River of Secrets (20 page)

Briefly, Micah wondered why the bomb shelter hadn’t been on the blueprints they’d had before going in. Someone messed up somewhere.

“That bomb shelter. That’s how your father got out, too, isn’t it?”

Jonathas nodded. “He never knew I knew about it. But I learned how to play ‘spy’ at a very young age.”

As a matter of survival, no doubt.

Micah had no clue how he’d gotten out of the house. He supposed that was one memory that may stay lost to him forever.

“Why did you X out their faces? In the pictures?”

“I was trying to figure who was making all the attempts on your life. When I decided they were innocent, I X’d them out. It finally came down to Salvador. And after I saw what he did to Romero this morning, that kind of was the final clue.” His attention was diverted. “Hey,” he said suddenly, “what are they doing?”

Micah squinted against the sun. Amy stood precariously in the canoe, her hands gesturing wildly. Salvador held the machete pointed at her. Micah’s blood ran cold. Time to intervene. He grabbed a paddle and ordered, “Row, Jonathas.”

“What are you doing?” Amy cried. “Why?” The machete poked her in the stomach but she had nowhere to go except over the side. Her eyes widened as Salvador pulled her satellite phone from his pocket. “One of the many skills I learned living on the streets.” He’d picked her pocket! Dread thudded through her as he tossed it over the side into the water.

Gulping, she begged, “Tell me what I’ve done to make you want to kill me.”

“Micah is in love with you. He is responsible for the deaths of my family. Now, I will kill his hope for a family.”

Amy felt her jaw drop. “How is Micah responsible for your family’s death?”

“After you are gone, eaten by the piranhas, the man will suffer greatly—just as Carlita and I have suffered. I stood by his bedside hoping he would die, even tried to smother him with the pillow, but
you
arrived.” He hissed his frustration. “And he recovered. So I shot the darts in the window, but he was lucky.” His brow crinkled. “I still cannot believe I missed.”

“That was you?” Amy’s world spun. “No, but…”

“And then you were talking about it on your walk. I was in the bushes and was going to finish the job, but couldn’t get a good shot. I was afraid to try again. If I missed again, he would catch me.”

Well, thank God for that. She stalled. “What about the jeep on the dock. How did you arrange that?”

He shrugged. “I know Jonathas’s morning routine. I simply went first to the place where he takes care of the cows. When he wasn’t looking, I got in the jeep and drove it to the dock where I saw him with you. I waited until he was alone, then wedged the gas pedal down. Very easy.”

“And the snakes?” Anger made her shake.

Salvador said, “My pets. I was saving them for something special.” His face hardened. “But that failed, too. But now I have you here. I cannot let you take Carlita to the United States. She is my only remaining family. And Micah will suffer when he realizes you have died because of him.” He looked up, his eyes going wide. Whatever he saw scared him. Looking back at Amy he said, “Jump. You must jump!” He jabbed the machete even harder, the tip nicking through her shirt and grabbing skin.

She shrieked, stumbled back, her calves catching the edge of the canoe. Then she felt herself hitting the water.

“Amy!” Micah hollered. Salvador looked up at his yell, grabbed a paddle and started rowing. “Jonathas, paddle after Amy, we need to get her into the canoe.”

He’d seen the machete being jabbed toward her stomach and her fall into the water. He prayed she wasn’t hurt too badly. They were far enough from shore that if she were bleeding, the piranhas would have a field day. He shuddered at the thought.

Amy bobbed to the surface and immediately struck out for shore. Micah prayed like he’d never prayed before as he yanked the paddle through the water. Right now, in October, it was considered late in the dry season. The fish would be hungry.

“Swim, Amy, swim,” he whispered.

She jerked, went under, surfaced, then stroked harder. Micah noticed the red tinge in the water around her and felt panic nearly explode his pounding heart.
Please, Jesus.
Salvador was a dot on the river in front of them. Frustration raged. He wanted to find a way to get to the teen, but Amy came first.

She seemed to spasm again. Finally, Micah pulled alongside her. Concentrating so hard on swimming, she didn’t realize he was beside her. He reached out and grabbed her arm. She came up fighting.

The canoe rocked, tipped dangerously. “It’s me! Let me pull you in.”

“Micah! Get me out of here, please,” she sobbed as she gripped his hand.

Jonathas kept them balanced while Micah hauled her over the side. She flung her arms around his waist and wept while Jonathas looked on with wide eyes. The boy’s glance took in her drenched and bloodied form while Micah silently asked if she was all right. Jonathas pulled his backpack from under him. Grabbing a first-aid kit, he tossed it to Micah.

With his free hand, Micah patted her back, stroked her hair, whatever he could think of to offer silent comfort. She’d been through an ordeal, she deserved a good cry. He was even okay with her bleeding on him as long as she was safe.

Sniffing, she finally pulled away. “I’m okay.” She gasped, “Salvador! He’ll head for the orphanage to get Carlita. We have to call Anna.”

Micah tossed his satellite phone to Jonathas. “Call Anna and fill her in.” He pressed a hand on Amy’s shoulder. “Sit down on my pack and let me see your legs.”

“My legs?”

“Yeah, I think you’ve got a few bites there.”

“I thought something was stinging me.”

“Piranhas.”

She shuddered. “Probably attracted by the blood from my stomach.”

Micah tried to keep the rage from his voice, his tone neutral. “How hard did he jab you?”

With a wince, she pulled the hem of her shirt up to reveal a small but gaping wound right above her belly button. In Micah’s opinion, it needed a couple of stitches. He grabbed antibiotic ointment from the kit. She slathered some on her finger from the tube and covered the gash, then placed two butterfly Band-Aids over it to hold the edges of skin together.

“You’ll need to take some antibiotics for a couple of weeks. That water is nasty, and you don’t want to risk getting an infection.” He kept his voice even as he went to work on her bites.

“I know.” She hitched her breath and bit her lip as he probed, medicated and bandaged.

Blue jeans had offered her some protection from the three bites on her legs. She had two on her upper right arm. They weren’t the worst he’d ever seen, thank God. Instead, it was almost as if the fish were giving her little test nibbles to see if she were worth attacking. Contrary to what television shows and movies portrayed, piranhas didn’t normally attack prey larger than themselves. In fact, most of the time they swam away in fright.

However, the scent of blood would set them off, causing them to devour a larger animal—or human—in a relatively quick period of time. He shuddered at the thought. What if he hadn’t gotten off that plane? Would Jonathas have been there to save her? He pushed the thought away, unable to bear pondering it.

Amy trembled, but kept her lips clamped tight. Micah could tell the bites stung, but other than a quick indrawn breath every once in a while, she never voiced a complaint.

Jonathas shut the phone, handing it back to Micah. “Miss Anna said she will contact the chief right away and have him waiting when Salvador shows up. She also will keep Carlita with her.”

“All right, let’s head back to the orphanage. We’ll call Lucas on the way back so he can meet us there to check you over.”

“No!” Amy protested. “I still have to meet my grandmother and Lucia.”

Micah’s jaw dropped. “You’re still planning on that?”

“Well, of course. If I don’t, I may as well sign their death warrants. Please, Micah, we still have time. Get me to Lake Tomalis.”

Amy stared up at Micah desperate to portray the fact that if she had to jump back into the piranha-infested river in order to reach her destination, she’d do it.

Tight-lipped, Micah didn’t say another word. Instead, he passed a paddle to Jonathas, grabbing the second one for himself. Relief settled on Amy’s tense shoulders. Slowly she let out the breath she’d been holding, shivering in spite of the heat. Hopefully, the sun would dry her out before it went down. If not, it was going to be a chilly trek back to the orphanage. Later, she’d ask Micah what Salvador meant when he said Micah was responsible for the death of his family.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Lake Tomalis without further incident and she had no trouble spotting the red pole and green flag Maria had told her to look for. Now she just had to find the clearing.

When the canoe scraped the muddy bottom, Amy was the first to climb out, ignoring the pain from her bites. Micah and Jonathas followed, with Jonathas pulling the craft up to beach it on the shore. How they were going to fit two more people in it for the return trip, she had no idea. Right now, she just wanted to concentrate on getting to the right place.

A path to the right of where they’d landed led into the jungle. Amy winced at the thought of another hike, but didn’t say anything. Micah asked, “Where are you supposed to meet?”

“She said ‘the clearing near Lake Tomalis.’ I’m guessing that path leads to it. Maria didn’t seem to think I’d have any trouble finding it.”

“Let me lead. Jonathas, why don’t bring up the rear? That way if there’s trouble, we can do our best to keep Amy out of it.”

Amy’s heart clenched. He would protect her with his life. The knowledge nearly sent her to her knees. And she didn’t think he’d do it just because he was a SEAL. Obviously he had feelings for her; otherwise, he’d have gotten on that plane and disappeared from her life.

He’d missed his flight to come find her.
Thank You, Jesus.

“Micah, what are you doing here?”

Her soft question brought him to her side. He crooked his finger and ran it down her cheek. His hooded blue eyes stared at her, as though he were trying to figure out whether to answer her. Finally he said, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow on the flight home.”

So he was coming with her. In spite of the pain from her wounds, a smile tugged her lips. “Okay.”

“In fact, we have a lot to talk about. But right now, we need to get going. Keep your eyes open, all right?”

“Right.”

The threesome headed down the path, creeping along slowly, and Micah holding his gun ready. Tension zipped through Amy. She felt excited about talking to Micah tomorrow, all the while praying that they would live to have the conversation. Focusing on the task before her, she stepped in Micah’s footprints, hearing Jonathas’s reassuring presence behind her.

Five short minutes later, they stepped to the edge of the clearing Maria must have been talking about. Micah held a finger to his lips, motioning Amy to come up next to him. She stepped beside him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and then leaned down to whisper in her ear, “We’re on time. Do you see anything?”

Amy shook her head.

“So, what are you supposed to do now?”

“Wait, I guess,” she whispered back.

Her gaze scanned the small open area, taking in the sights, sounds and smells around her. If she weren’t so jumpy, she might have enjoyed the impromptu jungle tour. It was a fascinating place. But she was here for another reason.

She pushed a branch away from her face, wincing as the action pulled at the bites on her arm. Her leg throbbed; the cut on her stomach zinged pain every time she moved. She ignored it all.

Bushes fifty feet to their left shivered, rustled, then were parted. Micah drew her back slightly, one hand cupped around her elbow, the other curled around the butt of his gun. Amy drew comfort from his presence as two figures stepped out. Amy recognized Maria and assumed the young girl at her side was Lucia.

“That’s them.”

Amy sidled in front of Micah, venturing closer to the two women. Maria held a rifle in her left hand. Which made sense. Of course she wouldn’t travel through the jungle without a weapon. “Hello, Maria.” No way was she calling the woman grandmother. “Lucia, I’m your cousin, Amy.”

Lucia took a step closer to her grandmother, but smiled a tentative, scared smile at Amy’s greeting. Maria nodded. Glancing over her shoulder, she gave the girl a gentle shove in Amy’s direction. “Go.”

With tears trembling on her midnight-colored lashes, Lucia moved as ordered. Yet Amy thought she detected a glimmer of excitement in the girl’s eyes. Maria must have explained to Lucia that she would be going to America with Amy.

Cajoling, Amy begged Maria, “Please come with us, turn yourself in and work with the authorities. Tell them where the camp is. They can rescue the other children there and may offer leniency if you do.” Amy moved toward Maria, taking her hand, hoping Maria wouldn’t resist her efforts.

“No. My life is almost over. But this one deserves better. I need to do at least one right thing in my life. This is it. Take care of her.”

“But if you go back, they’ll kill you if they find out what you’ve done. Lucia won’t be safe as long as they exist. Turn them in.”

Maria shrugged. “It will all work out. You have Lucia. You will take her to America where she will be safe. Here are her papers.” Amy took the small plastic-wrapped package. Dirt covered it, as if it had been buried and just recently dug up.

“Now go. I am dying anyway. The cancer. So, now it’s time.”

But she would die without Christ.
Jesus, please, what do I say?
“Maria, please. I want the chance to get to know you, to talk to you. And…and don’t you want to see your daughter, Juanita, one more time?”

At this question, Maria paused, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened them, there was nothing left but hardness. “No, it is too late for that.”

“Then let me pray with you.” Amy was desperate. She had to find the location of the camp.

“Pray with me?” Maria gave a phlegmy, humorless chuckle that turned into a hacking cough. “I do not think your prayers will help too much.”