Page 51 of Knox's Mission

“Hide the camera,” he said.

“Where?”

“That’s for you to decide once I’m gone,” he said. “I don’t want to know the location so they can’t torture it out of me.”

“There’s no way that could happen,” she said.

“It might if they got hold of you.” Those words sent warmth flooding through her. But she couldn’t think about that right now.

Instead of speaking, she pushed up to her tiptoes and kissed him. Branding him as hers even if it wouldn’t last. Those thick lips covered hers. The air charged with electricity. Her body hummed with need. If only they could stay in this moment forever.

“Come back safe,” she said when they finally broke apart. “Because I have a serious question.”

Knox’s gaze dropped to the ground like he was guilty of something. Now, she had a couple of questions.

“Stay safe, Knox.”

“I’ll be back,” he promised before lifting the twinsilver dollar necklace around his neck. “We’ve had someone watching over us these past few days. This might be out there but I believe he was the one who brought us back together.” He dropped the chain inside his shirt, keeping the necklace hidden before reaching for hers. He kissed the silver dollar and then placed it back inside her shirt. “I’ll be closer to your heart that way.”

More of that warmth enveloped her. The thought of Garrett keeping watch brought moisture to her eyes. All she could do was nod in response.

“Keep yourself hidden.”

She wouldn’t make that promise, so she let go of his hand. He took off like a jaguar, silent.

He was right about hiding the camera. She searched around for a good spot. Decided up was better than the jungle floor so she tangled the strap through a couple of vines and positioned it behind large leaves.

Being without her camera made her feel exposed, naked.

Amy heard the sound of a chopper overhead, breaking through the monkey calls. The cavalry?

By the time she broke through the jungle wall, everyone in the middle of the clearing broke into different directions. The pilot must have taken in the scene because he hovered instead of landing.

And fired back at one of the men in fatigueswho’d sprayed bullets at him. The chopper went back up in the air and disappeared. She could hear it, though. It was close.

Lorna came blasting toward Amy. Donnie trailed behind.

“They’ll kill me now,” he said through gasps of air. “They’ll hunt me down and kill me for not delivering you to them.”

He shot an accusing look at Amy.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” she said.

“They’re government officials, Amy,” Donnie said. “You got video of them allowing a businessman to clear out areas that are supposed to be protected. This is big business and controversial. The government official will be tracked down and murdered for his greed.”

“We don’t have time for a fireside chat, asshole,” she said to Donnie. “If you want to stay alive, I suggest you stick close instead of trying to serve me up to the enemy.”

And with that, she grabbed hold of Lorna’s hand and reentered the last place she wanted to go back, inside the jungle wall.

Amy had to be safe.Knox refused to consider another possibility as he made his way toward his first target. The pair of men had broken up and he had the first one in his sights. A stroke of luck hit. Man One’s ankle tangled in a vine. He face-planted and tried to army crawl his way while shaking the leg in the vine’s grasp. Like barbed wire when stretched, the vine tightened its grip rather than give way.

Knox dove onto the man’s back. Considering Knox was significantly taller than Man One, and heavier, the wind knocked out of him. In the fall, Man One’s weapon had gone flying. Knox pinned Man One inside his thighs and squeezed. He forced him on his back and delivered a knockout punch.

Then, he searched Man One. Not before snapping a picture with the camera on his multi-functioning watch. He wouldn’t need to wait for facial recognition software to know Man One was the son of Luiz Favaro, president of Brazil.

Knox’s mind immediately snapped to the fact Amy must have gotten footage of the president’s son breaking the law. Deforestation made the most sense, considering it was one of the hottest topics and had global ramifications.

Junior Favaro had a roll of wire in his pocket. Knox used it to tie the man up as he came to. Then, he forced Junior to stand and walked him into the clearing.

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