Even in the Darkness

She bit her lip, forcing back the panic that threatened to overtake her. She’d do what she had to do to escape the men who followed her. There was no other choice. Then she’d make her way to Chet’s shop. If he had the box, she’d take it and run. If not, she’d try to call the clinic again and hope that this time someone answered.

The bus slowed and came to a stop, the cessation of movement bringing Tori upright in her seat. She craned her neck, trying to see what lay ahead. A green government truck sat on the side of the road, two armed military officers waving motorists over.

“What’s going on?”

“No worries.” The woman next to her patted Tori’s arm and seemed unperturbed, but Tori’s heart beat in double time, her hands clenched into fists.

One of the soldiers stepped aboard the bus and leafed through the driver’s paperwork. Then scanned the passengers, his dark gaze resting on one person after another. Tori closed her eyes and feigned sleep, hoping to hide her eyes and the terror she knew shone there. For the second time in hours, she tried to pray, the knee-jerk reaction to terror reminding her of the desperate pleas she’d offered up as a child. Pleas that had gone unanswered.

This time it seemed God was on her side. A few seconds after the soldier entered the bus, he stepped back outside, waving the driver on and moving toward the next car in line. The sedan was three cars back, the pickup truck right behind it. Now was Tori’s chance to lose anyone following.

She didn’t hesitate, just waited until the bus rounded a curve in the road, and stood, hurrying up to the driver. “Stop, please. I need to get off here.”

He shook his head. “Sorry. No stops.”

“I have friends in the area. They said I’d be able to get off the bus before I reached town.” Please, please, let him stop the bus and let me off.

For a moment she thought he’d refuse. Then he shrugged, downshifted and eased the bus to the side of the road.

“Thank you.” She didn’t wait for his reply, just stepped outside.

Warm sun. Damp earth. The harsh call of some creature in the jungle. The sound, the scent, the feel of freedom. Tori waited as the bus pulled away, watching to be sure it didn’t stop again, that no one else got off. Then she slipped into the thick foliage that lined the road, pulled off her hat, eased down into tall grass and waited.

The sedan passed first, speeding by in a flurry of sound and motion. The pickup was next, coming more slowly. Tori could see it through the grass, inching along the highway. She sank down, touching her cheek to the cool, damp ground.

Terror brought the world into sharp focus. A centipede scurried near Tori’s hand. Flies buzzed near her wrists, landing on the broken flesh. She didn’t dare brush them away. The musty aroma of rich earth filled her nose. Grass and leaves whispered an almost silent tune. And the rumbling chug of the pickup’s engine finally faded away. Time to move. Mae Hong Son was a few miles north. Soon there would be houses, people, someone willing to give her a ride to Chet’s jewelry shop.

She forced herself up. Her body ached from fatigue and from bruises on top of bruises. Moving hurt. Walking any distance would be torture. She’d do it anyway. For Melody. For Melody’s parents. For herself. She couldn’t bear it if something happened to the Raymonds because of her.

Already, the sun rode low in the sky, lengthening the shadows and darkening the landscape. By nightfall most of the shops in Mae Hong Son would be closed. If she didn’t hurry, she’d be too late to speak with Chet.

She started jogging, jagged pain slicing through her side with each step. She wanted to sit for a minute, catch her breath, but there wasn’t time, so she kept going, passing stilt-legged huts with chickens scratching at the dirt beneath, wide green rice paddies that shone brilliant green in the fading light. A water buffalo meandered through hip-tall grass, its wide nostrils flaring, a brown-skinned child perched on its back.

Up ahead was a busy tourist stop. Tori had been there before, had bought sweet rhambutan from a vendor. For the right price she might convince one of them to take her into Mae Hong Son.

She approached from the back of the property, the sounds of voices, engines and the strident call of an elephant drifting on the air around her. When she reached the corner of the building, she paused. Once she stepped into the open, she’d be vulnerable again. Unfortunately, time was too limited for her to stand and think through her options. She’d have to round the corner and take her chances in the crowd.

She took a deep breath, tensed to move and was pulled backward with one sharp tug on her sweater. She went fighting, fists swinging, mind blank of all but one thought—escape. An arm snaked around her waist and a hand slammed over her mouth, cutting off a scream.

“Stop struggling.” The words were hissed into her ear, the grip never loosening.

She responded by struggling harder, imagining a needle poised over her flesh, a stab, and then oblivion. That’s how they’d taken her before. It wouldn’t happen again. Not if she could help it.

She twisted, trying to throw her attacker off balance. Pain speared across her rib cage, stealing her breath. Pinpricks of light flashed in front of her eyes, she swayed, and was suddenly being supported instead of restrained.

“Whoa. No passing out, Red.”

Red? Tori stiffened.

“That’s better. Now hold still and be quiet. There’s company out there. Not the kind either of us wants to meet.” Noah didn’t loosen his grip as he spoke, nor did he remove the hand he held over Tori’s mouth. Her tense muscles warned that she was waiting for an opportunity to break free, and that was something he couldn’t allow. Not yet. Later, when he had her safely away from the men who were hunting her, he’d let her go again. See where she’d been heading before she’d almost walked into Lao’s trap. For now he’d stay close.

She twisted in his arms, trying once again to break free as he edged them away from the building. He ignored her struggles, ignored the heel that barely missed his knee, but he couldn’t ignore her terror. Her body shook with it, her heart pounding so hard he could feel it in the pulse point near her jaw.

That, more than anything, had him tightening his grip and leaning close to her ear. “You want me to let you go?”

She didn’t nod, didn’t acknowledge the question in any way.

He hadn’t expected her to. “I will, but know this—you scream, and there’s a good possibility we won’t live to see tomorrow. You run, and I’ll have you before you take five steps, then I’ll tie you up and gag you until we’re somewhere safe.” An idle threat, but she didn’t need to know that.

With that he slid his arm from around her waist and eased his hand from her mouth, remaining close, not allowing her enough distance for a head start if she decided to run.

For a moment she didn’t move. When she did, it was a quick spin in his direction, her hair flying in a cloud of burnished red. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“Noah Stone. And what I want is you on the plane that left for the States a few hours ago. Since I can’t have that, I’ll settle for putting some distance between us and the people searching for you.” That much was true. The rest would have to wait.

“That’s no answer.”

“It’s as much of one as I can give. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“And go where?” Her voice sounded raspy and dry, her eyes dark fire against pallid skin.

“A place where we don’t have to worry about the bad guys finding us.” He reached down, picked up the hat that had fallen from Tori’s head during their struggle and handed it to her.

“For all I know, you’re one of the bad guys.”

“If I were, we wouldn’t be standing here talking.”

“I can’t know that.” She stared him down, the bruises on her cheek and jaw an ugly reminder of all she’d been through.

“And I don’t have time to prove it. The bus you were on made it to Mae Hong Son. The men who were following know you weren’t on it. Now they’re backtracking. It won’t take long for one of them to find us.” He grabbed her hand, tugging her farther away from the tourist stop.

She didn’t resist, though he had no doubt she wanted to. She’d probably weighed the odds of escape and decided not to waste the energy trying. Good. Her cooperation would make their journey less difficult.

Despite her obvious fatigue, she matched Noah’s stride, not giving in to the pain he’d seen in her eyes. Jaw set, hair a wild halo of curls around her face, the straw hat clutched in her hand, she looked both strong and vulnerable. An interesting combination and nothing like the hardened, experienced drug courier Noah had expected when he’d been asked to take this assignment.

She must have sensed his gaze. She turned to meet it, the fear and anger he’d seen minutes ago masked by a calm facade. “I know you want the box. I don’t have it. I sent it to the States.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So maybe you should head that way yourself.”

“And leave you to wander around Mae Hong Son alone? I don’t think so.”

She laughed at that, the sound harsh. “Your concern is touching, but I can manage just fine on my own.”

He let his gaze linger on her bruises, then drop to the sleeves of her sweater where blood had tinged the white knit pink. “Doesn’t look like it to me.”

Tori couldn’t argue with that. She knew how she must look—tired, bruised, defeated. But her appearance wouldn’t hinder her intentions. And what she intended was escape. She slanted a glance in Noah’s direction, wondering if escape would even be possible. Black hair gleaming in the sun, a dark beard shadowing his jaw, he seemed strong and confident, a man used to making decisions and taking charge. She’d known plenty of men like him—men willing to say or do anything to get what they wanted. Luckily, Tori had learned her lesson hard and well. No way would she trust Noah. Not when so much was at stake.