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“It helps me, too,” Eve said as she looked across the room at Caldwell.

“And I’m glad that Caldwell is uneasy. Maybe it will encourage him to forget about Zakira and make a more reasonable deal with us that will get us out of here.

” Caldwell was shaking his head and she added, “He didn’t like that.

I’ll have to hang up. Keep on doing whatever you’re doing.

I enjoy seeing Caldwell nervous and sweating. ” She pressed DISCONNECT .

“I’m not nervous and sweating,” Caldwell said. “I just thought Quinn might drop a hint about where he was so that I could gather him in and have the entire family.”

“Well, you’ve disturbed my concentration, and Zakira won’t be pleased with either of us.” She was wiping the clay off her hands. “I think I need to clean up and then get to bed.”

Caldwell opened the door for her. “Ask me if I care. It’s about time this charade is over anyway.

” He pushed past her and then looked over his shoulder.

“Because at first I thought I saw something in you that reminded me of myself. We’re both brilliant and talented and rule our own worlds.

But you’re too soft and could never survive in my world.

That means you’ll have to go, too. Enjoy the kid while you have him. ”

He left Eve staring after him as he slammed the outside door.

She shivered. He had only been there a few minutes, but she had noticed a change not only in him but also in Joe, and she had to accept and deal with it.

“Mom?” Michael called softly from the other room. “Is everything okay? I heard Caldwell.”

“Yes, you did.” She braced herself, then opened the door that led to their quarters and crossed the room to kneel on the floor beside Michael’s cot.

“I just talked to your dad, and he said he was still fine but didn’t like the mosquitoes.

It sounded as if this part of Africa isn’t his favorite place.

But that’s probably just because he wants to be with us.

” She paused and drew a deep breath. “And because he was trying to tell me something and knew Caldwell was listening.”

“Yeah, Dad never complains about stuff like that.” Michael sat up in bed. “What do you think he was trying to tell us?”

“I think he was trying to warn me that he and the team were having a difficult time trying to locate this village, and maybe that something had gone wrong with their plans to attack and get rid of Caldwell and Zakira.”

“Maybe.” He was frowning. “But Dad won’t stop. He’ll just find another plan.”

“Yes, he will. But it might take a little more time.” She paused again. No, she had to tell him even though it would upset him. “And he also told me that he thought I was right about something I’d told him after you were taken. That’s why I know there’s definitely a problem.”

Michael slowly nodded. “You want him to come and take me away from here if he can. I told you no, Mom.”

“But I can’t accept it. Do you think I don’t realize how painful it was for Joe to even suggest it? But if there’s a problem with a full-scale attack, that might mean one person might be able to slip into the village and find a way to get you out. If anyone could do it, Joe could.”

“I know that,” Michael said. “But I can’t leave you.”

“Yes, you can,” Eve said. “If it would save my life.” She took him by the shoulders and stared directly into his eyes.

“Because there might be a situation where they started threatening you, and I wouldn’t be able to stand it.

I’d fight for you until I couldn’t fight any longer.

Until they killed me. But if you aren’t here, then I could think about keeping myself alive.

You realize I’m pretty smart, and these bastards need me.

You and Joe would have time to come after me and take them down.

Now don’t tell me no. Whenever I send you outside to the well in the courtyard to get water, or for any other reason, just be prepared.

Don’t fight the guards, let them take you for granted.

Your dad will have a plan. Don’t screw it up. ”

“I won’t.” His eyes were shining with the tears he refused to shed. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back to get you.”

“I’m not worried.” She gave him one last fierce hug before she released him.

“I know I’ll be priority number one with both of you.

” She got to her feet. “What I’m worried about now is how long it’s going to take me to clean all this clay off me before I can get to bed.

” She kissed his forehead. “Try to go back to sleep.”

“I will.” He lay back down. “But I might not be able to. I’ll be too busy wondering what kind of trouble Dad ran across to cause him to be this upset.”

That was also what Eve was wondering. There weren’t many crises that stopped Joe in his tracks. “No telling, Michael. But as you told me, it just made him look in another direction. We’ll follow his lead until we manage to get out and sweep all the trouble from our path…”

CAMP ON THE MAZE PATH TO SHAFIRA

4:15 A.M.

“Wake up, Celine.” Dominic was kneeling beside her bedroll. “We’ve got trouble.”

That jarred her awake. Which was fairly incredible, she thought dazedly, since she had just managed to get to sleep a few hours ago after over twelve hours trekking through this damn jungle. She automatically reached for her gun. “Trouble?”

He brushed the gun aside. “Not that kind of trouble… yet.”

“What kind of trouble?” She was wide awake now and she could see that he was as dominant and sharp as he’d been since they’d gotten on the trail at the falls.

That didn’t make her feel any more kindly toward him; she felt like a wet dishrag after all those days on the trail, and he’d ignored her for that entire period and concentrated only on being the perfect commanding officer to all his men.

“Is it something I’ve done? I told you I’d keep up with the team and I did it. ”

“I know you did,” Dominic said. “I set a pace that a SEAL would be hard put to match, and I watched you get through it. So stop being defensive. You’re not the one who caused the trouble this time.

But I need to show you something so you’ll stop trying to kill yourself.

I’m having enough headaches with Quinn without having to deal with you. ”

“You haven’t been dealing with me,” she said coolly. “And I’ve been watching Quinn while he’s been on this trail with us. He’s faster and more efficient than anyone but you.”

“I agree. Too fast and wanting to cut corners if it means finding Shafira sooner.” He took her elbow and was guiding her off the trail.

“If we go toward the edge of that cliff, you’ll be able to see why we’re going to have a disaster if I don’t keep every man I have on the job working and under control.

Right now we’re practically tripping over each other.

Caleb discovered it and called me right away, and I’ve been there all night setting up a plan to overcome the damage.

” His lips tightened. “But it might not be fast enough for Quinn.”

He was climbing out on the edge of the cliff and took her hand to pull her up beside him. He gestured out at the ravine below, which was bathed in moonlight. “Yes, you can see almost everything from here…”

Celine inhaled sharply. Wreckage everywhere she looked!

Below her was a narrow bridge that had been blown almost completely apart, and the rest of the valley had similar damage.

The jungle foliage was burned and blackened, and several huge trees were lying over the trail, completely blocking any way to get to the path on the other side of the bridge.

“What on earth happened here?”

“Caleb said he thought the entire area was dynamited so that no one could get to that path or the cave beyond it. Caldwell did a very thorough job. He was protected at Shafira and probably knew of another trail that he could take around to the front entrance if he wanted access to the treasure he’d left in the cave.

Destroying this entrance, he made sure that it wouldn’t be easy for Zakira to know what happened in the cave unless he went to quite a bit of effort. ”

She shook her head. “Such a lot of destruction. This entire area was so lovely.”

“It will be again. You can always count on the jungle to replace what’s destroyed. Have you seen enough? Can I take you back to the camp?”

She shook her head. “You’re not going to stay at camp, are you? You’ll be going back to where all the destruction is. What can I do there?”

“Nothing.” He held up his hand as she started to protest. “And I’m not trying to close you out.

There are no battles for you to fight right now, so I doubt if you’ll find anyone to need your medical skills.

Last time I checked, you’re neither Paul Bunyan nor Superman who can toss tall trees around while we try to rebuild that bridge area.

The best way for you to help is to go back to bed and try to get a good night’s sleep.

You’re pretty well exhausted, and you’ll need to start fresh tomorrow.

” He paused. “But there is one thing you can do if you don’t get to sleep right away.

I sent Quinn back here to watch over the camp.

If you could keep an eye on him, I’d appreciate it.

Finding out that this trail had been destroyed almost sent him over the edge.

He knew as well as I did that it could take weeks to rebuild, and no one knows if Eve and the boy will survive those maniacs another day, much less a week.

He was as angry as a bear stung by a wasp when I told him we had too many workers down there already and couldn’t use him to help with the rebuilding. ”

“I can see why,” Celine said. “Of course I’ll watch out for him.”