Page 77 of Risks of Temptation

14

Malin

The rain lessens the humidity.I try to preserve the kindling, but halfway through the night, the fire burns out. Emilia and I spend the night wrapped up in each other, sweaty, so the cooler air feels good.

Like the previous night, I finally make Emilia sleep. She lies curled in my arms, an innocent expression on her face, peacefully breathing. I doze off with my gun in my hand, ready in case an animal wanders into the cave.

When I wake, Emilia's eyes are still shut. I kiss her forehead. "Ma belle. Time to wake up."

Her eyes flutter open, and she looks at me. Her lips curve. She reaches up and traces my jaw. "Morning."

"Morning. We should get moving." The time for me to get to Belize City and get Naomi's documents is running out. If it weren't for the rain last night, we would have gotten farther. There are only twenty-six hours left until Gustave's deadline passes.

I'm not sure why he set that deadline, but he wouldn't have unless it were important. The pit in my stomach grows the more time that passes and we aren't in Belize City.

Emilia sits up, and the blanket falls off her shoulders. Her bare skin glows against the faint light creeping into the cave. She points to the water. "Can we bathe first?"

"Yes. But we need to be quick."

We wash, dry off, get dressed, and leave the cave.

"How far do you think we are from Belize City?" she asks.

I pull out the phone I use to communicate with Gustave. My other cell I turned off when we left camp. "According to the map, it looks like three hours by car."

She wrinkles her forehead. "Are we going to make it?"

"Not if we don't find a vehicle."

"What will happen?"

"I don't know. Let's hope we can find one."

We fall back into our Spanish and French lessons and walk through the morning, eating bananas and mangoes we find in the trees. Each hour that passes creates more anxiety in my gut.

It's around noon when we come to a one-lane, dirt road.

"This has to be a good sign, right?" Emilia asks with hope in her eyes.

"Better chance than the current path we're on."

For hours we walk. No cars pass. There isn't anything except dense jungle on both sides.

It's midafternoon when we come to a driveway. It's the same size as the road we're on, except trees are overgrown and jutting into the open space.

"No one has been here for a long time. Let's hope something is on the other side."

We continue down the path. A mile in, I begin to wonder if I made a wrong decision.

"What's that?" Emilia asks, pointing ahead.

It's so faint I can barely see it. Overgrown trees block it from view.

"Is it a cabin?" I ask.

"Yes!" Emilia walks faster, and I pick up my pace. We curve around the bend and come to a small, brown cabin. On the other side, a green tarp covers something.

"Let's hope that isn't firewood underneath," I tell Emilia.