CHAPTER 20

 

 

WE FELL INTO each other's arms, laughing with relief. Gabe tensed.

“Why is she here?” he said, nodding at Marcela.

“Tell me you would have let her go down with the ship,” I said.

Gabe remained silent for a moment.

“No, you're right. But now we must keep an eye on her.”

“She had a GPS tracking device in her shoe. She gave it up and I threw it into the bay.”

Gabe narrowed his eyes at Marcela. “Are you telling me you've decided to change allegiances?”

Answering for her, I said, “I wouldn't say that, exactly, but she is interested in preserving her current status of breathing.” I turned back to Marcela. “You're not going to be a problem, right, Marcela?” Marcela nodded, the relief on her face in finding Gabe obvious.

“Have you seen Stefano?” she asked.

“No. I don't think he made it.” Gabe's shoulders sagged.

“I'm sorry.” Even in light of Stefano's betrayal, the fact was, Gabe and he had been friends. I changed the subject. “We need to find a place to hide and rest.”

Gabe smiled and took me by the hand. “Follow me.”

Yeah. That's what I wanted to hear.

 

***

 

GABE LED US further into the jungle, through dense underbrush. We came upon a thick curtain of vines which he pulled aside, revealing a small opening. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I was able to make out a narrow, rock-lined passage. I had to duck in order to follow him inside.

It was cooler than outside by several degrees. Paradise. As we made our way deeper into the cave, the corridor took a sharp turn and opened onto a chamber, maybe fifteen feet wide by twenty long. Large enough for the three of us.

“What do you think?” Gabe sat cross-legged on the floor. I followed suit. Marcela remained standing.

“Perfect. We'll have to stay here until Anaya's guys give up looking for us, or we find a stash of weapons, whichever comes first.” I glanced around the empty cave. Good luck, I thought.

“Did you see the gunmen?” Gabe asked.

I nodded. “They were almost to shore last time I saw them, although it looked like they might be searching for the GPS Marcela was wearing. It gave us time to get away.”

“They're not convinced we're dead.” Gabe frowned. “I guess it is too much to ask.”

“I overheard one of them say Anaya told them to bring back 'The Peruvian' or else. Would you go back without you?”

Gabe closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

“Why does he want me? I'm not the only expert on sixteenth century shipwrecks.”

Marcela had joined us on the floor of the cave, but kept her distance.

“You are the only one who knows where the ship could be,” she said.

“But Anaya has the map. What more does he need?” I asked.

“The map Gabriel drew was the most obvious place the ship might be. There are other possibilities. He must not have found it yet.”

“I thought you said they dove the site already,” I reminded her.

Marcela shook her head. “I said they planned to dive the day Cole and Harv rescued us.”

Gabe smiled. Surprised, it hit me what he'd done.

“You knew you were giving him the wrong coordinates.” I laughed out loud.

“Do you know what he would have done to us if he realized you deliberately gave him the wrong information?” Marcela closed her eyes and shuddered.

Gabe's smile faded. “And do you realize whose fault it would have been, had he found the wreck?”

Marcela looked away, avoiding Gabe's pointed gaze.

“Do we have anything like a flashlight or a lighter or something?” I wanted to see how far back the cave went. We could go further inside if we needed to, in case they discovered the entrance. Besides, changing the subject seemed like the prudent thing to do.

“I have two waterproof flashlights, but I don't know how long the batteries will last.” Gabe produced one of the flashlights and flicked it on. It gave off a solid beam of light. He turned it off.

“We’re lucky to have them. How'd you get these?” I asked.

“If it wasn’t for the reflective tape, I’d never have seen the larger one floating in the water. I had secured the smaller one in my trouser pocket before the second attack.”

“Have you gone further in yet?” I asked.

“No. I was looking for you. I've had no time to explore.”

I looked around the dimly lit cave. There were several good sized rocks lying around and plenty of palm fronds outside the entrance.

“I’ll leave a trail of rocks and leaves every few feet to guide me out.”

“What if you fall or become lost?” Marcela asked, looking worried.

“Then I won’t be back as soon as I thought.”

“You’re not going alone,” Gabe said, his tone brooking no argument.

“Someone needs to stay with Marcela. Unless you want to come along.” I glanced at her for confirmation.

“I don't like caves.”

“That settles it.” I rose to my feet and began gathering rocks.

“There is no reason for us to stay here,” Gabe said. “With Anaya's men searching for us, looking for food will have to wait until later. We will both join you, right, Marcela?” Marcela scowled, but appeared resigned to going.

“Fine. But everybody has to stay together. We might get lucky—there's the possibility we could run into a water source. Caves are usually wet the further you go in. Keep your fingers crossed.”

Gabe and Marcela joined me collecting stones and a few palm fronds, as much as we could carry. I pulled the bottom of my shirt out to make a pouch and filled it to the point of bursting. Gabe did the same. He handed me the larger flashlight and we walked into the darkness of the cave.

It didn't take long for the blackness to completely envelop us. We were ultra cautious and agonizingly slow, dropping either a rock or a frond on the ground every few yards or so. It brought back memories of another time not too long ago when I'd been stuck in an abandoned mine in Arizona and I shivered, a little sick to my stomach. It's not the same, Kate, I told myself. This is a cave, not a decrepit old mine shaft that could collapse at any moment.

The further back we went, the darker and colder it became. The cave floor sloped slightly and I slid my hand along the rock to stay on track. At one point I pulled my hand away and realized my fingers were wet. The sound of trickling water danced in my ears. I brought my hand to my mouth for a taste. There was definitely water in here, probably a lot of it.

“Hear that?” I asked.

“You mean the water? Yes. I think we're in luck. I'm going to turn on the light for a moment.”

The bluish white beam illuminated the long path in front of us. He clicked it off.

“Nothing yet. Let's go a little further.”

“Okay. Go slowly. You never know when it might drop off.”

We continued on, stopping every few feet to check the surrounding area. The width of the passage narrowed as we walked. Fighting claustrophobia, I hoped it didn't narrow so much we'd have to get on our bellies and slither along the floor. The idea closed in on me and my chest constricted.

The tunnel hooked to the right and the echo of splashing water drifted to us from up ahead. My heart began to beat faster, knowing we'd hit the jackpot.

We walked along at a snail's pace, trying not to let the excitement of the discovery rush us into a foolhardy mistake. There was no telling what the terrain ahead was like.

The path dropped steeply and then leveled out a few yards later. It sounded as though we were directly on top of the water. We stopped and Gabe flicked on the flashlight.

We'd found the source.