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In his third year of medical school, compliments of Uncle Sam, Gabe had been a very self-confident twenty-four-year-old. He’d stopped by the McKnight house to talk to Micah about something. And then she’d appeared at the top of the stairs; a vision of loveliness in a gown of white. Green eyes drew him; her smile tangled his thoughts. This girl he’d always considered a bratty little sister. But this night…
She floated down the staircase to stand next to her date, the top of her head barely reaching the middle of his chest. When she’d said goodbye to her adoring onlookers, she’d laughed and flung that riotous cascade of flaming curls. They’d brushed his nose and mouth—and singed his heart. Micah had noticed—and stared daggers through Gabe.
Micah. Just the thought of that name was enough to bring Gabe back to reality. Cassidy’s brother. Dead. Because Gabe had failed him. Had requested—no, ordered—him for the mission then allowed him to die. Cassidy was mad at him for not talking about that day, but if she knew the whole truth, she’d hate him forever. He put the mental brakes on the memories, refusing to go there now. Cassidy stirred and frowned; whimpered, in her sleep. Gabe wanted fiercely to wipe the bad memories away and replace them with good. But that wasn’t his right.
That had been someone else’s privilege.
She’d been in love with another man. Had his baby.
Why hadn’t Cassidy’s father mentioned a child? Hadn’t he known? Gabe laughed sardonically at his mental question and answered it. Oh, yeah, the man had known. And he’d not mentioned it because he’d known Gabe would flat out refuse to take the mission.
He let his eyes drift shut, but made sure the gun was tucked close and his ears were tuned to the jungle noises. He wasn’t afraid he’d fall asleep only to wake up dead. Too many years of training, too much intensive conditioning—too many nightmares to keep at bay—would keep that from happening.
“Cassidy.” She ignored the faraway voice. The sleep her body had craved for so long had her in its grip and wasn’t about to let her shake it. “Cassidy.” This time a rough shake accompanied her whispered name. Sleep disappeared fast.
“Gabe?” She blinked to bring his face into focus. Brown-black eyes bored into hers. “What? What is it?”
He brushed the hair out of her eyes for her, his fingertips gentle, lingering. “We need to get going. Since you’re bound and determined to head to the orphanage, we’ve got to beat these guys at their own game.”
Cassidy moved and couldn’t stop the groan that slipped out.
“Sore?”
“To say the least. I thought I was in shape up until a few weeks ago.”
His short bark of soft laughter made her jump. She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Trust me. There’s not a thing wrong with your shape.”
Cassidy flushed. She gave him a punch in the gut that made him grunt. “That’s not what I meant and you know it, Rambo.”
“I know, Cassidy. I know.” Cassidy could have sworn his expression went tender for a brief moment before returning to its usual unreadable gaze. He turned and edged cautiously toward the end of the trunk and Cassidy followed him. She cleared her throat and asked quietly, “So, you’re going to help me?”
Gabe cut his eyes to her. “What do you think?”
She allowed a small smile to cross her lips. “I think you hate it when I get my way.”
Gabe’s lips curved into a rueful smile, but he didn’t respond. Cassidy brushed leaves and debris from the seat of her pants then pulled her hair up into a ponytail with the rubber band she’d had in her pocket since opening the papers about Alexis.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“You think it’s safe?”
“You mean, you care what I think?” he taunted.
Now, that hurt, but she covered it with, “Of course I care. I’ve always cared about you, Gabriel. In spite of whatever happened with Micah and my anger at your silence, you were my brother’s best friend. Now, can we get going before those creeps come back?”
When she looked up, surprise at her confession was reflected on his face. He opened his mouth to confront her and when he did, Cassidy pretended not to see it. She wasn’t in the mood to discuss matters of the heart—her heart—when she was finally doing something totally unselfish for someone else. Something that not even Gabriel Sinclair and his stubborn personality would be able to deter her from.
FOUR
I’ve always cared about you, Gabriel. The statement taunted him.
He hiked slowly, keeping his ears tuned to the sound of anything that didn’t have to do with nature. Nothing set off his worry alarm, so he decided to give Cassidy a little space while he mulled over her words.
They’d seen each other off and on over the next couple of years when they attended certain social functions at the request of their respective parents, and Gabe had visited often because of Micah, but Cassidy lived in a different world; one Gabe hadn’t wanted to be a part of. Yet, he’d been fascinated by her. And saddened by her wild lifestyle, thinking she was on the road to destruction. And then all of a sudden, her face and exploits were no longer mentioned in the paper. He’d wondered what happened. He realized now that this was when she’d become a Christian and changed her lifestyle.
And then came the mission.
And Micah had died.
And Gabe couldn’t forget how.
And he couldn’t forget Cassidy.
It galled him that he could be so attracted to a flighty debutante, but there just seemed to be something about her…something deeper, like her shallowness was some kind of cover-up and there were many layers to her personality that the public never saw.
So, he’d gone to attend her college graduation. To see if he could find the deeper layers. Only, before he could see her, he’d read about her engagement in the paper. He’d been disappointed, but not surprised.
Without contacting Cassidy, he’d said goodbye to his parents and joined the SEALs. He’d thought he could make a difference with his medical skills—and he had. He’d saved the lives of good soldiers. And still, his dreams were haunted by the green-eyed princess. He knew her engagement had fallen through, but Micah was always tight-lipped about why.
What was it about her that wouldn’t shake loose from his mind? His heart? He’d thought about looking her up again a few years ago, but Micah’s death changed everything. And now he’d learned she’d had a child.
“Are you coming or not?” Cassidy asked.
Gabe jerked like he’d been shot. Horror swept over him. He’d totally lost his concentration for a brief moment. His carelessness could have gotten them killed. Fury with himself for his lapse made his low voice harsh. “Keep your voice down.”
Cassidy’s eyes widened then narrowed to slits, her displeasure with his curt tone evident. Her lips thinned and she planted her hands on her hips. Gabe caught up with her, and Cassidy kept her glare at full power. He knew he should apologize, but frankly he just didn’t feel like it. Besides, when they argued, he didn’t think about his nightmares.
“How much farther do you think it is?” Her words came out stiff, as though she begrudged having to ask the question.
“We can probably be there in a couple of hours.”
“That soon?” Surprise chased away her anger.
“Yeah, the camp where you were held wasn’t that far. By jeep, only a couple of hours or so. Seeing how we have to keep off the beaten path, it may take a lot longer.”
“Okay, once we get there, how long do you think it would take us to get to La Joya?”
Gabe shrugged. “If we could borrow a jeep, and don’t get lost or killed, probably not that long.”
“And if we don’t have a jeep?”
“A lot longer. Today’s the twentieth. The plane will be there tonight for its weekly supply drop. If we miss it, it’ll be another week before it comes back.”
A raindrop chose that moment to roll down one of the large canopy leaves through the drip tip and splatter on Gabe’s nose. He groaned. “We’d better get moving so we can find a dry place to hole up for a while.”
“Where do you find shelter from the rain in a rain forest?” she asked.
Gabe felt a few more drops and said, “I have no idea. Let’s see if we can find something before we get saturated.”
The sky opened up. Gabe groaned again. Barely able to see in front of him, he pulled the machete from the sling across his back and swung with a vengeance, not caring about the trail he was leaving. If they were getting wet and looking desperately to get out of the downpour, chances were so were the guys behind them.
After an hour of backbreaking work, struggling to walk and see through the pouring rain, Gabe was so tired he was ready to drop. Cassidy wasn’t faring much better. She lagged, and he pulled. However, she never voiced a complaint.
Gabe shook his head and brought his arm up one more time to swing, refusing to give in to the exhaustion plaguing him. His SEAL training had been a long time ago, but right now, it was like it was yesterday. When the machete cut through the vine in front of him, then came to a bone-rattling halt, Gabe’s shoulder felt as if it was going to bounce out of its socket.
His abrupt halt brought Cassidy slamming into him. He grabbed her to steady her and her soggy ponytail slapped the side of his face.
Gabe parted the vines and leaves and realized that his hand rested on knotted wood. They’d found a cabin. He wiped the rain from his eyes to no avail. It still came down in sheets, blinding him. Cassidy forged on ahead.
He followed in Cassidy’s rapidly disappearing footsteps and found them standing on a small porch, finally out of the never-ending rain. Cassidy curled her fingers around the knob.
“Wait!” he hissed in her ear.
She jerked back and stared at him.
“I need to check it out. Stand here and be quiet, okay?”
He scrubbed the water from his eyes and moved to the edge of the door. He pulled the gun from his waistband and motioned for Cassidy to get behind him. Using the butt of the gun, he gave the door a hard rap.
No response. Gabe repeated the procedure and still, there was nothing to indicate that anyone was inside.
Holding the gun steady with his right hand, he twisted the knob with his left. It turned smoothly and Gabe pushed the door open. When the object hurled itself from inside, screeching at the top of its lungs, Cassidy’s scream echoed in its wake as Gabe tackled her to the floor of the porch.
FIVE
Heart thudding, adrenaline pumping, Cassidy watched the colorful macaw land on the railing then jump to the wooden floor of the porch.
“It’s only a bird.” Cassidy shook with relief.
“He almost scared me to death,” Gabe grunted in disgust, got up and brushed himself off. He hauled Cassidy up next to him.
“But at least we now know no one’s home.” She eyed the entrance. “Nothing human anyway.”
Gabe stepped into the cabin and Cassidy followed, stopping just inside the door to stand beside him. The place stunk. Cassidy wrinkled her nose and pulled the neckline of her soggy shirt up over it. Water pooled around their feet.
Cassidy saw that the cabin consisted of one large room with a kitchen off to the side. The large room boasted a sofa that mold, mildew and animals had attacked with a vengeance, and two chairs that matched the ones in the kitchen. The kitchen held a rickety wooden table and two chairs that sat rotting in one corner.
Obviously no one had been there in a long time. The broken window in the kitchen revealed how the birds entered and left. Cassidy didn’t bother to close the door as she made her way farther inside.
Gabe said, “I’ll check that back room.”
Cassidy nodded and moved to stand in front of the fireplace. Leftover wood lay on an iron grate, like someone had readied the kindling for burning later, but then never returned. She wondered if she could light a fire without a match.
Gabe came out of the back room and said, “It’s a bedroom. Nothing there. I doubt the guys on our tail can follow a trail through this mess, but we’ll still have to be careful. If they know about this place, they may head straight here. As soon as it quits raining, we need to be out of here.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “But first things first.” She walked back onto the porch, “I’m starving and since I’m already soaking wet, I’ll see if I can gather some fruit from these trees.”
Gabe agreed and joined her, squinting through the downpour to keep an eye out for their pursuers while Cassidy picked the fruit. His hand never moved very far from the gun at his waist. She appreciated his vigilance.
Working quickly, she gathered their next meal then reentered the cabin. Gabe brought up the rear. She walked into the kitchen, set the fruit on the dusty counter and asked, “You think you can get a fire going?” She tossed him a papaya.
He caught it easily, took a bite and said, “Better not risk it.”
Cassidy nodded, seeing the wisdom in his caution. She wrung the water out of her hair and picked up a piece of the fruit she’d gathered. Stepping next to the dark fireplace, she sat down near it, imagining she was back at home, safely ensconced in her home. It didn’t work.
“What happened to those quick little showers that quit after five minutes?” she grumbled under her breath and took a bite. Sweet juice slathered her tongue then coated her throat. Wonderful. She asked, “Are we going to end up spending the night here?”
“I hope not. If the rain keeps up, I guess we’ll have to. I don’t like the idea of staying in one place too long, but if we can’t travel in that mess, neither can the guys chasing us. If it comes down to it, you can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
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 trying to decide if he should leave the gun with her. “I’m going to backtrack a bit and see if they’re on our tail or not. Keep your eyes and ears open. And shoot anything that moves. Except me. I’ll whistle as I get close.”
Cassidy hefted the gun and its weight felt comfortable and familiar against her palm. She knew a thing or two about guns and shooting.
“I’ll be all right. I don’t like you leaving me, though. And won’t you need it if you run into them?” She chewed her bottom lip.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on letting them see me. These guys might not let a little downpour slow them down. If not, we’re in trouble.” He gave her a pointed look, a quirky grin and said, “And I don’t need any more trouble.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hold back her answering smile.
“Go,” he said. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”
Cassidy sighed and did as ordered. Gabe took off in the opposite direction. She thought about how close Gabe had come to kissing her—and how close she’d been to letting him. But this was not the time to explore old feelings…or discover new ones. She walked and prayed.
Fifteen minutes later she heard a soft whistle and set the safety back on the gun. He appeared from behind a tree and water dripped from the dark hair that curled around his ears and down his neck. The bristly beard he’d grown—one of the reasons she hadn’t recognized him right off—glistened with moisture. He looked good. And a lot different from ten years ago. Harder, leaner…and meaner. But definitely good.
“Well?” she asked, trying to distract her wayward thoughts.
“Nothing. But they’re still looking for us and no doubt following our trail. We need to keep moving to put as much distance between us as possible.”
Gabe took the lead and she followed. Cassidy still had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Never, in all of her rescue fantasies over the past two weeks, had Gabriel Sinclair played the starring role.
She took a deep breath and shoved a branch of leaves out of her face. Gabe swung the machete into a mess of tangled vines and cleared the way. She could tell he didn’t like using it, but knew he had no choice. The undergrowth grabbed at their ankles making it impossible to traverse without help. They were leaving a path a blind man could follow as he whacked and sliced, leading the way and grunting with the effort.
Admiration for him swelled within her. Fatigue gripped him, but he kept going. She felt ready to drop in her tracks, too, but exhaustion ignored, they pressed on. Gabe grunted and hacked some more. After another hour, she asked, “Where do you think they are?”
Gabe hesitated for a long moment then finally said, “I don’t know and I don’t like it.”
“What do you mean?”
Gabe shook the water from his head then answered, “They should have caught up with us.” He stopped and took a deep breath. Cassidy stopped beside him. Gabe pulled his backpack around and extracted two bottles of water. He passed one to Cassidy.
She uncapped it, took a long swig and stated, “I’ll never take the sweet taste of water for granted again.” Then she asked him, “When you backtracked, you didn’t see anything?”
“Nope, not a thing. That means they’re not chasing us blind. I didn’t have a lot of time to work out the chain of command in the camp, but my guess is Rafael is the one on our tail. And while he may be paid muscle, unlike most of these guys, he also comes with a brain. And that makes him more dangerous than ever.” Gabe tossed his empty bottle into the pack and said, “I don’t know where those guys are and I don’t like it.”