Page 40 of Knox's Mission

Despite his better judgment, Knox closed the distance between them in one stride, and brought her into a warm embrace. He feathered a kiss on her forehead, her nose, her chin, moving toward those cherry lips of hers that he’d been wanting to claim for days at this point.

When he found them, it was as though a bomb exploded inside his chest. His pulse jumped through the sky and he started breathing like he was midway through a sprint. Self-control flew out the window in that moment. He no longer had the willpower to withdraw from Amy.

A noise to his left broke the moment happening between them, so he pulled back. Resting his forehead against hers, he tried to get his breathing under control again. With effort, he finally slowed his pulse to a normal pace. And then he made his second mistake, pulling back far enough to lock gazes with Amy. Another one of those bombs detonated, followed by a sharp pain in the knowledge he was probably in love with her but would never have her.

He was going to live the rest of his life without this person who’d imprinted on his heart.

The world was that messed up. The universe would pull something like that, allow him to findlove but keep it just out of reach. The reality he could never have Amy would haunt him for the rest of his days.

“What’s that?” Lorna’s panicked voice cut through the fog.

Knox turned toward the area where she gestured to find a pair of large eyes staring at him through the vines. A jaguar.

He brought his machete up high, sidestepped Amy, and then made animal-like sounds as he cut through the vine toward the jaguar. They had the advantage of numbers. He liked the odds of one jaguar to three people.

Amy instinctively followed suit. The latent tomboy in her no doubt kicked in at this point. She was every bit a woman, though.

The jaguar disappeared but it wasn’t good that he’d allowed one to get so close. He’d been too caught up in the moment with Amy and his mistake could have cost another life.

“It’s gone,” he said, kicking himself in the rear end for the misstep. Lorna proved to be an asset. At least she’d kept focus. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Should we get going?” she asked.

He nodded. It dawned on him that Donnie was out here somewhere. Alone?

Knox liked the sound of that even less. It made no sense that he would break off from the group,unless he’d made a friend somewhere along the way that not even Lorna knew about. With Donnie’s personality, it was unlikely he made afriend. Out here, though, folks could form an alliance when they had mutual interests.

“How much do you trust A.J.?” he asked Lorna as he hacked through vines, creating a walking trail.

“He’s considered the best,” Lorna said. “I don’t know him personally but he came highly recommended.”

“Did he ever say what he saw that spooked him?” he continued, hoping to find a clue as to where Donnie might be or if the two were somehow in league. What would anyone have to gain from abandoning Amy? She didn’t want to be out here in the first place.

“Said he saw a spirit,” Lorna supplied as they pushed forward.

That tracked. But wouldn’t he develop a reputation for leaving those in his charge stranded?

Unless disappearing was pre-planned. Pre-paid?

“What about Donnie?” Knox asked. “Did he have an association with A.J. prior to this trip?”

“I don’t think so,” Lorna said. “All Donnie said was that he trusted this man with his life.”

“And it was A.J.’s wife who came to you to explain what happened, right?”

“It was,” Lorna confirmed.

A glance back at Amy said the dots were connecting. And yet, what could anyone possibly have to gain by hurting her?

No immediate reason came to mind, so he figured it was best to ask about it instead of wondering.

“Can you think of any reason Donnie would gain from your harm, Amy?” he asked.

“I didn’t know the man before this trip other than through Lorna,” Amy admitted.

“Her footage was going to save us,” Lorna interjected. “Getting the anaconda on film was going to bring the funding we needed to stay afloat. Donnie is broke and my family has run out of patience with lending us money.”

“Is it possible Donnie plans to stay out here until he finds what he’s looking for?” Knox asked.

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