Page 20 of Fear No Evil

Maybe Jake was right. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this.

CHAPTER 5

By the time Maggie and Jake left the safe house, night had smothered Bogotá in total darkness, no thanks to the clouds stalled on the high plateau. Not a single star or sliver of moonlight helped to illumine their way as they wended through the suburban neighborhood, headed toward a road busy enough for taxis to frequent. A distant bell tolled eight o’clock as they flagged one down and slipped into the back seat.

In Spanish, Jake told the driver where to go. Glancing at Maggie, he transitioned to French. “You’re very quiet. Feeling intimidated?”

Even after all these years, he could read her like a book. “Why would I be intimidated when there are four operators waiting to pick us up if there’s a problem?”

Headlights from the oncoming cars spotlighted his small smile. “That’s a good point. Any one of those guys would give his life for me‍—and for you.”

His words made her think of the SEAL in the news last year who’d dived into a rough Arabian Sea going after his teammate who’d slipped and fallen in. Neither man was ever recovered.

With her thoughts turning gloomy, Maggie peered out the window, hoping to recognize more landmarks. As the driverturned onto an unfamiliar road, she questioned his decision-making. Perhaps the man knew a shortcut because this was not the way she would have gone. Or maybe he was luring them into a remote spot, thinking he had two wealthy tourists in the back seat.

She called his bluff, challenging him in Spanish. “This isn’t the way to Hacienda Royal, señor.”

At her words, Jake jerked to attention, casting sharp looks around.

“Hacienda Royal? Ah, my mistake.” The bulky driver immediately slowed down and swung his taxi nose-end into an alleyway between two shuttered buildings. As he twisted in his seat to peer out the back window, he brandished a pistol unexpectedly.

“Give me your wallets!” His eyes glittered with malice.

Adrenaline flooded Maggie’s bloodstream. Kamal’s bodyguard had that same look in his eyes before he punched her in the face. She was only vaguely aware of Jake’s reassuring squeeze telling her he would handle this, which was well and good because she’d forgotten how to breathe.

“Tranquilo,señor.” Jake slowly raised both hands. “I alone carry a wallet. There is not much cash in it, but you are welcome to all of it. I’m taking it out now, slowly.” Keeping one hand in the air, he reached into the pocket on his thigh while Maggie swallowed hard, battling to bring her panic under control. “Here’s my wallet.”

Greedy for Jake’s cash, the driver held out a hand to take it.

If Maggie had blinked, she would have missed the lightning-fast jab that broke the driver’s nose. In the same instant, Jake wrested away the pistol. While the driver yelped and clapped a hand to his injury, Jake put away his wallet, then removed the magazine from the gun and dropped it at their feet. He reachedacross Maggie to open her door, but she was already halfway out of it, adrenaline spurring her with a cowardly urge to run.

Get a grip!

Jake caught up to her before she got five yards from the car. Together, they ran away from the alley and up the quiet street. With a glance over his shoulder, Jake flung the gun onto the roof of a building next to them, then tugged her toward a covered entryway. “Let’s lie low until he leaves.” Given no one was around, he spoke in English.

“No, let’s run to the hotel from here.” The urge to flee was so strong that Maggie couldn’t hold still. Her heart hammered, and her thigh muscles flexed. It was all she could do to slow her breathing so Jake wouldn’t notice.

“Running will tear your incision.”

“Jake, I have to run.” There. She’d exposed her vulnerability.

Even in the dark, she could see him assessing her mental state. “Only a mile or two.”

“Okay.” She bolted, counting on him to catch up to her.

Once she was flying up the side street toward the wider boulevard, her panic subsided. The predictable pumping of her legs and her deep breaths lulled her back to normalcy. They sprinted past storefronts whose doors and windows were shuttered by extendible steel gates. She recognized the name of a family-run bodega. This was familiar. This was safe. Plus, she could hear Jake right behind her.

“Lena, slow down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

She ignored him, reveling in the freedom of flying like the wind along a broad sidewalk. The mist that cloaked the city kissed her cheeks before turning into a drizzle that made her thankful for her UN raincoat. Turning the corner at Carrera 6, the familiar dome of the Museo de Oro brought further reassurance. It was all uphill from here to La Candelería districttwinkling dead ahead. Jake finally overtook her, catching her elbow.

“Enough running.” He slowed her into a brisk walk.

Their heavy breathing filled the silence between them, broken by the sound of raindrops hitting their jackets and occasional cars rumbling past on the paving stones. Maggie waited for Jake to bring up her overreaction to a mere stickup by a single would-be robber.

“How’s your incision?”

That wasn’t the question she was expecting. “Um…It’s been rubbing the seam in my slacks.”

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