Page 50 of Wicked Intention

“When it’s safe, I’ll make this sound.” The bird call was something she vaguely remembered from childhood. “Move, Zofia!”

Zo scrambled behind the four-foot-tall planter and squeezed herself into the cleft as deeply as she could fit. Her breath shuddered out in relief, but the moment didn’t last long. From what she heard, a full-scale battle was taking place nearby.

And Finn was out there. Somewhere.

Easing forward, she peeked between the planter and the fireplace. She couldn’t see anything. She didn’t know where Finn was or what he was doing. But she had a bad feeling that he was close. Protecting her.

A bullet ricocheted, hitting the planter in front of her, and Zo tried to burrow deeper into her hideaway. Her breathing sounded loud and her heart rate was probably off the charts. The scariest thing was not knowing what was happening. Now she could only see the stucco wall in front of her—nothing else.

The yard lit up like it was noon, and it blinded her for a moment. When she thought she could see again, she squinted, easing forward to peer between the fireplace and the planter. Armored vehicles had lights aimed at the patio and back of the mansion.

Helicopters hovered; their lights also directed to the house.

Men with assault rifles closed in.

There was shouting, but Zo was slow to understand. Until she saw Finn lay down his gun. As he straightened, his hands were over his head.

He was safe. He was safe!

Men from the presidential brigade rushed forward, grabbed his arms, and cuffed his hands behind his back. He might be uninjured, but Finn was under arrest.

Chapter Nineteen

Rainforest

Near San Isidro, Puerto Jardin

Present Day

OF COURSE, being chased through the jungle wasn’t bad enough, so it had to start raining. Zo looked behind her as she jogged, but she couldn’t see the men. It didn’t matter. The ground was wet enough now that her footprints were clearly visible in the softened soil. She sighed quietly. She should be grateful it hadn’t rained before this.

Because the tall trees screened sunlight from the forest floor, there wasn’t much undergrowth here. It made her tracks obvious, but it also made it easier for her to run. That wasn’t going to last. Up ahead, she could see a curtain of green. She touched the hilt of the machete, but the last thing Zo wanted was to swing it with her hands damp. A wet grip and a sharp blade were trouble.

Gray mist came low enough that Zo thought she could raise her arm and touch the clouds. She shook her head,trying to rid herself of the fatigue. Her thoughts were drifting, and she couldn’t afford that.

A frond slapped her face and startled her enough to get her brain out of neutral. She’d hit a section of rainforest that had been cleared at some point. Whether by fire or by illegal logging, she couldn’t say, but the trees went from soaring high into the sky to a much more modest height.

The rain came down harder.

The going got rough.

Vines, bushes, and other hazards covered the forest floor. She could hear the men behind her, and she tried to increase her pace.

Damn, she was miserable. Water dripped from her hair. Her clothes were sodden, her jeans had started chafing, her leather jacket was keeping her dry, but it was hotter than hell, and her tennis shoes were soaked and caked with mud. Wet socks were the worst.

And she was tired. So, so tired. All she wanted to do was curl up somewhere dry and sleep for about a week.

A snake slithered across the ground in front of her. Zo stopped, letting it pass.

She bent over, hands resting on her thighs, and took some deep breaths. She got about two minutes to rest before she heard the men who were chasing her crash through the undergrowth.

They weren’t giving up.

At least they wouldn’t get the disk. She’d hidden it and had memorized landmark after landmark to find her way back to it.

At least Zo hoped she could find her way back to it.

The rain came down in buckets now, and while it added to her misery, it also erased her footprints. Zo ran a hand across her forehead, trying to stop the water from running into her eyes, but she only succeeded in streaking it with mud.