Her eyes glistened. “Thank you for coming.”
His brother nodded. With his dark hair and blue eyes, Bran had always been the pretty boy of the Garrett clan. Now, after his years in the military, there was a hard edge to his features, a darkness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
Chase looked up as Kil Dawson walked out of the motel room, duffel over one thick shoulder. “There’s some arepas in there—that’s corncakes with eggs and cheese. I got thesenorawhose husband owns the motel to whip us up some for breakfast. Bran and I’ve already eaten. We’ll load up while you and Harper grab a bite. As soon as Francisco gets here, we’ll hit the road.”
They stowed their gear in the back of the cruiser, left everything they didn’t need in Kil’s room and paid the motel owner two weeks in advance. If they weren’t back by then, Chase figured they would likely be dead.
“Don’t leave anything important behind,” Kil said. “No way to know for sure we’ll be coming back this way.”
“Yeah, about that...” Bran said. “I made a few calls, got hold of a pilot friend of mine. Flies helos. He’s on standby if this whole bargaining-for-their-release thing goes FUBAR and we have to get the fuck out of Dodge.”
“Sounds good,” Chase said. By now, Kil would have filled Bran in on everything they knew and what they had planned, depending on what they found at the rebel camp.
Depending on if Michael and Pia were actually still alive.
Chase glanced over at Harper and worry slid through him. The good news was, with Bran and Kil in charge of the mission, he could focus his attention on Harper and keep her safe.
He tipped his head in her direction and, she walked ahead of him into Kil’s motel room. The warm aroma of corn, cheese and coffee drifted toward them, and his stomach grumbled.
“Eat up,” he said. “Long day ahead.”
They each grabbed a couple of arepas, which were delicious, and polished off the thermos of coffee Kil had managed to commandeer along with the food. By the time they were finished, dawn grayed the landscape, and the thin, dark Colombian guide they had hired joined them where they stood next to the cruiser.
“I am Francisco,” he said in heavily accented English. “I will take you up the mountain as far as it is safe. I will show you the route from there. But once we reach rebel territory, you must go the rest of the way on your own.”
Kil nodded. “Fair enough.” Reaching out a hand, he and Francisco shook. Money passed between them. Half now, half when they got up the mountain. “I’m Kil,” he said. “That’s Bran. The guy over there, that’s Chase, and thesenoritais Harper. Let’s go.”
The plan was to drive as far as the rutted dirt road would allow, then walk in from there. There were miles of deep jungle and forest ahead of them. They wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted until they got closer to the rebel camp.
The plan would evolve as they went along, collected information, figured out the best way to achieve their goal—bringing Michael and Pia out safely. Getting all of them safely back home.
They settled themselves in the cruiser, Kil and Francisco up front, Chase, Harper and Brandon in back. It was a snug fit, but no one complained. Riding beat walking—and plenty of that lay ahead of them.
Even with the windows rolled down, it was warm in the car, especially with Harper pressed snuggly against Chase’s side. He did his best not to think of last night, of Harper’s feminine curves filling his hands, the way she had tasted, the soft womanly scent of her, fresh from the shower. But every now and then, he felt himself begin to get hard.
Son of a bitch.Kil was right—a woman on a mission was the last thing they needed.
Nothing he could do but grin and bear it. Chase inwardly groaned at the picture in his mind that phrase conjured, even if the spelling wasn’t the same.
The ride went on much of the day, the going slow as the road dropped into ravines, changed from dry ruts to deep muddy puddles and crawled through dense jungle as it wound its way deeper into the vast Sierra Nevadas.
It was afternoon when the road finally came to an end at the base of a steep, jungle-covered mountain, but with four-wheel drive and Kil behind the wheel, they had gotten farther than the guide had expected.
“We go now on foot,” Francisco said, his long face as narrow as the rest of him. Though he hadn’t smoked all day, he smelled of tobacco and his fingers were nicotine stained.
They grabbed their gear out of the rear of the cruiser, and Chase helped Harper slide her backpack across her shoulders. It was heavier than he had first thought, but Harper didn’t seem to mind. Later, if necessary, he could load some of her stuff into his own pack.
Chase glanced at his brother, who was strapping a long, lethal-looking, serrated Ka-Bar knife to his thigh. Chase did the same, and so did Kil. They checked their weapons and ammunition. Kil carried the AK across his back. Brandon carried an HK416 assault rifle, along with his Glock and God only knew what else.
The assault rifle, Bran had once told him, had been specifically designed for Delta operators, a subject they officially never discussed.
Chase grabbed a canvas slouch hat out of the duffel and slapped it on Harper’s head, settled another one on his own.
“Sun protection,” he said. “Once we get deeper into the rain forest, it’ll be shady and you won’t need it.”
She adjusted the hat, which made her look like the teenage girl who’d been far too young for him all those years ago. Chase found himself smiling. Harper smiled back and he felt the kick.Dammit.He forced himself to ignore it.
“Let’s move out,” Bran said, and it was clear in the tone of his voice that his brother had assumed command of the mission.
