Page 15

Logan

The darkness inside the abandoned hut was broken only by faint gray light seeping through cracks in the walls. I’d dozed fitfully against the doorframe, weapon within reach, but never truly slept. Couldn’t afford to—not with Lauren vulnerable and Silva’s men potentially hunting us.

A sound outside made every muscle in my body tense. Barely audible over the predawn insects, but definitely there. Footsteps. Light, hesitant.

My hand found my Glock before conscious thought kicked in. I eased to my feet, each movement calculated for silence. Lauren was still asleep on the narrow cot, her face peaceful despite yesterday’s horrors.

The footsteps stopped directly outside our door.

I melted into the shadows beside the entrance, weapon raised but finger alongside the trigger guard. If Silva’s men had found us, I’d have seconds to act. The door creaked open slowly, and I coiled tighter?—

A small face peered through the gap, much lower than I expected. Elena . The little girl from yesterday who’d been so fascinated by our weather equipment.

My chest tightened with a different kind of tension. If this kid could find us, who else knew our location?

I lowered my weapon but kept it ready. “Elena?”

“Senor Logan?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

I stepped into view, forcing my expression into something that wouldn’t frighten her. “What are you doing here?”

She pushed inside, closing the door with careful hands. In her arms, she carried something wrapped in large green leaves.

“I bring…brought? Food.” She held out the bundle, her English careful but determined. “For you and Dr. Lauren.”

“How did you know we were here?” I kept my voice gentle despite the risk she represented.

“I see you last night when you come to village. Then the bad men come, and everyone say doctors go away in helicopter.” She shifted the bundle in her arms. “But I know Dr. Lauren. She no leave if someone need help. So I look for you.”

The kid had better instincts than most trained operatives. “Elena, this is very important. Have you told anyone you saw me or Dr. Lauren?”

She shook her head solemnly. “No. Promise.”

I prayed she was telling the truth. “You cannot tell anyone you saw us. No one. Understand?”

Her dark eyes were serious, older than her years. “The bad men hurt Dr. Lauren if they find?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and pushed the bundle toward me again. “Juane. My abuela make it. Rice, beans, eggs inside bijao leaves. Stay good for long time, no get bad.”

I accepted the offering, the weight of it substantial in my hands. The leaves were still warm. “Thank you. But you need to go home before?—”

Her gaze had already moved past me to where Lauren slept. “Dr. Lauren is sad?”

“She’s tired. Yesterday was…difficult.”

“She save my aunt and new baby.” Pride blazed in her voice. “My cousin, she is perfect. Beautiful.”

“I know. Dr. Lauren is very good at helping people.”

Elena fixed me with an unnervingly direct stare. “You keep her safe from bad men?”

Something twisted in my chest. “I’m going to try.”

“Good.” She turned toward the supplies I’d laid out on the table, considering them. “You need cup for water when you travel?”

“Yes, but…” Christ. I’d been trying to figure out water collection without proper containers.

Before I could finish the sentence, she was gone, the door closing silently behind her. I stood there holding the leaf-wrapped food, caught between gratitude and concern. Every minute she was gone increased our exposure.

I moved to the cot and touched Lauren’s shoulder. “Time to wake up.”

She stirred slowly, green eyes unfocused in the dim light. For a heartbeat, I saw confusion there. Then memory crashed into her like an explosion. I watched it happen, saw her shoulders bow under the weight of Carlos’s death, our failed escape, being hunted.

But then her jaw set. She straightened, pushing tangled honey-blonde hair from her face with steady hands. The transformation from victim to survivor took seconds, and something in my chest responded to that strength.

“What time is it?” Her voice was rough with sleep but controlled.

“Almost dawn. We need to move.”

She swung her legs off the cot, then noticed the bundle in my hands. “Where did you get that?”

“I—”

The door opened again. Elena reappeared carrying a battered tin cup and a small packet, freezing when she saw Lauren awake.

“Elena?” Lauren’s entire demeanor shifted, warmth flooding her features.

“Dr. Lauren!” The girl flew across the small space into Lauren’s open arms. “I know you no go away without saying goodbye.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Lauren’s voice caught as she held the child close, one hand smoothing dark hair. “How did you know where to find us?”

“The new baby cry all night. Keep waking up. I look out window and see Senor Logan when he go outside.” Elena pulled back, pressing the tin cup into Lauren’s hands with solemn ceremony.

“For water in jungle. And this—” She produced the small packet with a mischievous grin.

“Coffee from my mama’s special hiding place. Shh, is secret.”

Lauren’s eyes grew bright with unshed tears. “Elena, you wonderful girl. But you know I have to leave, right? It’s not safe for me to stay.”

“I know. The bad men come for you.”

“You can’t tell anyone you saw us. Not your best friend, not your abuela, no one. Promise me.”

“I promise.” Elena dug into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill. “Take this. For help you.”

“Elena, no?—”

“I save for when Papa go to Ciudad del Este. To buy pretty ribbon. But you need more than ribbon.”

Lauren’s hands trembled as she folded Elena’s small fingers back around the money. “You keep it. Buy the prettiest ribbon you can find.”

I had to look away from the raw emotion on both their faces. The kid was offering everything she had to help someone escape danger. It stirred something I’d buried deep—a memory of what genuine human kindness looked like.

“Elena,” Lauren said, cradling the girl’s face between her palms. “I need you to promise me something else. Stay in school, study hard. You’re brilliant—do you understand? Brilliant. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”

“I promise, Dr. Lauren.”

“Keep practicing your English. Read everything you can find.”

“You come back someday? When bad men gone?”

Lauren’s composure cracked slightly. “I hope so, mi amor.”

The sky outside was shifting from black to gray. “We need to leave,” I said quietly.

Lauren pulled Elena close one more time, whispering rapid Spanish against her hair. Then the girl was at the door, pausing to look back at us with eyes too knowing for her age.

“Be careful,” she said and vanished into the lightening gloom.

Lauren sat motionless on the cot’s edge, staring at the closed door. A single tear tracked down her cheek before she wiped it away.

“She’s extraordinary,” she said.

“She is.” I shouldered my pack and grabbed the medical bag, its muted brown a far cry from its original sunny yellow. “But the village will be waking up soon. We need to go.”

She rose in one fluid motion, squaring her shoulders. “I’m ready.”

We emerged into air thick with humidity and the promise of rain.

The jungle chorus was building—birds calling territorial claims, insects droning, the distant territorial screams of howler monkeys.

I led us away from the village at a steady pace, choosing paths that would keep us hidden while still making progress toward the coast.

Sweat was already beading on my skin. The barometric pressure was dropping—Hurricane Tristan announcing its approach through oppressive, motionless air that made breathing feel like work.

“How are you holding up?” I asked after the first hour.

“Fine.” No hesitation in her response, despite the perspiration darkening her shirt. “How far to Puerto Esperanza?”

“Straight line? Maybe thirty kilometers. But we’re not traveling straight. Terrain gets uglier from here, and we need to avoid the main roads.” I ducked under a low-hanging vine heavy with moisture. “Tomorrow, we’ll hit swampland, then coastal marsh.”

“Define uglier.”

“Mud that’ll suck you down to your thighs. Water that looks ankle-deep until you step in and find it’s over your head. Caimans, fer-de-lance, bugs that’ll eat you alive given half a chance.” I checked our heading against the sun’s position. “Plus, nowhere solid to make camp.”

“Painting quite the picture there.”

“Want you prepared for what’s coming.”

We pushed on through increasingly dense vegetation. Lauren matched my pace without complaint, learning to move more efficiently with each passing hour—ducking under branches without being told, using roots and rocks for leverage, stepping where I stepped to avoid the worst of the undergrowth.

“Stop.” The word came out sharp as I raised my fist.

Lauren froze instantly, not even breathing hard. Progress.

I tilted my head, parsing the sounds that had triggered my awareness. There—engines. Multiple vehicles moving along what had to be the main road, maybe half a click east.

“Patrol?” Lauren’s whisper barely disturbed the air.

“Could be. Or locals heading to market.” The engine noise held steady, not slowing or searching. I waited until it faded completely before relaxing my stance. “We’ll swing west. Put more distance between us and the road.”

She simply nodded, following as I adjusted our route. The detour would add time, but time alive beat efficiency every day of the week.

The sun climbed toward its peak, transforming the jungle into a steam bath. When we finally found shelter—a natural hollow formed by massive tree roots—we were both drenched with sweat and ready for a break.

“Lunch?” I unwrapped Elena’s gift carefully, revealing perfectly steamed rice mixed with black beans, eggs, and spices I couldn’t identify. Still somehow warm, the bijao leaves had worked their insulating magic.

“This is incredible. Juane always is.” Lauren savored her first bite with obvious pleasure. “Trust Elena to make sure we ate properly.”