CHAPTER 22

 

 

“KATE—WAKE UP…”

My eyes snapped open, half expecting to see the old woman from my dream, but it was Gabe.

“What's happening?” I sat up and shook my head to clear it, but it was tough coming back to reality. It felt so safe in my dream and I wanted to remember everything. Unfortunately, the dream took a backseat to Gabe's nervousness.

He put his fingers to his lips. “Anaya's men. They're coming.” His eyes had bags under his bags. Poor guy. The constant running and fear was hard on everyone.

I scrambled to my feet and walked to where Marcela was standing in shadow near the entrance to the cave. The early morning sun slanted through the vines covering the opening. A mild breeze floated through the cave, carrying the scent of some sweet flower. Covered in goose bumps from spending the last few hours on the cold cave floor, I wrapped my arms around my waist to warm myself. Marcela saw me and leaned closer, her voice barely a whisper.

“There are two of them, outside and to the left. I'm not sure if they've spotted the opening yet. I don't think so, since they haven't come closer.” She turned back to watch through the vines, her lips pinched into a thin line.

I touched her arm, motioning behind us, and we pulled back from the entrance.

“We need to move further in, so if they do find the way into the cave, they won't see us.” What if they catch us, I thought as we bent to pick up the items Gabe brought with him. I pushed the idea out of my mind. “I'll stay here and keep watch. As soon as they leave, I'll come and get you.”

Gabe and Marcela both nodded as we piled the artifacts further inside the cave and camouflaged them with palm fronds. When we finished, they turned and headed down the passageway.

I crept to the entrance and looked out. Two of Anaya's men were standing several yards away, guns draped over their shoulders. One of them wore a wireless transmitter on his ear. He lit a cigarette while the other held binoculars up to his face. The one with the cigarette cupped his hand to his ear. He glanced at the other man and motioned in the direction of the cave. Both men headed toward the entrance.

Heart in my throat, I withdrew deeper into the cave and hurried down the corridor, careful not to make any noise. Shit. Someone must have radioed him, alerting him to our location. But how did they know?

Not daring to turn on the flashlight before I'd made it to the first turn in the passage, I ran as fast as I could to find Gabe and Marcela, heart thumping in my chest.

“They're on their way to the entrance. If we get through this without being discovered, we're going to have to find another place to hide,” I said, breathless.

“We must take some of the artifacts with us. We can't leave them here—we may never find this cave again.”

I shined the flashlight at Gabe. The anxious look in his eyes said it all. He wasn't leaving without at least some of the treasure. I sighed. It would slow us down, a lot. Thing was, I understood. This was something he'd been working toward his entire adult life. No way would he let it go with some fond memories.

“Fine. But only take what you can comfortably carry. If it gets to be too much, drop whatever you have to. Your lives are worth more than a piece of ancient metal. Remember that.” By the look on Gabe's face, he wasn't convinced.

“May I?” he asked, holding out his hand for the larger flashlight. I handed it to him and took the smaller one in exchange. He hurried to the treasure, re-inspecting every piece that had been cleaned, and then bent to dig for more.

I patted my shorts to make sure I still had Barbie in my pocket. You must return the goddess, the old woman in my dream had said. Crap. Barbie was the closest thing to a goddess we had. Return the goddess, where? If I was a superstitious woman, I'd think the damned island spirits were messing with my head.

“How long do you think we need to stay here?” Marcela whispered as she rubbed her arms.

I shook my head. “Who knows? Hopefully not long. I'm not dressed for this.”

To keep our minds off how cold it was, along with the possibility of being found, we whispered about home, and what we would do first when we got back. Marcela spoke of visiting family; nieces and nephews she hadn't seen in a while. My main focus was on Cole and getting my life back in Arizona.

Marcela swung her arms back and forth, attempting to get warm. I told her of the dream I'd had the night before.

“Then we must leave. The dream was a warning, I'm sure of it. Cole may be in danger.”

“I'm rooting for Grace to find him and tell him I'm all right.” I checked my imaginary watch. “Yep. He should be on his way, as we speak.” I wished. The dream about the old woman only made me more frustrated. It had been so vivid. The colors, the scenes, it all felt real. I started to pace. I had to go, now. The gunmen hadn't made an appearance yet, and I doubted they would. Why go into a dark hole when there's no evidence we were ever there?

Marcela pulled me toward Gabe .

“Gabriel, we must leave, now.”

He was studying a metal bowl with intricate etchings. He looked up, his eyes glowing in the beam of the flashlight.

“This is early Incan silver. Do you know what this means? There is very little of this era that survives. I must take it with me.” He gazed at the rest of the pile and his shoulders slumped forward. “Do you think we will be able to find this again?” His plea sounded so plaintive, I almost told him we'd take it all with us.

“If we make it off this island, Gabe, and that's a big if, I'll do my best to locate the cave for you. I promise.” He nodded, slowly, as if he finally accepted the fact that he could actually lose the treasure again.

We each chose what we could easily carry and headed back to the surface. Keeping myself hidden, I checked the area in front of the entrance. No one else was in sight. After the fridge-like quality of the cave, the warmth of the jungle felt amazing. We waited in the shadows as Gabe marked the cave's entrance by arranging a couple of rocks in front.

“Which way?” Marcela asked.

“I think the best bet would be to go the opposite direction of the cove where the Miranda sank.”

Gabe frowned. “But that is where Cole told us to wait for him.”

“I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but that's the last place we want to be right now. Anaya's men will be all over that beach. It's a small island. When Cole finds Anaya's boat but doesn't see the Miranda in the bay, he'll check the other coves to see if we escaped.”

I hoped I was right.

 

***

 

WE'D WALKED FOR a solid hour before I had to stop. Even though my body had miraculously switched over to autopilot and I didn't really register fatigue, I found I needed frequent rest stops. At this point I didn't feel the rocks or plants we walked over. Funny how some things not usually considered as such can be blessings, depending on the circumstances. Like numbness. Stories of tropical parasites hitching a ride in open sores lingered somewhere in the back of my mind, but I didn't let them come out to play. I wouldn't make it another inch if I did.

We'd brought along a couple of containers with water from the cave and it came in handy, being the middle of the day and sticky hot. We all took turns drinking.

“What is our strategy?” Gabe asked.

I bit back a sharp reply that I was all out of compasses and topographical maps at the moment. Instead, I took a deep breath and turned to face them. Walking through a jungle in intense heat was not the most pleasant experience for anyone.

“There is no strategy, Gabe, other than to get far away from that side of the island.” I pointed behind us, in the direction of Anaya's men. “If someone has a better idea, please, let's hear it.”

Gabe glanced at his shoes. Marcela sat on the ground and didn't say a word.

“Okay. That's settled. What I'm thinking is when we find the other side of the island, we set up camp, and...”

There was a pop! and a bullet whizzed past my face. It was so close I swear I felt a rush of wind as it blew by. The shocked look on everyone's faces told me I wasn't hallucinating.

“Get down!” The words came out in a hiss. Everybody dropped.

Shouting was followed by the echo of bodies crashing through the jungle.

I pointed to a patch of bushes a few yards away and took off, staying low to the ground. Once I reached cover, I turned to see that they'd followed. Gabe was right behind me, but no Marcela. She sat on the ground, frozen to her original spot. Her dark eyes stood out in stark contrast to her colorless face, even paler now with the blood loss of fear.

Gabe gestured forcefully at her to lie flat, as though trying to make a disobedient dog obey. She appeared to focus on him and after a slight hesitation, slowly crawled to all fours. Tentatively, she reached her hand out, head low, followed by the other, inching forward. Both Gabe and I waved furiously, trying to get her to stop, but she continued to crawl toward us, silent tears streaming down her face.

One of Anaya's men appeared behind her, raised his gun and pointed it directly at the base of her skull. Marcela stopped and turned her head, aware of his presence. Her body began to shake. I closed my eyes, my heart breaking as the single gunshot splintered the heavy air.

Gabe gripped the flashlight until his knuckles were white. I sat in stunned silence. If there'd been any doubt as to the gunman's intentions, there wasn't now. The killer kicked Marcela's lifeless body over onto her back and scanned the surrounding jungle. Paralysis gripped me as I stared at the macabre scene. I willed myself to act and signaled Gabe it was time to move.

We edged backward into the shadows until it was safe to turn and run. Neither of us knew where to go, but we weren't going to stay there. I took a deep breath. Calm, reasoned thought was called for. I wanted to crash blindly through the jungle screaming.

“They just killed her.” Gabe was having a hard time catching his breath from the adrenaline rush that accompanies witnessing senseless acts of violence. Even with the knowledge that Anaya's men were ruthless killers it was difficult to process, especially when it was someone you knew. He'd never be the same. Neither of us would.

“Yeah, and we're next if we don't go now.” I spotted what looked like an animal path through a dense thicket of trees and ran toward it, Gabe close behind me. Sharp palm fronds slashed at my thighs, but I ignored the pain. The path led to a small clearing, surrounded by more dense jungle. It was as good a place as any to stop and get our bearings.

I leaned forward, hands on knees, gasping for breath from the oppressive heat and effort of pushing through the thick vegetation.

“Here you are.”

Startled, I jumped, pivoting in the direction of the voice. An armed man in jungle fatigues stepped from the shadows.

It was Stefano.