style="font-size:15px;"> Cassidy frowned.
He taunted, “Don’t worry. Your questionable virtue is safe with me.”
“Questionable virtue?” She planted her hands on her hips, resisting the urge to stamp her foot. “How in the world after a few hours of running through a jungle did you come to the conclusion that I have ‘questionable virtue’?”
“Are you married?”
“What? No, I’m not married. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Are we not going to the orphanage to pick up your daughter? Although, now that I think about it, why is your child at the orphanage?”
Cassidy’s anger disappeared as she realized that he thought Alexis was her biological child. She silently ran through each conversation she’d had with Gabe over the last several hours.
“I never explained, did I?”
“Explained what?”
“The baby’s not mine by birth, she belonged to Kara and Jacob Foster, my best friends, missionaries to Brazil, who were killed in that village raid two months ago. I’m now her official guardian. They asked me to take her if anything ever happened to them. I said I would.”
SIX
Relief edged out his embarrassment at jumping to conclusions. Gabe shifted his gun and checked the door one more time. Then he walked over to sit on the floor next to Cassidy. He was exhausted—and fighting feelings he thought he’d buried a long time ago.
Ten years ago, he’d been attracted to her outward beauty. And while she had physically matured from a beautiful teenager into a lovely woman, his attraction now went beyond that. He admired her spunk, her spirit. Her determination to keep her promise to her friends.
“I think I could sleep for a week.” Cassidy yawned and her eyelids fell to half-mast.
Gabe nodded. “Why don’t you rest for a little bit. Hopefully, the rain will let up and we can move on.”
“Sounds good to me.” She tapped her fingers against her leg, nervous, tense and still running on adrenaline. She kept tapping. Gabe reached over and grabbed her hand. She froze. “Cass, relax,” he soothed.
“I am relaxed.” She held herself stiff. Gabe thought if he moved, she might snap in two. This was ridiculous.
“Hold on a minute.” Gabe got up and walked into the bedroom. When he came back, he held a dusty blanket and a ratty pillow. With swift, efficient movements, he made her a pallet on the floor, then pulled mosquito netting from his waterproof pack to drape over her. “I’ll keep watch. You rest, all right?”
She huffed a sigh and tentatively lay her head down on the pillow and mumbled, “I’m probably going to get lice, you know.”
Gabe watched her fall asleep almost instantly. His eyes felt gritty and he used the palm of his hand to rub them. He could use a few hours of sleep himself, but that wasn’t an option. Careful not to wake her, he walked over to the door and peered out. Then he looked back at Cassidy and silently wondered if she’d ever be able to forgive him. If he’d ever find a way to forgive himself for practically forcing Micah into a mission he’d wanted no part of.
Regrets and guilt covered him as he remembered….
Gabe dialed the number to Micah’s private encrypted cell phone. “Micah, I need you on this mission. You know the language, you can get past the security and get the kid. I need you to pull one of your famous quarterback sneaks. Cancel whatever you’re doing and get your tail on board.”
Micah refused. “Gabe, people in that compound know me. I’ve managed to gain the confidence of one of the ring-leaders in a human-trafficking deal. He’s cutting me in. I’m just about ready to bust this guy and his slimy business, and I can’t get my cover blown. Get someone else.”
Gabe snapped back, “There is no one else. At least not someone available now. And I need you ASAP. If you don’t help out, a little kid could die. Don’t make me pull rank.”
Micah went silent. He knew the same thing Gabe knew. Micah was the best. And Gabe needed the best on this mission.
Gabe could practically hear Micah’s back molar grinding before he said, “Fine. But if anything goes wrong, it’s on your head.”
Cassidy woke with a start. She couldn’t believe she’d actually fallen asleep. The rain had stopped and now she heard only the occasional drip of a raindrop against the porch. Gabe stood by the door, his gaze unfocused and staring. She wondered what he was thinking about.
She’d always had a little crush on him, but he only thought of her as Micah’s little sister. So she’d dated guys at college—even agreed to marry one. But that love hadn’t lasted.
Gabe had remained friends with Micah, but always seemed to avoid being around her. And so she’d moved on, and given her life to the Lord. And now He’d brought Gabe back into it. Gabriel Sinclair. The man who’d been there when her brother had been killed, but wouldn’t talk about it. Not with her, not with her family. It hurt.
Lord, get us there safely. Keep Alexis in Your care. Bring Gabe to You. Let him know You’re more than just God…You’re a Heavenly Father to lean on and trust. And help me deal with my anger. Let him know he can trust me to tell me what happened with Micah.
She shifted slightly and looked up into his face. The beam from the sun shed enough light in the room so that she could clearly see his face fuzzy with the beard, head resting against the doorjamb. Even though he was motionless, he still seemed restless. The frown lines between his brows stayed pronounced and she wondered if he ever truly smiled.
Oh, yeah. He smiled when he pushed her buttons and riled her temper. Silence echoed and she sat up with a start. “Gabe?” she whispered. “It’s stopped raining. We can leave.”
He blinked and she gulped at the longing that speared through her. She did her best to ignore it. Now wasn’t the time. And she still wasn’t sure how she felt about him and his role in her brother’s death.
He asked, “Are you sure you’re up to it? You’ve only slept about two hours.”
“I’m fine.” She stood to stretch the kinks out. She ached all over, but ignored it. Alexis was waiting.
“All right,” Gabe agreed, “we’ve probably stayed here too long anyway.”
Cassidy joined him. Her hair brushed against his chin and he sucked in a breath. She smelled like rain mixed with sweat. When she turned to look up at him, Gabe wondered what the flickering behind her eyes meant, wondered what she’d do if he leaned down the fraction of an inch separating them and kissed her. No time to find out as Cassidy blinked, pulled away and moved out the door. The moment fizzled. She said, “Come on, Gabriel, we’ve got a baby to rescue.”
Gabe walked back into the bedroom and gathered up his pack. He came back and handed her the Ruger. He said, “Do you know how to use this?”
“I can hit what I aim at.”
He hesitated as though
