Читать книгу Desperate Escape - Lisa Harris, Lisa Harris - Страница 12

FOUR

Maddie’s heart rate accelerated.

She was offering to help them escape?

Maddie moved aside a section of the colorful blue-and-orange cloth that was wrapped tightly around the baby, wondering if she’d understood the woman correctly. Because why would she want to help them escape? If Oumar found out, it could cost her her life.

Big brown eyes stared up at her as Maddie pressed the back of her hand against the baby’s plump cheeks. She squirmed beneath her touch and cooed at Maddie. No fever. No signs of distress.

“I don’t understand...” Maddie paused. She didn’t even know the woman’s name. “I’m sorry...what is your name?”

“Silvia. And you are Dr. Gilbert.” She kept her gaze on Maddie, her voice loud enough to reach the guards. “I need you to make sure she is all right. I cannot lose another child.”

“Okay.” Maddie glanced at Grant and stood up. The woman obviously needed to talk. “My medical bag is on the other side of the compound. It would be easier if I examined her there.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” One of the guards set his empty plate of food beside him and walked over to them, grabbing Maddie. She tried to pull away from his grip, but his fingers dug deeper into her arm. “I said where are you going?”

Maddie raised her chin, resisting the urge to say something she’d regret later. “I need to examine her baby.”

“You heard Oumar.” Grant stood up beside her, ready to step in if needed. “She was brought here to stop this sickness from spreading. And I’m pretty sure that if his child were to die from this disease, he’d want to blame someone.”

The guard hesitated.

“Leave her alone.” One of the men laughed on the other side of the fire, clutching a bottle of alcohol. “They’re not going anywhere.”

The guard lessened his grip and let her go before aiming his rifle toward Grant and Antonio. “The two of you will stay here.”

Maddie pulled away and walked slowly beside the baby’s mother across the courtyard toward her makeshift clinic. She wished the conditions were more adequate, and hoped she could do something to put this mother’s mind at ease. But even more pressing at the moment was a hope that Silvia might have a way for them to escape.

“I’ll be right back. My medical bag’s just inside.” Maddie handed the baby back to Silvia and pointed to one of two chairs she’d been using to examine patients. She grabbed her bag and sat down across from the woman before pulling out her stethoscope. The only medical supplies she had with her were the ones she’d been carrying the day they’d abducted her; barely more than a handful of painkillers, bandages and antibacterial creams. But at least she had what she needed to assess vital signs and perform a handful of basic emergency procedures.

Maddie picked up the baby in order to examine her again. “Your husband was right to take your son to the capital.”

“What happened to him is far too common. They say when the rain falls, the soil shifts. Footpaths that people have used for years suddenly become death traps.” Silvia reached up to slip a loose end of her headscarf back into place, her eyes filled with tears. “Do you think he will live?”

Maggie hesitated. Facing one of the lowest life-expectancy rates in the world, death might be all too common in this country, but even that familiarity with loss could never erase the deep anguish these mothers faced. The loss of a child was profound no matter who you were.

“I wish I could say he’ll make it, but I can’t make any promises. All we can do now is pray.”

Silvia’s gaze dropped. “Then I hope God listens this time. I’ve lost three children. I cannot lose the two I have left.”

Maddie pressed the stethoscope against the baby’s dark brown chest and listened to the steady heartbeat, wishing there was something she could say to ease the woman’s pain. But sometimes words weren’t enough. “Any diarrhea or vomiting?”

Silvia shook her head.

The baby squirmed in her arms and smiled. Maddie searched for any signs of sickness, but her heartbeat was regular. No loss of skin elasticity, or signs of lethargy.

No sign of cholera.

Maddie placed the stethoscope around her neck. “Your baby...she’s beautiful. And healthy.”

“I know...” Silvia glanced over to where the guards were finishing up their dinner. “I needed an excuse to speak to you away from the fire.”

“You said you’d help us escape?”

She nodded and pressed something into Maddie’s hands before taking the baby.

Maddie closed her fingers around a set of keys. “Why are you doing this for us? If they catch you...”

Silvia cuddled the child against her chest. “Do you have children?”

Maddie shook her head. “One day, perhaps.”

“I told you I’ve lost three babies. It is something I have to accept. But I waited many years for Jose, and now I have Anita. Her name means cheerful, because she brings me joy. My children are all I have.” She looked back up at Maddie in the light of one of the lanterns and caught her gaze. “You helped save my son’s life. I want to repay you.”

“You could leave with us...” Maddie started, not sure if she was crossing a line she shouldn’t.

“Oumar would come after me and take my children. This is my life, and I accept that, but you...you don’t deserve to be here.”

“But—”

“Please. Go before it is too late for you.” Silvia stood up and quickly slid Anita on her back, nuzzled closely against her. She covered the baby’s bottom and back with her wide cloth, as she’d done a hundred times before, and then secured it tightly in front so it fit like a sling. “I know my husband. He needs you now, but as soon as this sickness is over, he has told the men he is going to kill you. The vehicle is the white Jeep parked on the south side of the camp, just outside the wall. Take it and get as far away from here as you can.”

Maddie was still hesitant. “And if he finds out you have helped us?”

“You don’t need to worry. I have made sure he won’t be able to trace it back to me. Wait until a couple hours before dawn. Most of the guards will be asleep or drunk by then, and I don’t expect Oumar to return until it is light again.”

“Thank you.”

Maddie watched Silvia walk away, her heart aching for the woman. The tragic loss of three children, an unstable life in the middle of this camp, and now her son’s life hanging in the balance.

She slipped her hand inside her pocket and clutched the keys Silvia had given her, praying the woman hadn’t just signed her own death warrant. Because if Oumar did find out...

Keep her safe, Lord, please.

She glanced at the simple structure behind her. As a doctor, part of her wanted to help these people no matter who they were. She drew in a deep breath of smoke-tinged air. Patients needed to be checked on, beds needed to be changed and washed and fresh rehydration solution made and distributed.

But the other part of her simply wanted to run.

Which meant any risk they had to take in leaving this place was a risk she was willing to take. But until then, she’d continue treating her patients.

She signaled to one of the guards that she needed Grant’s and Antonio’s help and then gave them instructions on how to mix up another batch of the rehydration formula.

“Is her baby okay?” Grant asked, washing his hands in the boiled water Maddie set in front of him and Antonio.

“So far there are no signs of the cholera.”

“That’s good.”

“It is.” She handed him a clean plastic container for the mixture and then pressed the keys into the palm of his hand. “But that’s not all she wanted.”

The question in Grant’s eyes vanished as he realized what she’d given him. “Where did she get these?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“But you trust her?”

“We have to. I helped save her son. Now she believes she owes me a debt.”

“If they catch us escaping, they will kill us,” he said.

Maddie paused. “According to Silvia, they will kill us anyway.”

* * *

Around half past four the next morning, Grant clutched the keys to the Jeep in his hand as they made their way out of the camp. He’d insisted they each take turns sleeping a couple hours before they left. But instead of getting any rest, he’d watched Maddie toss and turn on the thin mat, knowing that if she wasn’t awake thinking of their escape, she was dreaming about it.

Now, with the sunrise still a couple of hours away, thunderclouds continued to roll in above them, blotting out the moon and stars and casting their early morning escape in darkness. He was praying the blackness of the night would work to their advantage.

Pressing his hand lightly against the small of Maddie’s back, he guided her along the edges of the compound toward the south wall, with Antonio and Ana following right behind them. Except for the hum of an insect and the occasional howl of some nocturnal creature in the distance, silence surrounded them. A guard dozed beside the orange embers of the fire that had yet to go out, unaware his prisoners had just slipped past him.

Twenty yards ahead, something rustled to their left. Grant stopped and held up his hand for them to wait as he searched the darkness for another guard in front of them. He’d studied their patterns and come to the conclusion that they must be more lax when Oumar was gone. Though, in reality, there was little need for tight security. Even beyond these walls there was nothing but more jungles that eventually led to the white sands of the island’s shoreline. And no real presence of the law until one reached the mainland.

Not seeing anyone, he nodded for them to continue. He couldn’t help but wonder—not for the first time—if Oumar’s wife was leading them into a trap. But he knew he had to trust Maddie’s instincts. And the motivations of a mother who’d almost lost her child tonight.

“You okay?” he asked her as they paused at the unguarded wall.

“I will be, once we make it out of here.”

He caught the fear in her voice, and knew her heart must be pounding and her adrenaline pumping. He wished he could simply whisk her away to safety in Colton’s airplane, as he’d planned, but now even once they distanced themselves from the compound this wouldn’t be over. He had to find a way to get her off this island.

He pressed his hand against her back for reassurance. “We’re almost there.”

On the other side of the wall, they hurried toward the place Silvia had told them to go. There were no signs of any of the guards. No signs that anyone had even noticed their middle-of-the-night escape.

The Jeep was where she told them it would be. Now all they had to do was get out of here and make it across the island to the ferry.

Grant slipped into the driver’s seat and attempted to start the engine while Maddie got Ana settled into the backseat.

The engine sputtered and choked, trying to start. Nothing. His heart raced. Someone was going to hear his attempts.

“What’s wrong?” Antonio asked, climbing into the front passenger seat.

Grant turned the key again. “I don’t know. It’s not starting.”

“Try it again,” Antonio said.

“I am.”

He glanced into the rearview mirror and started praying. Ironic how catastrophes quickly brought people to their knees. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d prayed this much.

“Do you see anyone out there?” Grant asked.

Antonio studied the darkness around them. “No. Not yet.”

Grant tried a fourth time. The engine sputtered and then roared to life. Letting out a whoosh of air, he shifted the car into first and turned on the vehicle’s parking lights. Half a tank of gas should easily get them all the way to the ferry crossing.

“Antonio?” he said, stepping on the gas and heading down the rutted path that led away from the compound. “I might be the driver, but you’re going to have to help me find our way out of here.”

“There’s a dirt road up ahead to your right. According to the map I have, it will take us across the island lengthwise, and we’ll end up at the port, where we can try to catch the ferry.”

There were no guarantees. He knew that. But that didn’t stop him from feeling the weight of responsibility for everyone in the car pulling on him. Because the variables of this escape were too numerous to count. They’d be driving through a drug-trafficking hub that had no law and for the moment no way for them to communicate with the outside world.

“What about land mines?” Maddie asked, adding another worry to his growing list. “After last night...”

“If we stay on the dirt roads we should be okay,” Antonio said.

Grant wanted to laugh. Calling this a road was a joke. He double-checked to ensure the car was in four-wheel drive. The vehicle bounced under them as he fought the loose sand in order to stay on the narrow path without running into a bush or a tree. Which meant he couldn’t go faster than ten miles an hour. And even at that slow speed, with no shock absorbers to cushion the deep ruts, they could feel every bump beneath them.

“How long?” Maddie asked.

Grant glanced at the backseat where she sat with Ana’s head resting in her lap, while holding on to the armrest with her free hand, knowing she was worried about her patient.

“If you need to stop...” Grant began, understanding the effects of cholera, but knowing they weren’t far away enough from the compound to even consider stopping yet.

“She said she’s okay. For now.”

“In the dark and with these roads in such bad condition, it’s going to take us a couple of hours,” Antonio said. “While most of this island is uninhabited by the general population, there’s a small town where we can stop and try to call for help. It isn’t too far from where we should be able to find a boat out of here.”

Headlights flashed in the rearview mirror.

“Grant...” Maddie sucked in a breath of air. “There’s someone behind us.”

“Hang on.” Grant pushed on the gas, still fighting to keep the tires in the ruts.

“The main road has to be just ahead of us,” Antonio said. “It not paved, but you’ll be able to drive a little faster.”

“Maybe it’s not them,” Maddie said. “Maybe it’s just another driver.”

“Not out here,” Antonio said. “The only vehicles you’ll see belong to them.”

Grant glanced in his rearview mirror. “Maddie, I want you and Ana to stay down.”

He didn’t have to verbalize what he was thinking. The other car presumably had weapons. All they had was a stolen Jeep.

He leaned forward as the headlights caught the turnoff onto the main road up ahead. The Jeep fishtailed as he made the turn, then jerked to a stop as the engine died. Grant quickly restarted the engine and tried to move forward, but the wheels started spinning. He banged on the steering wheel and then quickly threw the car into Reverse and backed up. The quickest way to get completely stuck was to let the tires spin. They didn’t have time to dig the Jeep out of a hole.

He eased off the gas. “Come on...come on...”

“Grant...” Maddie’s voice was laced in panic.

“How close are they?” Grant asked.

“I don’t know, but they’re gaining on us,” she said.

Antonio jumped out of the car.

“Antonio!” Grant shouted, still trying to get the vehicle unstuck.

“Give me ten seconds.”

“We don’t have ten seconds,” Grant shouted, but Antonio was already gone.

Grant shifted into first again and then eased on the pedal. This time the car moved forward enough to get them free.

Antonio jumped back into the car, slamming his door shut. “Get us out of here.”

Grant eased down slowly on the gas, then sped onto the main road. The headlights were still behind them.

“What did you just do?” he asked, picking up speed on the packed dirt road.

Antonio gripped the dashboard. “There were a couple fallen palm tree fronds on the side of the road. They happen to have these sharp thorns on the back of them that can be extremely painful if you step on them. They’ve also been known to puncture a tire or two. I thought if I laid them across the road it might delay our friends. With a little luck, they won’t even see them.”

“I knew there was a good reason for bringing you along.” Grant chuckled.

“It looks like they’ve stopped,” Maddie said a few seconds later.

“Which means you, my friend, just bought us some more time.” Grant looked back in his rearview mirror as the other vehicle’s headlights began to fade into the distance.

But while they might have lost them, this was far from over. They were unarmed in a territory that was not only unfamiliar, but run by local drug traffickers. How many more second chances to get out alive were they going to get?