Page 81 of Her Reluctant Hero
“I know.” He’d heard it in the old man’s voice earlier tonight. “I know.”
“You did what you had to do, Alex. You’ve done it before. Odds are you’ll have to do it again.”
His father was right. Hell, he may have to do it before this was over.
“Call me when you can,” his father said with a sigh when Alex didn’t say anything. “I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Dad.” He flipped the phone closed just as Julian walked back. The grim look on the younger man’s face made Alex’s stomach twist. “What happened?”
“We lost Saldana.”
Alex’s stomach dropped, and he jumped to his feet, ignoring his swimming head. “Isabella?”
“We don’t know.”
“Where did you lose track?” He grabbed up the plastic bag with his belongings and started for the exit, staggering just a bit on unsteady legs.
Julian fell into step. “Near Jacksonville.”
But at least not heading back to Honduras. How long had it taken the DEA to find Saldana the first time? Years? Isabella didn’t have that long.
“Have they traced the SUVs? What about the plane? It’s not like there are a lot of places they could land—did you get the flight plan?”
“Yeah, we have it, and we have a team on its way to the airstrip, but Saldana’s avoided authorities for a long damn time. You don’t think he’s playing by the rules now, do you?”
Alex whirled on his friend, who steadied him when he swayed. “We’ve got to start somewhere, got to find her.”
Jesus. What was she going through right now? Because if Saldana touched her, Alex would tear him apart. She’d been through enough.
He slammed his fist on the gurney. “How could you lose her? Do you know what he’ll do to her?”
Julian shook his head. “I’m sorry, Shep.”
“I shouldn’t have left her alone. I trusted Danes, and I left her alone while I did him a favor. I killed her.”
Julian rested his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “We’ll get to her in time.”
Alex shook his head. “It’s already too late.”
Isabella woke on a rolling bed, the scent of fish—no, the scent of the ocean—surrounding her. She took a quick inventory. Her head and her stomach ached from where Santiago had hit her once she was in his custody, but she was dressed and hadn’t been raped.
Thank God.
But Alex was dead, and that was the worst pain of all.
Without opening her eyes, she tried to measure the room, to discover if anyone was here with her. She listened for the sound of breathing, anything that would give her a clue. But she heard nothing but the lapping of waves against the hull. A boat, then, but no motor. No other sounds surrounded the boat, no voices, no other boats. They had to be in open water. How would anyone find her now?
Slowly she opened her eyes. The room was clean, bright enough to hurt her eyes, gleaming wood and brass. A yacht.
She sat up abruptly. Hector could be here. If Santiago was leaving the country, he would certainly bring his son.
The fact that she wasn’t bound struck her and reaffirmed her fear that they were out on the ocean. Nowhere to run.
She was his prisoner again.
She rolled off the bed, staggered, and not from the pitch of the boat. Was she drugged or just hungry? She hadn’t eaten since the chili in the trailer with Alex. She had no idea how long ago that had been.
Cautiously she tried the door handle, not wanting anyone on the other side to realize she was awake. The door was locked from the outside. Her heart dropped, but she shouldn’t have expected otherwise.
