Page 33 of Fear No Evil

Gallo released Chucho immediately and stepped toward Lena. “You wish to take his place?”

Knowing Lena, she would sacrifice herself without flinching. Jake cut in front of her, then tugged her away from themondo.“Cuidado.”Careful.He stared hard at themondo.

Boris rushed up to disperse the tension. “Come now, everyone. It’s starting to rain. Why don’t we lie down until the rain is over?”

As a group, the peacekeepers turned away, leaving Gallo to rant at his underlings.

On their way to the bungalow, Jake grabbed a hold of Lena’s hand and squeezed it. “Look, I admire you for doing that,” he said in French, “but I’m going to try and save you every time. Soif you don’t want me butting heads with our hosts, please think before you act.”

As she shot him a frown, Charles, who caught up to them, said in her ear, “Jacques is saying he would die for you, madam. Don’t be a fool like I was and take such devotion for granted.” With those admonishing words, he brushed past them and headed toward their shelter.

Lena turned her frown at Jake. “You would die for me?”

The blunt question was so typical of her that he could only smile. “I’d rather not, but if I have to, absolutely.”

For some reason, his answer didn’t please her. With a shake of her head, she stalked ahead of him, hurrying toward the building. “I need a nap.”

Jake heaved an inward sigh. When would Lena realize her well-being was all that mattered to him?

An hour or so later, Jake awoke for a second time that day to a voice blaring over a radio. Given the dialect of the announcer, this had to be the Marxist from Cuba whom Arias had told them about. Jake turned his head only to find Lena missing.

“Lena?” He jerked his elbows. No answer. Through the veil of their mosquito netting, he could tell her boots were gone. The sun was back out. And given the bend in the blinds, she’d slipped out of the rear of the building.

Berating himself for not wakening at her exodus‍—how could he have missed it?‍—he crawled out from under the mosquito netting. Surely, she wasn’t wandering around the FARC’s camp alone? He hauled on his own socks and boots before exiting the same way.

“Lena!” Encountering her tracks, he followed them along the back of the building, pushing away the fronds that brushed against his shoulder. No reply. When would she learn that partners did everything together, and that included taking potty breaks? Not only were jaguars and poisonous snakes on thismountain, but he didn’t trust the rebels‍—Gallo most especially‍—not to harm her. “Lena!”

“I’m here.”

The surly sounding response seemed to come from the earth itself. Jake looked down, then ducked to peer beneath the raised bungalow. There she was, crouched just around the corner, trying to lure a brooding hen toward her.

“Here chicky, chicky.” She made kissing sounds that caused the chicken to cock its head.

Jake gave a laugh that was part relief, part amusement. “Are you planning to wring its neck and eat it raw if it comes to you?”

“I want to know if it’s sitting on eggs.”

Clearly she was as ravenous as he was.

Giving up on the chicken, she backed out from under the bungalow and joined him behind the building, out of sight of any others. Speaking in hushed French so as not to disturb the occupants still napping nearby, she grabbed his arm. “There’s got to be something in the woods that we can eat.Pleasefind us some food while the rebels are busy. I know you know how.”

He didn’t have it in himself to deny her. “All right, but listen.” He waited for her to meet his gaze. “You can’t just leave my side and vanish anytime you want. Something could have happened to you, and I’d never know what. We’re partners now, remember?”

She had the audacity to cast her gaze toward the sky.

The urge to shake some sense into her surprised him. Catching her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he growled, “Promise me.”

Color bloomed in her cheeks, giving rise to a rush of desire that made him want to crush his lips to hers.Easy, Jake.

“Fine. I promise. Let’s go.” Tugging his hand away from her chin, she hauled him straight into the forest.

Jake’s assertion that he would give up his life for her was messing with Maggie’s head. She didn’t deserve that level of commitment, not when they would go their separate ways when this was over.

“No, this way.” He pulled her toward a slope that wasn’t so steep. The vegetation had already swallowed them, blocking their view of the camp, even though they weren’t that far away. The chittering monkeys, birds, and insects gave her a false sense of isolation.

Maggie cast a nervous glance uphill. “You sure you can find the way back?” Out here, she stuck persistently to French. A rebel could be lurking close by, and they’d never know it.

“Sure. We’ll follow our tracks back.” Jake pointed to their prints in the mud. “Allons-y. I need to make a phone call while we look for something to eat.”

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