Healing Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (34 page)

Manuel jerked Miriam to her feet. “You and me are gonna take a little flight.” He saw the struggle in her eyes to recognize him. “You only met me once,
chica
. I work for Alberto…” he grinned before continuing, “and the Guzmans.”

“That’s what she meant. You’re a traitor to both.”

Getting his face into hers, he growled, “I work for me, bitch. And this’ll get me in good and tight with the good doctor and in turn, Juaquim. What the government pays me to keep an eye on the cartels barely keeps me out of poverty.”

Manuel jerked her arm once more toward the plane. “Let’s go.”

“Stop!” she cried. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom first.”

He looked at her incredulously. “How fuckin’ stupid do you think I am?”

“I do. I can’t make it without going.”

Not wanting to risk her making a mess in the small plane, he shoved her toward Sharon with a nod toward a side door. “Take her and you’d better not fuck it up or your ass will be on the plane instead.”

Grimacing, Sharon caught hold of Miriam’s arm as she stumbled toward her. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Having to hop with her ankles taped, she finally made it inside the small toilet. “I can’t sit with these clothes on.”

Sharon assisted and then pulled Miriam back toward the sink, when she was done.

“Sharon, why? What happened? Why are you doing this?” she begged.

The other woman had the grace to look aside in embarrassment. “I had no choice. It was my only way out.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Not all of us had some rescuer come in the night, Miriam,” Sharon growled.

“If you’d been there, he would have gotten you out too. It wasn’t about me—he came to get all of us.”

A pained looked crossed Sharon’s face before being replaced with indignation. “I made my choice.”

Miriam’s anger grew as she replied, “Yes. You chose to get in bed with them. So how’d that work out for you?”

“It would have been fine if you’d stayed. After you left, Ernesto got angry and took it out on me. One day I blew up and showed up at his villa. His wife had a fit—it seems he kept his many mistresses from her.”

Miriam noticed that Sharon needed to get her story out and tried to keep her talking as she desperately tried to stall the plane from leaving. “So what happened then?”

Sucking in a shaky breath, Sharon continued, “That crazy bitch hit me. Actually walked up and slapped me.” Giving an angry huff, she said, “It was her husband that was cheating on her by fucking me, but I was the one who got slapped.”

Blinking the tears back, she looked into Miriam’s eyes. “He was furious at me. Said that he’d let the men have me or I could help him. So, it’s not too hard to figure out what I was going to do. I agreed to impersonate Sister Genovia and then I was told I could stay in the U.S. while you were taken back.”

Seeing the look on Miriam’s face, she looked away again. “I’m sorry, Miriam, but I’m not going back.”

“But you expect me to? Can’t you help me? We could both get out of here!”

“I have no choice. He’s got a gun and if you go back, Ernesto’ll be good to you. You were always the one he wanted anyway. Me? I couldn’t become one of the camp whores.”

Shaking overtook Miriam as she realized the desperate woman in front of her was not going to help her escape. Just then, the door flew open and Manuel strolled in. “You fuckin’ finished?” Once more, he grabbed Miriam by the arm and pulled her along for a few steps before throwing her over his shoulder.

“What about me?” Sharon yelled.

Manuel shouted back, “Let me get this one in the plane and I’ll get you the car keys.”

Miriam tried to struggled but, with her extremities bound, she was at his mercy. He climbed up on the wing and leaning down, opened the door. Twisting his body, he maneuvered her into the passenger seat of the small plane. Before she could wiggle out of his grasp, he fastened the seat belt around her body. He looked up, an evil expression crossing his face, before he jumped back down to the hanger floor.

Miriam watched in horror as he turned toward Sharon, smiling as he pulled a gun from his back waistband and pointed it right at her.

“Wha—”

A loud, reverberating sound penetrated inside of the hangar, causing Miriam to duck her head instinctively. Looking back up, she saw Sharon’s crumpled body on the floor, a red river oozing from underneath her.

A scream pierced the night before Miriam realized it came from her.

C
am threw himself
into the passenger seat of the SUV, not willing to be in the backseat. Even though he was not driving, the front seat afforded him the radio intel coming from Luke.

“She still there?” he growled, finding his voice unnaturally low as fear choked him.

“Yeah, her tracer has stopped moving.”

“What assistance do we have?”

“Marc’s got FAA on alert and Monty’s pulled in the FBI. They’ve got agents heading your way right now.”

“Not waiting on them,” Cam retorted.

“Understood,” Jack said, interrupting the call. “Do what you’ve got to do.”

While Blaise drove, Bart and Chad suited up in the back seat, handing Cam his weapons when he was finished with the intel call.

Pulling off of the main road, Blaise turned off his headlights as he followed the bumpy drive toward the hangar. “What is this place?”

“Luke said it was a private hangar, normally used for keeping a crop-dusting plane. Local gang must now use it for drops and pickups.”

Close enough now to see a single vehicle next to the hangar, Blaise parked and the men quickly exited. Just as they began to move stealthily toward the hangar, a piercing scream met their ears. Breaking into a run, Cam prayed his legs would hold him up knowing the agonizing sound came from Miriam.
If she screamed, then she’s still alive and still here
!

As the Saints rounded the front of the building, a small plane taxied out. The men fired quickly at the tires, but the aircraft leapt forward as the pilot increased the speed. Blaise ran back to their SUV, determined to chase the aircraft down the runway while Bart, Chad, and Cam continued to fire at the tires.

Cam saw Miriam’s pale face looking out of the window staring straight at him.

*

Miriam heard shots
fired and, glancing out of the plane’s window, saw Cam and some of the others illuminated by the hangar’s lights.
He’s here! He found me.

A renewed determination coursed through her veins as she turned back to see what she could do. Rearing back in the seat, she brought her taped ankles up and kicked the control panel as hard as she could.

“Stop it,
perra
,” Manual cursed, using his right hand to hit Miriam in the face.

Her head jerked to the side from the force of his punch, but she refused to succumb to the pain. Nothing but the determination to not be taken again coursed through her blood. Twisting slightly, she kicked the steering wheel causing the plane to move quickly left. Before he could hit her again, she kicked once more as hard as she could, this time kicking his arm at the same time.

Howling in pain, he let go of the wheel, trying to subdue the wildcat in the cockpit, but she was not to be deterred. Kicking repeatedly on the control panel, she was finally causing damage to the planes controls and Manuel found that he could not maneuver the plane down the small, makeshift runway. They continued to taxi to the side, the aircraft jumping off of the asphalt onto the dirt.

He twisted and hit her once more, dodging her feet. Reaching for his gun, he opened the window and pointed the gun in the direction of the men running toward him.

Cam? No!
Her shoulder felt wrenched out of its socket but she forced her body around even further than it had been and kicked Manuel in the back, propelling his body forward just as a zing sounded through the window. Blood splattered over Miriam as he screamed out, dropping the gun and grabbing his shoulder.

As the plane lurched to a stop, she tried to lift herself up from the awkward position but found herself pinned down in the seat. Manuel’s face, contorted in pain, turned toward her, his eyes burning in fury.

“
Puta
!” he screamed. “I’ve lost everything because of you!” Letting go of his bloody shoulder, he reached over with his hand, grasping her around the throat, squeezing with what was left of his strength.

“Let her go!” came the order from Cam’s lips as he threw open the door of the plane, his pistol aimed at Manuel.

Bart landed on the other wing and jerked open the pilot’s door, yelling the same order.

His fingers still squeezing, he looked back at Cam. “Not going to prison over this piece of
chochos
! You’re gonna have to kill me, big man.”

“No problem, asshole,” Cam growled but, before he could fire, Bart grabbed Manuel from behind at the same time that Miriam kicked upward one more time, landing her foot on his injured shoulder.

Manuel howled in pain, screaming obscenities, as Blaise and Bart maneuvered him out of the cockpit. Chad ran up with the FBI in tow, calling for an ambulance and radioing Jack. “Got Miriam and Manuel. Uncertain of injuries,” he reported rapidly.

Cam shifted his large frame between the two seats, his knife slicing through the seat belt trapping Miriam. “Babe, tell me what hurts?” he begged, slicing the tape at her feet, horrified at the blood on her. He could see her split lip and swollen eye, bruises already forming on her throat, but was unsure if anything was broken.

“My shoulder,” she croaked, tears streaming down her face.

Trying not to move her, he slipped the knife underneath her body, slicing the bonds at her wrists as well, his shaking hands showing his fear.

“Blaise!” Cam called, needing his friend’s medical assistance.

“Right here, bro. You gotta move away, Cam, so I can get to her.”

Cam found his body unable to let go of Miriam’s hand as Blaise attempted to ascertain her injuries in the tiny space.

“Bart!” Blaise called. “You’re needed!”

Bart came up behind Cam and pulled his shoulders back.

Cam twisted his head around in anger. “What the fuck?”

“Let’s get her out of the plane, man. Then you can hold her while Blaise checks her out.”

Bart’s calm voice finally penetrated Cam’s mind and he bent low over her body. “Baby, I don’t want to hurt you but I’ve got to get you out of here.” He kissed her forehead as he lifted her out of the seat and backed through the door, trying to focus solely on moving her gently and not the pounding of his heart or the soft moans coming from her mouth. “Shit, I’m sorry,
cariña
.”

“It’s okay,” she hissed through gritted teeth, but the pain was secondary.
He came and got me.
As he lay her down on the blankets that Chad had thrown on the ground, she smiled up at Cam. Blaise knelt by her side as Cam knelt on the other, his hand not leaving hers.

Bart and Chad circled around, keeping the FBI at bay and an eye on their friends. Blaise quickly ascertained that the blood on her clothes was Manuel’s.

“Thank Christ,” Cam breathed, gently brushing her hair away from her face, wanting to kiss her but afraid to hurt her split lip.

Opening the medical kit from their vehicle, Blaise treated her injuries. “Looks like your shoulder isn’t dislocated, Miriam, but it’s definitely sprained. I’m gonna fashion a sling and we’ll need you to keep this on until you get to the hospital to be checked out.”

As soon as Blaise had the sling in place, Cam moved him out of the way, nearly lying on the blanket with his arms around her. She had begun to shake from the cold and shock, but his body heat began to warm her considerably.

With his arms around her, endearments whispered in her ear, she slowly relaxed in his embrace. Cupping his jaw with her hand, she spoke with tears in her eyes, “You came for me.”

“
Cariña
, you were fighting him yourself.”

“I couldn’t go back. And…I couldn’t leave you.”

Unashamed of the tears in his own eyes, he whispered, “I love you,” as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

With a smile on her lips she melted, warm and loved in his arms. “Take me home, Cam. Take me home.”

He kissed her once more before lifting her in his mighty arms. “Always,
mi amor
,” he promised.

Epilogue

Six Months Later

T
he wedding gazebo
at Mountville Cabins that Bethany decorated was breathtaking. The bride and groom danced their first dance together underneath the pine structure covered in ivory sheers with spring flowers tied in bunches at the rails.

Miriam and Cam gazed into each other’s eyes as the rest of the party fell away behind them. Wearing a strapless, ivory, knee-length dress with beading over the bodice she took his breath away, just as much as she had done at their actual wedding earlier in the day.

To satisfy both sets of parents, they married in a church, but both wanted the reception to be a casual party for all of their friends. Cam wore dark pants with a white shirt, but eschewed the tie. His arms wrapped around Miriam as they moved back and forth around the gazebo floor.