“Cris, it’s very nice to meet you.” Nita shook hands with Cristobal Maximo, impressed with his excellent English, which was only slightly accented. She then extended her hand to the broad-shouldered bodyguard next to him. “Emilio, nice to meet you, too.”
She glanced over at the door where Daniel had stood sentry for the past six hours. His relaxed posture told her a lot. He obviously knew and trusted these men.
“Dr. Banks, I can’t thank you enough for starting your relief efforts with my camp. I apologize for not being here when you arrived, but I had no idea you were coming.” Cris threw a glance toward Daniel as though blaming him.
Nita didn’t like the accusation. “You can thank your lieutenant for convincing the U.S. government to start in this location. I’m sure you’re aware that your entire country is suffering from this epidemic. Managua was hit extremely hard.”
She studied the men’s reactions. Cris seemed almost joyous at the information yet Emilio’s lips flattened.
“Managua is no longer of consequence. General DeLeon Cortez, the leader of our new government, is moving the capital to San Miguelito.” Cris slapped Emilio on the back. “We’ve just returned from there, checking on the construction. This horrendous influenza has delayed our projects by several weeks.”
Daniel turned so Nita could see him as he shook his head ever so slightly. They’d been ordered not to use the word Ebola in an attempt to keep a lid on the exact cause of the epidemic. If they could keep the truth contained within the borders of Nicaragua, continuing the guise of restoring order under the new government, hopefully worldwide panic could be averted.
Nita gave Cris an encouraging smile. “I’ll check with my superiors and see if perhaps we can go to San Miguelito next.”
That seemed to appease the camp leader. “That would be wonderful. The sooner we can start construction on the canal, the sooner my country can literally dig itself out of the sixteenth century and move onto becoming a prosperous, First World country.”
Those seemed like lofty goals, but Panama had become a world power the moment the last canal lock released its water and the first ships successfully sailed away after traversing Central America. It could happen for Nicaragua within five years.
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I still have patients to attend to.” Her gaze swept over the stinking room where men and women continued to lose bodily fluids. Now, though, lifesaving liquids, laced with antiviral medication, flowed freely into veins at every bed.
She was halfway down the second row of packed cots when Katlin strode into the clinic. “Now that Cris has returned with his security contingent, we’re heading back home. Can you be ready in five?”
Nita glanced around at the sixty or more patients who needed her help. She’d ordered the camp doc to get some rest. Poor man. He’d been dealing with hundreds of patients, practically by himself, for days.
“You guys go ahead. I’m going to stay here tonight.” She glanced around the room. When she caught Daniel’s eye, she signaled for him to come over. “Is there somewhere I could sleep here tonight?”
“Sure. I’ll show you to my tent.” He held her gaze. “It’s nowhere near as comfortable as the beds back at the Callahan compound.”
She read his double meaning. “Bella is doing much better. You’ve got that handled.” She tilted her head toward Katlin. “Besides, you have a house filled with women who rarely get to play with babies. I’m sure one of them can take care of her while you shower.” Realizing she may have given away their intimate relationship, she added, “Or do whatever it is you do at night.”
Katlin beamed. “I’d love some time with my niece.” She looked toward Daniel. “Show Nita where to sleep and meet us at the Rovers in five.”
“You’re pretty bossy for a little sister,” he chided.
“I’m wearing more guns than you. Get a move on.” She was halfway to the door and turned around. “Nita, you sure about this?”
She knew what her friend was asking. All the Ladies of Black Swan were highly trained, special operatives. They were only left alone when they were undercover. Even then, they were monitored via hidden cameras planted everywhere, but they hadn’t brought their favorite electronics on this mission. This was supposed to be a non-hostile environment in that Nita was not surrounded by tangoes. She was well-armed, and lethal even without weapons. She’d be fine for one night.
“I’m sure. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
After a confident nod from Nita, Katlin left.
“Come on.” Daniel took Nita by the elbow. Tingles emanated from that point throughout her entire body, lighting up at his touch. “I’ll show you where you can sleep.”
The tents got larger and considerably nicer as they walked down the dusty row. Two distinct feminine giggles could be heard from the largest tent as well as a low male voice. From the tent on the right, a bed creaked rhythmically as a woman cried out in Spanish, “Harder, Emilio. I like the way you fuck me.”
Daniel looked down at her with unspoken questions in his eyes. She took pity on him and answered in Spanish. “I’m fluent in several Spanish dialects, and you already know I’m good at pillow talk.”
“I haven’t taken part in the welcome home rituals in years.” He looked contrite. “I had to when I first got here. I had to become one of them in every way. Then Cris gave me his sister. After that, many of the women in camp believed I was married and faithful to my children’s mother.”
Nita schooled her face, refusing to judge him for fear she’d be judged for the many things she’d done in the name of the mission. When she was home, she had a lot of sex. She liked sex. More than once she’d been told that she had a very male attitude toward sex. It had never mattered until she and Daniel had spent a celibate night together. Being there in camp, where Daniel had lived for several years with Bella and Simon’s mother, she suddenly felt like the other woman. A dirty little secret that he’d sneak off to spend time with.
“My place is on the left.” Daniel steered her toward the tent and held open the flap. Stepping in behind her, he spun her around. Cupping her face with his big hands, he crashed his mouth on hers. His kiss was filled with heat as he dropped his hand down her back to grab her bottom and pressed her against him.
“Christ, I’ve wanted to that for hours.” Daniel touched his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry I can’t stay here with you, but I real—”
“You need to get back to your children,” Nita finished for him. She stepped from his embrace and glanced around the twelve-foot square tent. She thought it was a little odd that there was only a single cot, a sparse nightstand with a battery-operated lamp on top, a military style footlocker, and an extra pair of combat boots tucked under the bed.
Glancing over her shoulder at him, she asked, “Is this where you lived when you were on duty?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him take in the tent. “No. I’ve lived here for over four years.”
She turned to face him. “Where did the children live?”
“With their mother.” As though a light bulb went off in his head, Daniel explained, “All the women and children live in the center of camp. It was safer for them, and easier to take care of the children in one location. The kitchen and bath house is there, a courtyard of sorts for them to play, and several small concrete houses.”
“So you had one of the houses down there?” Nita pointed toward the center of camp.
“No, this is my place. My family lived down there.” Defensively he added, “I saw my children…almost daily. At least I tried to.”
Nita’s jaw dropped. “You mean to tell me that you never spent the night with your kids until you brought them to me?”
Daniel spread his legs and fisted his hands on his hips. “This is a very different culture from the United States. The women raise their children here while the fathers defend the camps and villages.” He lowered his voice. “I did what I had to do to fit in. I did everything that was expected of a man in my position in this camp. That obviously offends you, but it doesn’t mean I love my children any less than an American soldier who has to leave his family on a regular basis. Just because we don’t live under the same roof like families do in the United States, it doesn’t mean I don’t love Bella and Simon.” He threw his hands in the air. “The women wouldn’t let me take care of my kids even if I tried. That’s their way. It’s just different here.”
Nita suddenly realized the learning curve Daniel had climbed and conquered in just a few short days, all while worrying over a sick baby. The social structure in this area was not that different from other places around the world. In many countries, the women were the sole caregivers until the child reached a specified age. In some, at a given age, a boy is then turned over to his father for training on how to be a man. In many cultures, little girls rarely see their fathers.
What Daniel had done was nothing short of amazing. He’d taken on fatherhood and succeeded. She walked back to him and slid her arms around his waist.
“I do understand.” She went up on tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “And I understand you.” She gave him one more kiss then smacked his butt. “You need to go. Give Simon and Bella a kiss good night for me, please.”
He didn’t let go. Instead he pulled her to him tighter. The kiss he gave her was a scorcher, deep and sultry. “That’s to remind you what you’re going to be missing tonight.” He swatted her ass and left.
Seconds later, she heard Daniel talking with someone a few feet away. All she caught were few words. “Look after her for me,” and, “she’s special.” At the last words, warmth swelled within her.
Nita was back in the tent six hours later. About four hours ago, shortly after dark, someone had brought her a bowl of rice and vegetables with some kind of meat mixed in. Other than sitting to scarf down that modicum of food, she’d been on her feet since arriving twelve hours ago. She was so tired, she couldn’t sleep, so she lay on top of her lightweight bag thinking about Daniel. Mentally, she kicked herself for not leaving her satellite phone outside so the solar batteries could recharge. At least then she could have called or texted Daniel, just to hear from him one more time that night.
She heard men whispering outside her tent before someone knocked on the center pole. Thankfully, she’d remained dressed, so all she had to do was slide into her work boots and grab a gun.
“Who is it?” she called as she untied the inner flaps.
“Ma’am, it’s Emilio Bautista. Daniel introduced us earlier today.”
She remembered the man as being Cris’s bodyguard. “Is there a problem in the clinic?” Or perhaps someone had been hurt.
“No, ma’am. Everything is okay in the clinic. Can you please come out?” She finished untying the flaps and stepped out. Something didn’t feel quite right, so Nita put her fist on her right hip so it was close to the gun she had shoved in the back of her pants.
In the light of the half moon, Emilio seemed nervous. He kept glancing back at Cris’s tent. Finally he spoke. “Daniel called and said you are to bring all the remaining supplies with you. He told me where to take you.” He quickly added, “He will meet us there.” Not once did the man look at her. His gaze darted from tent to tent then down the road toward the clinic.
Emilio didn’t seem this nervous earlier, but he may have been putting on a strong front in front of the other men. Daniel’s and Cris’s mere presence was formidable. Then, too, he was talking with a strange woman in the middle of the night.
“Where exactly are we going?” Nita asked in Spanish.
His eyes widened as though surprised she could speak the language. He replied in Spanish, “Daniel told me where to take you. He will meet us there.”
She nodded. “Let me grab my things. Can you load the supplies we will need?”
Seemingly happier, Emilio nodded his head. “Already packed in the Jeep. You grab your bags. I’ll wait here.”
Repacking took only seconds. Before she threw the satellite phone in the bag, she checked it one more time, hoping for even one bar of battery left so she could shoot a message off to Daniel or someone on her team. Nothing. Damn. It was just a courtesy anyway. Her team knew exactly how to find her anywhere in the world.
She’d see them soon enough. Where, she had no idea. She slid her bag over her shoulder after moving another pistol to an out-of-pocket so it would be easy to reach. Stepping out, she was met not only by Emilio, but by two other men who were heavily armed.
“This way.” Emilio pointed “We need to be very quiet. The whole camp is asleep, and we don’t want to wake anyone up.”
That was understandable, so Nita said nothing as they made their way to several military-looking vehicles. From the stack of boxes in the back, she worried that none had been left for the camp. Perhaps the original plan had changed so that the remaining supplies from that day would be moved forward, and the supplies coming in tomorrow would replenish Cris’s camp. Or was it today? She glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly two in the morning.
She sighed as she climbed into the backseat of the Jeep. It was going to be a long night. As they pulled out of camp, she noticed that they turned west on a dirt road and bumped along for about twenty miles before turning north on a relatively paved highway. The rocking of the Jeep lulled her to sleep.
She woke just as dawn broke. They were headed west again. “How much longer until we reach our destination?”
“It was good that you slept,” Emilio said from the shotgun position. “You’re going to have a full day ahead of you.”
“What time will the other relief workers arrive?” she asked, holding with their cover.
The man next to her smiled showing several missing teeth. “No one is coming to help you.”
Nita’s blood ran cold. She pasted on a smile and stayed in character. “You mean no one is coming to help me today, right? Surely they’ll be able to send more supplies and helpers tomorrow.”
The man beside her chuckled then said in Spanish, “She’s pretty, but not very smart. She’ll still be fun to fuck.”
Ice ran through Nita’s veins. Damn, she hated being duped. If she hadn’t gotten caught up in her work, she would’ve remembered to recharge the batteries on the sat phone. Bad Teeth beside her would never get the chance to even touch her. She’d kill every man in that vehicle before she’d allow them to touch her body.
“I’ll bet she fights like a cat,” the driver said over his shoulder. “I think I’ll take her from behind so she can’t dig those claws into me.”
Oh, yeah. These guys were dead men.
“You idiots,” Emilio yelled. “She speaks Spanish as well as you do and now she knows that no one is coming to save her. We need her. She has to make our men better.”
Well, at least Emilio wasn’t as stupid as he looked.
He turned in his seat so he could face her. “Dr. Banks, I promise you I will protect you from these savages, and any others who try to harm you. We need your help. Yes, I’ve kidnapped you, but if you make our men better like you did those back in camp, I promise you I will let you go free.”
“Emilio, all you had to do was ask.” Time to play good little woman doctor until she found the right opportunity to either kill them or escape. She wasn’t really worried. Her team knew exactly where she was, even though she didn’t have a clue. “We have more supplies coming into camp today. We’d already planned to go to San Miguelito next, and take care of the workers there for you.”
“Exactly the problem,” Emilio spat out. “That’s why I need you to make my men better first.”
“But aren’t your men in San Miguelito?” Nita was getting very confused.
“No. My men took over the dormitories at the university in Managua, the true capital of Nicaragua. Then they all became sick with this horrific influenza. Many have already died.” He jabbed a finger at her. “But you’re going to make the rest of my men better.”
“You keep saying your men. Who exactly are your men?” She needed to nail down as many details as possible. Was the man insane?
Emilio gestured to the men in the car. “We are members of the presidential guard forced undercover to keep an eye on that fool, Cristobal Maximo. As soon as my men are healthy enough, we are going to free the true president from prison and return Nicaragua to its rightful leadership.”
“I’m going to help you,” she lied. “How many men will I be attending to today?”
“About two hundred fifty are still alive, plus the fifty that didn’t seem affected.” Emilio simply stared at her.
“I can’t handle that many patients by myself,” she blurted out before she could engage the filter that rarely worked.
“You’d better figure out a way to.” He tilted his head toward Bad Teeth beside her. “Maybe an hour alone with Franco would help you find the right motivation.”
Oh. Hell. No.