know this plan probably seems crazy, and trust me, I typically tend to avoid crazy.”
“Like jumping off the roof into a swimming pool?” He nudged her with his elbow.
She laughed. “I guess sometimes you can’t avoid crazy.”
They spent the next couple of hours chatting off and on about what had happened since they’d last seen each other. But never—he noted—about anything too personal. Her job as a medical illustrator, places they’d traveled, his last diving stint, the last books they’d read... And if the conversation started veering toward something personal, she always changed the subject.
Ellie glanced out the window, then grabbed his arm. “Look down below us.”
“What is it?”
“About four or five miles from Manaus, two tributaries of the Amazon meet but don’t mix.”
“What?” he said as he leaned over her. But she was right. The two colors of the merging rivers were clearly distinct.
“The lighter-colored river is the Solimões,” she said. “The darker side of the water is the Rio Negro. Its black-tea color comes from decayed plant matter, and with barely any sediment, it’s actually considered one of the cleanest natural waterways on the planet.”
“Wow...that is amazing,” he said, staring out the window at the water below them. “Though I am curious why they don’t they mix.”
“Because of the extreme differences in water temperature, density and speed, they stay separate until they hit a strong wave of whitewater and become a part of the Lower Amazon River. I know you’ve traveled a lot for your job, but I’m guessing you’ve never visited the Amazon.”
“I’ve worked in Eastern Europe, Australia, South America and the Middle East...but never visited the Amazon.”
“Do you see yourself involved in saturation diving long-term?” she asked.
“Probably not.” He didn’t even have to think about his answer.
“Why not?”
“Other than the fact that it’s an extremely demanding job? I think about having a family one day and, despite the money, would prefer not to be away for weeks on end.”
She looked back down at the river as the pilot made an announcement through his headset that they would be landing in about fifteen minutes.
“Where exactly are we landing?” Ryan asked, feeling the plane begin to drop in altitude.
“There’s a small, isolated airstrip where a contact is supposed to meet us and take us to Dr. Reynolds.”
“Is the pilot waiting for us on the ground?”
“He’ll return in the morning. I didn’t know how long it would take with the doctor, so I thought it was better to stay the night. It will be rustic—”
“You’ve forgotten I’m pretty used to the simple life,” he said. “On the job—when I’m not working—I’m sleeping, eating and relaxing in a tiny pressurized chamber. Let’s just say it’s about as far from glamorous as you can get.”
At half past one, just as the pilot had announced, they were taxiing down the short runway in the middle of the dense tropical forest they’d been flying over the past few hours. Ryan waited for the pilot to open the side door, then stepped out of the plane behind Ellie, thankful they’d arrived. Because the sooner they could talk to the doctor, the sooner they could get out of here.
Ellie picked up her backpack, then turned to their pilot. “We’ll plan to meet at nine in the morning.”
The pilot tugged on the waist of his pants. “I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to return tomorrow.”
“Wait a minute... What do you mean? That’s what we agreed to.”
“Things have changed.” The man glanced toward the tree line behind them. “Turns out you weren’t my highest-paying customer today.”
Ryan turned around. Three armed men started toward them. Adrenaline surged as instinct kicked in, and Ryan’s mind quickly ran through their limited options. His job required him to be able to stay calm in order to cope with emergencies. But while his gut wanted to jump in and fight them off, he knew there was no way he’d win. One of the men quickly grabbed his arm, ensuring he didn’t question his decision.
“Ryan...”
Another man grabbed Ellie’s arm and told her to shut up. How had he not seen this coming?
The pilot took an envelope from their leader, then boarded the plane.
“Wait!” Ryan said, shouting at the pilot. “You can’t just leave us here.”
The man holding him back tightened his grip on Ryan’s arm, his protests lost in the roar of the engine.
Ellie watched as Ryan lunged toward the man holding him. But the odds were stacked against them.
A rifle clicked next to Ryan’s temple. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The man dug his fingers deeper into her arm. She’d have a nasty mark above her elbow tomorrow, but if they didn’t find a way out of here, a bruise was going to be the least of her problems.
She glanced at Ryan, and the horror that she was the one who’d gotten him into this slowly sank in. She should have listened to his father. Or at the least should have insisted he drop her off at the private airfield, then take his own flight back to the United States.
Except then she’d have been on her own.
She watched as the airplane that had once been their ticket out of here taxied down the runway. It picked up speed, took off, then skimmed the top of the tree line before fading into the white clouds above them. She’d missed something. No one was supposed to have known about her meeting with Dr. Reynolds. She’d made sure of that. And now, not just her and Ryan’s lives were at stake, but the doctor’s was, too.
“Welcome to the Amazon.” One of the armed men with a row of tattoos running down his neck smiled, revealing a large gap between his front teeth.
“This isn’t exactly the welcome we expected,” Ryan said.
“Your plans have changed, though I am assuming you have already figured that out.”
The man ran his finger down her cheek. Ellie pulled back as far as she could, her stomach souring at the smell of alcohol.
“Let her go,” Ryan said.
“You’re not exactly in a position to argue with me.”
“Yuri? I could put an end to this right now. Teach him a lesson.” One of the other men aimed his gun at Ryan, the look in his eye making his intent clear.
