Healing Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (16 page)

“If we stay with these rocks can’t we just lower the canoe down a bit at a time?” she asked, thinking that would be easier.

“Eventually, we’ll have to, but we need to avoid the rocks as much as possible.” Seeing her curious expression, he explained, “We’d be more in sight, babe.” Keeping his gaze on hers he could tell she did not know what he was implying. “If someone is looking for us and they’ve got helicopters, they could see us if we stay next to the river on the rocky ledges.”

Her jaw dropped open as she realized once the storm passed the possibility existed that someone could come searching for them. “But why? I’m nobody. Just a Red Cross nurse, that’s all.”

“Babe, you’ve seen where their main compound is. You’ve seen one of the local leaders. You’ve got inside information that they would love to contain.”

Miriam turned her eyes to the side, not willing for him to see her fear. Sucking in a deep breath through her nose, she slowly let it out, blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay. Gaining control, she turned back to him. “Okay. Show me what to do.”

“
Mujer de acero
,” he said, shaking his head. “We keep walking for now.”

*

Several hours later
dusk was fast approaching and they ran out of cover. The rain had stopped and they could actually see a sliver of blue sky in the distance.

“Okay, babe, it looks like we can’t put it off any longer. Gotta climb down these rocks out in the open. But since we haven’t seen sight of anyone looking for us, I’d say we’re in good shape.”

Walking over to her, he threw his arms around her back, slinging the rope with them, and tied the ends around her waist.

“Gonna lower you down and you walk it just like you did that wall the other night,” he instructed.

She looked up in surprise, and with a small giggle said, “Oh, my God. Was that just the other night? It seems like a lifetime ago!”

Chuckling, he agreed. He stood with his hands on her waist for a moment longer than necessary, liking the feel of her in his arms.

“You know, Cam, I don’t even know anything about you,” she said, her eyes searching his. “You’ve risked your life for me and I don’t even know your last name.”

He leaned over and touched his forehead to hers again, whispering, “Perez. Cam Perez. At your service.” Then he kissed her forehead once more. “All right, babe, hang on.” With that he assisted her out over the edge of the rock cliff and she gave a little scream as her hands and feet scrambled to find their holds. The edges were rough, pointing out in jagged, sharp angles.

She felt as though she did not do much to help since most of her descent was controlled by Cam’s muscles. Soon her feet touched the ledge, almost ten feet from where she started, and she called out. Untying the rope about her waist, she let it free so that he could pull it up and then fasten it to the canoe.

Keeping her feet on the four foot ledge, she watched as the canoe was lowered toward her. As soon as she could she grasped the end and guided it to the ledge next to her. Then Cam dropped the rope into her waiting arms.

She watched nervously as he climbed down unassisted over the craggy surface of the slippery rocks. For once she wished his body was small and lean, thinking how much easier it would be for him to maneuver the slippery surface. She could see his back and arm muscles bunch and smooth as he made his way closer.

When his feet touched the ledge, she let out the breath she did not realize she had been holding. He flashed her a grin, chucking her under the chin.

“Worried,
cariña
?”

“Yes,” she replied honestly. “Absolutely terrified!”

“Now it’s your turn to tell me something,” he said. “I told you my last name, now you have to tell me something about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?” she asked as he threw the rope around her waist and tied it again.

“Um, how old are you?”

“Twenty-seven,” she replied as he tightened the knot. “How old are you?”

Just as he swung her out once more, he called, “Twenty-eight.” He kissed her forehead again before she began to crawl down.

Watching her descend, he could tell she was more comfortable with allowing him to lower her while she guided her body along the wall of rocks. Soon, he was sending the canoe down to her again.

On the next ledge, she chanced a glance down to see that they still had a ways to go and the sun was beginning to set behind them.

“Are we going to be allr—”

“Next question,” he interrupted, “And it has to be about me. Not this little vacation we’re on.”

At that, she snorted, knowing he was trying to take her mind off of their precarious situation. She watched as he lowered the canoe before joining her once more.

“Um…Tell me about your family?” She saw a shadow cross his face and she immediately retracted. “No, you don’t have to.”

“No,
cariña
, it’s fine. I’ve got a great family. Seems like I’m always causing them worry though.” He saw her cock her head to the side while he tied the rope around her.

“Got a great mom and dad. Dad was born in Mexico, near El Paso where he met mom. They had me, two sisters and a younger brother. One of my sisters is married with a couple of boys.” Chuckling at the memory, he added, “They call me Superman.” After a brief pause, he looked at her. “Your family?”

“My mom and dad are wonderful. I’ve got an older brother—well, you know Jobe of course. He and Jack were in the Special Forces together. My oldest sister is Hannah. Married, with two kids. Next is Rebecca and she’s a teacher.” Giving a little shrug, she added, “And then there’s just me, the baby.”

He halted as he stared at her looking intently at him. The sun had moved down in the sky so that it was illuminating the back of her head, like a halo.
Jesus, she’s gorgeous.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead again, but this time her face stayed turned up toward his and before he knew what he was doing, his lips touched hers. A barely there kiss.

Her eyes widened, but before he could get out his apology, she smiled. And he was sucker-punched again.

“So what’s your favorite food?” she asked.

“Anything my mama makes,” came his quick reply. “But when she makes her Mexican Wedding Cookies at the holidays…I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!”

Knowing they needed to hurry and get off the side of the cliff, he grinned as he swung her out once more. Going more quickly this time, she descended and then secured the canoe as it came down after her.

“What about you?” he called down. “What’s your favorite?”

“Mama makes chicken kabobs that are amazing. I actually just love to eat and will scarf down just about anything.”

As he started down, he commented, “You’re a tiny thing. You must not eat a lot.”

“Oh, I’d surprise you,” she replied. “I eat a lot, but drink diet soda. Well, as long as it has lemon in it.”

“Lemon?”

“Yeah. I know. My family makes fun of me. But soda is just empty calories so I feel better if I drink diet soda. But the taste is kind of yucky. So if I put lemon in it, then it tastes better.”

His feet landed on the ledge and he looked at her, a curious expression on his face. “I gotta confess that I’d like to see you eat as much as you say you do, but the diet soda with lemon? Not too sure about that,” he teased.

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, Superman.”

Laughing, he looked over the edge. “Looks like we’ve got about three more of these and then we can start climbing down the rest of the way together where the slope is not as steep. It’ll be dark by then but we can find a place to rest for a while.

“So is that three more chances to learn more about you?” she asked shyly.

“You sure you’re not talking about three more kisses?”

He watched in amazement as she blushed a deep red from the top of her chest to her hairline, but before he could apologize, she just turned her smile back onto him.

“Well, okay then,” he said. For the next hour as the sun slowly set behind them, they continued their patter of descent and learning about each other. She found out that he had been with the Richland Police Department, had been undercover in a drug gang, and that was where he met Jobe’s wife, Mackenna. He played football in high school, but was almost kicked off the team for what he called
nefarious activities.
He admitted that he had been a juvenile delinquent, never caught, and had a change of heart when he turned eighteen.

She confessed that she loved to sing, but only in the shower. Loved to dance, but only in the privacy of her apartment when vacuuming. He learned that she sometimes hated being the baby in the family, especially when they got in her business. And she was a great cook and liked lots of cream and sugar in her coffee.

And each time before he swung her out to climb down, he kissed her. Light. Soft. A touch of lips that held no particular meaning…and yet seemed to mean everything to both of them.

*

Sitting at the
edge of the woods in front of a small fire that Cam had built, Miriam leaned closer to the flames as she ran her fingers through her hair. It was finally dry, but a tangled mess. The extra scrubs she had packed had been damp, but clean. Laying them on a branch near the fire was helping them to dry and she longed to put them on. The fire was welcome and for the first time since she was rescued, in the middle of the storm, she was beginning to feel dry. Walking over she held her fingertips toward the flames, soaking up the warmth, wondering if they would stay permanently wrinkled. Sitting down next to the fire, she allowed the heat to seep into her whole body.

A noise in the distance jerked her from her moment of respite. She glanced around nervously wishing Cam would come back. He had left almost thirty minutes ago, saying he was going to see if he could find something for them to eat. The illumination penetrated the dark night, but beyond the firelight the night was frightening. The warmth that gave off comfort, provided the shadows that danced causing her gaze to jump around, aware that she was completely alone.
What if he doesn’t come back? What if he gets captured? Injured? Lost?
Her heart pounded against her ribs as another noise reached her ears. The image of the carnage she had witnessed had her chest heave with fear. Standing quickly as she heard a noise approaching, she grabbed the canoe oar, wielding it in front of her.

Cam came from the underbrush, finding his way back to the campfire. His arms were full of mangoes. Before he could present his bounty to her, she gave a shriek, tossing the oar onto the ground and rushed into his arms, her body bucking with sobs. He barely had time to drop the mangoes in order to catch her.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” he asked, wanting to see her face but unable to extract her trembling limbs from his.

Unable to speak, she continued to hold him tightly for several minutes until she was able to catch her breath. “I was scared,” she confessed, pressing her face into his neck. “I kept hearing noises and couldn’t see anything in the dark. I had no idea if you had been captured, or hurt, or lost, or—”

“Shhhhh,” he whispered, as he continued to cradle her body tightly in his embrace. One hand around her middle held her heartbeat next to his. His other hand tucked her head underneath his chin. He held her close until her shivering subsided, then placed her gently back on the ground. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry, Miriam, that I had to leave you here alone. I knew I could sneak in and out, getting what we needed and wasn’t willing to take a chance that you’d be discovered.” He leaned down, holding her face in his hands, “Come on, have a seat and see what I brought.”

He maneuvered her closely to the fire again and they sat cross-legged on the ground, next to each other. He noticed she kept her leg touching his as though she were afraid he would disappear again. Reaching behind, he pulled out several mangoes. “I found a grove about a mile from here.”

Her eyes jumped to his face, fear still evident in her expression. “Was there anyone around? Did anyone see you?”

“No, no,” he assured her. Pulling out his knife, he slit into one handing her half.

Taking a deep breath, she allowed his presence to calm her. Leaning her body slightly onto his, she took another cleansing breath.
He’s back and I’m okay.
Taking the offered fruit out of his hands, she bit into the juicy goodness, the taste of the fruit better than anything she could have imagined. He did the same and in a few minutes they had eaten three mangoes, the juice still dripping from their chins.