Читать книгу Lethal Deception - Lynette Eason - Страница 9

I’ve always cared about you, Gabriel. The statement taunted him.

He hiked slowly, keeping his ears tuned to the sound of anything that didn’t have to do with nature. Nothing set off his worry alarm, so he decided to give Cassidy a little space while he mulled over her words.

They’d seen each other off and on over the next couple of years when they attended certain social functions at the request of their respective parents, and Gabe had visited often because of Micah, but Cassidy lived in a different world; one Gabe hadn’t wanted to be a part of. Yet, he’d been fascinated by her. And saddened by her wild lifestyle, thinking she was on the road to destruction. And then all of a sudden, her face and exploits were no longer mentioned in the paper. He’d wondered what happened. He realized now that this was when she’d become a Christian and changed her lifestyle.

And then came the mission.

And Micah had died.

And Gabe couldn’t forget how.

And he couldn’t forget Cassidy.

It galled him that he could be so attracted to a flighty debutante, but there just seemed to be something about her…something deeper, like her shallowness was some kind of cover-up and there were many layers to her personality that the public never saw.

So, he’d gone to attend her college graduation. To see if he could find the deeper layers. Only, before he could see her, he’d read about her engagement in the paper. He’d been disappointed, but not surprised.

Without contacting Cassidy, he’d said goodbye to his parents and joined the SEALs. He’d thought he could make a difference with his medical skills—and he had. He’d saved the lives of good soldiers. And still, his dreams were haunted by the green-eyed princess. He knew her engagement had fallen through, but Micah was always tight-lipped about why.

What was it about her that wouldn’t shake loose from his mind? His heart? He’d thought about looking her up again a few years ago, but Micah’s death changed everything. And now he’d learned she’d had a child.

“Are you coming or not?” Cassidy asked.

Gabe jerked like he’d been shot. Horror swept over him. He’d totally lost his concentration for a brief moment. His carelessness could have gotten them killed. Fury with himself for his lapse made his low voice harsh. “Keep your voice down.”

Cassidy’s eyes widened then narrowed to slits, her displeasure with his curt tone evident. Her lips thinned and she planted her hands on her hips. Gabe caught up with her, and Cassidy kept her glare at full power. He knew he should apologize, but frankly he just didn’t feel like it. Besides, when they argued, he didn’t think about his nightmares.

“How much farther do you think it is?” Her words came out stiff, as though she begrudged having to ask the question.

“We can probably be there in a couple of hours.”

“That soon?” Surprise chased away her anger.

“Yeah, the camp where you were held wasn’t that far. By jeep, only a couple of hours or so. Seeing how we have to keep off the beaten path, it may take a lot longer.”

“Okay, once we get there, how long do you think it would take us to get to La Joya?”

Gabe shrugged. “If we could borrow a jeep, and don’t get lost or killed, probably not that long.”

“And if we don’t have a jeep?”

“A lot longer. Today’s the twentieth. The plane will be there tonight for its weekly supply drop. If we miss it, it’ll be another week before it comes back.”

A raindrop chose that moment to roll down one of the large canopy leaves through the drip tip and splatter on Gabe’s nose. He groaned. “We’d better get moving so we can find a dry place to hole up for a while.”

“Where do you find shelter from the rain in a rain forest?” she asked.

Gabe felt a few more drops and said, “I have no idea. Let’s see if we can find something before we get saturated.”

The sky opened up. Gabe groaned again. Barely able to see in front of him, he pulled the machete from the sling across his back and swung with a vengeance, not caring about the trail he was leaving. If they were getting wet and looking desperately to get out of the downpour, chances were so were the guys behind them.

After an hour of backbreaking work, struggling to walk and see through the pouring rain, Gabe was so tired he was ready to drop. Cassidy wasn’t faring much better. She lagged, and he pulled. However, she never voiced a complaint.

Gabe shook his head and brought his arm up one more time to swing, refusing to give in to the exhaustion plaguing him. His SEAL training had been a long time ago, but right now, it was like it was yesterday. When the machete cut through the vine in front of him, then came to a bone-rattling halt, Gabe’s shoulder felt as if it was going to bounce out of its socket.

His abrupt halt brought Cassidy slamming into him. He grabbed her to steady her and her soggy ponytail slapped the side of his face.

Gabe parted the vines and leaves and realized that his hand rested on knotted wood. They’d found a cabin. He wiped the rain from his eyes to no avail. It still came down in sheets, blinding him. Cassidy forged on ahead.

He followed in Cassidy’s rapidly disappearing footsteps and found them standing on a small porch, finally out of the never-ending rain. Cassidy curled her fingers around the knob.

“Wait!” he hissed in her ear.

She jerked back and stared at him.

“I need to check it out. Stand here and be quiet, okay?”

He scrubbed the water from his eyes and moved to the edge of the door. He pulled the gun from his waistband and motioned for Cassidy to get behind him. Using the butt of the gun, he gave the door a hard rap.

No response. Gabe repeated the procedure and still, there was nothing to indicate that anyone was inside.

Holding the gun steady with his right hand, he twisted the knob with his left. It turned smoothly and Gabe pushed the door open. When the object hurled itself from inside, screeching at the top of its lungs, Cassidy’s scream echoed in its wake as Gabe tackled her to the floor of the porch.