Page 43 of Devlin (Lighthouse Security Investigations Montana #4)

Suffocating darkness pressed against Mia’s senses as she drifted into consciousness.

The sound of a diesel engine vibrated beneath her, jolting her awareness back as she tried to figure out what had happened.

Her shoulders throbbed, but as she tried to move her arms, she found them locked into place behind her.

She became aware of rope digging into her wrists, but the feel of someone else touching her fingers caused her to scream, although the sound was muffled by the canvas bag over her head. She stiffened and struggled to fight, but a voice came low and urgent near her ear.

“Mia. Don’t move. I’m trying to get these off.”

The bag over her head was yanked away, and she gasped, squinting against the dim light filtering through the slats of the moving truck. Charlie’s face hovered close, his expression tight with desperation. Relief surged for a split second before confusion took over.

“Charlie?” Her voice was raw. “They got you, too?”

He hesitated. His hands kept working at her restraints, but his eyes flicked away from hers, unable to meet her gaze directly. Finally, her hands were free, and she moved her arms, wincing at the prickling pain radiating from her fingers to her shoulders.

Mia’s breath came faster, her pulse hammering in her chest. She scrambled to her knees and looked around.

They were alone in the back of the truck, crates stacked high against the metal walls, shifting slightly as the vehicle rumbled down an uneven road.

But instead of seeing the full container, they were in a much smaller area.

“Where are we?” she whispered, afraid of being heard.

Her gaze continued to take in their surroundings…

or rather their prison. She recognized the wooden crates with food, but they weren’t in the full container of the semi.

Her stomach twisted as realization settled in.

The back of the truck had a false wall. One that divided the food that was being stolen and smuggled from what was being delivered.

“No,” she said softly, shaking her head as her mind connected the pieces. “No. Tell me you’re not in on this.”

Charlie flinched like she’d struck him. “It’s not like that?—”

“Not like what?” Her voice pitched higher, her fear melting into fury. “You’re part of this? You helped them? Charlie, what the hell is going on?”

He let out a sharp breath, sitting back on his heels, fingers curling into his hair as if he could rip it out. “I didn’t have a choice. I… I got in too deep. It was supposed to be just one thing, just moving supplies, but then Enock…”

Mia jerked away from him, her knees scraping against the floor. “Enock? You’re working with Enock? He’s stealing from the camp? Smuggling food?”

Charlie’s face twisted in agony. “I didn’t want this! I swear, Mia, I didn’t! I just… I always screw things up. Always.” His breathing came out in erratic pants. He looked like he wasn’t sure whether to beg for forgiveness or collapse under the weight of his own guilt.

She shifted closer and placed her hands on his knees as he sat on the floor. “Talk to me, Charlie. I know this isn’t you… it can’t be you. Not the person I’ve come to know.”

“I got into trouble in Australia,” he admitted, voice hoarse.

“Kept choosing the wrong friends, looking for the easy way to make some money. My dad always bailed me out and then tore me a new one. Finally, he’d had enough.

Said I had two choices—join the military or the Peace Corps.

I picked the Peace Corps, figured it’d be easy.

Did a couple of tours with them and then finally ended up here.

I was stuck, hating every second. Just crunching numbers all day long.

I didn’t come here to be a damn accountant, Mia! ”

His voice cracked, and Mia saw the years of frustration brimming in his tired eyes.

“I got into trouble again,” he admitted, barely above a whisper.

“I was trading food for some alcohol, which I’d sell for a profit.

Enock bailed me out. Said I owed him and had to help.

And now…” He gestured wildly at the truck, at their surroundings.

“Now we’re here, and I don’t know how the hell to fix this mess. ”

Mia swallowed hard, her mind racing. Fear still curled in her gut, but beneath it, anger flared hot.

“You don’t fix it by kidnapping me,” she snapped. “You don’t fix it by stealing food meant for starving people!”

Charlie’s face contorted, shame and regret battling against desperation. “I didn’t know they were going to take you! I swear to God, I didn’t. But I knew I had to do something when I realized what was happening.”

Mia glared at him, chest rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths. “You’d better start figuring out whose side you’re really on. Then do something about it, Charlie. Right fucking now.”

“I don’t know what to do,” he groaned.

Mia stared at the man she once thought attractive, even if she’d never considered dating him. But now, she just saw a kid who had always been bailed out of trouble and had no real idea how to make decisions on his own. “What is going on? What are they doing?”

He grimaced. “The food goes into the trucks, but some of it is hidden behind false panels. After they make deliveries to the warehouse or villages, the drivers take it to drop points, where it gets mixed with other stolen supplies—stuff taken from farms and other deliveries. Then it all goes to Lake Edward, where it’s smuggled into the Congo. ”

Mia’s stomach turned. “Why?”

Charlie wiped a shaking hand across his mouth.

“Insurgents. Enock said his family was being threatened if he didn’t cooperate.

And I…” He let out a bitter laugh. “I got roped in because I needed a way out. The money they’re paying me is enough to get back to Australia.

I can finally go back home and live without my dad controlling my life. ”

Mia’s hands curled into fists. “Oh, grow up, Charlie. You think you’re the only one who’s had a rough time? You think stealing from people who need it is your ticket to freedom?”

He flinched again, but before he could respond, the truck jolted over a rough patch of road, nearly knocking them both over. Mia steadied herself. “What’s going to happen to us?”

“I… I don’t know. This was never talked about.” His eyes widened. “Shit, they can’t let us go, can they? Fuck… they might take us in the boats as well.”

All the air rushed from her lungs. They would be killed…

or worse. She’d be abused… so would Charlie.

Death would be a blessing compared to what would happen.

Surely, Enock wouldn’t let that happen! Her chest spasmed as thick air threatened to choke her.

If he had no choice… if it came down to her life or his family… oh God!

She frantically tried to think of a way to escape. “We’ve got to get out of here.” Scanning the interior, she noticed a thin streak of light in the top corner of the truck.

She stood, weaving on her legs but now glad for the stacked crates. She needed them for support but also to climb. “Help me up,” she ordered.

Charlie hesitated, but at her glare, he stood, holding her thighs as she climbed onto a pile of crates, reaching toward the weak spot.

“It’s rusty here.” Pressing against the metal, she felt rust give way beneath her fingers as it showered her with red dust. She squinted as the rust powder flew into her face.

She shoved harder, the metal barely giving way.

“Let me,” Charlie said, tugging her downward. She traded places with him, and he was soon pulling the edge of the metal downward.

“You’re doing it,” she cried. “Keep going. We don’t need too much space to crawl out.”

He looked down, his brows lowered. “Crawl out? Where?”

“On to the top of the truck,” she said.

“Why?”

“Jesus, Charlie, just do it. Staying here will certainly lead to our death or worse at their hands if we get taken to Congo.”

His face blanched at that, but he turned upward and continued pulling at the metal until it groaned as it peeled away. She climbed up beside him, filling her lungs with the fresh air rushing in.

“Come on! Help me," she hissed, sticking her head through the hole. The truck was on a road similar to the one they’d taken with Jonan through the national park.

She placed her arms onto the top, but the metal that had been pulled down caught her pants.

Shimmying back down, she said, “We need more room.”

Together, they pushed on the triangle of hanging metal as she warned him to beware of the ragged edge.

With it out of the way, she repeated her movements and was able to brace her arms on the top of the truck and wiggled her way through the opening with Charlie pushing on her ass and then calves from below.

Charlie followed, scrambling up after her.

She emerged onto the top of the truck’s container bed, lying flat for fear of falling off. Scooting to the side just enough for Charlie to follow her to the top, she had no plan. She just knew she needed to get them away from the truck and certain death at the hands of the smugglers.

Still lying flat, she lifted her head to look at their surroundings. She had no idea how much time had passed.

The landscape spread out around them—vast, open, and wild.

Rolling golden savanna stretched beneath a blue sky, with white clouds dotting the horizon.

Clusters of acacia trees dotted the expanse, their twisted branches silhouetted against the background.

In the distance, forest trees grew thicker, and she knew they weren’t far from the water.

The truck rumbled forward, kicking up dust as it barreled along a narrow dirt road cutting through the wilderness. She didn’t care that the air was thick with the heat from the sun bearing down on them. Just being out of the truck prison felt like freedom was at hand.

“What do we do now?” Charlie asked as he snaked along the top to rest near her.

Mia crouched low, gripping the metal for balance. “We need to get to the back end!” She thought he was going to ask why, and she wasn’t sure she could contain her frustration if he did. “We need to get far away from the driver and Enock if he’s in the cab.”

Charlie nodded, his eyes wide. Together, they edged along the container’s top, staying in the middle for fear of being seen by someone in the front of the truck or by the side-view mirrors.

Something caught the light, causing a flash of silver, and she realized her lighthouse necklace had fallen from her neckline.

Tracer! Oh God… Devlin can find me. She pushed it back down her shirt, shoving the charm underneath her bra strap.

She almost told Charlie about it to give him hope, then stopped herself from speaking. She could no longer trust him. If he thought the information might buy him freedom, he’d be tempted to give her up.

Glancing to the side, she breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t looking at her but was working his way toward the back, too.

The truck was now near the woods, and she wanted to get away before they came to a stop at the water.

At the back edge, she looked down and then immediately felt woozy at the height and the motion of the land beneath the truck.

Sucking in a deep breath through her nose, she cleared her mind.

With no choice, she opened her eyes again and focused on the back door.

There was a handle halfway down and then the metal platform that extended about three feet from the truck’s rear.

“If we can get down there, we can drop the rest of the way,” she said.

“Then what?” Charlie cried, panic in his eyes.

“I don’t know. We run away. Try to get somewhere they can’t find us.”

He nodded. “Devlin will come for you, right? He’ll come?”

“Yes. He’ll come.” She was filled with the knowledge that he would come no matter the time or distance. If she could hide from the smugglers, Devlin would find her. The truck started to slow to make a sharp curve in the road, and she knew it was now or never. “Come on,” she encouraged.

She turned around and let her legs drop over the side as her feet floundered around for the handle.

Charlie grasped her arms. “I’ve got you. Keep going down, and I’ll hold you.”

She hated to put her trust in him but had no choice.

She slid a little more over the edge, and true to his word, he held her until her feet landed on the handle.

Now she grasped the bar at the top corner, praying that anyone in the passenger seat wouldn’t see her from their mirror.

Shimmying down a little more, her feet hit the bottom platform.

Mia barely had time to suck in a breath before her feet slipped off the truck’s back door.

The metal was slick with dust and grime, and gravity took over fast. She braced for impact—then hit the ground hard, knees buckling, palms scraping against loose gravel.

Before she had a chance to look up to see where he was, Charlie landed beside her with a grunt, rolling instinctively to absorb the fall.

For one precious second, they just lay there, panting, stunned.

The truck rumbled forward a few more feet, then hissed as the driver slowed for the narrow bend in the road.

The nearby jungle canopy above left streaks of sunlight filtering through the green.

She realized how close they were to the water.

Charlie reached for her hand, his grip tight. “Come on,” he breathed, already moving.

Mia forced her legs to work, shoving down the pain radiating from her knees. They took off, sprinting toward the trees?—

“Stop.” The hard command cut through the air.