Nowhere to Hide(22)

However, it was imperative that his PSD, in this case, Lia, trust him a hundred percent. Cav told himself this was what he was doing, but the truth was, he was eager for personal information about her. Why? Because she excited him in ways he’d never felt in his life. And while it was far more than about sex, that was in the mix, too.

“Well, I don’t know about being an expert in everything mechanical,” Lia countered, shaking her head. “You know, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.”

Cav liked her humility. He would bet she was amazing at fixing cars, trucks, tractors or anything else with an engine in it. “Can you give me an idea of a day in your life at the charity? Before it was burnt to the ground?”

She sighed, rubbing her face. “I get up at 0600. Get my coffee, take a shower and get over to the school at 0700. We start classes at 0900. We had five classrooms for the different grades that Maria and Sophia taught. Different groups of kids would come in at different times. I was responsible for knowing the teacher’s lesson plan, having the books and anything else needed in that classroom for the teacher and the children to use.” She gave him a wry look. “This is really boring stuff.”

“Take my word for it, Lia, there’s nothing boring about you.” As soon as Cav spoke them, he wished he could retract them. But he couldn’t. Even his voice had changed, thickened with emotion. When he glanced at her, he saw Lia’s winged brows lift in surprise.

Lia didn’t know how to take Cav’s comment, but there was something in his eyes and voice that sent excitement and hope through her.

“Then,” she continued, “I would then take the time to clean up the place, clean the bathrooms and wash windows or clear cobwebs. At 1000, I had a snack prepared for all the children. At 1100, I made all the children’s lunches, and they’d eat in the dining room together. I’d wash all the dishes afterward and clean things up. At 1400, I had another little snack for the kids and then we’d put them down for a nap in our sleeping room for an hour. At 1500, the bus came by and all the kids got on it. They were delivered back to their homes in La Fortuna and the surrounding area.”

“And you still weren’t done?”

She offered him a smile. “No. We had a washer and dryer on the premises and I washed all the bedding the children slept on, along with the light blankets over them, towels, washcloths and dried them in our dryer. By the time 1700 rolled around, I was done for the day and went home.”

“Tell me about your home?” Cav kept tabs on the armada as it sped along at sixty miles per hour. Up ahead, the gradient changed and he could see the low jungle mountains painted like pale green watercolor ghosts, rising out of the horizon in the distance. That was the beginning of what was known as the northern highlands of Costa Rica.

“Home is a little one bedroom white stucco house that’s still standing after the attack.” She frowned. “Medina’s soldiers ransacked Maria and Sophia’s home on the other side of the school. They’re still standing, but they tore them apart and they’re going to need a lot of work, paint and effort to get them livable once more.”

“And what about the normal places you go on a weekly basis?”

“Oh, gosh,” Lia mumbled, “Can I take a rain check on this, Cav? I suddenly need to sleep. If I don’t, I’ll keel over. I didn’t get much in the past five days.”

“Sure,” he said, “No problem. Go to sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

Lia gave him a grateful look and laid the seat down so she could stretch out. “Thanks…” she whispered, closing her eyes. Almost immediately, she spun into a deep, healing sleep. Cav made her feel safe. She liked him. He seemed genuinely concerned about her safety. And there was more. The look in his hazel eyes when he’d said, Take my word for it? There’s nothing boring about you, her heart leapt. She recognized that steady, burning gaze. It was that of a man wanting a woman.





CHAPTER 5





Driving the van, Cav tried to resist the emotions that were bubbling just beneath the surface. Lia had instantly fallen asleep, exhausted from the events of the past five days. As he followed the lead SUV all the way to the edge of the massive Monte Verde Cloud Forest Reserve, Cav occasionally slid a glance over at her. He knew that his priority was to stay alert to all activity around them, including the cars and trucks passing them in the faster lane. He was wearing an earpiece and could hear everything the lead security contractor, an ex-SEAL named Tanner, was saying.

Cav knew of him—Tanner had been with Seal Team One, while Cav had been with Seal Team Three. He knew that Tanner was a highly competent ex-SEAL and he was glad the operator was at the helm of this mission