Beth was surprised when they entered the jungle less than half a mile from the cantina. One moment they were in a tiny village, the next she was tramping through thick unforgiving vegetation with a criminal and asking herself if she was insane. Of her own free will she’d followed the snide little man who she’d nicknamed Snidely for obvious reasons, so yes, quite possibly she was insane.
Even the vines seemed sinister, taking on a life of their own, reaching out to snag her hair and trip her feet as she traipsed along. If she didn’t stay vigilant she’d end up face down in the dirt.
Hot, sweaty, and scared, she pushed the hair off her forehead. The heavy vegetation provided little protection from the grueling heat. Perspiration dribbled between her shoulder blades and her clothes clung to her like flies to sticky paper. All in all it was a bitch of a day. Bitch of a week, really.
They trudged along in silence for ages. Time lost all meaning. Deep in thought and feeling like total crap, she padded behind him and watched as his machete hand labored, sculpting a path through the dense foliage.
Snidely set a fast pace. For a weedy man, he was remarkably fit and wielded the machete like an expert, turning the greenery into a corridor. She’d matched him step for step at first, but as time progressed she was falling farther behind.
“Come, señorita, we have far to go, you must walk faster.” He paused waiting for her to draw abreast.
An involuntary shiver shook her as she caught up. Snakelike obsidian eyes slithered over her from her curly head down to her toes and up again, stopping at her breasts. One hand tugged his moustache while the other rubbed his crotch.
The fine hairs on her body spiked. She was uneasy with the way he was leering at her. By sheer determination, she willed herself calm, now was not the time to give way to hysteria.
As they moved off, she quickened her pace to keep up. The less time spent in his company the better.
They didn’t exchange chitchat as they walked. Seriously, what do you say to someone who’s mixed up with kidnapping your best friend? “Good day for it?” Besides, walking became more difficult, the incline had steepened and she needed to save her strength.
When Snidely called a stop, she whooshed out a breath and sat. The heat was affecting him too. Beads of moisture glistened on his brow, and he mopped them with his shirttail before unscrewing the lid from his water bottle. It was with envy and her mouth salivating that she watched him take a deep draft and then he surprised her.
“Here, drink, you do not want to dehydrate, we still have a way to go.”
It went against the grain to accept anything from the horrid little man, but her flask was back in the jeep and she was parched, so thirst won out.
She wiped the spout with the hem of her skirt before taking a long swallow. It wasn’t cold, but it satisfied. Not wanting to appear greedy or ungrateful, she lowered the bottle and then ran the back of her hand across her mouth before passing it back with a nod.
“I, ah, have to, you know.”
Snidely grunted. “Do not be long.”
Quick as a thought she blended into the foliage. Once out of sight she took care of business then hit her throat mic. “If you can hear me, guys, I’m doing okay, but we’re still a distance from Loretta. I’ll try to find out where she’s being held.”
“Señorita.”
“I’m coming.” She emerged from behind the thick lianas, and once again fell into step behind him. “I’m Beth Carmichael, but I guess you already know that, so what’s your name?”
“Hernandez.”
“Is that it?”
“Hernandez is all you need know. Now stop talking and walk. You will need your energy to climb.”
And she did. The gradient was steeper now and they climbed higher. Disappointment swelled as her ploy to learn his full name failed, but she guessed he wasn’t stupid. After several more miles her feet started to give her grief. The sandals she wore were not made for hiking. The soles were thin and every stone and bit of uneven ground was felt with every step she took. She slogged it out with wistful thoughts of her hiking boots back in the jeep and wished she’d dressed differently this morning.
Although hitched to the guys with a bit of technology and a smattering of ingenuity, it was little comfort as her isolation and vulnerability became more and more apparent. Hernandez’s attitude was teetering between creepy and dangerous the deeper they got into the jungle. His sly looks kept roving her body, stripping her clothes, and she feared his cold eyes betrayed his thoughts.
He looked sleazy, no denying that, but her overactive imagination was running riot. Yeah, it was healthy to be wary, but seriously, think of something else, girl.
Without volition, her mind conjured the scene where she’d first met Zach. Him looking like a Nordic god and her like a half-naked wood nymph. It then skipped ahead to last night, but that, too, was problematic. Her mishmash of thoughts were scattered and confused. Desire and despair returned unbidden. Last night her precious dream was set to become a reality, but he’d called her a liar, his vehemence unwavering. It was a body blow.
She sniffled. A stray tear slipped over her lashes and she swiped at it. Self-pity was not an option.
Lost in the past, she rapid-blinked and almost bumped into Snidely who had halted right in front of her.
“Ah, señorita, we stop here, I think. You look tired, perhaps you could do with a rest.”
They’d reached a small clearing only a few yards in diameter. Hernandez let his pack slide to the ground as he spoke, and grasping his shirttail mopped his face again.
“No, I want to push on and reach Loretta while there’s still daylight. I’d appreciate some more water, though.”
He stared at her with narrowed eyes. Once again she was reminded of a snake, a cobra ready to strike, but he took out his flask and sprinkled some water into his hand and wiped the back of his neck.
Despite the heat, his reptilian eyes never looked colder as he passed the flask over.
She slipped the pack from her shoulder, and accepting the bottle, took a deep swallow. “How much farther?”
“Not far, but we cannot reach there tonight. It will be dark soon, and to approach the ravine at night would be suicidal. Tomorrow we will cross the bridge at first light and from there it is only a little way.”
“Ravine? We have to cross a ravine?” Alarm bells rang loud and clear, freaking her out on two counts. Spending a night in the wilderness with Snidely was unnerving but doable—crossing a ravine was a whole new nightmare.
“I can’t do it. I’m not good with heights.” Sheer panic underscored every word. Bile rose up her throat, but she choked it down.
“The bridge is old, to be sure, but it is safe. The ropes are checked often by those who use it.”
“How can you know which way to the ravine, or how to find the bridge? The jungle is so thick.”
“We keep heading this same direction, climbing until we come to exposed rock formation. There is one boulder, larger than the others, and shaped like, how you say, dead man’s head?”
“A skull.”
“Yes, skull. We take the path to the right, it leads straight to the bridge.”
Guys, I hope you’re getting this, because there’s no way I’m crossing that sucker.
*
Hernandez saw no reason not to boast his knowledge to the pretty señorita. There was no one for her to tell. And he wanted to get friendly. Fear was making her words breathy pants, causing her titties to rise and fall and strain against the damp shirt clinging to her curves. His fingers itched to test their plumpness, to pinch her nipples into hard little pebbles.
He adjusted his balls and closed the distance between them in two strides. Her chin jerked up and she looked at him with startled eyes. He reached out and ran the back of his hand down the side of her cheek and along the line of her jaw. “So pretty, so soft.”
She shuddered and drew back as if repulsed. “Do not touch me.”
His jaw tightened. But there was nowhere for her to go, he knew it, and so did she. All around them was nothing but green. He was equipped with a compass and prior knowledge. It was a labyrinth to her, so she was at his mercy.
“Come, señorita, don’t be shy.” He stroked her cheek again. Her lips tightened as the back of his fingers continued their glide down her throat and along her collarbone.
“I said, don’t do that.”
The little spitfire knocked his hand away and glared at him as if he was one of the hairy primates that could be heard screeching in the distance.
“Señorita, you are in no position to tell me what to do.” He seized her upper arm and pulled her to him, the other hand wrapping around her waist. She tried to resist, digging in her heels and pummeling his chest, but he was stronger and his grip firm.
“Do not fight me,” he said through clenched teeth, but in the ensuing scuffle she fell to the ground with a heavy thud, almost taking him with her. It happened in slow motion and was unexpected. He reached out and offered his hand to help her up, but she batted it away.
“Are you crazy? What do you think you’re doing?” The bravado was a bluff. He liked that she had spirit. It made him hard.
“Come, señorita, we have some fun.” In less than a flash he was on her, his hand covered her breast and squeezed, enjoying the soft fullness of her womanly curves.
“Get your filthy paws off me.” She lashed out, hitting and clawing at him like a wildcat, her short nails having little impact.
“You know you like it.” The muscles in his arms flexed as he pinned her down.
“Stop, please, you’re hurting me.”
He kneed her legs apart and told her the obvious. “Do not fight the inevitable and you won’t get hurt.”
His words had no effect, the silly girl kept struggling. A natural reaction but hopeless under the circumstances. He reached up under her skirt and ripped off her panties. But before tossing them aside he brought the wadded pink scrap of lace to his nose and inhaled. “Ahh, such perfume. You are ready for me.”
“Nooo don’t, please!” Her shrieks were loud as she beat his chest. The sound of her terror reverberating through the jungle frightened the birds, causing them to fly squawking from the nearby trees. But her entreaty was fueling his lust.
He tugged at the thick pelt covering her mound. “We will fuck, señorita, you and I, one way or another. I do not care which. Co-operate and it will be easy way, resist and, well, I much prefer it rough.”
Her slim hand fisted, but before he registered her intent his head snapped back from the blow and she was on her feet. Momentary discomfort radiated through his jaw where the punch had landed. He rubbed it and jumped up.
“Ah, so, you want it rough.” He hit her back. Not hard enough to knock her out, he wanted her conscious. It was no fun fucking a ragdoll. He grinned as her ass hit the ground. The whack had been unexpected, green eyes sprang wide and filled with moisture and her mouth gaped, but she made no sound. Disappointing, except for the scarlet trickle that ran from her nostril. Her tongue swiped her upper lip and he imagined the coppery taste of blood filling her mouth.
“Now co-operate, or you won’t see your friend again,” he said as he pounced on her once more.
She squirmed beneath his weight, wriggling and bucking like a bronco as he began unbuttoning her shirt. The heat had made his fingers sweaty and the buttons were small, but the anticipation of pink nipples against white flesh was intoxicating.
“Stop it, get off me, or you’ll be sorry.”
The adrenaline kicked like a mule as it pumped along his veins. She was feisty but couldn’t budge him, and he laughed, undaunted by her idle threats. “Scream away, there’s no one to hear, and when I’m done with your pussy, I’ll flip you over and fuck your ass.”
Her high-pitched scream split the air but didn’t faze him as he ground his hips against hers, if anything it heightened his lust. His penis hardened like tempered steel, and he thrust it against her and pinched her nipple through the soft fabric.
“Help me,” she called out, sobbing in earnest.
The sides of her blouse parted at last, and his smile transformed into a scowl. “You little fool, what have you done?” he thundered, ripping the wire from her breasts.
Frantic hands clawed at his arm. He rolled away and unsheathed a ten-inch blade attached to his belt. It always paid to have insurance. She yelped as he yanked her up by the hair, but the next scream died in her throat when he pressed the knife to her skin.