Page 43 of Depths of Destruction
She bites her lip and cringes. "No. I'm not positive."
"What's the face for?"
"Geography wasn't a subject I paid attention to in school."
I pick up a stick and kneel on the ground.
"What are you doing?"
"You'll see." I draw the outline of Belize, the part where Guatemala borders it, then Honduras. I mark an X where Omoa is then point to another spot on the ground. "We are somewhere in this vicinity."
"How do you know?"
"We started here," I point my stick higher, "but the river flows south."
"It's too bad we can't just take a boat over to Omoa. We could get there quicker." Naomi slides her finger through the sand.
"Very good. You know where the ocean is!"
She swats me. "Very funny. But you could swim, and I'll hold on to your back, Rambo."
"I'm seriously getting a complex."
"Why? Are you scared of sharks?"
"Funny."
Her face falls. "So, are we going toward the coast, then?"
I stare at the map I drew on the ground and peer at my surroundings. I draw a line down the middle. "I think if we go toward the sea too soon, we might end up exploring more of the coast than we want. It might be best to stay centered for now."
Naomi rises and claps the dirt off her hands. "You're the boss."
"I'm going to remember you said that," I tease her.
"Only for geographical issues."
My eyes trail down her body and back up again. "You sure about that?"
She grins and elbows me. "Let's go." She takes a step away.
I drag her back to me and kiss her. "I was right. You are sassy."
"What do you want—"
I cover her mouth as gruff voices of men ring through the air. Her eyes widen, and I scan the lush jungle landscape.
At least a dozen men carrying machine guns and wearing military fatigues are on the other side of the river. I swiftly move Naomi with me to a big tree. "Get down," I murmur in her ear.
She crouches, and I position my body behind hers.
The men are yelling out things in Spanish, which isn't a language I know. French, Bulgarian, and Italian I've mastered. I can even hold my own in Russian, but I know very few Spanish words.
Time moves slowly. The pumping of my heart bangs in my ears.
When the men have moved farther into the jungle and several minutes have passed, I rise and pull Naomi up with me. "Are you fluent in Spanish?"
"Yes."
