Men-of-Action-Seres-04 -Saints and Sinners (3 page)

"Are you okay?"

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The low rumble of Sully's voice pulled her back into the here and now. "I'm fine," she stammered. He had actually initiated dialogue and for once it didn't involve barking orders, insulting her or threatening bodily harm.

"You haven't opened your mouth in fifteen minutes; I thought something was wrong."

Was that an insult? Of course it was, but she refused to acknowledge it as one. "You've made it perfectly clear you don't want to talk with me. I'm capable of holding a one sided conversation in my own head, I don't need to verbalize it when there's no hint of the possibility for a two way conversation." Although they were having one of those two way conversations right this moment.

He grunted again. She silenced her voice again, and they walked onward even with night falling. She wanted to sleep, but sleep could wait.

Sleep would have to wait because Sully showed no sign of stopping for the night. She understood his determination to move forward. Stopping now could be the difference between life and death. She was sure Mr.

Chavez's men were still trying to find them. They had no doubt figured out by now that they hadn't returned to the river. His men may have been far behind, but she had little doubt that they were indeed behind them. She would walk as long as she could. If she and Sully hadn't reached his destination point by the time her legs gave out then he would either have to stop for a couple hours or he would have to carry her.

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He pushed past a slender branch so sharply that it snapped back so fast and it smacked her in the face. The impact startled her briefly, but instead of giving him the satisfaction of complaining, she simply pushed the limb out of her way and moved onward. Were all government employees that mean? All the ones she had encountered had been, but then again she had only really dealt with two of them. Her mother didn't exactly bring people from the office home with her, and Alaina hadn't exactly made an effort to meet any of them on her own. She doubted that they could all be so heartless, which meant it was just her bad luck.

It wasn't long after the sun vanished and the sky started to lose that last hint of light when they reached a clear stretch of land surrounded by hills. Alaina leaned over and braced herself by placing her hands on her thighs. Tired wasn't exactly the word she would have used to describe how she felt. She wasn't sure she could go another step.

"I thought you said we were almost there."

"See that hill?" He pointed directly in front of them.

"Yeah." The light was barely there, but even drunk she wouldn't have been able to miss seeing the hill in front of them.

"We have to get over that."

"Oh, that's all? I can do that." She straightened up and walked beside him. She just had to get up the hill; that couldn't be too difficult given how much she had already been through. It wasn't exactly a small hill, but knowing she just needed to get over the hill made it seem doable.

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Would they be leaving the area by car or helicopter? She wasn't sure. She was only sure that they were close, too close to give up.

With great pain she climbed the hill with him. On occasion he would look back to her to make sure she was still behind him, but never once had he offered a hand up. Perhaps she was glad he hadn't. On some small level she didn't want to need anything else from him. She didn't want to be beholding to him for anything and so far she already was indebted to him for her life.

He looked back to her once more. "Just keep going."

For the first time she realized she was falling farther behind him.

Mentally she gave herself the standard pep talk.
You're almost there. You
can do it.
At some point not even her pep talk was working.

"Typical woman," he snapped.

"You know your search and rescue demeanor could use some work. You're rude, hostile, rude."

"You already said rude."

"And not to mention the fact that nowhere, in any manual, would it ever tell the rescuer to shoot the hostage." She stomped up the hill the best she could. She was determined to catch up with him and when she did he was going to get the full brunt of her anger.

"You sure about that?"

"Positive." Actually she wasn't sure of anything. It wasn't exactly as if she had read the book on hostage negotiations, but she was fairly Capri Montgomery 21

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confident that getting the hostage released did not include shooting him or her.

"You're insufferable, the most insufferable man I have ever met in my entire life." She huffed as she finally reached him. "You're—"

"At the top," he said.

She looked out ahead of them. She had made the climb thanks to him. He hadn't held her hand, but he had fueled her anger which had made her more determined to prove him wrong. He had baited her into hauling tail on the climb so that she could make it up. He was no doubt tired himself, and the thought of having to carry her up probably sent chills up his spine.

"You were helping me," she nodded. "Thank you." She looked down to the valley below. There was no vehicle, no military assist waiting to take them back home. "Now what?"

"You see that hill over there?"

"Yeah," she said cautiously.

"Now we have to get over that one."

"But I thought we just had to clear this one."

He shrugged.

"Well how many more?"

He shrugged again.

"Do you know where you're going?"

“Over that hill.”

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If she hadn't been looking she might have missed the small curve of his lips upward, because as quickly as it appeared it disappeared and he moved on. He was enjoying his job at her expense. Well, it wasn't going to happen. She was done. She couldn't keep going. Not only did her feet feel as if they were going to fall off, her entire body was in pain. She sat down.

"I can't. I can't keep going."

He stopped in his tracks, turned to her and without even a hint of compassion said, "Get off your butt and keep moving."

She tried to get up, but her knees buckled beneath her weight and she fell forward. He stomped back to her. "I can't."

He squatted before her. "Listen to me, you're almost there."

"You said that before."

"You just have to make it over that hill."

"You said that last time and I made it, and I can't make anymore."

"No, last time I said we have to get over the hill. I never said it was the only hill."

"So that one is the last one? That's it?"

"On the other side of that hill is freedom." He wrapped his hands around her arms and pulled her up to standing position.

"Last one," she nodded. "Okay. I can do that." At least she hoped she could do that. Right now her legs weren't agreeing with her mouth.

"Just remember, over that hill is freedom."

In less than two minutes he had uttered more words to her than he had since he rescued her. Somehow those words made him seem almost Capri Montgomery 23

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human. He had let down his armor in order to get her to push on, but he hadn't let it down for long. Once she started walking he went back to the same quiet, uncharismatic Sully that she had met just hours earlier.

Five hours later, exhausted, sleep deprived and in desperate need of food, water and a bathroom, Alaina finally received one order she was willing to take. "Sit," he had commanded in the same dry tone as always.

It was the tone that told her he expected orders to be followed. She didn't protest because she knew if she didn't sit down she would fall down.

"Don't fall asleep we won't be here long."

"Fifteen minutes I swear."

"No."

She rolled her eyes. "Sully—"

"There's our ride," he pointed in the distance. She couldn't see anything and had no idea how he figured there was anything, let alone a vehicle, coming their way. Until she heard the low hum of the vehicle she assumed he was out of his mind crazy. Then she saw two clicks of a light off in the distance and she realized how he knew. While she was drifting off to sleep he had signaled with his flashlight and had obviously received the correct code in return. She didn't know how long it was going to take them to get home, but she was glad she didn't have to walk anymore. At least she hoped this ride would take them to their next mode of transportation.

She could contact the resort later in the week and request her things be sent to her. Her passport was still locked in the resort safe. Her Saints and Sinners 24

clothes were still neatly tucked inside her suitcase, which was neatly tucked inside the closet of the suite. Of course she had been missing for awhile and she knew they had probably moved her things in order to give the room to another paying customer. Her camera was long gone. She had been forced to leave it behind when Mr. Chavez and his men forced her into their motor boat. She had no hopes of ever seeing her "baby" again.

She knew she shouldn't be worried about such things, but that camera was the last thing her dad had given her, losing it felt like she was severing her connection to him for the final time.

Most of her memories had faded long ago. She remembered very little about him, only small amounts of details over a small amount of time. If it weren't for her pictures she wouldn't remember the color of his eyes, they were brown, almost black, just as her eyes were. He had been darker in complexion, born in Ireland to an African mother and an Irish father. He had migrated to the United States for college and decided to make the States his home. Then he met Liz. Liz was pale, almost porcelain. She was blonde and ambitious. He had instantly fallen for her and not even a year later they were married—not even a half a year later, she mused. Alaina wasn't sure how they had managed to fall in love because from what she knew of her mother, love was not in her vocabulary. Still, somehow they had created a child. They had created her.

She had light brown skin, long straight hair and curves. She was a size four and vivacious, as Troy had said. She had her dad's oval face, but her mom's "pug" nose. Maybe that was the problem. Everything about Alaina Capri Montgomery 25

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was closer to being the spitting image of her father. Had she looked more like her mother, acted more like her mother, thought more like her mother maybe she could have been closer to her.

The rugged jeep pulled up beside them. Two men sat in the front, one holding his rifle on his lap while the other navigated the vehicle.

Despite their dirt ridden faces and native apparel she could tell they were American.

"M'am," the driver nodded. She found the strength to lift her hand in what she could only hope passed for a sincere wave of thanks.

"After you;" Sully motioned for her to climb into the jeep and so she did.

Finally she felt some sense of relief. She was out of danger and in the safe company of these men. She was safe, unless Sully's rescue was merely a rouse designed to make her think they were the good guys.

Maybe they wanted the same thing those men wanted. The more she tried to push away those thoughts the harder they pushed in and before she knew it she had the sinking feeling she might be in more trouble than she thought. It was too late to do anything about it now. She could only sit back and hope Sully really was one of the good guys.

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"M
s. James," agent Tony Cordova waited patiently for Liz to acknowledge his presence.

"What is it?" She sat at her solid oak desk finalizing business before leaving her office for the campaign trail. There could be no mistakes, especially not now. A mistake would be attributed to being weak, distracted. She was neither weak nor distracted, but in announcing her bid to run for presidential election she had just made herself a media target.

"I thought you would want to know our two agents have picked up Captain Masterson and your daughter."

"Are they on their way to the U.S.?"

"They're still in Central America, but they're headed to the airstrip."

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"I see." She signed off on another confidential document and tucked it inside the dark gray folder before speaking again. "Keep me posted."

"Yes m'am."

Alaina's misfortunes always came at the best possible time for Liz.

She had already planned how to spin Alaina's captivity to her benefit. A woman who, though worried about her captive daughter, still had the ability to keep the best interest of the country in mind was sure to look favorably come election time. Refusing to give up confidential prisoner holding information was in the best interest of the country, she would assure any detractors of that point while making sure they knew she believed in bringing any American taken hostage home safe. Mothers would understand her dilemma; patriots would honor her decision to stay strong in the face of great adversity. The voters, come election day, would have no reason not to elect her. She would assure them that she would issue in a new government, one that put the people first. A united government where red tape tied up less progress than it currently did. The public in general was tired of politicians who couldn't put country ahead of their own agenda. They wanted change and she would promise them that change.