stared up at him. If she shook any harder, she’d come apart at the seams. When he’d first seen her, he had been appalled at how thin she was. He worried if she would have the stamina to make the trek through the jungle.
“Who are you?” she asked. “I know you.”
“Your knight in shining armor, m’ lady,” he quipped without humor. “Now, please, let’s go.” He gave a firm yank on the hand he still held and pulled her out the door. He wasn’t sure how much time they had to put as much distance between them and the camp as possible, but he didn’t want to waste any of it. Unfortunately, he’d caught Rafael sneaking into Cassidy’s hut and had to act. Rafael had seen his face; Gabe’s cover was blown. If they were going to escape, it had to be now.
Cassidy stumbled along behind him. Within seconds, they reached the hut that Gabe had been assigned and he reached in, grabbed the pack that he always kept ready and slung it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He took her hand again.
“Why are you helping me, anyway?” she asked.
“I’ll explain on the way out of here.” He looked up. The sun, just peeking over the horizon, made him groan silently. Great, running from rebels in broad daylight ranked pretty much last on his list of fun things to do. He pulled her along behind him. “We don’t have a lot of time, moving fast is top priority, got it?”
Thankfully, Cassidy held her questions, nodded and fell in behind him as he headed for the dense forest trees directly ahead. They were just about to the edge of the camp and ready to disappear into the jungle, when he heard, “Ei! You there! Stop!”
Gabe gave Cassidy a shove and whispered, “Run!”
Cassidy obeyed, and Gabe followed close behind. A well-worn path led to the river. Soon the men would form search teams. They would spread out to make a big circle and gradually narrow the diameter to capture their prey in the middle. Somehow, they had to slip through that circle.
Gabe stayed beside Cassidy, helping her when she stumbled. Branches and bushes slapped at them, as though trying to hold them back. “Wait.” He stopped and bent double, winded. Cassidy flopped beside him, gasping and holding her side. Blood dripped from a gash on her cheek.
Gabe sat down beside her and said, “They’ll be coming. I don’t think we can outrun them, so we’re going to have to outsmart them.”
Cassidy finally had enough breath to say, “Sounds good to me. But first I want to know who you are and why you’re helping me.”
Gabe gave her a sad smile. “Look a little harder, Cass.”
Her eyes narrowed as she gave him the once-over, and he knew the moment she recognized him. She gasped then her green eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “Gabriel Sinclair. Daddy sent you, didn’t he? The man who knows how my brother died, but isn’t talking. That’s just great.”
Gabe tried to form an answer while he waited for the sting of her words to lessen. He knew she’d been upset, but that zinger told him a lot. She still blamed him for Micah’s death.
“Which way’s the orphanage?” she asked.
His mind still reeling from her hostile shot, Gabe fumbled with one hand and managed to get his compass out of his front pocket. “Uh, that way. Why?” He pointed to the north.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Anger started to push its way past the hurt. No way, uh-uh. Gabe protested, “Now, see here, Princess, your daddy managed to talk me into playing hero to get you out of here. This is my job, my mission. Now, we—as in you and me—are going that way. No orphanage, got it?”
Cassidy frowned, pursed her lips and said, “I’m on my own mission, Gabe. I’m heading that way.” She pointed north.
Gabe grabbed her extended arm and pulled her right up into his face. “This isn’t some game. You’re going with me. Now.”
She tried to jerk out of his hard grip, but failed. Anger lit a fire in her eyes. “Now, listen here—” She stopped. Demanding was getting her nowhere, so she changed tactics. She reasoned, “Look, Alexis is waiting for me. I have to go back.”
Gabe shook his head and pulled a fairly clean bandanna from his backpack to swipe at the blood dripping from the cut on her cheek. “You could probably use a stitch in that. Who is worth risking your life—excuse me, our lives—for? And who is Alexis?”
Cassidy took a deep breath and pushed his hand away, “My daughter.”
She turned on her heel and headed north.
The shot from the rifle cracked the branch above her head. Gabe tackled her from behind and brought her down on the jungle floor.
THREE
Gabe whipped up his weapon, caught a blur of movement through the trees and fired off a round. The scream of pain told him he’d found his target. He turned back to Cassidy. “Run,” he ordered through clenched teeth.
She ran. Another bullet pierced the tree beside him and Gabe swerved and shot back. Finally, they made their way through the undergrowth to a group of trees that offered some shelter. He stopped, listened.
Nothing. Yet. Hopefully, the kidnappers had stopped to help the wounded man. Gabe decided they’d lost them for the moment; however, he didn’t count on that to last long. He leaned against one of the trees and checked his gun. Cassidy sank to the ground.
“Your what?” He picked up where they’d left off. Please, anything, but a child. Not a child. The ambassador knew. Gabe had had a feeling he’d been hiding something.
Gabe steamed as frustration boiled through him. This was not in the game plan. Get in, get the girl, get out. That was the plan. Nothing about a child. Especially her child. The twinge of jealousy took him by surprise, but he quickly forgot about it as he watched her disappear through the mess of twisting vines and leaves.
He quickly caught up and caught her arm. “Slow down,” he hissed. Then he focused on the fact that his fingers wrapped around her upper arm almost effortlessly. Gabe frowned, appalled at her fragile state. Once the adrenaline wore off, she wouldn’t last long without some rest and nutrition.
She yanked away from him; blinked back tears. “You don’t understand. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it. I have to.” Desperation flashed.
Gabe groaned, “Cassidy, those men aren’t going to give up. They’re closing in on us even as we stand here arguing.”
“Then I suggest we argue while we move. And if you’re supposed to keep me alive, could you do a better job of it with me than you did with Micah?” With that flat question, she headed north when Gabe desperately wanted to head west. These last few days had been his nightmare come true. And it wasn’t over yet.
And Cassidy scored a bull’s-eye every time she opened her mouth.
He squeezed his eyes tight to tamp down the memories of the explosion, the gun in his ear. The click. He swallowed hard, blew out a frustrated sigh and stomped after her, catching up quickly. Just in time to reach out and pull her weaving, swaying form into his arms.
“Gabe?
