and besides your father, I still don’t know who I can trust. Your father’s been trying to figure out the truth, but he’s walking a fine line, and so far, he hasn’t been able to.”
“You have to understand that I’m truly sorry for everything that has happened to you,” Ryan said, motioning to the men that they weren’t interested in buying anything. “But my father sent me here to ensure your safety. Not to take you on some wild-goose chase that may or may not pay off.”
“And I need you to understand why I have to stay and find out the truth.”
“I do, but—”
“No. I don’t think you do understand. Arias is known for his brutality. He has people working for him—hired to do his dirty work—along with people he pays in order to ensure he walks, which is why my father is dead. And why I’ll be dead as well if he gets his way.”
“I get that, but you and I aren’t equipped to carry out an investigation. What you just told me about Arias should be reason enough for both of us to get as far from here as possible.”
“So, what? I just keep running. Keep playing this game of cat and mouse until someone finds my dead body and he gets away with murder again. He knows I’m alive.”
“No. Of course not—”
“That’s why I need to meet with the doctor.”
Today, Ryan Kendall might not be the irritating teenager she remembered—after all, he had just shown up unexpectedly and rescued her—but he was still just as stubborn. And so was she, and she had no intention of changing her mind.
“I need you to take me to the bus station,” she said, heading back toward the bike.
Ryan hurried to catch up with her. “Why?”
“I decided that if I ever needed to get out quickly, I was going to be ready this time. I’ve got a bugout bag in one of the lockers with some things I’ll need, including a burn phone. I’ll stay at a hotel tonight, then take a taxi to the airstrip in the morning.”
“And this contact you’re supposed to meet with, this doctor. Where are you meeting him?”
“I’ve got a pilot flying me to an airstrip that’s located near the small village where he’ll be.”
“I’m coming with you.”
She stopped, turned around, then quickly stepped out of the way of a couple of kids. “I’m not asking you to come with me.”
“Maybe not, and while I’ll probably regret this, I’m volunteering. But on one condition. Once you talk to the doctor, you have to promise you’ll leave with me. And in the meantime,” he said, “we’re going to have to find a way to keep you safe.”
* * *
Ryan frowned as they headed back toward the motorcycle, certain he was going to regret what he’d just agreed to. He still wasn’t sure why he’d offered to go with her to the Amazon despite undeniable evidence that someone was after her. So much for his father’s clear-cut plan to simply escort her back to the United States to the safe house he was setting up.
But one of her questions had struck a chord, making it impossible for him to just walk away. He glanced at the watch Heather had given him a month before their wedding. Two weeks before she’d died. He knew all too well how hard it was to have someone you love snatched away from you with no warning. And how important it was to find the answers that would bring closure. Even if it meant risking everything. Heather would have told him to go. Just like she would have already told him to let her go.
He glanced behind them, still unable to shake the uneasiness. Someone was still out there looking for them. He needed to keep her safe, but they’d tracked her to the favela. Who was to say they couldn’t track her to the Amazon?
“You know you don’t have to do this,” she said as they stepped up next to the bike.
“Don’t you even start trying to talk me out of this,” he said, slipping on his helmet.
She smiled for the first time. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Just doing what my father asked and keeping you safe.”
He took a few seconds to study her as he pushed the strap down under his chin. Shoulder-length dark hair. Warm smile. Wide almond-colored eyes. She’d turned out incredibly beautiful.
Not that it mattered.
What mattered was getting them both out of here in one piece.
Thirty minutes later Ryan pulled into the parking garage that was attached to the bus terminal. Outside the busy station, scores of people bustled about, surrounded by yellow taxis. Ryan watched a couple lug a suitcase out of the trunk of their car as he and Ellie headed through the garage. Three tourists with backpacks were heading toward the terminal in front of them. He forced himself to shake the worry. No one had followed them here, and no one was going to follow them to the Amazon. They’d fly in, meet the doctor and fly out.
Simple.
He might not have been able to save Heather, but he was going to save Ellie.
“Do you remember the last time we saw each other?” he asked, pushing the lingering memories away as they started across the catwalk that had access to the upper boarding sector of the bus terminal.
“It was the summer before I started eighth grade if I remember correctly,” she said.
He had a feeling she hadn’t forgotten. Her family had visited his parents’ ranch, and Ryan had dared her to jump off the roof and into the swimming pool. She must have gotten tired of his taunts, because she’d eventually climbed onto that roof before propelling herself into the deep end of the pool below.
It hadn’t ended well. She’d panicked and his father had ended up jumping into the pool and rescuing her.
“I was thinking I probably owed you an apology,” he said.
“Forget it. That was a long time ago, though I did think I was going to drown that day. And for the record, I now have an irrational fear of drowning.”
“Like I said, I owe you an apology, though I have grown up since then in case you were wondering.”
She smiled, but he could still sense the tension in her stride. He’d hoped that breaking the ice between them would help her relax, but she’d been right when she’d told him that this wasn’t some exotic holiday. Neither of them had any idea what was going to be waiting for them once they arrived. Which meant he was going to have to be prepared for anything.
Inside, the crowded terminal looked more like a shopping center, with its dozens of shops and food vendors. But while there might be safety in numbers, he also knew that whoever was after her would probably assume she was going to try to leave the city. And Rio’s main bus terminal was as good as anyplace to start surveying. He searched the crowded space for anyone who looked out of place. Someone without any luggage, or someone he’d seen earlier today. But the odds were in their favor. They might know she was in Rio, but Arias’s men couldn’t keep tabs on every plane, bus and car exiting the city.
“Just
