the trapdoor and let himself down into the darkness, closing it firmly behind him.
* * *
Sarah felt like her lungs would explode in her chest as she and Juanita bumped through the damp earthen basement with their stricken patient. They tried their best to sync their steps to avoid jostling him too much.
Please, God, don’t let the exit be blocked.
She strained to hear the sound of running feet above her. Fear coiled like a live snake in her stomach. Jett was battered, alone with three men, and he had the same superhero attitude he’d had all his life. It was the same attitude that caused him to take a dare one stormy evening to jump a riverbed on his motorcycle. That hadn’t ended well. She still remembered her fear at seeing him there in the hospital bed, still and unresponsive. What had she been thinking leaving him in the clinic by himself? But how could she abandon her patient?
“Juanita, I can’t hold the stretcher much longer,” she panted.
“Here’s the door.” Sweating and gasping, they eased past stacks of boxes. Juanita heaved a heavy wooden bar aside and swung the door open. Brilliant June sunlight nearly blinded them, wrapping them in the sizzling heat of a Mexican afternoon.
They stepped out to find themselves in the weed-filled space that doubled as a parking lot for those few who were fortunate enough to have a vehicle. Incredibly, the doctor’s old, battered truck was there. He’d opted to walk to the nearby village to save the cost of the fuel. Sarah almost cried with relief.
“Quick,” she said. “We’ll load him in. Then I’m going back to help Jett.”
“No,” Juanita said, frightened eyes opened wide.
Sarah did not listen. Instead she helped Juanita ease Young into the bed of the truck. Juanita got behind the wheel and fingered the visor where her father always left the keys.
“Start it up,” Sarah commanded. “Drive a mile down the road and wait. If we don’t come in ten minutes, take him to your father.”
Juanita’s lips pinched with fear. “Beretta’s men will kill you both.”
Sarah steeled her spine against the wild fear. “I’m not going to leave Jett. He’s our patient, too.”
Juanita clung to her hand until Sarah pulled away. Juanita started the engine, and Sarah prayed the attackers would not hear the noise.
She raced back to basement, noting the smell of smoke in the air.
She wanted to yell for Jett, but she was afraid of attracting any attention, so she crept on, stopping every few feet to listen. The tang of smoke was stronger now, which hastened her pace toward the ladder. They wouldn’t dare burn down the clinic, would they? In the back of her mind, she still could not believe someone was intent on murdering Del Young.
So naive, Sarah. Your father was murdered. Why not Del? Why not you? It had been a mere six months since the car she was driving was forced off the road and her detective father was killed. It had required a full four weeks in the hospital for her body to recover from the injuries she’d sustained in the accident. Justice had been served, thanks to Marco and her sisters and it had given her a desire to earn her detective license while she lay in the hospital recovering. But she’d insisted on fulfilling her promise to do her final missionary service in Playa del Oro. Would she pay for that decision with her life? Forcing herself to move beyond the paralyzing terror, she’d just put her hand on the first rung when a calloused palm sealed off her mouth. She thrashed her arms and tried to clamp her teeth on her assailant.
“Stop biting and don’t scream,” Jett breathed, holding her tightly. “Or they’ll be down here in two seconds.”
Relief made her knees go weak.
He eased his hand away, and she could not help wrapping him in a tight hug. His hands went reflexively around her waist, and he chuckled softly. “You won’t think I deserve a hug when you find out about my little diversion,” he whispered, lips grazing her ear. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”
Her good sense returned, and she shoved him away. “I was just...relieved that you weren’t dead.”
“You and me both,” he said, taking her hand and urging her back toward the exit. “That would have ruined my whole day. Keep moving. We don’t have much of a head start. Where’s your helper?”
Sarah told her the plan she’d concocted.
“That was savvy,” he said.
“You sound surprised.”
“Didn’t think you had the street smarts to come up with a plan like that.”
“Just because I’m not a tough guy like you doesn’t mean I can’t think on my feet.”
“Yeah, you were thinking just fine when you dumped me in high school.”
Heat seared her cheeks as she yanked her hand away. “Maybe this isn’t the greatest time to go into our past relationship failures.”
“Your failure, not mine. I wasn’t the one who walked away. You broke up with me, remember?”
She ground her teeth together to keep from firing off an angry retort. The light traced the exit door just ahead of them. They burst through the sultry air into the sunlight. Darting a look back, she saw drifts of smoke coming from the clinic. In the distance came the shouts of the men inside and a clamor of Spanish as the townspeople came running with buckets to put out the fire.
He grabbed her hand again and tugged her into action.
Keeping their heads down, they ran along the road, kicking up pockets of dust, heading for the cluster of palm trees where Juanita must be waiting.
“Just how big a diversion did you create?” Sarah panted, turning to look back again at the smoking clinic.
“It’s still standing, isn’t it?” Jett said. “There she is.” They ran to the idling truck and leaped in the back next to the patient. Juanita sat ramrod straight behind the wheel, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
“Drive to the dock,” Jett commanded.
“They’ll find you there,” Juanita said. “Come with me until it’s dark. I have a place we can hide that Beretta’s men don’t know about. My father will treat Mr. Young there. You can sneak out after sunset.”
“But the police...” Sarah said.
Juanita put the truck in gear. “They are of no help.”
“She’s right,” Jett said. “The cops aren’t going to keep this guy safe from Beretta—Rodriguez told you as much. We have to get out of here, head for US waters. The coast guard will intercept us, and we can tell them the whole story.”
Sarah shook her head. “We can’t just run away. We have to tell the doctor, arrange to have another nurse assigned, talk to the chief of police...”
“I will do all that,” Juanita said quietly.
“No,” Sarah said. “Not alone. You won’t be safe.”
