Full Throttle(83)

“Now.” He motioned with his chin toward the child. “Where are the Americans?”

The woman didn’t hesitate this time. Lifting her arm, she pointed toward the northwest side of the clearing. Umar turned in the direction of her extended finger, squinting his eyes, trying to remember if there was another logging trail in that direction.

“Go see if she is telling the truth!” he yelled over his shoulder to his man waiting in the bush. From the corner of his eye, he watched his foot soldier break from the jungle and jog to the edge of the village. For a couple of interminable seconds, the man walked around, checking for tracks.

“Yes!” he finally called excitedly, and Umar’s pulse leapt. “There are footprints in the mud. Definitely a pair of Western-style shoes alongside imprints from the soft-soled slippers the woman is wearing!”

“Now, was that so hard?” Umar smiled down at the woman, loving the way she shrank away from him. Loving the absolute terror in her eyes.

Shoving her away, he instructed Noordin to do the same with the girl. Then, keeping their weapons trained on the villagers—who just continued to stand there like slack-jawed imbeciles—they backed toward the edge of the jungle.

“Keep drawing down on them,” he told his men as he slung the strap of his machine gun over his shoulder so he, too, could inspect the tracks. Squatting, he noted the deep impressions left in the mud. “These were left after the storm, when the ground was soft,” he muttered, as much to his men as to himself. “Which means we are not far behind…”





Chapter Twenty


“I may have been mistaken about the distance to my truck,” Yonus said. “I am now thinking it was more like two miles from the village.”

Steady grinned at the young man’s back. “That’s okay,” he called. The guy was about ten yards out in front of him and Abby, due to their slower pace. Abby’s gams may be world-class, but they were also lacking a bit when it came to vertical inches. “When hitching a ride, beggars can’t be choosers. But I have to ask you, hermano, does this truck of yours come equipped with four-wheel drive?”

Because the rain had turned the entire region into a big bowl of muck. And their hike from the village through the drenched, dripping jungle had been slow going from the start. Unfortunately, their progress had become more snail-like since they made it to the logging trail. The mud atop the rutted road was three inches thick and slick as snot. Which forced them to trudge awkwardly alongside the shoulder where the footing was more stable, and far more uneven.

“Of course it has four-wheel drive. What do you take me for?” Yonus turned to flash them a quick smile. It was the exact same expression he’d given them after they crawled down the ladder from the ceremonial hut once the storm passed. Now, just as then, Steady couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he and Abby’s…uh…activities—and corresponding cries of ecstasy. Dios! Just thinking about that made him semi-hard and achy again—hadn’t been completely drowned out by the roar of the raging squall.

“I take you for a lifesaver,” he called, putting a little jiggle and swivel in his step to covertly adjust himself into a more comfortable position.

“It is my pleasure, my friends.” Yonus dipped his chin before turning back to continue up the trail.

Steady glanced over at Abby, expecting to see her grinning after Yonus. The guy’s smile was the infectious sort, after all. But instead he found her frowning, her brow puckered with two vertical lines. “You okay?” he asked, reaching over to brush her fingers, trying not to think about what it was like to have that small hand wrapped around his cock or cupping his balls. Oh, and great. That did nothing for my semi. “Do we need to stop and take a break?”

“No.” She shook her head, instantly smoothing away her frown. “No. I was just thinking about…” She trailed off, shrugging.

“Your security detail,” he finished for her, careful to keep his voice low so Yonus couldn’t hear.

She dipped her chin and made a face. “Among other things. They were good people. Brave people. They didn’t deserve what happened to them.”

“Well of course they didn’t. But there was nothing you could have done to stop what happened. You know that, eh?” When she didn’t immediately answer, he caught her hand, jerking her to a stop. The sun, dappling through the tree limbs that were trying so desperately to bridge the gap over the logging road, shone down on her golden hair, creating a halo effect that took his breath away. He braced himself for the one-two punch of her eyes.