Desperate Escape
Lisa Harris
DOCTOR IN PERILWhen Dr. Maddie Gilbert is kidnapped by rebel forces in West Africa, special ops agent Grant Reese races to rescue her. But the ruthless drug traffickers holding Maddie hostage have powerful connections–maybe even inside the US government. And they'll go to any lengths to silence her–permanently. Grant knows that getting Maddie free and safe is just the first step of this mission. Because he's fallen for the spirited beauty, and as her enemies pursue them, Grant must face a second battle–the one to win her heart.
DOCTOR IN PERIL
When Dr. Maddie Gilbert is kidnapped by rebel forces in West Africa, special ops agent Grant Reese races to rescue her. But the ruthless drug traffickers holding Maddie hostage have powerful connections—maybe even inside the US government. And they’ll go to any lengths to silence her—permanently. Grant knows that getting Maddie free and safe is just the first step of this mission. Because he’s fallen for the spirited beauty, and as her enemies pursue them, Grant must face a second battle—the one to win her heart.
Maddie tried to swallow the fear threatening to engulf her.
She’d seen what they did with her coworker from the hospital. And knew what they’d do to her if they caught her trying to escape.
She quickened her steps across the tangled mass of vines beneath her feet, her rib cage pressing against her lungs as they hurried over a low section of the wall then hurried into the forest. She was terrified they were following in the darkness. Terrified this wasn’t really over.
She stumbled, but Grant was there to catch her. She felt his arm wrap around her waist. Felt the warmth of his hands as he steadied her. And caught a glimpse of his expression as he looked at her.
“We’re almost there,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.
She saw the waiting car as they came out of the thick wooded area. A second later, a streak of orange lit the night air in an arch then dropped back toward the horizon, enveloping the car in a ball of flames.
LISA HARRIS is a Christy Award winner and winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from RT Book Reviews. She and her family are missionaries in southern Africa. When she’s not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa, visit her website at lisaharriswrites.com (http://lisaharriswrites.com/).
Desperate Escape
Lisa Harris
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
So be strong and courageous!
Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.
For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.
He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
—Deuteronomy 31:6
Dedicated to Amber for rooting me on, helping me keep focused and keeping up with the dishes as I wrote fervently to not only save Maddie and Grant, but to also meet my deadline!
Contents
Cover (#u25346381-974d-505a-b113-a5369769111e)
Back Cover Text (#u680228a2-13c0-5545-83bc-11ed28b06ce0)
Introduction (#u09e4335e-2993-5055-a552-271471c2019d)
About the Author (#u2914f58e-c031-51f6-9957-e21ece42d827)
Title Page (#u66a19ac2-8f55-50a9-a9cb-af8f052436db)
Bible Verse (#u41dcd167-ea30-5f48-bfd7-74c3219143ad)
Dedication (#ud5e13c30-822b-5605-8f90-0a464930e064)
ONE (#ulink_c9f26dc3-1582-5227-890f-24f6293254ac)
TWO (#ulink_8f9a0d64-c268-584a-81d6-037c300f9c33)
THREE (#ulink_e7625c8d-a46a-5c4a-9c66-9b9b0bc67dfb)
FOUR (#ulink_0893129b-3575-5c48-b73b-ee3f0b7b1026)
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Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
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ONE (#ulink_4df8963d-50cd-5ed9-b9ab-e6b754d9ddb9)
Grant Reese jumped out of the Jeep at the edge of the dirt road behind Antonio, praying his friend’s intel was right. Maddie Gilbert’s life—as well as their own lives—depended on it. Gray shadows hovered around them like formless figures as they left the car behind and stepped into the thick bush. Already, the last whitish glow of sunlight was preparing to vanish into darkness. There was no dusk here. Just a few moments of shimmering color along the horizon, then nothing but blackness. And even then the vast network of stars hanging across the African night sky wouldn’t be able to compete with the extensive canopy of trees that intertwined above them.
“You know this is a suicide mission.” Antonio’s whisper competed with the hum of insects around them as they forged ahead through the thick undergrowth.
Grant frowned at his friend’s comment. Antonio might have agreed to help him, but he’d also made it clear he believed it was foolish to try to rescue Maddie from the middle of an insurgent camp on their own. Grant didn’t need anyone to convince him he was about to step into a minefield—both literally and figuratively.
If only a fraction of the rumors he’d heard about this area were true, anyone with half an ounce of intelligence would be running in the opposite direction. Because while it was impossible to tell where the rebels were, he knew they were out there. And if the insurgents didn’t get them, one of the dozens of land mines that’d been laid by the local drug traffickers to protect their crops and processing labs very well could.
Yet even those risks didn’t outweigh the urgency simmering in his gut to find Maddie. He’d made a promise to her brother and, even with the odds against them, he still had no intentions of breaking it.
“You could wait back at the car,” Grant threw out.
“I’m not afraid of dying.” Antonio’s tone was straightforward. “I’m just making sure you’re fully aware of what we’re stepping into.”
A blade of razor-sharp grass sliced through the back of his calf. Grant reached down to slap at the stinging cut and felt the wet trickle of blood. He’d known the stakes when he signed up to serve his country more than a decade ago. Knew his chances of returning home in a body bag were far higher than average. But he wasn’t the one they’d laid in the ground that cold Chicago winter six years ago. Darren had stepped on a land mine they were trying to clear. And nothing he’d done had been able to save his friend.
Grant tried to clear his head of those memories as he stumbled midstride over a rotten log, regained his balance and then continued through the thick undergrowth beside Antonio. “You know I’d rather have you with me, but either way, Maddie’s out here somewhere, and I intend to find her.”
She’d already been missing for five days, and he knew that with each hour that passed the probability she was alive decreased. But even that fact hadn’t managed to deter him.
“You were always stubborn. I just hope she’s worth it,” Antonio said. “You and I both know what they’ll do to us if we’re captured.”
Grant slapped at the mosquito buzzing in his ear, knowing exactly what they’d do. And if he didn’t die tonight at the hands of those they were trying to stop, he still risked dying from some tropical disease. He laughed inwardly at the irony of the situation as the sun dropped beneath the horizon and darkness quickly closed in on them like a thick wool blanket. No longer able to clearly see the path ahead of him, he slowed his steps and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Winged insects buzzed around his face, a monkey shrieked in the treetops and something growled in the distance.
He shivered despite the stifling humidity. Maybe he was foolish, but he’d never wavered on his decision when he’d first heard the report that Maddie Gilbert was missing. Never faltered on his resolve to keep his promise to his best friend, who’d died beside him in a combat zone—a death he still blamed on himself.
Three nights ago he’d received a phone call from Frank Gilbert. He was worried sick over his daughter, frustrated with the government red tape and asking for Grant’s help. Maddie had been abducted near the hospital where she volunteered, and the body of a coworker had been found nearby. No one knew yet if Maddie was dead or alive, but Grant hoped that her skill as a doctor ended up being the one thing that kept her alive. And that it—along with the prayers of hundreds—would keep her safe until they were able to rescue her.
Within an hour of the phone call, he’d bought his tickets and contacted Antonio, who’d promised to pick him up once he’d arrived. Three planes later—including an eight-hour flight across the Atlantic and a stopover in Dakar, Senegal—he’d arrived at Guinea-Bissau’s international airport on Africa’s west coast. It was a country most people had never even heard of.
But he knew it well. He’d been a part of a Special Forces military training operation in the region for eighteen months, helping to mentor and instruct local troops intent on curbing drug trafficking. He’d trained new recruits on how to clear the land mines drug traffickers had buried, taught them about the types of mines they would find, offered paramedic courses and further trained section leaders to ensure that the country remained safe.
Antonio had been one of his best students, and to this day was still a close friend. And he had connections. Four hours ago, they’d finally tracked down where Maddie was being held on one of the islands off the mainland. And while they might be on their own, Grant had every intention of bringing her out. Alive.
His mind shifted as they trudged through the thick undergrowth toward the reason he was here. Maddie had been like a younger sister to him, too. She’d always been there at the Gilbert Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners he’d managed to make. And while he’d made an effort to keep in touch with Darren’s family, it was mainly Maddie’s mom, Alyce, who kept him up-to-date with what was going on with them.
Most of what he knew about Maddie was what her mother had told him over the years. How she’d excelled through medical school, found a position in a well-established practice and finally met a man she’d planned to marry. The last time he and Alyce had chatted about family she’d told him how Maddie called off her wedding two months before the date, a decision that had surprised everyone. Then she’d joined Doctors International.
A wave of jetlag washed over him. He ran his hand across the back of his neck and wiped away the perspiration. Despite the little sleep he’d gotten over the past few days, he couldn’t afford not to be alert. Years of working with explosives had taught him that. All it took was a moment’s lapse.
“How much farther until we reach the camp?” he asked.
Antonio pointed to a row of dim lights in the distance and slowed down. “That’s the camp, just ahead of us. It’s got to be less than a kilometer.”
Grant glanced at his friend, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Getting here was the simple part. But now they had to find a way into the camp, rescue Maddie and get out without being caught.
* * *
Maddie knew it was dangerous to venture into the compound. But even at the risk of running into one of the armed guards, grabbing a moment of fresh air was worth it. Between the intense smell of chlorine and sewage, the plastered walls of the twelve-by-twelve makeshift infirmary had begun to close in around her.
She hesitated briefly in the doorway of the grass-thatched structure and studied the moonlight filtering through the cracks in the wooden window frame. Clothes hung on twine strung diagonally in the corner. A small table that held a candlestick pooled with wax. And six thin mattresses on the floor where her new patients lay.
Cholera might be what was trying to snuff out the lives of the rebels, but it was also the one thing saving hers.
She stepped outside and immediately drew in a deep breath of humid air that was tinged with smoke. With the sun now below the horizon, the only sources of light—beyond the moonlight—were the cooking fires, a couple lanterns and a few bare light bulbs strung across the open courtyard bordered by individual sleeping huts.
Men huddled in a small circle around the fire, while a handful of women finished preparing dinner. Above the boisterous conversation was the constant noise of goats and chickens, used to supplement the rebels’ diet, and the distant sounds of the forest beyond.
Over the past five days, she’d done everything she knew to contain the unraveling situation, while giving specific instructions how to rid the camp of the disease. She’d taught the women to boil all water used in the camp for drinking and cooking, and gave them all strict instructions on waste management, hygiene and food safety. She even managed to find what she believed to be the origin of the cholera—a contaminated water source less than a kilometer south of the camp. But finding the source was only the beginning of stopping the disease, as more of the men continued to come down with the symptoms.
Without the option of replacing fluids with IVs, she’d opted for a simple homemade oral rehydration recipe using precise measurements of sugar, salt and boiled water, hoping it would be adequate. At least until she could get her hands on some proper medical equipment.
Though containing the epidemic was essential to those in the camp, escape was still in the forefront of her mind. And escape was not going to be easy.
She’d studied the layout of the large compound—individual huts arranged in a circle that surrounded an open space in the middle. Men armed with automatic weapons patrolled the walled perimeter on a rotating basis. Inside the camp, they watched her carefully. The only place they left her completely alone was inside the room they’d given her to treat the sick.
She leaned against the rough bark of a palm tree, thankful for a few moments to refocus her thoughts and pray. Thankful the men were ignoring her for the moment while the women served their spicy yam, onion and tomato stew with rice for dinner.
Her gaze shifted to the walled edges of the camp that were shrouded in darkness. Even if she escaped beyond the compound, that wasn’t the only problem she faced. She had no idea where the camp was located, and no way to communicate with the outside world. They’d flown her in and then brought her here blindfolded in an old Jeep. Which was why whatever was out there—beyond the forested edges of the camp—scared her as much as what was inside.
I have no idea what to do, God. No idea how to get out of this alive...
She’d heard stories of Latin America’s organized drug runners seeking new routes to Europe via West Africa. Up to two-thirds of the cocaine that moved between the two continents traveled through these small countries, where many of the dealers controlling the trade now lived. The result had been to turn the African coastline into a haven for drug traffickers who could easily afford their safety by recruiting local policemen and paying off government officials.
And now they had her.
She fingered the locket secured around her neck to insure the flash drive was still there. According to journalist Sam Parker, local officials weren’t the only ones tapping into the profits. Sam had died with a secret connecting a prominent US State Department employee to this dark world of drug running. As he lay dying in her care from a gunshot wound, he’d whispered to her in ragged breaths how easy it was to organize frequent drug flights, front companies and fake business deals of government officials. The local government claimed it was insurgents involved in trans-Sahara drug trafficking, not their own officials. She had no idea who was telling the truth, but she did know that Sam Parker had died for the information he’d passed on to her.
And if they found out what she knew, she’d be dead as well.
A young girl, Ana, who couldn’t be more than ten, stumbled past her lugging a heavy pot of boiled water. Maddie caught her glistening ebony skin in the moonlight.
“Ana?” Maddie reached out to press her hand against the girl’s forehead, speaking in Portuguese. “You’re burning up.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Maddie took the heavy pot from her and motioned for her to go inside the room. Cholera wasn’t choosy with its victims, but was highest when poverty, war or natural disasters were involved. It only took hours for severe dehydration to set in that, if left untreated, could quickly lead to death. Maddie followed the girl into the stuffy room. Maddie wasn’t the only innocent one caught in the crossfire of this drug war. Ana was now infected.
“Lie down, sweetie. We need to get you started on some of the rehydration solution.”
She nodded at the one clean bed near the wall and started praying again, wishing she had some antibiotics for her. If given at the beginning, they could shorten the symptoms. But even with all her efforts to disinfect the bedding and dishes, boil all drinking water and monitor the food preparation, the disease was still continuing to spread. Before she’d arrived, three of the men had died from dehydration and renal failure. The ones she was treating now slept in between treatments, still too weak to even sit up.
And it was possible this wasn’t the epicenter of the disease. She’d watched the coming and going of the men. If this camp was affected, more than likely so were any nearby towns and villages.
Maddie gave Ana one of the last doses of pain medicine she had, hoping it would bring down the girl’s fever, and began asking questions to verify her symptoms. Fever, chills, headache and fatigue, but no diarrhea.
The symptoms didn’t match up.
“I don’t think you have cholera, but I’m still going to give you some of the rehydration mix. Drink as much of this as you can.”
Ana took a sip. “If I don’t have cholera, then what is it?”
“I don’t have a way to test you, but it’s a good chance it’s malaria.”
Cholera had a way of spreading quickly through a community, but malaria killed hundreds of thousands of people every year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. And Maddie had no drugs to fight the parasite. All she could do was monitor Ana closely, make sure she stayed hydrated and try to keep the fever down.
“How long have you lived here?” Maddie asked, taking the opportunity she’d been hoping for to talk to Ana away from the listening ears of her captors.
She shrugged; wide chocolate-colored eyes looked up at Maddie in the flickering light. “As long as I can remember. My mother married one of the men in the camp.”
“Where is she now?”
“She died a year ago giving birth.”
Maddie caught the sadness in her expression. “And your father?”
“He’s dead, too.”
“So now you cook and do their laundry.”
Ana nodded.
But Maddie knew one day soon the men would start coming to her asking for more than just clean clothes.
“What about school?” she asked, taking the empty cup.
“I liked school, but now...there is too much work to be done.”
“Don’t you have any other family? Someone else you could live with away from the camp?”
“Before she died, my mother told me I should find a way to get to the capital where my grandmother stays. She lives upstairs in a blue-painted house that has a balcony on a narrow street.” A slight smile settled on her lips. “But the mainland is far, and I have no way to get there.”
Maddie turned to pour some more of the rehydration drink into Ana’s cup and stopped. A figure stood in the darkened doorway. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
God, I need You to intervene in this situation... Again...
“I told you it wasn’t safe for anyone other than patients to be in here,” she said as she stood up to face the man.
The man took another step forward.
“Stop—”
“Wait. It’s okay.” He continued speaking in perfect English from the shadows, his voice barely above a whisper. “It’s Grant Reese.”
“Grant? I don’t...” She paused midsentence, as memories of a girlhood crush flickered through her mind. How was it possible he was here?
But there was no time to figure out how he’d found her halfway around the world.
A second man stepped in behind him.
“This is my friend Antonio. We need to get you out of here. Now.”
“Wait... I can’t go.” Her mind spun, still unable to determine if this was a dream, or if someone had actually come to rescue her. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
“There’s a young girl here... Ana...” Like herself, Ana wasn’t here by choice. And she wasn’t going to leave her behind. “If I leave her here...”
She tried to hold back the fear starting to crush her. Over the past five days she’d dreamed of some handsome Special Ops soldier coming to her rescue. In her dreams everything might have ended happily ever after, but there was only one ending for this scenario if they tried to escape and got caught. And, she realized, only one ending for Ana if she was left behind.
“Where is she?” Grant whispered.
“Right here with me.” Maddie turned to Ana. “Do you want to leave with us?”
“Yes—”
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Antonio interrupted.
“We have to take her,” Maddie said, pulling a thin blanket around the girl’s neck and grabbing the backpack she’d had on her when she’d been abducted. She had so many questions, but all of them would have to wait for now. “And we need to hurry. The guards are eating and won’t be paying a lot of attention for the next few minutes, but they’ll be done soon. How far do we have to walk?”
She tightened her grip around Ana’s waist. There was no way the girl could walk out of here on her own.
“Just over a kilometer,” Grant said. “We’ve got a car waiting. Then we’ll drive to the airstrip where we have a plane ready to pick us up.”
“I’ll carry her,” Antonio said, reaching down to pick her up.
Maddie nodded and turned back to Grant, wishing she could see the familiar bright blue eyes she remembered all too well. “Thank you. Both of you.”
“You can thank us later, once we get out of here in one piece,” Grant said.
She slipped through the shadows behind them toward the edge of the compound, trying to swallow the fear threatening to engulf her. Because she’d seen what they had done with her coworker from the hospital. And knew what they’d do to her if they caught her trying to escape.
She glanced back at the cooking fires, before hurrying to catch up with Grant. The men were still busy eating, and there were no signs of any of the guards in front of them. But even that didn’t help calm the panic. She quickened her steps across the tangled mass of vines beneath her feet, her rib cage pressing against her lungs as they hurried over a low section of the wall and then hastened into the forest. She was terrified the men were following in the darkness. Terrified this wasn’t really over. Because somehow, she’d become the prey in a game she didn’t know how to play.
She stumbled, but Grant was there to catch her. She felt his arm wrap around her waist. Felt the warmth of his hands as he steadied her. And caught a glimpse of his expression as he looked at her.
“We’re almost there,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.
She caught a glimpse of the waiting car as they came out of the thick wooded area. A second later, a streak of orange lit the night air in an arch and then dropped back toward the horizon, enveloping the car in a ball of flames.
TWO (#ulink_862d4a86-1228-5b1c-b3d2-410579f82fd5)
Maddie watched in horror as flames completely consumed the vehicle. She stumbled backward, away from the heat radiating from the car. Someone had to have seen them escape, which meant they needed to run. But where? Darkness had long since settled in around them. Without a vehicle—without knowing where they were going—finding their way out of here was going to be almost impossible.
And whoever had set off the explosion was somewhere nearby. She searched beyond the blaze lighting up the night sky, but saw no one.
Please, God, please... You’ve brought us this far. There has to be another way out.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“We run!” Grant grabbed Maddie’s hand as she continued to pray, pulling her away from the scene with Antonio carrying Ana right behind them.
Smoke filled her lungs as they ran. Her eyes burned, and her legs threatened to give out, partly from fear, partly from the excursion. Her mind scrambled to sort through the facts as she knew them, while trying not to stumble beside Grant. She’d seen the explosion. Someone had purposely blown up that car. Which meant they were out there. After them. Guilt slivered through her. Grant should never have tried to come after her. Even with his military background, he’d put not only his life, but the life of Antonio at risk. And she’d seen the kind of men who had been holding her. Even if they ran, they would come after them.
Lit only by the night sky, Maddie clutched the strap of her backpack with one arm and struggled to keep up with Grant as they ran along a narrow dirt path, shielded on one side by the thick forest. She glanced back, worried about how long Antonio would be able to carry Ana. Worried about how long all of them could continue at this pace. All she could do was pray that the shadows would play to their advantage and hide them from the rebels.
Grant’s hand gripped hers as they ran. Silvery traces of moonlight encircled them, bathing the surrounding terrain in a hazy glow. How had her situation escalated to this? Until the past few days, she’d firmly believed her decision to come to Africa had been worth any inconveniences of life in a foreign country. Even if her decision to come had been partly selfish.
After four years of dating “Mr. Right,” reality had hit her, and she’d realized she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life in settling for what everyone else wanted for her. But not what was best for her. In joining a medical team working in Guinea-Bissau and escaping the American rat race, she’d hoped to find a missing part of herself in helping others.
What she’d found had been far more than she’d expected.
While her family had been convinced she was crazy for even considering the idea, it had been here, in one of the poorest countries in the world, that she’d found an unexplainable joy. And slowly, she’d begun to find that missing piece of herself. Even the tragedy and heartache she faced at the hospital every day was countered by the deep sense of community, faith and a life never taken for granted by those around her.
She kept running. The sticky night air pressed against her and her lungs. She fought for air as she listened for signs of pursuit from behind. Lightning struck in the distance. The night around them hummed with the sounds of insects and other nocturnal creatures. If someone was after them, she couldn’t hear them.
Grant held up his hand and then led her off the road and into the edges of the dark forest. “We’ll stop here for a moment. Hopefully we’ve put enough distance between us and whoever’s out there, but I need to contact my pilot. Keep your eyes out for anyone following us.”
Grant pulled out a phone from his back pocket. Maddie pressed her hand against her chest, trying to catch her breath while he held up his phone to get a better signal. Lungs still constricted, she bent down next to Ana where Antonio had laid her on the ground. The young girl groaned, but at least her fever was down slightly.
“I can’t get through,” Grant said, walking another dozen feet away from them, still holding up the phone.
Antonio knelt down beside her. “How is she?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s malaria, but I don’t have the resources to treat her properly. I can give her the rehydration drink for now, but she needs to be at a proper hospital with an IV drip and a dose of antimalarial drugs.”
For now—just like at the camp—she’d have to do with their limited resources.
Maddie looked up as Grant walked back toward them. Memories flooded through her mind. He had always been the tall, quiet hero she’d looked up to. Her brother’s best friend. The man who brought toffee for the holidays and refrigerator magnets from his travels for her mom. He’d also been the man who’d cried at Darren’s funeral and stood beside her as they laid the casket into the ground.
And now he’d come to rescue her.
“Why’d you come for me?” she asked. She caught the weight of the situation in his gaze.
He hesitated as he studied her face. “I promised your brother before he died I’d look after you.”
And six years later he’d risked his life to keep that promise?
Her heart stirred as she dropped her gaze. “What do we do now?”
“I sent a text to the pilot. All I can do now is hope it gets through. I’m worried he might be walking into a trap if they land at the airstrip right now.”
“Who is he? Your pilot friend.”
“His name’s Colton Landry. He dropped us here three hours ago. He grew up on both sides of the border. His mother’s from Michigan and his father’s French Canadian. He works as a pilot for West African Mission Aviation. They use aircraft to help provide medical care, rescue and disaster relief, as well as transport of medical and food supplies.”
“And he agreed to be a part of your crazy plan?”
He shot her a smile. “You needed to be rescued.”
Maddie looked away to search the black night for movement but saw nothing. Except for thunder rumbling in the distance, an eerie quiet greeted her. With limited options she had no idea what the next-best move was. She’d heard the planes take off and land from the small, nearby airfield and realized the strip must be a part of the drug route. Which meant Grant could be right. If someone knew they were coming, then more than likely they’d be watching the airstrip.
She’d seen what they’d done to the vehicle. They could easily do the same thing to the plane.
Grant turned to Antonio. “What do you think? You know this area better than any of us. What’s the best way out of here?”
“The only other way off this island is by boat.”
Maddie knew that finding their way in the dark was going to be difficult, if not impossible. And extremely dangerous.
“How far to the port?” Grant asked.
Antonio glanced at Ana. “Without a vehicle...at night...”
“There’s a couple of Jeeps back at the camp,” Maddie said. “If we go back—”
“It’s not worth the risk going back,” Antonio said. “We got lucky one time. A second time...”
“He’s right,” Grant said.
“Then what?” Maddie asked. “We can’t go back, we can’t continue? Is that what you’re saying? And what if they come after us?”
“I don’t think it’s a question of if, but when.” Grant slid his phone into his back pocket.
Antonio knelt down and started drawing a crude map of the area with a stick. “Our options are limited without a plane. Drug traffickers use these islands for a reason. Not only because they’re fairly isolated, but our police force doesn’t own a boat, so they’re pretty much free to do what they want.”
Once Maddie had made the decision to come to Africa, she’d studied everything she could find on the tiny West African country of Guinea-Bissau. About half the size of South Carolina, it included dozens of isolated islands off its coast. Even on the mainland, there wasn’t a developed or well-maintained infrastructure, and on top of that only around 10 percent of the roads were paved. Which was the primary reason the majority of the population lived within a dozen miles of a waterway.
But, like Antonio had implied, she also knew that the lack of an easy way out wasn’t the only issue they were facing. The country—its islands in particular—had become a drug trafficker’s dream. Drugs arrived from South America and were temporarily stored in warehouses, where wholesalers turned around and quickly transported them out of the country—on speedboats along the coast, by overland routes and even by swallowers who ingested the capsules and left via commercial flights to their final destination in Europe.
“So our best way out?” Grant asked.
“We’re here,” Antonio explained, pointing to his map. “On one of the dozens of islands off the coast, and we need to get to the mainland. Our best chance is to head away from here on foot toward the sea, where we can eventually catch a boat to the mainland.”
Grant nodded and moved to pick up Ana. “We need to get going. I’ll carry her for a while.”
A hundred yards farther, Maddie heard a rustling in the woods beside them. Her heart threatened to explode. Six armed men stepped out of the darkness, and surrounded them.
* * *
Grant slowly lowered Ana to the ground and stepped in front of the armed men, hoping to keep her and Maddie out of the line of fire. Maybe his cockeyed plan to rescue her had been too risky, but no matter what happened in the next few minutes, he still didn’t regret his decision to come. Waiting for official channels to move could have easily taken weeks, even months. And more than likely, they would have killed her before that happened.
He glanced at Maddie and caught the determined tilt of her chin. Good. She was going to need every ounce of fight she could muster. Because this wasn’t over. Not yet. If he had anything to do with it, they were still going to find a way out of here.
“They’re taking us back to the camp,” Antonio said, translating for the leader who spoke one of the local dialects.
“Wait...” Grant took a step forward and nodded at Antonio. “Ask them what they want?”
As far as the intel he’d gathered, they’d never said why they’d taken Maddie in the first place. There had been no ransom demands, and, in fact, no communication at all. It had only been because of Antonio and his contacts on the island that they’d been able to discover where she was being held in the first place. But his gut told him if they stepped back into that camp a second time, the chances of them coming out alive would greatly diminish. And money was the only bargaining chip he had at the moment.
He waited while Antonio spoke with them. He knew the reasoning behind not paying ransoms. Instead of freedom, it gave terrorists both publicity and cash. And ransom payment led to future kidnapping and, in turn, additional ransom payments. But that was all theoretical and easy to defend when you weren’t the one standing in the middle of nowhere with a gun pointed at your head.
“They said you’ll have to speak with Oumar back at the camp. He’s the one in charge,” Antonio said, his jaw tensed.
A radio crackled, and one of the men started talking as they motioned them into the forested inlet. Grant picked up Ana and hurried beside Maddie as they headed back toward the camp. Prayers that he normally struggled finding the words for suddenly flowed.
We’re in over our heads, God. And I’m the one responsible to get Maddie—to get all of them—out of here alive. I’m running out of options and to be honest could use some help.
He glanced at Maddie as they followed the men deeper into the woods. Asking for help, from anyone, had always been hard for him. Maybe that had been his problem all along. With his parents. With Darren...
The voice on the other end of their captor’s radio shouted, the words distorted. Urgent. Grant glanced at Antonio, wishing they were speaking in Portuguese so he could understand what had happened.
“Rapido!” One of the men hit Grant against the back of his legs with the butt of his rifle. “Hurry!”
“What’s going on?” Grant asked.
“I don’t know,” Antonio said. “There’s been some kind of accident.”
Grant calculated their odds of escaping as they started back through the forest. White light from a flashlight created shadows among the trees. There was no way they were going to be able to overpower six armed men. They’d have to follow orders. For now.
Grant glanced at Maddie and caught the fear in her eyes. And he didn’t blame her. Every time he’d walked out to clear a minefield, a part of him had known he could be taking his last step. But she was used to preventing death as a doctor. Not facing it head-on.
Five minutes later they were back at the camp. Someone shouted. Several of the men ran toward them carrying a body across the courtyard. One of the petrol lanterns caught the face of the young boy. He couldn’t be much older than ten or eleven, ebony skin, full lips, dark eyes...
It was the eyes that stopped Grant cold.
The boy’s gaze ripped through him. He could read the pain and panic on his face, but there was something more. Something in his eyes that seared through Grant, as if the boy knew that what happened in the next few frightful moments would determine whether or not he would live or die. Because he’d seen that same look before. He’d seen it in Darren’s gaze the day he’d died.
Nightmare images he’d tried to erase flashed in front of him. While they’d known the dangers of their job, a small part of them had always held on to the belief that they were invincible. Because if they’d let themselves believe death was going to win, they’d never have stepped out into those fields.
But they’d been wrong.
One miscalculated move had killed his best friend.
Grant set Ana down on a mat as the men laid the boy on a table and shouted at Maddie. He forced himself to take a second look, because the boy’s haunted countenance wasn’t the only thing that had left his heart racing. Blood soaked through a cloth wrapped around his thigh. The boy’s leg—from his knee down—was gone.
He was in Afghanistan again. He could still see the flashes of an explosion, hear Darren’s screams. His best friend had become one of the statistics. Sixty million mines were still left unexploded in seventy countries...sixty-five people maimed or killed every day...
He forced his mind to focus on what was going on.
“Get me some more light,” Maddie shouted as she started cutting off the clothing around the wound.
“What can I do?” Grant asked.
“We need to get the wound cleaned and covered. There’s clean, boiled water, covered in pots behind you.” Her hands shook as she turned to one of the men. “I’ll do everything I can to save your son, but I want you to promise to let us go once I get him stabilized.”
“You’re in no position to bargain, because I’m the only one keeping you alive right now,” he said, holding her gaze. “So if my son dies...you will all die.”
THREE (#ulink_854d1710-e898-5a33-b102-4d6e362378b1)
Grant held up one of the lanterns in order to give Maddie the light she needed to work. He avoided the boy’s panicked gaze, trying unsuccessfully to distance himself emotionally from the situation. His emergency training had taught him the basics of what to do, but the clinical instructions were never the same as experiencing them firsthand.
Especially when it was personal.
“What’s his name?” Maddie asked the older man in Portuguese.
“Jose.”
“Jose... I’m going to do everything I can to help you, but I need you to stay strong. I need you to say with me.”
Memories flashed. With Darren, he and his teammates had done everything they could to save his life. But by the time the helicopter had arrived to evacuate them, too much time had passed. Darren had gone into shock, and it had been too late to save him.
“You need to get him to a hospital.” Maddie addressed the father while she worked to control the bleeding with direct pressure. “I can try to stabilize him—for now—but he’ll die out here in the bush without proper medical treatment.”
The older man’s fingers gripped edge of the table where his son lay. “I warned you, and I meant it. If my son dies... I will kill you.”
“You’re not listening to me.” Maddie added another layer of fabric around the wound. “I don’t have the antibiotics, let alone the tools to do vascular repairs. And if he makes it, he’ll need outpatient and occupational therapy to regain as much function as possible. I can’t do any of that here. You’ve got a plane... It’s your only way to save his life.”
“Oumar...” A woman ran up to where they were working and let out a loud wail when she saw the boy. “Oumar, no...they told me what happened. What have you done to our boy?” She turned to the older man and started beating his chest. “You let this happen to him.”
He grabbed her hands, ordering her to stop. “I haven’t done anything. He knows better than to go play in the woods.”
“You’re his mother?” Maddie asked.
“Yes.” The woman pulled away from her husband and grabbed the hand of her son, her dark eyes filled with panic.
“He needs to go to a hospital where they have the equipment to treat him. He will die if he stays here.”
“Please, Oumar. You must do what she says. She is a doctor.”
He stepped away from the table and spat something into the radio before turning back to Maddie. “Then you’re coming with me—”
“No.” Maddie clenched her jaw. “I’m staying here.”
Grant caught the flash of fire in her gaze despite the marked fatigue in her eyes, and knew exactly what she was thinking. Their best chance to stay alive was to stay together.
“No?” The older man aimed his weapon at Maddie. “No? If you don’t go with me, then I don’t need you anymore. Any of you.”
“Wait.” Grant grasped Maddie’s wrist and stepped in front her. “That’s where you’re wrong. You have a camp full of sick men, which means you still need her here. Antonio and I have medical training. We can help as well.”
The man shook his head. “If I leave her here, you’ll help her escape again.”
“Oumar, please.” Jose’s mother grabbed his arm, pleading with him. “There is no time for fighting. Jose will die while you stand here arguing. And your men as well. They’re right. You need them here.”
Grant felt his lungs expand. He held his breath as they waited for the old man’s response. The tension felt as thick as the humidity. His fingers closed tighter around Maddie’s wrist until he could feel her heart’s rapid pulse. He knew she was scared, but he hadn’t flown halfway around the world to fail, nor did he have any intention of breaking his promise to her brother. One way or another, they were going to get her out of here.
“Fine.” The old man dropped his hands to his sides, the situation defused for the moment. “I’ll leave you here—all of you—alive for now. But I will deal with you when I return.”
He watched as the older man began shouting orders to the other men. A makeshift gurney was rigged, and orders were sent to the pilot. Grant turned around to face Maddie, slipping his hand down her wrist until their fingers touched. With his other hand, he reached out and wiped her damp cheek with his thumb.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
“For now.” She looked up at him, eyes wide open. “But this epidemic is going to be under control soon. And after that...they won’t need us.”
He pulled her a few inches closer. “We’re going to get out of here.”
She nodded, clearly wanting to believe his words as much as he did. “I owe you one. More than one, actually.” A smile briefly crossed her lips before she pulled away from him and started washing down the table with disinfectant. “If nothing else, you bought us some time.”
He worked beside her to clean up, impressed with the way she’d gained control over the situation. She asked one of the women to make a diluted mixture of cooked cereal and water for the cholera patients she’d been treating, while several of the men headed into the forest with Jose. He realized he’d misjudged her strength. There was no doubt her parents loved her. They spoke of how smart and accomplished she was, but they’d been against her coming here. Believed she was wasting her God-given talents and wouldn’t be able to handle the work.
But they’d been wrong.
He’d seen the courage in her eyes. The boldness it had taken to stand up to her captors. Maybe it was true that difficulties brought out hidden strengths in a person, but there was more about Maddie Gilbert than met the eye—something that part of him wanted to stick around and discover even after all of this was over.
But that was something he couldn’t afford to do.
She turned to him, breaking the silence that had fallen between them as they continued working. “You were there when Darren died.”
It was a statement rather than a question, but one he’d never spoken of with her. After the funeral, he’d answered her parents’ questions about that day, knowing if Maddie ever needed those same answers from him he’d be there to tell her.
“Yes,” he nodded. “I was there.”
“Did tonight remind you of that day?”
She might not have been there that night, but she had to be facing some of the same haunting images of losing her brother he was.
“Yes. It was...almost as if I was there again, during those final moments.”
A place he dreamed about at night. A place he longed to escape.
She scrubbed at an invisible mark on the table. “Two weeks after I arrived here, I had to treat my first land mine victim. All I could see was Darren.”
“Somehow we didn’t think it could happen to us. We were out to save the world. Invincible. Always wishing we could ignore the fact that all it took was one wrong step...”
She stopped to look up at him, allowing the light from the lantern to catch the yellow-copper colors in her eyes. The soft curve of her lashes. “Thank you,” she said.
Grant fought to push away the unexpected draw. “I haven’t got you out of here yet. I told your mom I planned to have you back by Christmas, and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep my promise.”
“It’s hard to believe Christmas is in a couple weeks.” A look of sadness registered on her face. “But I’m not just thanking you for today. I’m talking about your being there the night Darren died. And for coming to rescue me. You didn’t have to come.”
He touched her arm briefly before pulling away. “Yes, I did. I owe Darren.”
He might not have been able to save his friend, but he was going to save Maddie.
“Is that why you came to rescue me?” She asked. “Because of Darren’s death?”
His face must have betrayed his thoughts for her to ask such a pointed question.
“No...I...” He didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t want to answer. Because she was right. He’d come to play hero and make up for not saving Darren. Which meant he hadn’t come for noble purposes. Not really. He’d come to ease his own conscience.
Her gaze shifted back to the table and, as if reading his thoughts, she said, “I know what it’s like to do something good for the wrong reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
“I came here, in a way, because of Darren, too. I was looking for what he found with his career. I hoped that somehow helping others would help me find that missing part of myself.”
“And did you?”
She shrugged at the question. “It depends on the day, I suppose. I came here convinced I’d save the world. Instead I’ve had to realize I can’t fix everyone. People are going to die, and I can’t stop it.”
Like Darren.
“But then,” she continued, “there are times where I think I’m making a difference in one person’s life and somehow...that’s enough.”
“Darren was always so proud of you.” Grant dropped the rag he’d been using into the bucket of soapy water they’d been using to clean up. “He talked about you all the time. His little sister studying to become a doctor.”
Her smile lit up her face this time. “I like to think he would have been proud of my coming here as well. My parents weren’t too happy about my decision, though. I was supposed to marry Ben, join some swanky family practice and spend the rest of my life working nine-to-five and having their grandbabies. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it wasn’t enough for me.”
He watched her wash her hands and then motion to one of the women to get more boiled water while she grabbed bags of salt and sugar for the rehydration mix.
“Can you hand me those cups?” she asked him. “With no Google available out here, thankfully I have the measurements memorized.”
He watched her work, jumping in to assist when she asked. He couldn’t help but see the irony in the fact that her skills as a doctor had saved her. And yet as soon as the epidemic was controlled, there was a good chance they would kill her.
“I guess this wasn’t what you imagined when you signed up with Doctors International,” he said.
“Being kidnapped? Not exactly.” She let out a soft laugh as she started mixing up the drink for her patients. “Though the past few months haven’t been without challenges, either. Most of the time, I’ve been working up north, in a small rural hospital. Every day, I see the same thing over and over in the maternity ward. It’s stifling inside. There are rusty ceiling fans, but no electricity. In the US, one in just over two thousand women will die giving birth. Here, it’s one in less than twenty. Most don’t even consider going to a clinic. And even if they do, most—especially those in the rural areas—can’t make it to the hospital.”
He knew the issues she faced on a daily basis. Diesel generators were the primary source of electricity in the capital, and that lack of infrastructure spread throughout the entire country. There was one functioning hospital and even there equipment was limited. Most of the country’s health facilities had no electricity. Generators came to life during surgery, but there wasn’t enough fuel to run them continuously for refrigeration to store blood donations or for incubators for babies born too soon.
“But that’s not the entire picture,” she continued. “I see the smile of the children when I go out into the villages to teach preventative care, and the love the mothers have for their babies. Old men sit on mats outside thatched roofs, playing with their grandchildren, while chickens and goats run around. It’s a completely different world than the one I grew up in. But when I sit down and talk to the women about their pregnancy, or the babies they’ve lost and the children they’re trying to provide for, I realize just how similar we really are.”
“I’ve discovered the same thing everywhere I’ve lived. Most of the differences pale when you start working together to make things better.”
“I wish my parents could understand that. I’ve tried to share with them why I needed to come...and why I still want to be here.” She stopped and looked up at him. “But I haven’t asked you about them, because I know they can’t be taking this well. Do you think they’re going to be okay?”
Her unspoken question hovered between them.
Were they going to be okay if she didn’t make it home alive?
“They’re scared,” he said. “They will do anything to get you back. Because they’ve already lost one son, and they don’t want to lose you as well.”
She nodded. “I watched their reaction to losing Darren. I never meant to put them through something like that again.”
“You’re not going to, because we’re going to find a way out of this.”
He watched her continue to work, realizing that she was different from most of the women he knew. Most were happy with the dream of a white picket fence and a husband. Problem was, he’d never be able to give someone those things. And so far had never found anyone who was willing to break that mold with him. Maddie, though, was clearly different.
Maybe when all of this was over...when life went back to as close to normal as possible, he’d consider finding a way to get to know his best friend’s little sister...
She glanced at a couple of the armed guards as they walked by. “As soon as we’re done here, I need to talk to you about something. Privately.”
“About?” Her statement brought him back to reality.
Her hand moved to the locket hanging around her neck. “Information connected to what’s going on here.”
* * *
An hour later, Maddie walked toward the fire, fighting the exhaustion coursing through her body. Her head throbbed and her legs felt like jelly. But it wasn’t just the physical fatigue she was dealing with. The emotional strain of the past few days was taking its toll.
She’d finished making up the rehydration mix and checked on each of the patients she’d been treating. While antibiotics would have shortened the duration of the symptoms, ensuring each person was rehydrated was what mattered most. “Are you done?” he asked.
“For the moment.” She tugged on the end of her ponytail as she sat down beside him on the fallen tree stump being used as a bench. She’d always seen him as a hero, saving the world alongside her brother. And now, all these years later, that was exactly what he was. The hero who’d flown all the way across the Atlantic to save her. While keeping his promise to her brother.
She caught his profile in the firelight and felt a flurry of emotion pass through her that she didn’t know how to identify. She’d always seen him as strong and capable of anything, with those bright blue eyes and a hint of stubble across his chin. She’d also known firsthand the risks he took every day to save the lives of others.
What she couldn’t remember was having more than a handful of one-on-one conversations with him over the years. And those talks had always been more awkward exchanges, at least for her, because she’d had a crush on him and hadn’t wanted anyone to know. Especially Grant or her brother. Darren had always seen her as the little sister he had to keep safe from the world. Even when she’d been all grown up and in medical school. And she’d always imagined Grant saw her in the same way. So she’d made herself forget about him. Until today.
“Are you hungry?”
She looked up at Grant’s question, realizing one of the women was standing in front of her with dinner.
“I’m sorry.”
The woman handed her a bowl of stew. She thanked her, but her appetite had long since vanished. She tried to eat a few bites, but only to keep up her strength.
“How’s Ana?” Antonio asked from the other side of Grant.
“I’ll have to watch her carefully, but the rehydration drink already seems to be helping and her fever’s gone down some.”
“That’s good news,” Grant said.
“Yes, it is. I just wish I could treat her properly.”
Grant pulled out a zippered canvas tote from the backpack he’d been carrying. “One of the men confiscated most of what I brought, including the two-way radios and phones, but I convinced them to let me keep the clothes your mother sent. Your parents met me at the Denver airport before I flew out. She thought you might need a few things when I found you.”
When he found her. Not if.
Maddie felt a surge of emotion as she looked down at the set of blue scrub pants and T-shirt with the Doctors International logo she’d been wearing since they snatched her. Grant’s reminder that the holidays were just around the corner had managed to make her feel more homesick.
Even as a med student, when she might’ve had to come late or leave early, she’d never missed Christmas with her family. Her mother would have already decorated the tree and started planning the meal that would include all of the relatives in a hundred-mile radius as well as a handful of people from church who didn’t have family nearby.
She balanced her dinner on her lap and opened the bag her mom had sent. A pair of tan pants, a black tank top and an olive-colored button-down shirt, along with some underwear, a purple sundress, a compact Bible and a small toiletry bag full of travel-size products, including a toothbrush.
“I wish I could have brought more—”
“No. Wow. This is perfect. I never knew how excited I could get over deodorant and a new toothbrush.” She let out a soft chuckle and smiled at him. “Thank you. Now all I need is a hot shower.”
“There’s a letter in there as well from your mother.”
She pulled out the pink envelope and traced her finger across her mother’s handwriting on the front. She’d wait to read it later when she was alone and didn’t have to keep her emotions in check. Because at the moment it wasn’t going to take much for her to lose it.
“You said you needed to talk to us about something,” Grant said.
She set the bag down beside her and picked back up her bowl of food, keeping her voice low enough to ensure none of the guards across the compound could hear her. “I’m sure you know that this is not just some military camp. The men here are involved in drug trafficking, and their network is extensive.”
Antonio nodded. “My country’s involvement in the trade is no secret. Cocaine barons of South America use countries like mine as part of their route to dealers in Europe.”
For as much as she’d seen, she still had questions. “As a doctor I’ve heard the rumors, and I’ve seen firsthand patients who have overdosed from cocaine. But why do they stop here? Why not just fly directly to Europe?”
“It’s a way to avoid detection of large shipments by European militaries,” Antonio said.
“So, what?” she asked. “They break up their shipment and then transport it?”
“Exactly. It’s sent by smaller aircraft or even by human mules. South American cartel members show up here with more firepower than our police and military put together. Our police don’t have handcuffs or computers or even enough guns for our officers. They, on the other hand, have money, rifles, ammunition and know every inch of this country’s remote areas. They can literally buy the government and do what they want.”
“Enough money to pay people off to look the other way and make what they do even easier,” Grant said.
“They brought me here because they needed a doctor,” she continued. “And I’m sure you know by now that they shot and killed my supervisor, Gavin Richards, when they found out he wasn’t a doctor.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she could erase what she’d seen. She’d tried to stop them, but could only watch as one of them pulled the trigger. Simply because they didn’t need him.
I need You to help me through this, God...please.
She drew in a slow breath. “But that’s not all. The day before I was abducted, I met a man at the hospital during one of my shifts. His name was Sam Parker.”
“Sam Parker.” Grant leaned forward, his arms resting against his thighs. “He’s a journalist, isn’t he?”
Maddie pushed her food around on her plate with her spoon, nodded.
“I saw something about him on the news before I left the States,” Grant said. “He was shot, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah. He was here in the country doing some research for a spread in a magazine and stumbled across a story someone didn’t want to get out. Whoever it was tried to kill him. Initially he survived, and a Good Samaritan brought him to the hospital where I treated him for a gunshot wound, but he didn’t live through the night.”
Maddie hesitated before continuing. Death had always been a part of her job, but lately she’d seen so much tragedy. Tragedies that should never have happened. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, her dinner forgotten. “Before he died, he told me he had evidence of a high-profile US State Department employee tied to this country’s drug trafficking.”
Grant let out a low whistle. “That’s a big story.”
“Yes, it is,” she said.
“And plausible,” Antonio added. “The trans-Atlantic traffickers of drugs and other illegal substances need countries where they can not only fly under the radar of the international community, but also—due to high corruption—not have to worry about the local authorities. And with the profits involved, it’s not surprising to discover there are outsiders involved.
“Do you have a name?” he asked.
“No, but I’ve got something just as good.” She clutched the locket she was wearing between her fingers. “It’s a flash drive with the evidence Sam was planning to expose. He said if anyone found it he could tell them it was a gift for his girlfriend and no one would think twice.”
Grant glanced behind them where a couple of the guards were laughing and drinking. “Does anyone know you have this information?”
“It’s possible someone saw me talking with Sam.” She shook her head. “But when he gave it to me, there was no one else in the room except for a few sick patients, and I’m sure they weren’t paying attention.”
“So you think you were kidnapped just because they needed a doctor...not because of the information Sam gave you.”
“As far as I know.”
“Whatever the reason, we need to get you out of here.”
Grant didn’t have to say anything else for her to know what he was thinking. Once the epidemic was under control, she’d be disposable—all of them would be—just like Gavin.
“But how do we get out of here?” Maddie asked. “If they’re guarding the airstrip and the only other way off this island is by water...”
Grant looked around the camp. “We’re looking at a couple dozen armed men who are currently focused more on what they’re drinking than us at the moment.”
“But if they catch us a second time,” Maddie said. “They’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
Her stomach knotted. She set down the plate of food beside her, knowing he was right. This was it. There would be no second reprieve.
Someone slipped through the shadows behind them and sat down on the log next to Maddie. Jose’s mother. She was carrying an infant tied securely around her back with a piece of wide, colorful cloth. Sliding the baby around in front of her, the mother pulled her out of the makeshift sling and handed the baby to Maddie.
Maddie took the infant and cradled her in her arms.
“I think she might have the sickness.” She lowered her voice, her eyes on the guards who sat on the other side of the fire, and added, “You helped save my son. I’m going to help you escape.”
FOUR (#ulink_d997a08f-4f06-5596-bece-327040d9cd0f)
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?
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