Page 31 of Healing Love

“Still deep in Cartel territory,” warned Marc.

Grinning, Bart said, “Not a problem for Cam. He’s one of us but spent time as a kid as a thief. Don’t figure he’d have any problem remembering those long-lost skills.”

Marc signed off after agreeing to get ahold of Cam immediately with the new plan. Tired of bouncing his leg with nervous energy, he changed clothes hoping a run would help him focus.

The others sat back, satisfied with the mission but not happy at what Cam and Miriam were going to have to go through to get to the coast.

Jack leaned back and speared them with his gaze. “We’re still responsible for other cases, but that’s one of us out there with one of my best friends’ sister. Keep working the problem.”

For an hour Miriam had been clinging, white-knuckled, to the sides of the canoe as the water became choppy and rough. The light of day allowed Cam to see where to steer to avoid the rocks, but he knew they had to be near the falls. The rain had intensified once more, but at least that kept prying eyes from seeing them on the river.

As yesterday, he once more jumped into the swirling waters at the edge of the river to pull the canoe to the side. Once he had both the craft and Miriam on land, heflipped over the canoe to let the water drain out and sat heavily on the bottom, patting the seat next to him. She joined him, looking up expectantly, wondering what was next.

“We got a couple of choices and I’m going to get hold of my contact to see what works best for him.”

When he did not say anything else, she just nodded and watched as he stood and made his call. Exhaustion screamed in every fiber of her being. Her skin and hair had been soaked for a full day. While the air was not chilly, the wet penetrated deep inside. She dropped her head to her knees and let the rain continue to pound her back, numb to the core.

Several yards away, Cam listened in frustration as Marc went over the new plan. “Jesus, man. How in the hell am I going to get our little-ass canoe down a cliff with Miriam? Fuck!”

“Hold it together, Cam. We know and we’re trying to make this work. Here’s what you need to get—the edge of the river at the falls is rocky, going to be slippery and impassable for you two. But on the south side, where you are, if you travel inland about a quarter of a mile, you’ll have woods to hide in and the terrain is still steep but less so. You should be able to make your way down past the falls.”

The idea of making Miriam work harder than ever to get to safety did not sit well with Cam, but without the miracle of a golden rope dropping from the sky and lifting them to Heaven, he saw no other way.

“What else have you got for me?”

To this question, Marc was silent for a second too long.

“Stop stalling just give it to me, man,” Cam growled.

“Near the bottom of the falls, there’s a village. You’re still in Cartel territory, so you’ve got to figure they aren’t friendly. Or at least would turn you in.”

Hanging his head, Cam was beginning to doubt the success of the mission for the first time. As he walked back toward Miriam, he saw her sitting on the upturned canoe, leaning over with her head on her knees. As she heard him approach, she sat up, latching her gaze on his.

And then his miracle happened. It was not the golden rope dropping from Heaven. It was much more profound. She smiled. In the middle of a cartel’s territory, scared out of her mind, exhausted, soaked to the bone, hungry, and so far from home it was frightening…she smiled. Directly. At. Him. And he knew then, whatever it took, he was getting them out of there.

“I’ll be in touch,” Cam said into the phone before disconnecting. Walking over he squatted in front of her.

“Babe,” he whispered, lifting his hand to cup her face. Once again, she leaned into his strength. “We gotta keep going. My contact has nowhere to pick us up here, so we’re going to walk in the woods near the cliffs by the falls.”

She smiled again, holding his gaze. “We don’t have to get back into the canoe?” she said, hope in her voice.

Chuckling, he nodded. “Nope. But here’s the thing. We need to carry it with us so that whenwe get to the bottom of the falls, we will have it to get closer to the gulf.”

The smile slid from her face and shot straight to his heart. “Carry? Carry the canoe?” she asked, new doubt evident in her words.

“Cariña,” he said. “You are so fuckin’ strong. We can do this. And when we get to the bottom, I’m going to hide you before I sneak into a village and get us some dry clothes and food.”

She lifted her eyes, quickly asking, “A village? We can get help?”

“No, babe. I’m ‘fraid not. You’ve got to remember, we’re still in Sinaloa.” Seeing the confusion, he added, “Still cartel territory.”

At that, her breath caught as her eyes widened in fear. “I…I thought we got out miles ago. All this way? We’ve come all this way, and they can still get to us?” Her voice rose with each word.

Sliding the hand that was at her cheek along her neck and into her wet hair, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her forward until her forehead touched his lips. He could feel her body shaking and spoke into her skin.

“Cariña, I promise. I fuckin’ promise, I’ll get you home safe.”

Knowing he was calling her sweetheart, she closed her eyes, feeling the vibration of his lips across her forehead right before she felt his lips pressing in. Choking back a sob, she lifted her hands to grasp his T-shirt, fisting it tightly. Her body was jerked up and lifted intohis arms as he twisted around and sat on the canoe, settling her in his lap.

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