Page 35 of Uncharted Desires

As soon as he laid eyes on a jar of peanut butter, he praised the gods above. He took hold of it along with a package of crackers. Noticing a cluster of bananas, he swiftly tossed them into the bag. He opened the fridge and saw a container of water. It was a gallon and going to be heavy to carry down the mountain, but it would be useful, so he took it. He opened a drawer and grabbed a spoon for Kat. She deserved at least one utensil.

The building had nothing else to offer, so he crept to the door and peered out. He looked through the window to see where the guard was. It was all clear, so he flitted over to the next building. It had no windows and was in almost complete darkness. When his eyes adjusted, he realized why. This was where they turned the coca plant into cocaine. Thankfully, the building was empty.

Looking up, he noticed a mezzanine floor with what looked like a manager’s office. If there was any kind of first aid kit, it had to be up there. He stalked slowly up the stairs, wincing as they creaked under his weight. He reached the office just as he heard the door open.

“Who’s here?” a voice barked into the darkness. “Show yourself.”

West ducked into the office, finding a closet to squeeze himself into, barely fitting the bag with him, and closed the door quietly behind him. The sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs, and even though the sound was muffled, each footstep seemed to thud through him almost in time to the thundering of his heart. The light from the man's flashlight gleamed under the crack of the door, and West held his breath, praying the guard wouldn’t find him. But then the knob turned, and West pushed himself back as far as he could.

“What are you doing in there, Salinas? You know you’re not supposed to be in the office.”

The other voice seemed to come from a long way away, but it was enough to distract the guard, and the knob stopped turning.

“I thought I heard something in here.” The voice was so close, merely inches from him, and West held his breath, willing the man to leave. His heart beat so loudly that for a moment he was convinced the man would hear it.

“It’s probably that damn monkey again,” the other man said.

Salinas laughed, and to West’s relief, the light moved away. “You’re probably right but can’t be too careful. I heard they saw two randos on the beach this morning.”

The other man grunted. “They’ll be taken care of before they make it up here.”

West held his breath as he listened for Salinas’s footsteps on the stairs and for the main door to close.

He waited, listening for any sounds outside the closet. After a few moments, he released the breath he had been holding and let out a sigh of relief. His mind raced with thoughts of getting back to Kat as soon as possible.

He scanned the shelves in the closet, searching for anything useful. His eyes landed on a large first aid kit, marked with a bright red cross on a white box. He grabbed it and quickly opened it up, revealing bandages, Neosporin, and a needle and surgical thread.

As he stepped out of the closet, he took in his surroundings and spotted an office desk covered in stacks of cash and shipping documents. They were clearly running a drug operation. West carefully sifted through the paperwork, making sure not to disturb anything. He grabbed a handful of incriminating documents and stuffed them into his canvas bag.

The next thing he needed was shoes. He left the manufacturing building and crept to the first bunk room, nothing was sitting out. He moved to the next one. Opening the door a crack, he spotted a backpack and a pair of shoes—they were size eleven and he was a twelve, but he’d take what he could get.

He gingerly picked both items up and slid them outside, slowly closing the screen door. He slipped on the shoes and transferred everything into the backpack, then took off at a run back to the edge of the mountain and to Kat.

Eleven

The sun had risen by the time West made it back to the cave. Kat was fast asleep on the cave floor, and he wished he had grabbed a blanket, a fresh set of clothes, or something else to make her more comfortable.

He knelt next to her, checking to make sure she was still breathing. When he had left, she had been pale from blood loss and breathing slowly. He was extremely worried that if he didn’t get her to a hospital she’d get an infection and die out here. He looked at her arm, the blood staining the fabric of her pants. She needed stitches. The bullet wasn’t lodged in her body, but it wasn’t just a slight graze either. It had taken out a significant chunk of her arm.

He felt her move next to him, and his body thrummed to attention.

“You’re back,” she said, her voice still groggy from sleep. He smiled, happy to see her conscious.

She sat up, staring at him expectantly. “What did you get?”

“This first.” He handed her the jug of water and she gulped it down.

“Ahh, that must be what heaven feels like.” Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and West immediately threw the backpack on his lap in an attempt to hide his ever-growing erection. This woman was driving him crazy. She couldn’t make faces like that and expect him not to want to throw her down and screw her on this cave floor here and now. Not that he would.

But Kat was more than that. She made him want to be more than that. She looked at him with those amber eyes, and he wanted to be that guy for her, the one that would be her constant.

He opened the bag, pulling out the jar of peanut butter. “I have something even better.” He held the jar in front of her with the spoon and her eyes widened into saucers.

“Wha . . .” She reached out slowly, as if worried the jar would disappear. “Where did you find this?” She took the jar from his hand, and dug the spoon in, eating a bite of the peanut butter. She made a sound of pure ecstasy.

“Here, you know you want some,” she teased, offering him the spoonful of peanut butter. He opened his mouth and sucked the spoon clean. His spine tingled as they locked eyes, her cheeks flushed, and West attributed it to her heightened awareness of their situation. The connection between them was tangible enough to make him shudder with need.

He handed the spoon back to her, and she winced in pain as she took it back.