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Regan Harris
G and G Brewery and Hostel
Honduras
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“I’LL GO.” I INHALED sharply. “But,” Ben held up his hand, stopping me from getting too excited, “I have conditions.”
“Okay.” I dropped the bag and clutched my hands to my chest. The pamphlet crinkled against me.
“We don’t have much time. Give me that.” Ben motioned for the paper in my hand. I quickly handed it over.
“What are your conditions?” Liam asked.
“I only take you and Regan.” Everyone gasped. Gracie stomped her foot in protest, but Ben ignored her and kept talking. “You two know how to use a gun and are comfortable with them. I can’t be distracted watching you two.” Ben moved his finger between Gracie and Jax.
Liam motioned for everyone to be quiet when the verbal protests started.
“What else?” Liam asked.
“You do everything I say. Ev-er-y-thing.” Ben looked at me for this condition. “I won’t take you if I think you’ll go off half-cocked.”
I wanted to jump up and agree to anything Ben said, but I made myself absorb his demands first. To really understand and agree to them. I was fine with Jax and Gracie staying behind. Jax knew how to shoot but she wasn’t really comfortable with guns like I was. Not that I planned on shooting anyone. I wasn’t out for revenge or blood. But I would defend myself if necessary.
I didn’t know if Gracie even knew how to fire a gun, but it didn’t matter. Ben was right in leaving her behind. Her only focus right now was her husband and getting him back. She could—and would—put all of our safety in jeopardy to get to him.
I nodded my head ‘yes’ and stuck out my hand to shake on it. “I accept your conditions,” I said the words formally. I wanted Ben to know I meant it.
Ben eyed me before putting his hand in mine. “Agreed.”
“Regan, you promised!” Gracie said. Her fists were balled at her sides.
“I promised to bring you with us to Honduras. And I did.” I felt sorry for her. We were essentially in the same boat. Both our husbands were lost to us at the moment. But I wouldn’t risk her safety, or mine, bringing her to the falls. Gracie glared at me, hurt and anger evident in her eyes.
“What’s next?” I asked Ben.
Ben unfolded the information pamphlet on Pulhapanzak. A map was printed on the inside cover. The falls were only ten minutes by car. Ben studied it and then used his finger as a pointer for Liam and me.
“You’ve been here before, right?” Ben asked.
“Yes. It’s basically a park with benches and picnic tables. A pavilion. And then the lookout deck for the waterfall. It’s all surrounded by woods.”
“Good. We’ll get as close as we can and then leave the car on the side of the road. We’ll finish on foot and enter through the woods,” Ben said. “Our goal is to find Gray and to do it without anyone seeing us. That’s it.”
“That’s not much of a plan,” I said.
“It’s all we have for now,” Ben said. Liam nodded his understanding.
“And then what? After we find Gray?” I asked.
“We head straight back to the airport and get out of here,” Ben said.
I looked at Gracie and the tears in her eyes. She longed for Guy. The Guy she knew thirty years before. I thought her love for him was clouding her judgement. The man we’d seen over the last few days was not someone I would want in my life.
But it wasn’t my choice. My family didn’t stop me from marrying Gray even though his father was a mob boss and a bad man. They knew Gray was different. They let me make my own decisions. We should let Gracie make hers. Even if I thought she should run away as fast as she could.
I ignored the little voice inside calling me a hypocrite since everyone in my family was trying to block Passion from Frank.
“We can’t leave Gracie and Jax here then. It’s too unpredictable. If we need to make a fast getaway, we’d have to come back here to get them first. They have to go with us,” I said.
“They could stay in the car and wait,” Liam suggested.
Ben warred within himself as he debated the options but he had to know we couldn’t leave Jax and Gracie behind. They would end up trapped here if things went haywire at the falls.
“Fine. But you have to stay in the car. The whole time.” Ben emphasized the last words.
“We will,” Gracie said. I thought she had agreed a little too quickly to actually mean it, but I didn’t voice my concerns. I needed to get to Gray and didn’t want to waste any more time arguing.
“We still have one problem,” I said. The tension in the room, already at a high, spiked up even further.
“We heard Guy ask to be notified if we left this cabin. We’re being watched,” I said, filling in the gap for the others.
“Crap.” Liam’s one-word reply summed up our situation. “I did some recon while you were gone. The gate stops just past the tree line. About twenty feet in.”
“Good thinking. Looks like we’ll be going through another window, then,” Ben said. “Grab your stuff.”
Ben grabbed his bag from me and unzipped it. He pulled up the bottom flap. The clothes inside shifted as he pulled out handguns and extra magazines for Liam and me. Ben tossed something to Jax. She deftly caught it and held it up for inspection. Pepper spray.
“It’s better than nothing,” Jax said and slipped it into her jeans pocket. The top of the spray stuck out of her tight jeans. She still wore her plunging neckline from earlier. I didn’t point it out since we didn’t have time for her to change.
“What about me?” Gracie asked.
“How about a Taser? Just in case.” Ben winked at her and handed it to her. A chill ran up my spine at the thought of her turning it on one of us.
Now armed and ready to go, Ben poked his head out the window to check for anybody nearby. Liam held Ben’s bag along with his. The rest of us clutched our bags and waited for the okay. Ben crawled through first. Liam handed down the bags and then Jax. I waited behind Gracie.
My heartbeat sped up in anticipation of leaving. Of moving even closer to Gray. I prayed we would find him in time. I prayed we would find him at all. Guy didn’t say anything about Gray being hurt, only that he was missing. We at least had a starting point, even if it was about to be overrun by a drug cartel. I’d run into hell itself to find him.
Ben caught me around the waist as Liam lowered me to the ground. All of us crouched down and followed his lead, trying to be as quiet as possible. Our car was parked at the main gate. We stayed off the trails and used the forest for cover as we rounded the compound. Since it was still early, only a few people could be seen emerging from their cabins and heading to the restaurant. I breathed a sigh of relief.
It was short-lived, though. As we neared the front, two security guards stood at the exit talking. One pointed to our car and then back into the compound toward our cabin.
My heart sank. Guy would know we were coming.