Page 88 of Prisoner of War
“Yes, go,” Nick said swiftly.
He nodded and slid the eye patch back into place. “Where?” he asked Nick.
“The grotto.”
“Forty-five minutes,” Duardo promised. He lifted himself up and moved away.
Minnie struggled to sit up and held her head as the world seemed to swim. Yet she got to watch Duardo stride downthe length of the balcony, the limp miraculously gone, before Calli and her father helped her to her feet.
Nick shepherded them down the balcony. “Still no alert,” he said, sounding worried.
Giggles gripped Minnie again. “There wouldn’t be,” she said, laughing harder. “I took out their entire security communications system. The only way they can spread the word is by telephone or by mouth. Thereis nothing left to broadcast with.”
Nick grimaced. “No wonder it was so damn easy,” he muttered. “Let’s go. Back to the grotto.”
The grotto turned out to be a narrow valley in the foothills behind the palace, filled with shade trees and a deep, dark pool of water that rippled with raindrops. They were soaked, but Minnie was glad of the mud beneath her bare feet. She could not have made suchgood time in dry weather and Nick, Calli and her father were moving fast.
In the grotto Calli turned to her. “Sit down. I want to look at your arm.” She was studying Minnie’s eyes as she spoke.
“I think it was just a momentary dizziness,” Minnie told her. “I’m fine, though my arm throbs like crazy.” She lifted the sleeve of the shirt and checked out her arm with as much interest as Calli. Thebullet had creased the skin, leaving a two-inch-long furrow across the muscle. The rain had rinsed it clean. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, though the shirt sleeve was pink with diluted blood.
“It needs stitches,” Calli said.
“Is that a first aid kit on your belt?” Minnie asked, pointing to the pouch at Calli’s hip. “Just slap a field dressing on it. I’m fine. We have a long way to go.”
Callistared at her. “All right,” she said at last, reaching for the pouch.
“By the way, you look seriously cool in all black,” Minnie told her. “You should wear it more often.”
Calli grinned. “I’d prefer a black evening sheath rather than combat wear, but okay.”
“I still can’t believe the way you just appeared. I can’t believe you came at all,” Minnie said.
Calli applied the field dressing, a frownforming. “You’ve handed out a fistful of your own surprises, you know.”
Nick, who stood facing back the way they had come, waved with the hand that didn’t hold the pistol and Calli nodded. “Quiet,” she murmured.
Minnie nodded, though she had understood Nick’s signal anyway.
A soft, three-note whistle sounded from among the trees and Nick relaxed. He whistled back and turned to face them, holsteringhis gun.
He came over to Minnie and lifted her chin, looking into her eyes. “No concussion,” he judged. “Tell me what happened to Carmen.”
“She’s all right. She stayed hidden in the palace for three days, then she got a message out—I don’t know who to, but I suppose it must have been you as you’re here. Then she got out. They found where she had been hiding and they figured out who it must havebeen, but they never saw her. She’s somewhere on the island. Duardo will be able to tell you more. He was the one leading the search for her.”
Nick absorbed the news and she could see him turning it over, examining it. “Then she is out of my reach for now,” he said softly. His expression softened and warmed. “You did well, Minerva Benning.”
She felt a warm glow of pride. “Thank you.”
Nick grinned.“I think you’re the only one who got it figured out fast enough. It wasn’t until you screamed his name that we realized Zalaya was Duardo.”
“You didn’t know?” She felt her chest squeeze. “God, you were there to...to...”
“Kill him,” Nick said softly, his smile vanishing.
Duardo slipped into the grotto, moving with trained silence. Téra was with him, her face pale and her eyes wide. Nick hurriedover to Duardo. “Any trouble?”
Duardo shook his head. “Not worthy of mentioning.”
