Page 26 of Knox's Mission

Knox turned to face Donnie.“Are you friends with guys carrying automatic weapons through the jungle?”

Donnie’s face twisted. “Do I look like the kind of person who knows people like that, let alone hangs out with them?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“No,” Donnie defended as he reached for Lorna. What could she do? Protect him? From what? Or who?

Knox?

The man shouldn’t waste his energy worrying about Knox right now. Later, maybe. At present, Knox wanted to know if the man had a hidden agenda in coming to the jungle. The old saying about keeping friends close but enemies closer applied here.

Knox planned to be Donnie’s shadow.

He turned to the elder, known only by his last name to Knox, Wapichana, and asked if he was certain he’d seen Donnie before.

Wapichana smiled a crooked smile and responded most Americans look alike to him. No, he couldn’t be sure. Then, he welcomed the foursome into his village.

“May I?” Amy asked, gesturing toward her camera.

Knox asked permission. Wapichana granted it.

He was used to military-grade equipment but this camera looked expensive. “It’s not damaged from the water?”

“Windproof. Dropping proof. Waterproof,” she responded with a smile. Her eyes lit up as she pulled the camera up to her eye, flipped off the lens cap, and started filming. This was Amy in her zone and it was easy to see how much she loved it. Her disposition changed. A twinkle lit her eyes. A lightness came over her like she was in her lane.

Knox’s time in the service kept him away from home, gave him a sense of purpose and a reason to be proud, but the spark was gone now that he’d lost his best friend. Everyone kept telling him to give it time. Unsolicited advice was always full of cliches, he’d noticed. When Garrett died, it was similar to those who described losing a twin. Knox’s only wish was that it had been him in that seat instead of Garrett like it was supposed to have been.

Shit.

Memories sucked. They caused pain. So, he tucked them away, shoving them down deep so they couldn’t resurface.

Besides, Amy would hate him once she knew that it should have been him in the casket and not herbrother. She wouldn’t be able to look him in the eyes again if she knew he’d asked to switch seats. She would despise him for the rest of their lives.

Even though a growing part of him wanted to tell her everything because she deserved to know the truth. The selfish part couldn’t stand the thought of seeing the look of hurt and disappointment in her eyes when she knew what he’d taken from her.

Garrett was the good one. It was total bullshit that he’d had to die young.

But also, it was getting more and more difficult to look into her eyes without telling her. Like he was holding in a lie that could shred her and cause her to see him for what he really was…a bad person.

Right then and there, Knox resolved to tell her the truth. But he would wait for the right moment.

The elder ushered them into the village, where they were given two tents, one for the women and one for the men. They were given clean water for baths and toothbrushes with toothpaste no doubt left over from a missionary or explorer who’d wandered into their territory or a tribe member who’d gone into town to exchange or sell wares, bringing back things they needed. Knox had his own supplies, but Donnie had lost his.

Donnie kept a safe distance from Knox in the tent and the fact would amuse him under normal circumstances. Right now, though, his patience hadworn thin and after nearly drowning along with the flashback, he wasn’t in the mood.

Food in the form of fruits and vegetables were brought in next along with fish, caught, cleaned, and cooked from the same river that tried to claim Knox’s life an hour ago.

Clean clothes were offered, Knox figured Amy would be in heaven about now. His chest puffed out with pride that he could find a way to bring those comforts to her. Donnie, on the other hand, looked as sour as ever.

“How will we ever get back to base camp if we’re heading the opposite direction?” he asked.

“Good question,” was all Knox said. He didn’t plan to tip his hand, they weren’t going back. He didn’t trust Donnie as far as he could throw him. The man was a jerk. He didn’t treat women well, which was a sign of his character. He only tolerated Knox because he was twice the man’s size. If not, Donnie was the type to try to intimidate someone smaller than him that he perceived as weaker.

At this point, however, Knox wasn’t sure what Donnie might be up to. He wanted this thing to play out, needing to know how corrupt the so-called explorer was and if he’d made a deal for his own safety, throwing Amy into the lion’s den in a manner of speaking. Or if the guy was innocent, lost like he claimed to be.

Lorna had finally gotten Donnie’s number, if the cold shoulder she’d been giving him was anything to go by. Knox took note because it meant she might talk about her boyfriend and possibly reveal his motives. At the very least, they might discover one way or another if she was involved or knew about Donnie’s plans.

Information was good.

---