Page 74 of Fear No Evil

“You monster!” The instinct to draw a weapon had Maggie reaching in her boot for the dagger she’d been hiding. Working it free, she curled it into her palm and charged themondojust as he was starting to rise. She would drive it between his ribs and fling him into the river to die with Jake.

But Charles, who kept his arms around her waist, held her fast. “No, Madeleine!”

“Let me go!” She fought him, calling on every ounce of her strength, completely overwrought. Jake was gone!The thought utterly wrecked her.

“Lena, calm yourself!” It was all Charles could do to contain her. Boris and Esme gaped at her, as did Gallo’s soldiers, too stunned by Jake’s horrifying end to react.

Bellini stepped in to help Charles, wrestling the blade from Maggie’s grasp. “Where did you get this?”

Charles hushed him, “Hide it!”

Now Gallo was striding toward them. Bellini swiftly hid the knife behind his back, but the other rebels, including David’s squad, had taken note.

Gallo approached Maggie just as she expended her last ounce of energy. Still caught in Charles’s unbreakable hold, she returned Gallo’s impassive stare.

“Lo mataste.”You killed him. Her accusation emerged in a scratchy voice, scarcely audible above the rushing river.

“Did you not see?” He gestured to the broken bridge. “I tried to help him.”

“Liar.”

His lips twisted into a dark, brief smile. “You are the liar.” With those ominous words, he raised his voice to address the other peacekeepers as well as his own soldiers. “This was an unfortunate accident. Most unfortunate. But we must march on, or we will be late to the landing field.”

For a moment, no one moved. Through her shock and devastation, Maggie heard David protesting, “But,Mondo, shouldn’t we search for Jacques downstream, in case he survived?”

Glancing at the other’s faces, Gallo shrugged. “Of course. Go search for him, David.”

Hanging in Charles’s grip, Maggie processed Gallo’s words belatedly and jerked her head up. “I’m going, too.”

“No, Madeleine.” Boris frowned at her, whether with pity or suspicion, she couldn’t tell. “I am responsible for the team, and I say we stay together.”

David came toward her, his gaze sympathetic. “I will look for him, Señora. Pray he is well.”

“Ruiz.” Mondo jerked his chin at one of the hardened rebels. “Go with David. When you’re done looking, join us at the red-roofed building.” Putting his mouth close to Ruiz’s ear, he murmured instructions no one else could hear.

Ruiz’s curt nod left Maggie suspecting Gallo had just given him orders to shoot Jake if he wasn’t dead already.

As Ruiz and David started downriver, Charles turned her gently around. “Let’s go, Madeleine. Come with me.” Keeping one arm firmly around her shoulders, he propelled her forward.

Their trek continued. Encased in shock, Maggie scarcely noticed her environment. All she could see was Jake slipping off the wooden slats and plummeting into the river.

Blindly, she followed Charles’s lead down a trail that wound toward the base ofEl Castillo. The microchip, jarring her hip with every step, was a reminder that at least the JIC still had her on their radar‍—Jake, too, for that matter. They could see they were separated. They were bound to respond.

Please hurry!

CHAPTER 15

Having kicked his way toward the branches bowing over a muddy shore, Jake crawled onto land, gasping in exhaustion. He rested a moment, then sat up, brushed a beetle off his arm, and took in his surroundings. On the other side of the river, El Castillo rose skyward in a precipitous tangle of vegetation, but on this side, the land appeared flatter.

As he clambered to his feet intending to get his bearings, the feel of mud and sticks beneath his toes made him grimace. His left foot was bare; the right one was covered in a muddy sock‍—not unlike his dream the other night‍—oh, man. He should have heeded it.

Once standing, Jake turned full circle to get his bearings. The terrain on this side of the river wasn’t as jungle-like as the other side. With no land mass rising up to impede his view, he imagined the land sloped downward to the valley Marquez had mentioned. But had he been swept so far downriver that it would take hours to backtrack?

While knocking water from his ears, he considered his predicament and gauged his next move. It was only a matter of time before Lena became Gallo’s next target. He had to get to herbefore that happened. Yet, here he was, kilometers away from her, and shoeless.

Charles would defend her; Jake was sure of that. But Gallo had a pistol, and Charles did not. And all Lena had was the little dagger in her boot. He pictured the consequence of her using it, and nausea roiled up suddenly. Bending at the hips, Jake vomited a stomach full of river water.

Lena, my brave girl. Don’t lose your life over me.