Ellie felt her stomach clench as Diego approached them alone. Something wasn’t right.
“Diego, did you find him?”
The young man shook his head as he stepped onto the boat. “The doctor is gone. I spoke to the young woman who works there. She told me he’d already left to go back to his village, and that he’d be back next month. She was closing the clinic until he returns.”
Ellie shook her head as she glanced at Ryan, who, from his expression, looked just as concerned as she felt. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he leave early?”
Diego stopped next to her, then offered her a handful of Brazil nuts wrapped in paper. “I have no idea.”
She took one of the nuts and popped it into her mouth. But at the moment, food was the last thing on her mind.
“Ellie...” Ryan studied her expression as he reached for one of the nuts. “What are you thinking?”
“That something’s wrong. How did the woman seem?” she asked Diego.
“I don’t understand.”
“Did she seem scared or distracted?”
“I don’t know. Maybe...scared.”
“Do you think she was telling the truth? That he had just...left on his own?”
Diego hesitated again before answering. “I don’t know.”
“Here’s what we do know,” she said. “Dr. Reynolds wasn’t supposed to leave yet. He only spent one week here every month, and unless there was an emergency he needed to tend to, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t leave early. If he’s already gone, I don’t think he left because he wanted to.”
“You think they got him.” Ryan’s statement wasn’t a question. It was the statement they’d all been thinking about. “Is your phone charged, Diego?”
“Yes.” He pointed to his solar charger.
“We need to call the other clinic and confirm that he’s there. If he left last night, he should already be back. If not...”
The boat bobbed in the tide while Diego made the call. Ellie gnawed at her lip. Things were getting complicated and their options were limited. Ryan had agreed to help her pick up the doctor on their way out of the country, but now they didn’t even know where he was. Or where the evidence they needed was. She grabbed another nut and chomped down on it. Ryan’s father wasn’t going to be happy when he found out what they were doing, but she hoped that he would also understand her insistence at not leaving the doctor behind. Especially if he was in trouble. She needed this to be over. Which meant they had to find him and his evidence. And ensure nothing happened to him.
A boat sailed past them on the water. Her heart raced as she pressed into the shadows and studied the passengers. But they were only fishermen, seemingly uninterested in a boat full of manioc bobbing along the shoreline. When was she going to be able to stop looking over her shoulder?
Diego ended his call a second later. “You were right. The doctor is not there. He never showed up.”
“He wouldn’t have just left.” She caught Ryan’s gaze. “Not unless he was forced to leave. Not unless they took him.”
His frown deepened, and she could tell he wasn’t ready to go there. “It’s possible, but you’re drawing conclusions, Ellie, that may or may not be true. You told me you were careful to ensure no one knew you were coming to meet with him. How would they find him?”
“I don’t know, but think about it. How long would it take to figure out why I was coming here?”
“She has a point,” Diego said. “Dr. Reynolds is the only foreigner who comes here regularly for miles. It makes sense that they would at least question him.”
She pressed her lips together, weighing their options. “If they took the doctor, someone had to have seen something.”
“What are you suggesting?” Ryan asked. “That we start canvasing the town? In case you forgot, there’s a price out on our heads. We shouldn’t even be out here.”
“I didn’t forget, but what do you suggest? I need to find him. I’m the one who convinced him he was doing the right thing. I can’t walk away now. I owe it to the doctor.”
Ryan clearly wasn’t convinced. “Going back to the clinic’s too risky, Ellie.”
But she wasn’t going to back down. How could she? She wasn’t going to just walk away from this, and she certainly wasn’t going to walk away if she thought someone was in danger. Even if it meant risking her own life in the process.
“My cousin lives on the water a few minutes downriver,” Diego said. “The town is small. If something happened, she will know.”
She turned to Ryan. “Okay?”
He paused for a moment, then nodded his head. “Okay.”
A minute later, Diego eased the boat back out into the water, quickly leaving behind the small town that wasn’t much more than a dot on the map. A series of small islands strung out on their left. River otters swam in the water, while a man rowed a boat past them carrying bags of manioc flour.
She glanced at Ryan. She knew he wasn’t happy with her insistence to go after the doctor. And maybe he was right. The longer they stayed here, the greater the chance became of them being found. But she needed to see if the doctor was okay.
Diego headed toward the shore, to a painted blue house with stilts that kept the structure out of the swollen river when the water rose. Laundry had been strung out on a long cord, while a skinny dog slept on the porch. It was a scene completely contrary to a city like Rio, where she’d spent the past few months.
“I think it’s safe for you to come out. We’re far enough out of town.” Diego jumped out of the boat ahead of them, calling out to his cousin in Portuguese. “Paula...are you here?”
A little girl ran out of the house, then quickly stepped back into the shadows when she saw them approaching.
A younger woman then hurried out and came down the stairs with a baby on her hip. “Diego, what are you doing here?”
“I want you to meet two of my friends.” Diego quickly made introductions, then continued in Portuguese. “We came to find the doctor, but he’s not at the clinic. Do you know where he is?”
The woman looked barely twenty and already had a baby and a toddler. “I heard there was an emergency at his other clinic down the river and he had to leave.”
The woman knew something. Ellie could see it in her eyes.
“Are you sure?” She glanced back toward the river, praying that what she was doing didn’t get the woman into any kind of trouble. “I was supposed to meet the doctor. We had something...important to discuss. I need to find him. But if something has happened...if he’s in some kind of trouble—”
“Like I told you, the doctor left to go home. That’s all I know.”
“What is she saying?” Ryan asked.
“That she doesn’t know anything,” Ellie said. “But I don’t believe her. Something’s wrong.” She turned back to Paula. “I don’t think that’s what happened. I think someone took him or forced him to leave with them. Is that what happened? It’s a small town. News travels fast—”
“No.” Paula pulled the baby tighter against her chest.
“Paula, there are some very bad men out there that we are trying to stop. If the doctor is in trouble, we want to help him. But we can’t if we don’t know where he is.”
“I...” Paula looked back toward the house, her voice barely above a whisper. “If I tell you...if they find out I saw them...”
“Please tell us what happened,” Ellie said. “It’s important.”
“It’s not the first time they have come.”
Ellie glanced at Ryan and started translating as Paula spoke. “These people mainly strike at night. Like Diego told us before, they attack boats and take what they want, but they also come here. And because the police boats rarely make it here, we have no one to protect us. And they know it.”
“And these men,” Ellie said. “They took the doctor?”
“They came to the clinic yesterday and grabbed him.”
“Who grabbed him?”
“Three men with guns. They didn’t even worry about hiding or coming at night.”
“Do you know where they went?”
“They got into a boat and headed down the river. People saw what they did, but even that didn’t stop them. There is nothing we can do. They have guns. We have nothing. We just give them what they want and pray that they leave.”
“Maybe there is something you can do,” Ellie said.
The woman’s eyes still held the terror of what had happened. “What do you mean?”
“You’re a witness. The other men and women in the town are all witnesses.”
“Yes, but like I said, the authorities rarely come here. And if we turn them in, they will make us pay.”
“Would you recognize the men if you saw them again?”
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
Ellie pulled the sketches out of her back pocket, unfolded the paper and held it up. “I know this is hard, but did you see any of these men?”
Paula pressed her hand against her mouth and nodded before pointing to the sketch. “This man.”
Ellie nodded. “He led the pirate boat that took us.”
“Do you think they’ll hurt him?” Paula asked. “Because Dr. Reynolds comes every month to treat the people of this town. My baby would have died without his medicine.”
Ellie sent up another prayer for the doctor. “I don’t know what they’re going to do, but that’s why we’re here. We’re going to do everything we can to put a stop to this.”
She glanced toward the river. “There’s something else you need to know.”
“What is it, Paula?”
“These men have no fear. And they are looking for both of you. If one of us turns you in, there will be a reward. It isn’t safe for you to stay.”
She quickly translated for Ryan as Paula hurried back up the stairs and into her house. “I don’t know what to do, but we need to find him, Ryan.”
“Agreed.”
Diego swatted at a mosquito that had landed on his arm. “I think I might know where he is.”
* * *
“Wait a minute.” Ryan stepped up next to Diego as Paula disappeared into her house with her baby and toddler. “How?”
“I didn’t tell you everything last night,” Diego said. “After I was attacked, I knew I couldn’t wait for the authorities to get here. I started hunting them down. I especially wanted to find out where their camps were located along the river.”
“And you found that evidence?” Ryan asked.
“Four days ago, I discovered one of their camps a few miles down the river.”
“If they have the doctor,” Ellie said, “it would make sense that they would take him there.”
“What kind of setup do they have?” Ryan asked Diego.
“I’ve been there the past few nights. I’ve seen five men and at night they typically leave the camp empty except for a couple of women, who cook and wash for them. Sometimes they come back after a few hours. Sometimes they stay out until the next morning. From what I’ve learned, they’ve been there about three weeks now. I’ve been told they move their camp from time to time so they can hit a new section of the shoreline, but they know this river better than most people. Which is why it’s so easy for them to vanish.”
Ryan studied Ellie’s reaction. He knew what she was thinking. Already too many people had been hurt in this play for power that seemed to have spread all the way to the Amazon. Getting Diego involved meant one more person, but as far as he was concerned, Diego and his family were already involved. And if they could find Dr. Reynolds...
“We need to call the authorities,” Ellie said. “Diego, if you can show them where these men are, surely they will come—”
“I have, and they will come. Eventually,” Diego said. “But they have hundreds of square miles of this forest to protect and are spread out far too thin. It could be days before anyone shows up.”
Ellie caught Ryan’s sleeve. “By then—if he’s there—it will be too late to save him.”
“I agree,” Ryan said, “but neither can we just walk into their compound and expect them to let us take him with us. If we’re going to do this, we need some kind of plan.”
“How far to their camp?” Ellie asked.
“Not too far,” Diego said.
Paula called out to Diego from the top of the wooden staircase.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Diego said.
“What do you think?” Ellie asked, once the Brazilian was out of earshot.
Ryan tried to read her expression. “I think we’re outmanned and outgunned. We need to get out of here and let the authorities deal with this. Because while I understand that the doctor’s life is on the line, they’re out there looking for us. Eventually, word is going to leak out that we’re here.”
“I know, but if we do nothing...”
She let her voice trail off. He could read the conflict in her eyes. She wanted to go after the doctor, but at the same time they all knew the dangers in taking on these men. But he also knew that there was more involved than saving the doctor’s life. Her life hung in the balance as well.
“You make the call, Ellie. Though I suppose I don’t have to ask you to know your answer. We can leave for Manaus now and try to keep out of sight, or take a chance of getting caught and attempt to rescue the doc.”
“I don’t know. Part of me thinks we never should have come here.”
“Quit second-guessing yourself. All along you’ve done what you believed to be right. Not just justice for yourself, but for your father, for the doctor and now for the people here.”
She shot him a smile. “Why does it seem like all of a sudden that you’re the one rallying us forward to save the doc?”
He let out a chuckle. “I guess you did a good job convincing me.”
“You think we can pull this off?”
“I think we have to be smart. We can go in first and scout out the situation. It’s hard to judge until we get there, but if Diego’s right, and we wait until nightfall, we might be able to get in and get out without much resistance.”
He watched her struggle with her decision as he wrestled with his own concerns. Part of him felt compelled to at least try to rescue the doctor. It was the right thing to do. Not only could they potentially save a man’s life, but with the evidence Diego had, they could also put away Arias for good.
But he didn’t want to involve Ellie. The problem was, neither did he feel comfortable in leaving her somewhere. Not that he thought she couldn’t handle herself. She was resourceful. There was no doubt about that. But staying together seemed wiser. If he judged they could get in and get out with little or no resistance, it was going to be worth going in. He just didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her safety. That was something he wasn’t willing to do.
Which showed him just how much his heart was getting involved.
He shoved away the thought. He’d lost someone he cared for before and he had no desire to go there again. But he also didn’t want her to feel forced into a corner.
“Ellie, leaving here doesn’t mean quitting. And it doesn’t mean failure. If we can get to the city, we can still work to get the authorities back here. They’ll be much more prepared to handle a situation like this.”
“But we’re running out of time and risk losing the doctor that way.”
He glanced behind her, toward the river, which at the moment was quiet without any boats. Either way was a gamble. He knew that. Taking risks was part of his job. He’d learned to weigh the pros and the cons before going in. They had to do the same today.
“You’ve talked to me about your job,” she said. “About the risks and the rewards. Do you ever let your doubts stop you?”
“When I’m down on the bottom of the ocean? No. I remind myself that what I’m about to do is crazy. I know what has to be done, but I also know our limits and never push them.”
“And our limits today?” she asked.
“We have to make sure Diego’s right about the guards. See if we can identify how many are there, if there are any guards left behind. If we go at night, there’s a better chance no one sees us or the fact that we’re not from around here. We make sure the odds are in our favor before we strike. Otherwise we don’t go in.”
“My father used to tell me that if I decided to do something, I needed to jump in all the way. No looking back. I just—I just don’t want to lose someone else.”
He liked the way she looked at a problem. She wasn’t willing to jump in without intelligently weighing the risks, but neither was she going to let fear stop her.
Like losing Heather had stopped him from living.
He tried to push down the memories, but this time couldn’t. What happened with Heather was something he rarely, if ever, talked about, even with his father and his best friend back home.
“Ryan?”
He hesitated. “Earlier, you asked me if I’d ever lost anyone unexpectedly.”
She nodded, then waited for him to continue.
“I lost someone once.” He stared out at the river. “Her name was Heather. Long story short, we started dating and after six months I asked her to marry me.” Ryan hesitated again before continuing. “We planned a Christmas wedding up in the mountains, and you can only imagine how my mother wanted to be involved in every detail. I was actually surprised she didn’t end up running Heather off.”
He frowned as more memories rose to the surface. “Two weeks before the wedding, she was on her way to an appointment with the caterer and a drunk driver slammed into her car. She was killed instantly at the scene.”
Ellie pressed her hand against her lips and shook her head. “Oh, Ryan, I’m so sorry. I remember my father telling me something had happened and the wedding was off, but I didn’t remember that.”
“For the first few weeks, I was inundated with calls, emails and even personal visits from friends and coworkers. Everyone was horrified at what had happened. At the funeral, people told me all kinds of things at the time. She was in a better place. I’d eventually get over her and find someone else.”
All clichés he’d dismissed at the time. He’d felt numb, disoriented at the fact that what he’d planned for his life had completely changed.
“Tell me about her,” Ellie said.
“We met in Denver shortly after I left the navy. She was training for a marathon.”
“She must have been quite an athlete.”
“She was. Her goal was to run the Kauai Marathon in Hawaii, which is one of the hardest in the US.”
Her focus and determination were what he’d first noticed in Heather. Qualities that Ellie held as well. He shook off the comparison.
“When I got the call that she’d been in an accident...it was like my world just fell off its axis. I couldn’t imagine that she was gone. You mentioned feeling invincible. I guess I thought we were. In my mind, I saw us having a family and growing old and taking on the world together. No matter what you see on the news every day. People die, life is fragile. You just never think that it could happen to you. That everything could be lost in one fatal moment. A month later I signed on as a saturation diver.”
“And today...after some time has passed, do you feel as if you’re starting to heal?”
When he hesitated, she kept speaking. “I guess I’m asking because right now I’m not sure I see my own heart healed.”
“As much as I didn’t want to hear it back then—I came to realize that while she’ll always have a place in my heart, I had to move on. I look at my future differently and have accepted that it won’t be with her. But as for moving on... Yeah. I’d say I have.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets, wondering how he was at the point where he was talking about Heather in the middle of the Amazon. “That was two years ago. And—according to my father—I’m still running. Maybe he’s right. I don’t know. I just knew I didn’t know how to keep doing what I was doing with reminders of her everywhere I went. But moving on? Yes. Has the pain eased? Yes. Falling in love again...”
He hesitated, wondering why he’d brought that up. After Heather, he’d never found anyone he’d even considered wanting to spend a lifetime with. Until now. He shook off the thought. He needed to focus on what he had to do right now to ensure he kept her safe. “We need to make sure no one else gets hurt,” he said.
“You’re sure about this?”
He nodded. “We need to wait until dark, then go after the doctor.”