As Lost as I Get (20 page)

“Did he threaten the clinic?”

“Yeah. And you. And other people.” Zoe closed her eyes and wanted to sink into the sound of his voice. Even here, even with him exhausted and hurt, he made her feel safer.

“I really wish you hadn’t done this.”

She laughed, although tears threatened and her legs trembled. “Right now, so do I. But I talked to Janet,” she said. “She knows everything.”

“Janet—is she still in Bogotá? She contacted you?”

“No, she came to Inírida looking for you. It’ll be all right.”

“No, it won’t. She can’t do anything for either of us.”

“I think she will though,” Zoe said. “She was awfully determined to keep me safe. They need me.”

She heard the sound of his chains rattling and him cursing. “Damn it, Zoe. That was reckless as hell. These men have been trying to get me to talk, and I’ve been able to resist everything they’ve thrown at me, but their next step is going to be to threaten you, and I— I won’t be able to resist that.” He didn’t sound angry, he sounded resigned, and that made her chest tighten and constrict.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.” It wouldn’t come to that. She had to believe that. The CIA had to come get them, or lose all their proof of Arcangel’s identity. A fierce desire to see Lee, to look him in the face, burned through her.

“Zoe, turn around.”

She did, as much as she could, and found Lee doing the same, although she could see the effort was costing him. Still, she could see his face, covered in days’ worth of stubble and dirt, dried blood showing on an old cut over his eyebrow. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

“You might be right,” he said. “But you might not be. We have to assume we’re on our own. I got us out before. Do you trust me to do it again?”

Trust me
. The words that had followed her into nightmares the last two years, the words that could bring her out of nightmares now.

“You know that I do.” She did, but she still hoped he wouldn’t need to try and save them.

He smiled and almost looked like himself again. “Good. Do what they tell you. Tell them what they want to hear if you have to.” He craned his neck until their eyes met. “Just stay alive. I’ll do the rest.”

There was so much she wanted to say, words that crowded and piled up behind her closed lips needing to spill out, but she wouldn’t say them here. Not out loud. Instead she gave him the best smile she could manage and hoped he could see it in her eyes. “I trust you.”

He nodded, and she thought he got the message. “All right,” he said. “Tell me what Janet told you.”

Damn.
Time to find out if her plan was as solid as she thought it was. Zoe started talking.

Chapter Twenty-one

They almost ran out of time. As soon as Lee finished finalizing the plan, the door rattled and opened. The blond man was bookended by two of the same seedy-looking men Zoe had seen marching through the village. Was it only a few days ago? It seemed forever.

The blond—Zoe assumed he must be the second-in-command—unshackled her and didn’t bind her again, but she wound up between the two other men as they left the room. It took all her willpower not to look back, but Lee had warned her they couldn’t show any signs of protectiveness or concern for each other.

It was sunny and hot outside as they led her to the house, the air already heavy with the afternoon’s promised rain shower. They went in through a side door into an enormous kitchen, almost big enough for a restaurant. Had Tia Yana ever cooked in this kitchen, or had she been fired before then? The house was predictably lovely, with tall ceilings, cool tile floors, and splashes of warm color everywhere Zoe looked. The beauty didn’t soothe her; instead she compared it to the dirt floors and leaky ceilings of the village not even a mile from here, where the people who worked to create this sort of wealth lived. She hated—just a little—the sort of people who could live like this.

“Zoe, I see you got my message.” Santiago’s voice echoed warmly from a cozy sitting room, and he came to retrieve her from the guards, taking her by both hands. As if she were there for tea. Zoe had expected she’d be terrified, but talking to Lee, coming up with a plan, had given her a new reserve of strength to draw from. And seeing Lee there, bound and beaten, had given her a new source of anger that burned in her gut.

“How could I refuse?” she said, managing a tight smile.

“You couldn’t,” Santiago said, with no trace of irony or shame. “Come, sit down. Your poor wrists. I’m so sorry we gave you such poor hospitality when you arrived. You must be starving.” He turned to the men. “Go, find that damned cook and put her to work.”

“I’m fine, really,” Zoe lied. “I’m just tired.”

“You don’t have to lie to me.” He sat her down on the sofa and sat next to her, not letting go of her hands. She wanted to pull away, but she had her instructions from Lee. Play nice.

“Well, I am a little hungry,” she admitted. When she smiled again, the lie came a little easier.

“See, was that so difficult?” He was acting as if they were back in her office in Inírida, flirting with her as he offered to buy her lunch. Her stomach did a lazy rolling flip, thinking of the men who’d nearly killed Ana and Susan, on his orders. “You have an advantage over me, Zoe,” he said. “You managed to find out a secret I’ve been keeping for a very long time.” Before she could say anything, he went on. “But now you’re here, and I think my secret is safe with you here, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t tell anyone I saw you,” Zoe said. “I mean, I still don’t quite understand what’s happening. I’m just here to take care of sick people. This is none of my business.”

One of the men arrived with a tray of breakfast and, despite everything, it smelled incredible. At least they weren’t planning to starve her. Zoe took some of the eggs and potatoes and tried not to think of it as her last meal.

“A harsher man than I would have killed you already,” Santiago said. Zoe forced herself to swallow, willing her stomach not to slam shut. “But I have an unfortunate soft spot for beautiful women. And, as you noted to my men, we’re in need of a doctor.”

“So you’re not going to kill me, but you’re not going to let me go.”

“You’ve seen too much.” He looked genuinely sorry as he said it, in a way that sent chills down Zoe’s spine. Double life or no, he was exactly the same man she’d known in Inírida, which made her wonder what terrible things he might have done as a colonel.

She put down her plate, appetite having fled. She chewed on her lower lip as if he’d made an offer and she was considering it. “I’ll stay—willingly—but I have a few conditions. And I didn’t come here without making some arrangements.” She remembered what Lee told her to say.

Santiago raised his eyebrows. “Tell me. I might agree.” He flashed a smile. “You have a way of making me agreeable somehow.”

She trusted Lee, and if he said he’d get them both out, then he would. She wasn’t really signing her entire future away to this man and his illegal army—she had to keep reminding herself of that. She just had to stall. And get Lee unshackled. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I want you to let Will Freeman go.”

“Ahh, but Mr. Freeman has seen too much as well. You can’t expect—”

“He’s terrified of you,” Zoe said. “Whatever your men did to him—I don’t want to know—they broke him. He just wants to go home.”

“And if I say no?” Santiago’s smile had faded—he no longer looked quite so friendly.

“If he doesn’t make it home safe in the next forty-eight hours, several journalists in Bogotá are going to find out your secret.” She went on, although Santiago’s face was darkening. She was pissing him off, which Lee warned her would happen. “If anything happens to my clinic, my friends, or any other clinic or person connected with Médecins International, those same journalists are going to hear about you.”

“You are not in control here.” Santiago grabbed her by the wrist. “I could decide to kill you.”

“You could,” Zoe agreed, hoping her face didn’t betray her fear. “But I have someone expecting to hear from me every forty-eight hours. Until I’m safely home. If I miss one check-in—well, you know the story by now.”

“You Americans.” His lip curled and he let go of her wrist, wiping his hand against his leg as if disgusted. “You think you have all the answers, eh? You come in here and try to tell our government what to do, our military. You tell us how to fix all of our problems and then punish us when we don’t follow your rules.”

“I’m not my government,” Zoe protested. “I’m willing to help you, I just want to keep my friends and family safe.”

“You don’t trust me, eh?” His eyes softened the smallest bit, and one corner of his lips twitched upward. “I can let your
Mr. Freeman go, but I understand my men were rough on him. No guarantees he’ll make it back to Inírida safely. I don’t want to keep my end of the bargain only for him to die on the trip.”

Was he that badly injured? Zoe wished again she’d been able to examine him. Then she saw her chance. “Let me examine him. Treat his injuries. If I think you’re right, I won’t hold you to the bargain where he’s concerned.”

He looked at her appraisingly, like he was trying to see the trick.

She gave him her best smile. “Do you not trust me either?”

“Damn this weakness of mine,” Santiago grumbled, but then smiled at her. “No tricks, or else I’ll kill him and take my chances with the journalists. Did you bring any equipment with you?”

“In my knapsack. Your blond friend took it.”

Santiago stood and offered his hand. As they left the room, he told the guard, “Make sure Doctor Rodriguez’s things are brought to the shed.”

***

Lee tried to rest while he could. Getting comfortable was out of the question, but he’d been chained for so long now some of the discomfort had started to fade into the background, the way people stop noticing the pressure of their clothes against their skin. Rafael had come with more water again right before they brought Zoe in, and it did wonders for his mental clarity. The second round of questioning had been bad, but not as bad as he’d feared. Arcangel’s men either didn’t really believe he had any information that he was hiding and were amusing themselves, or they just weren’t very good at interrogation. The darker part of his mind suggested they already knew who he really was, and were just waiting for him to break.

Sending Zoe in to demand his release was a long shot at best. So when the door opened and he heard Zoe’s voice, he was surprised. He was even more surprised when one of Arcangel’s men came over and unfastened him from the wall.

Lee bit back a cry of pain as blood started to return to his arms and legs, pins and needles stabbing his extremities. Rough hands grabbed him by the arms and pulled him into a chair.

“Careful,” Zoe said. “Don’t hurt him any worse.”

“By all means, no. We want Mr. Freeman to have a safe trip home.” Arcangel. The bastard sounded amused.

“Zoe, what are you doing?” Lee didn’t have to feign confusion. Her coming back here wasn’t part of the plan. Zoe opened her medical kit and started taking out supplies. Then she started a head-to-toe examination of him that he recognized from his days in the Marines, checking him for all possible signs of trauma, including internal injuries. He could’ve told her he had at least two sprung ribs and more bruises than he wanted to think about, but Will Freeman wouldn’t necessarily know that even if Lee Wheeler did. Besides, after being short-chained to a wall for over a day, having anyone touch him with care was a luxury. That it was Zoe touching him made it a luxury he couldn’t refuse.

Zoe crouched in front of him, checking his pupils with her penlight and giving him a small smile. She squeezed his hand. “It looks like they avoided your head, at least.” Before she released his hand, she pressed a pair of small, sharp
scissors into his palm and curled his fingers around them. He was so startled he nearly dropped them, but managed to return her smile, and give a small shrug that disguised his movements as he palmed the scissors.

She pressed against his ribs and he grunted. “I need to tape those,” she said. To the guards, “I have to take his shirt off.” Then her hands were against his skin, warm and soothing, and it was all he could do to keep from leaning into them. Her eyes widened at what she saw on his body, but she didn’t make a sound. Lee didn’t look down, but he imagined his torso and arms were a rainbow of bruises and small cuts where Arcangel’s men had worked him over.

“Is this what you have planned for me as well?” Zoe’s voice was calm, but Lee saw she was furious.
Easy, Zoe.

“I would never allow anyone to do this to a lady,” Arcangel said.

Zoe sniffed, but didn’t say anything further. Instead she washed the cuts and tended to the bruises while the metal of the scissors grew warm in his hand. The longer he sat, the more the feeling returned to his hands and feet. Not only had Zoe given him a weapon, she was buying him time to recover. If they weren’t being watched, he would’ve kissed her.

***

Zoe took her time cleaning Lee’s horrible wounds, trying to give him time to plan, to recover. When she’d first seen the full extent of his injuries, she half-wished she’d kept the scissors and used them on Santiago herself.

As it was, though, would the scissors give him enough of an advantage? “Sorry,” she said, “this is going to hurt.” She started taping up his ribs, feeling carefully for any hint of other internal damage. “Now I just need to take a look at your knee, and we should be all—”

From outside there came shouting and the unmistakable sound of gunfire.
Already? It can’t be.
If she was right about the source of the commotion, she had to find a way to let Janet’s people know where they were, and quick.

“You.” Santiago pointed at one of the guards. “Go see what’s going on. You,” he said to the other, “stand guard outside. And shut the damned door.” He moved around them so he was in front of Lee, and drew a gun from a shoulder holster. “Doctor Rodriguez,” Santiago said, “I’m going to have to ask you to hurry it up.”

As if she hadn’t figured that out for herself. Her hands were shaking as she undid the filthy, torn wrapping around Lee’s leg.
Don’t think about the gun. Just work.
“How’s the pain?” she asked Lee.

“It’s a little better.” She didn’t think he was lying. His color was better. When they’d first come in, he’d been almost gray with pain.

“I don’t like the look of the swelling,” she said, marveling at how calm she sounded. She sounded like he was in her exam room. When she started to rewrap his knee, her hands had stopped shaking. If only there was some way to confirm that their rescue was right outside the door.

“Just don’t tell me I’m going to lose the leg, okay?”

“All right. Time’s up,” Santiago said. The commotion was louder outside. Someone shouted a warning to look out for the sniper, and Zoe fought to hide a smile. Whatever Janet’s people had come up with, it didn’t sound good for Arcangel’s
men.

She didn’t stand up fast enough for Arcangel. He grabbed her by the elbow in a painful grip and hauled her to her feet. “Who did you tell?”

“What?” she said.

He shook her. “Who’s out there? The police? My friends from the ENC?”

Zoe shook her head, and he pulled her closer, pointing the gun under her chin. “Tell me.”

She didn’t have time to be scared. Lee surged forward, grabbing at Santiago’s gun and shoving it away from her. The scissors she’d slipped him flashed silver as he stabbed at Santiago’s gun hand until he dropped it.

Then his knee buckled.

Santiago let go of her to grab Lee, shouting and trying to make Lee stop stabbing his hand. Shit, the guard outside would hear and come in.

“Zoe, the gun,” Lee grunted, while grappling with Santiago. Where was it? She looked around and spotted it on the ground just beyond the two men. She grabbed it just as Lee fell down entirely, taking Santiago with him.

The gun in her hand terrified her. She’d never held one before, and pointed it toward the sky. Could she fire it if she had to?

Lee had managed to land on top of Santiago, but Santiago had one hand around his throat. Should she try to shoot him? What if she missed?

The bitter taste of adrenaline flooded her mouth and panic threatened.

Just then the door opened, and the guard, drawn by the commotion, came in. Zoe stepped in front of him and lowered the weapon, praying she didn’t have to cock it or that the guard wouldn’t laugh and tell her the safety was on.

“No. Stop right there,” she said. “I’ll shoot you, so help me God. Put down the weapon.
Now
.” She stared at him down the barrel of the gun and an eerie sense of calm descended. Lee needed her, and she was going to keep him safe.

***

Lee didn’t have a chance to see if the guard listened to her or not. Arcangel’s hands closed around his throat and started to squeeze. Lee shoved his left hand into Arcangel’s chin, but he couldn’t count on his lower body for leverage—any pressure he tried to put on his knees threatened to make the world gray out even faster.