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I shifted my position ten degrees and finally saw what we’d been waiting for. Exiting the tent was a man dressed in fancy jungle attire, complete with long leather boots and a straw hat. We’d been tracking him for days on end, and it wasn’t until we landed at the ass end of nowhere that we finally discovered the amulet.
Getting to it was much more difficult. He was always surrounded by an armed guard of at least twenty men. And while I was willing to take the risk and fight the men to capture what we’d been on the hunt for, the machetes they carried made me hesitate to rush them.
“Everything in position?” I asked.
“Why do you even bother to ask?” Gabe asked. “You know it’s in position.”
“The boredom is getting to me. And the mosquitos.”
Without being able to move, we had to let the mosquitos attack or risk being spotted. My entire body had gone numb. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to attack at this point, which was why it was imperative that our trap worked.
“Alright, they’re headed your way.” As soon as the trucks left the hut, I jumped to my feet, nearly falling over in my attempt to stand on my own two feet again. “Fuck,” I swore as I wobbled like a newborn calf. After a few moments, the sensation returned to my legs and I took off through the jungle toward Gabe and Jackson. “I’m on the move.”
“Gabe, on my mark,” Jackson said.
“Copy that. Ready when you are.”
“Three, two, one, mark!”
I heard the crash just before I broke through the tree line. Three Jeeps were caught in a web of ropes, all smashed into one another. The first vehicle had crashed into trees, and the back door on one side was jammed shut. I slid under the first vehicle, slamming the sticky bomb against the fuel tank just before lighting the fuse. I narrowly escaped before the bomb lifted the Jeep off the ground from the explosion. Moments later, the third Jeep exploded as Gabe scrambled away from it.
Jackson came running out of the trees, approaching the second vehicle where the man with the amulet was hiding. He nodded to me, taking the right side as I took the left. Gabe covered us from the front as the two other Jeeps roared with flames.
I flung the back door open, shooting the two guards as Jackson pulled Hugh Lawrence from the Jeep. He quickly tied his arms as the man shouted for help. Jackson hauled him over his shoulder and took off through the jungle as Gabe and I laid down cover fire. Luck was on our side as we slipped back into the trees and raced after Jackson.
The flames from the burning vehicles would soon draw attention, and we didn’t want to be around when someone came looking for the wealthy American who was stealing from the Amazon people. We were running for ten minutes when we came to a second road. The moment we stepped into the open, gunfire erupted around us.
Another vehicle skidded to a stop in front of us, and when I looked up, I was shocked to see Rob staring back at me with a quirky grin. “Hey! I found you guys!”
Bullets pinged off the vehicle. The woman in the driver’s seat started yelling at us in another language. “Let’s go!”
Gabe was already on it, jumping into the back and holding out his hands to catch Hugh as Jackson tossed him inside. I jumped into the front with Rob, squishing him as the woman shifted gears and pressed her foot to the floor. We all ducked our heads, trying to avoid being shot, but the crazy woman in the driver’s seat sat with her head held high and a smile on her face as she drove through the chaos.
“Who is she?” I shouted to Rob.
He laughed, his shoulders shaking. “You’re never going to believe this, but I had to come to the Amazon to find my woman.”
“Olhe para você, se escondendo de algumas balas.” Look at you, hiding from some bullets.
“What did she say?”
Rob grinned at me. “She loves me and she’s going to have my babies.”
“Eu terei os bebês e protegerei você dos homens maus. Você pode cozinhar.” I will have the babies and protect you from evil men. You can cook.
“What’d she say now?”
“Oh…lots of dirty things. I can’t repeat them.”
The look she shot him was one I’d only seen on a true vixen’s face. I wasn’t sure Rob knew exactly what he got himself into. “Farei coisas muito sujas come você. Espere até chegarmos em casa.” I will do very dirty things to you. Wait until we get home.
“Are you sure about this?”
“As a heart attack,” he laughed.
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
He tossed his head and laughed, then ducked as more bullets hit the windshield. His crazy lady didn’t even flinch. I wasn’t entirely certain Rob was in his right mind, but now was not the time to argue that point.