Ellie took a step backward, wincing as the pain shot up her leg. But she couldn’t worry about that. Not at the moment. She glanced at Diego, her suspicions rising. Had this been a trap all along? Had he been bought out like the others and brought them here, knowing Arias was coming? She tried to dismiss the suspicions, but she couldn’t. Not completely.
Arias’s men untied the two guards, clearly irritated.
“They sneaked up on us and had weapons—”
“Shut up,” Arias shouted in Portuguese. “I’ll deal with both of you later.”
Ryan took a step forward. “Let her go—”
Arias held up his rifle and grinned. “Unfortunately, you’re not the one giving the orders right now. I am. Which means the three of you are going to do exactly what I say.”
“Ryan...”
She caught the fear in his eyes and looked away.
Arias signaled to one of his men to search them. One of them found the folded piece of paper from the doctor’s pocket and pulled it out.
“You idiots never even thought to check his pockets when you grabbed him?”
Arias proceeded to slide it out of the ziplock bag, then frowned. “So Lucus thought he had to take out insurance and keep a record of my sins.”
She caught the look in Ryan’s eye. Arias had just found their evidence. The one thing they had tying him to her father’s murder. And without that evidence they had nothing.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to dispose of your ‘evidence.’” Arias laughed as he pulled a box of matches out of his pocket, lit one of them against the box, then burned the paper. Seconds later, the orange flame devoured the list and black ashes dropped to the ground. “We wouldn’t want it to get into the hands of the wrong people, now would we?”
Ryan took a step forward. “This isn’t over—”
“Forget it. You’ve lost, and I’ve won. It’s over. Or it will be soon. We found the boat you came in. I want the three of you to get back into that boat now.” Arias nodded at Ryan, Diego and the doctor, then addressed one of his men. “You know what to do.”
The man nodded. “Everything is ready.”
“And you...” He pointed to Ellie. “You’re coming with me.”
“Ryan...”
Arias grabbed her arm and aimed his weapon at her as he let out a low laugh. “Forget it. Your boyfriend won’t be coming to the rescue this time, because if you try to do anything, I will shoot her. She knows I don’t have any problem with that, don’t you?”
Ellie watched as Arias’s men led Ryan and the others toward the boat. She had no idea what he was planning, but whatever it was, they needed to stop things now. But Arias wasn’t someone simply working for a boss. He was the boss.
She watched in a panic as they shoved the men onto the boat. She knew their plan had been risky, but this wasn’t supposed to have happened.
“What are you doing with them?”
“You fool. You never should have come here. Never should have tried to take things into your own hands.”
“Let me go.” She tried to pull away, but he only gripped her arm tighter.
“Forget it, you’re coming with me and this time there will be no chance to escape. Because this time, I’m going to take care of this myself. And you’re going to make sure I make it out of here.”
His words sliced through her like an icy wind. Because she knew he was right. Knew Arias wasn’t going to let her leave here alive. He’d use her as long as he needed her, then kill her.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Make sure this all ends once and for all.” He kicked at the small pile of ashes on the ground. “Starting with the doctor and your boyfriend. You all thought you were so clever with this list of names. You think it will actually work? I know enough people who can make sure this is over. You can’t win.”
“You don’t know that.” She watched as they shoved Diego’s boat out onto the water. What were they doing?
“That’s why I’m going to guarantee none of you ever have the chance to get in the way.”
Ellie glanced around her. The river was in front of them, but twenty yards to her left was the entrance of the forest. She had to run. Take a chance that Arias wasn’t a good shot when it came to a moving target. But with her ankle she wasn’t sure it was possible. An explosion rocked the boat before she could make her next move.
Ellie let out a scream. “What have you done?”
His fingers pressed into her arm, shooting pain up her elbow, but she barely felt it. “I only need one of you.”
Ellie jerked away from his grip, ignoring the pain as she ran toward the boat, but Arias was faster. Smoke curled up from the water above the orange flames licking at the boat where Ryan, Diego and the doctor had just been as Arias grabbed onto her again.
Anger coursed through her. She spun around and jabbed her elbow into his throat. He groaned, then stumbled backward, almost losing his balance. She started running again, but he grabbed her arm, wrenching it behind her back as the boat burned.
Ryan couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t possible. And the doctor and Diego...
She turned around at another explosion that ripped through what was left of the boat.
Ellie stared at the wreckage. “You killed them.”
“And if I hadn’t, then where would I be right now? There’s no way I’m going back to prison. Not here, not in the US...”
She stumbled backward and fell, skinning her elbow on a rock in the process. Drops of blood dripped down her arm from the scrape, but she didn’t feel anything. Instead, a numbness swept through her as she watched the flames soar above the boat that was disintegrating into the water.
“You just don’t give up, do you?” he said, pulling her up.
Ellie tried to pull away, but it was useless. “What do you want?”
“Besides my freedom?” Arias shot her a wicked smile. “You and your father have done enough to mess up my life. It’s time to put all this behind me.”
“You didn’t have to kill my father. All he was doing was his job.”
“It worked, didn’t it? I got off free and clear.”
“Because of some technicality, not because you deserve to be free.”
And now Ryan, Diego and the doctor were dead.
“Like father, like daughter, I guess. You put your nose into someone else’s business and bad things happen. But don’t worry. All of this will be over soon. You and your boyfriend should never have interfered. There’s just one more thing I need from you.”
“How did you find out I was alive?”
“I have sources everywhere, though sadly—for you—you won’t be around to find out.”
His fingers tightened against her arm as they headed back toward the compound. Her father had been right. There had been a leak. Someone working for Arias who was on the outside to get him out of prison. And someone who had found out she was alive and tracked her down.
“Out here is like your American frontier used to be. Rough and rugged,” he said. “We even have cowboys and cattle drives.”
A sting of emotion passed through her as he rambled on. Ryan had become her hero. The man who’d decided to risk his life with her. And now he’d paid with his life. But that wasn’t all. Somehow, he’d managed to grab hold of her heart and started to put it back together again. Watching the explosion had shattered it back into a thousand pieces.
Which was why none of that mattered now. Ryan was gone.
“It doesn’t matter what you do to me, to any of us—you will be stopped.”
“Not when people find out what happened. It is a shame, actually. A couple of visiting tourists who got themselves into some trouble and had an unfortunate fatal accident on the river. For the most part, travel here is pretty safe unless you run into pirates. Besides, I destroyed your evidence. That leaves me pretty free and clear.”
“You’ll never get away with this.”
He let out a low laugh. “Oh, but I think you’re wrong.”
She stared off into the distance, toward the remaining pieces of the boat, slowly being engulfed by the dark waters of the river. Who was she kidding? They’d done everything in their power to stop this, but Arias had won. Maybe he was right. She never should have thought she could win against someone like him. She’d tried to save the doctor. Tried to make sure he was safe. But now because of her choices, they were all dead.
But would she really have done it any other way?
“Don’t worry. All of this will be over soon,” Arias said. “I’ve got a plane meeting me at daybreak.”
Ellie’s stomach soured. She fought back the tears as they walked past one of the houses on the other side of the compound with a thatched roof and a satellite dish and TV. But was this going to be where it ended for her? She glanced around the dirt-packed yard and realized she’d never make it running. Every step felt like she was stepping on a hot poker.
I never really thought it would come to this, God. Ryan’s dead. I’m alone again... I don’t know how to deal with this.
Because before long, she would be dead as well.
She shoved away the fear that enveloped her. She couldn’t let Arias win. They had seen the evidence of his hired hits. There had to be a way to tell someone what they’d seen. She’d heard his orders that had killed Ryan and the others. Maybe that would be enough.
She glanced up at her captor and asked the question she was terrified to ask. “Why do you need me?”
“Because come morning, you’re going to be my insurance ticket out of here.”
* * *
Ryan could feel the heat of the fire behind him as he reached the surface of the Amazon River and drew in a lungful of air. The doctor bobbed in the water a couple of meters downstream. He reached him after three or four strong strokes, the river current in his favor, then started pulling the older man toward the shore. His muscles ached as he pulled him up onto the sand and laid him on his back.
“Dr. Reynolds...can you hear me?”
The older man nodded as he caught his breath. Ryan helped him sit up and checked to make sure he wasn’t injured. Beyond a goose egg on his head where they’d tried to knock him out with the butt of their gun, and a few scrapes, he seemed okay. “You saved my live. If you hadn’t woken up and smelled that gasoline...”
Maybe he had saved their lives, but there was no time to celebrate.
Where was Diego?
Ryan glanced along the edge of the river between the shoreline and the still burning boat. The last time he saw Diego had been the moment they’d jumped. He had to find him. The boy didn’t deserve dying over this. And he had no desire to go tell his mother her oldest child was gone.
“I’ll be back.”
He dived back down into the murky water, then headed up, just below the surface, searching for him. Ryan slowly turned in a complete three-sixty. Where was Diego?
Ryan swam toward the boat. He could feel the heat from the burning shell, but there was still no sign of the young man.
The knot in his stomach tightened. Arias had Ellie and had destroyed the evidence they’d come for. Which meant he’d failed. Memories of the day Heather died swarmed around him. The call from her mother telling him about the car wreck. Driving to the hospital. Walking into the room and knowing immediately from the expression on her family’s faces that Heather hadn’t made it.
And then the what-ifs and the guilt that had followed. If he’d driven with her as they’d planned, she might still be alive. All they’d needed was another thirty seconds, and she’d have completely missed that vehicle.
Another thirty seconds and he’d have taken down Arias.
But none of that had happened. And instead, he’d had to deal with Heather’s death ever since. And now he was going through the same thing again with Ellie. He should have listened to his father’s advice and insisted they leave Brazil the moment he found her in Rio.
Instead, he’d just lost everything.
Including the woman he was falling in love with.
He shoved aside the thought as he caught sight of Diego. He couldn’t give up. Not now. Because if Ellie was still alive, he still had a chance of saving her.
Diego was still limp when Ryan lowered him onto the shore. “I don’t think he’s breathing.”
The doctor kneeled beside him and started CPR while Ryan prayed. Whatever happened, they had to find a way to stop the man who’d caused all of this.
Please, God, save Diego.
The doctor continued working on Diego. Seconds later, he spewed out a mouthful of water.
“Diego...”
Diego groaned, then tried to sit up.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” the doctor said, “but it looks like his leg is burned.”
The doctor would have to take care of Diego. He needed to find Ellie.
Diego pulled on Ryan’s sleeve. “Where is she?”
“Arias has her.” Ryan’s worry grew saying it out loud. He had to find her. He knew their plan had been risky, but this wasn’t supposed to have happened. It was his job to take care of her. To ensure she stayed safe.
“What do we do now?” the doctor asked.
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling they won’t be sticking around. I need to get to the other side of the river now.”
He glanced at the doctor, knowing what that meant. The knot in his stomach tightened. Arias had tried to kill them, and now he would do the same with Ellie.
“We need to stop him before he hurts her.”
“I will.” Ryan stood up. “I’m going to find her, then all of us are going to get out of here. It’s going to be okay.”
“I’m coming with you,” Diego said, struggling to sit up. He winced as he tried to put pressure on his foot.
“You’re not going anywhere. Your leg’s been burned badly.”
“I can still walk.”
“Forget it.” Ryan shook his head as Diego fell back to the ground. “But the doctor’s right. You’d only slow us down. Doc, you stay here with Diego.”
A motor started up, shifting his attention to the waterway. Arias and his men were back in the boat they’d come in and were heading downriver.
“Ryan?”
“She’s got to be on the boat.” Numbness spread through him as he watched the boat speed away. “They took her.”
“You’re probably right,” the doctor said, “so how are you going to find her now?”
“I don’t know.” He kneeled down next to Diego. “You’ve been watching his men. Where would he go now?”
“He needs to leave the country, but he knows the authorities are searching the waterways.” Diego winced as the doctor ripped off his pant leg to examine the large burn on his calf.
“Then how will he go?”
“I was told there’s a second camp a few miles down the river, where there is a jeep. There’s a road out of there that leads to an airstrip. He knows the authorities are closing in on him and he needs to get as far away as possible.”
Which was why he had Ellie. He was using her as insurance. It was the only thing that made sense. Arias was getting out of here, knew the authorities had to be on their way and needed a hostage. And as soon as he was safe... Ryan frowned and didn’t let himself finish his thought.
“Diego might be right, but how are you going to go after them?” The doctor stood up. “You’ll never catch up to them, especially if they’ve got a vehicle.”
“Maybe not, but at least I have to try.”