” Calling Tate, he demanded, “Give me a status on the airstrip. It appears vacated, but I don’t want to land in a hotspot.”
“Satellite has shown little activity,” Tate reported. “The two vehicles that were there earlier left not too long after you and Walker took off.”
Breathing a sigh of relief that his plane would still be there, he added, “If no one’s here, I can’t leave the girls. I’m going in and will update you as soon as I know what I’m facing.”
He set the bird down expertly and was pleased to see Jackie immediately unbuckle and twist around to assist the other two. "Get everyone out of the helicopter,” he said to Jackie, “and bring them in. There will be a toilet inside, and I’ve got water bottles.”
After assuring himself the girls were out of the helicopter, he got a better look at Tiffany and his concern ratcheted up. Goddamnit, she looks bad. He had to admit he had little to compare her to, considering the sickest girls he had been around were grown women who had drunk too much. AF Special Ops did not get sick, or if they did, they kept it to themselves. Blowing out a breath, he hurried into the open hangar, stalking straight to his plane. He knew he needed to give it a careful inspection before taking it back up into the air. But take it where?
Calling Tate again, he said, “Plane is here, but I need a new plan. Walker is not somewhere near a landing strip, and Tiffany is too fuckin’ sick for me to leave her alone with the other two girls. You gotta give me directions because the best I can come up with is to get the girls to the resort in Cancún.”
Mace came over the radio, saying, “That’s the new plan, Drew. Get the girls to Cancún. Tate will get the flight papers for emergency landing to the airport. We’ve already been in contact with the resort, and they are expecting you. There’ll also be a doctor on staff that will see Tiffany."
He almost asked about Walker but knew that Mace and the Keepers would be planning the next phase of the mission. “You got it, boss,” he replied. Disconnecting, he turned around to check on the progress of the girls. It appeared each had been to the bathroom and were sitting to the side, their backs propped against the wall. Jackie and Andrea were nibbling crackers, and Jackie was assisting Tiffany, who was sipping water. Offering an encouraging nod, he continued inspecting his plane, readying it for takeoff.
Thirty minutes later, he loaded them into his plane, glad that it was much more comfortable than the old helicopter. Getting Tiffany and Andrea buckled in, he turned to Jackie. “Y’all are doing great. I got some extra plastic bags for Tiffany if she ends up throwing up on our flight. I’ll get you to Cancún just as soon as I can. Should only be about half an hour.”
The young girl turned her concerned gaze toward him, and asked, “What about Ms. Baxter?”
Shooting her his affable grin, he said, “Now don’t you go worrying your head about her. My friend Walker
will take good care of her and make sure she’s safe until I can get back to them."
He watched as Jackie offered a small smile before climbing into the backseat of the plane as well. Hauling himself into the cockpit, he knew his words were true…Walker would take care of Ms. Baxter. He just hated missions that went awry and hoped that Ms. Baxter would cooperate with Walker as well as the three girls were with him.
Moving to the end of the runway, he twisted around to double check on the girls, receiving a thumbs up from Jackie and Andrea. With a short nod, he turned back around and took the plane into the air.
13
“Talk to me.”
Walker listened to Tate’s clipped voice on the other end of the phone say, “We’ve got to change plans.”
Keeping his curses to himself, he glanced around, assuring that he was alone as he waited for Tate to continue.
“First of all, Tiffany Daniels is really sick. She’s running a fever. On top of that, when Drew landed at Joseph’s airstrip, it was abandoned. Drew cannot get hold of his contact, Joseph.”
Dropping his chin, staring at his boots, Walker sighed. “What’s the plan?”
“Mérida was closer to the epicenter of the earthquake and not a good place to try to go. He’s flying the girls to Cancún. We’ve given him directions on where to land, and he’ll take them to the resort they were going to stay at once they got there anyway. We’ve arranged for a doctor to take a look at Tiffany. He’s going to need someone to stay with them before he can come back and get you and Ms. Baxter, so we’re arranging that as well.”
“Will he come back in a bird or do we need to get to a landing strip so he can fly in?”
“We’re going to have you see if you can get somewhere he can get a plane in. We have your area under satellite surveillance. Whatever gangs and looters were nearby last night, they probably got hold of all the alcohol at the resort and passed out. But it looks like they’re starting to move around again. Can you get transportation?”
Stifling his curse once more, he acknowledged Tate’s question, saying, “No problem. I’ll be in contact.” Disconnecting, he scrubbed his hand over his face, feeling the stubble along his jaw, and sighed heavily.
“Is everything okay? Are the girls okay?”
The soft voice coming from behind him startled him, and he whirled around quickly. Pissed that he had let her slip up on him, something no SEAL should have let happen, he growled, “You need to stay where I tell you.”
Her eyes opened wide before she blinked several times then snapped her mouth closed. He watched the telltale signs of her chin tremble before she straightened her spine and aimed a frosty gaze toward him.
“I will gladly go away from you, but I want to know about the girls first.”
He kept his facial expression neutral, but inside was kicking himself for his rudeness as well as admiring the set of her jaw. “As you suspected, Tiffany is ill.” The ice in her eyes melted instantly as worry took the place of her anger. Before she could speak, he added, “Drew is taking care of her, but unfortunately, our plans have changed. Mérida is somewhat unstable right now, and he doesn’t have someone he can leave the girls with. We’re in contact with our agency and have been instructed for him to take the girls to Cancún where they’ll meet with someone who’ll be able to care for them.”
Her eyes darted to the side as she seemed to process the changing situation. Wanting to put her at ease, he said, “Before you ask, we can’t stay here. Satellite intelligence is showing that groups of people at the resort nearby are still in the area. I’m concerned that they’ll fill the roads around here and start scouring the area, looking for whoever they can find.”
“Then we need to leave,” she stated, her gaze glancing nervously toward the distance in the direction of the resort.
“Yes. We need to leave.”
The words had barely left his mouth when she turned and began climbing back down the steps. Stunned, it took a few seconds for him to see that she was not going to give into hysterics. As he quickly followed her down, he realized this was the second time she had acted in a practical manner, defying his previous assumptions. And once again, his admiration for her increased.
Stay where he puts me? Who does he think I am? A dog? Julie seethed all the way down the steps of the temple, and when she reached the bottom, she plopped down on the hard stone. Practicality set in, and she had no idea where they would go or how they would get there. While the area surrounding the temples Chichén Itzá had been cleared of the jungle, it was still all around.
Suddenly very tired, she leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees and her hands on her cheeks. She could not hear his footsteps but felt the electricity in the air as Walker came nearer.
He sat down next to her, his hard thigh pressing against hers. That slight gesture should have offended her, but instead, the warmth exuding from his body felt comforting. Sighing, she lifted her head and twisted to look at him. “So, what do we do?”
His lips curved slightly, and he shook his head.
“What?” she asked, her voice sharper than she intended. His grin widened, and his blue eyes held her captive. Swallowing audibly, she sucked in her lips, wondering what fatigue was doing to her.
“You just surprise me,” he said. “That’s all.”
Her head tilted in question, but instead of explaining more, he continued, “So...next? I’m going to slip over to the resort and obtain transportation.”
Blinking, her mouth dropped open. “We’re going back to where the looters are? We’re going to get transportation? How on earth are we going to do that?” Her voice rose with each word, and she shifted slightly away so that she could twist her body to face him, instantly missing the contact of their legs pressed together.
“I didn’t say we.”
“What?”
Speaking slowly, he repeated, “I didn’t say we. I said I was going to go to the resort and obtain transportation.”
“You? As in you by yourself?”
Chuckling, he replied, “That’s generally what I means.”
Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Are you trying to piss me off?”
“No, ma’am. I’m telling you what my plan is. You’ll stay here, out of sight, and I’ll get to the resort, find something suitable, and bring it here for you. We’ll then take back roads and get the fuck outta here.”
Looking down at her clasped hands, she tried to still her racing thoughts. The idea of staying at the ruins by herself held no appeal, but uncertainty at how he did his job put her at a disadvantage.
“Hey,” he said, giving her a slight shoulder bump. “You’ll be fine here. Go back up to the top, stay hidden, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
Barely whispering, she asked, “What do I do if you don’t come back?”
He placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze, and the tingle she had felt earlier returned. When Drew had placed his hand on her shoulder, she had felt nothing. Refusing to think on that, she looked up into his face again.
His icy blue eyes were now warm, and she sucked in a deep breath.
“I promise I’ll be back, quicker than you’ll realize. But you’ve also got Drew’s number if you need to reach him.”
She let out a breath and stood. “Okay. I have no choice but to trust you.”
“And do you?” he asked, his gaze roving over her face.
She remained quiet for a moment before lifting her chin. “Yes. I do.” Shoulders hunched, she added, “I don’t really have a choice.”
“I can accept that, Julie,” he said. “You don’t know me. You don’t know the kind of job I do. You don’t know the kind of man I am. But you will.”
He held her gaze, and his penetrating eyes stared deep inside of her, soothing the jagged edges of her fears. Somehow, she felt as though this man would do anything, go to any lengths to keep her safe. “Okay,” she whispered, not able to come up with another response. If his smile was any in
dication, it was the only response he needed.
14
Walker could not remember the last time someone had questioned his abilities or doubted his word. Surprised that he did not feel insulted, it was hard to keep the grin off his face when he remembered the spirit coming at him this morning. Being honest with himself, he remembered thinking that she was going to be nervous, and possibly hysterical. Certainly not showing the backbone that she had already. Maybe the next day won’t be too bad.
After watching Julie climb back up the temple steps and disappear out of sight, he slipped silently through the jungle forest by the side of the ruins. Approaching the resort, he moved with great stealth, making sure to stay hidden until he ascertained the situation.
A few people were milling around, tourists that still looked dazed as well as resort staff that appeared harried. He saw a few men with guns slung over their shoulders, uniforms giving them the appearance of being military or police, but it was hard to be sure considering many cartel members were part of the police. At least it did not appear that anyone was being abused.
Focusing on the task at hand, he scanned the parking lot, discovering the only vehicles left were older models. Damn looters must have taken the nicer vehicles. Unfazed, he found an old, green Jeep, with a high enough clearance in case they had to get off the road onto rough terrain and extra gasoline tanks. Bent low, he headed directly to it then changed his plan as he saw an employee nearby.
Walking up to him, he offered a slight smile and nod, adopting the battle-weary expression that most of the others wore.
“Sir, may I be of assistance?” the employee asked.
“I left my keys with the valet,” Walker said smoothly. “Would it be possible for me to get them?”
Walker: Lighthouse Security Investigations Page 7
