scooped up a tortilla and took a bite. Warm and surprisingly tasty, the food energized her and she settled back to eat. A canteen of tepid water finished off the meal.
The door to the hut banged open and the vigilant Maria narrowed her eyes as she saw who entered. Cassidy yelped, scrambled to her feet and bolted for the back of the hut, trapped. Terror thudded through her, beating in time with her pulse. He came closer.
Before Rafael could reach her, Maria planted herself in front of Cassidy, silent, yet ready, if necessary. Rafael stopped and glared at the two of them as though judging whether offending the old woman was worth it.
To Cassidy’s relief, he backed toward the door and left without a word. She looked at Maria, “Why?”
“You’re more valuable unharmed right now.”
Cassidy swallowed hard. “Oh.”
March 16
Thursday morning
Gabriel Sinclair patted the pocket of his plaid shirt. The papers crinkled reassuringly. He just hoped he didn’t get killed before he got to show them to o patrão—the boss located in the rebel camp just ahead. Gabe’s sleekly muscled arm gave the machete another vicious swing, his anger fueling his strength. How had he managed to get himself talked into this?
One week ago, he’d been minding his own business when the ambassador to Brazil, Jonathan McKnight, had come to him at the hospital, tracking him down in the busy South Carolina emergency room and pulling him away from a patient.
“I need you.”
Curious, wary, Gabe motioned for the nurse to take over, and led the man down the hall to an empty office. He waved a hand toward one of the metal chairs, then Gabe took the chair behind the desk. Once Jonathan was seated, Gabe asked, “What do you need with me?”
He watched the ambassador’s jaw work, the muscles flexing as the man clenched and unclenched his teeth. Something was obviously terribly wrong, but what?
“Cassidy. She’s done a really stupid thing.”
Now, there was a surprise, Gabe thought grimly. Cassidy and stupidity just naturally went together, didn’t they?
“She hopped a plane to Brazil and got herself kidnapped.”
“What?” Gabe clenched his fists, his attention fully focused on the man in front of him. That was a little more serious than stupid.
“I need you to get her back.” Ambassador McKnight sat ramrod straight in the chair, his jaw tight, hands resting on his thighs. But his emotionless facade couldn’t cover the turmoil rolling in the man’s green eyes.
“Kidnapped?” Gabe sputtered.
“She was taken from a Brazilian orphanage and is being held somewhere in the jungle. Here.” He pulled a note out of his shirt pocket and shoved it into Gabe’s hand.
Brazilian jungle? Orphanage? Gabe read the note. It was written in Portuguese.
He read aloud as he translated it, “‘We have your daughter. Our boss wishes for you to meet with him. He wishes to learn the secrets of your government. Should you wish to have your filha bela returned to you, you will contact us to set up a meeting. You will also refrain from bringing in any police or authorities of any kind. If we even suspect that you have done so, we will send your daughter back to you…in pieces…or sell her to make the profit you denied me.’”
Gabe tried not to picture a terrified Cassidy as he looked up in the ambassador’s eyes. Cassidy’s eyes. “Isn’t there someone else who could help her?”
Jonathan shook his head. “I promise, if there were anyone else, I wouldn’t ask. But you owe me after that last mission…” He trailed off. Micah had been declared dead after the navy heard Gabe’s story. But his testimony had been sealed. He couldn’t tell the family exactly what happened.
Gabe thought to himself, You have no idea about that last mission.
“Also for Cassidy, I’m asking,” the ambassador finished. The man swallowed hard and stood to pace to the door and back. “I don’t know what will happen to my wife if she finds out about this, not with what happened with Micah. It would probably kill her. Right now, I’m able to stall her. Cassidy’s always running off somewhere. But she’s been gone way longer than usual with no contact for the last two weeks, so pretty soon I’m going to have to tell her mother something. I’ve responded to the kidnappers and managed to set up the meeting. It’s two weeks from today, but I want Cassidy out of there now.”
“What was she doing at a Brazilian orphanage?”
Jonathan shifted his eyes, paced toward the door then back. “I don’t know. She was supposed to be on vacation in Paris.”
Gabe lifted an eyebrow; he had a funny feeling the ambassador knew exactly why Cassidy went to Brazil. Instead he said, “Paris, huh? Tough life.”
Jonathan ignored the sarcasm and narrowed his eyes. “All I know is that I need you to get in there, get her, and get out. I’m home in Spartanburg on leave right now dealing with another situation. Any other time, I would have been in Brazil, but I came home to…” He sighed and trailed off.
Gabe raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. “Another situation?”
Jonathan swallowed hard and said, “I don’t want to go into detail, but before I became a Christian, I had an affair. Almost thirty years ago. Christina found out recently about it and she’s not dealing with it very well. We’re trying to keep our marriage together. Losing Cassidy would destroy us.”
Gabe blinked and tried to absorb all that the man was saying. He decided to ignore the part about the affair and said, “Why do you think she was taken?”
“It wasn’t mentioned in the letter, but I somehow wonder if this has to do with what I’m working on with the president,” Jonathan said.
“You mean, your stand against human trafficking?”
Jonathan nodded and said, “Cassidy’s been a tremendous help with the entire project.” He shrugged. “Human trafficking is a nine-point-five-billion-dollar-a-year income that goes right into the pockets of criminals and organized-crime groups. Men, women and children sold like cattle to work in sweatshop factories and that’s the best that happens. I can’t imagine the horrors these people live with every day.”
Gabe knew the horrors the man talked about: sexual exploitation, modern-day slavery. It was a profitable enterprise in many parts of the world. Ambassador McKnight had been a huge mover and shaker in putting a lot of these people out of business—or at least putting a dent in their income. And if Cassidy had fallen into their vengeful hands…
He shuddered and stood, unable to complete the thought or sit still any longer. Agitation echoed in each step as he paced around the office. He really couldn’t imagine Cassidy taking the time to be involved in something like politics. It seemed completely out of character for the girl he’d once known. Didn’t match up with the stories Micah had shaken his head over.
Take care of Cassidy.
Gabe shook the words from his head, finally stopped pacing and stared out of
