Her Only Protector (12 page)

“Right.”

The gentle breeze kicked up her hair again, making it dance for a moment. Then the strands fell back to Sonny's shoulders.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

She turned to him and their eyes met, locking together as if in a warm embrace. He closed his, to break the connection. It was too powerful for him to handle. And when he opened them again he focused on the curve of Sonny's cheek, on the slight tip of her nose.

Gil wished with all his heart there was some way he could break free of the overwhelming emotions that were cascading down upon him. How could he protect her if he couldn't even think when he was near her?

Sonny said nothing. Instead, she looked right back at him, a storm raging in her dark-blue eyes. A storm Gil wanted to be caught in.

“I want to kiss you,” he finally said, his voice just a hair above a whisper.

“I know.”

Gil swallowed hard. The distance between them was only a few strides. She gave no invitation, though, so he stayed where he was.

“I can't feel this way about you. It's not right.”

She shook her head. “Who's to say what's right and what's wrong? Only God has that authority. And to be honest, I've spent the better part of today trying to figure out how I can be so drawn to the one man who jeopardized my chance of getting out of this country.”

Gil dropped his head into his hands. Sonny paced back and forth twice before stopping with her back to him.

“You're right. I should hate you. But I don't.”

“I can't imagine why you don't.”

Sonny laughed harshly. “This is crazy. I didn't spend today thinking about how I was going to get back home. I spent it waiting for you to come back to the villa. Waiting to see you again.”

When she turned to him he saw tears in her eyes. He was still processing the fact that he hadn't been alone in his feelings. Sonny had been battling the same war he felt tearing him up inside. He could now see it in her eyes as clearly as if the sun were shining on them instead of the moon.

A tear trickled down her cheek. “What I really want…” She cleared her throat. “Is to kiss you. Again. For real.” Then she drew a deep breath and waited.

And he thought he'd die.

With two wide strides he was by her side. There was nothing he wanted more than to have Sonny in his arms. He reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand, brushing his thumb against a trembling lip, tracing the wetness her tears had left on her cheek.

“This
is
crazy,” he whispered. She was in his arms, where he'd dreamed she'd be all along. He bent his head and brushed his lips against hers, holding her, loving her. Crazy or not, nothing could stop him.

And he knew there was no going back.

 

“We're good to go,” Cooper said. “Are you sure you want to do it this way, Gil?”

Gil stuffed the rest of the baby supplies in his suitcase. “It's all set.”

Marco had packed up all his computer gear and they'd mapped out a plan that seemed workable. Sonny was too cautious to call it a good plan. They'd had a good plan for getting Ellie out of Eduardo Sanchez's estate and yet Lucia still wound up dead. They'd had a good plan for getting the baby on a plane and Gil was still able to intercept her. The bottom line was any one of them might not make it back to the United States alive.

But in the same way that she'd mentally prepared herself for the trip to Colombia, Sonny ran through the steps needed for them to get to the boat. Gil had decided that Marco and Cooper would fly out of Cartagena and meet up with her parents, who were waiting for them in Miami.

“Sonny's already sent an e-mail to her dad telling him to expect a call from you once you two land in Miami,” Gil added.

“That's right,” Marco said to Sonny. “I'll fill your parents in on all the details once we land and we'll get right to work on chartering a boat.”

Gil grabbed the suitcase and looked around the villa for anything that might give them away. There was nothing.

“We'll meet you somewhere in the Caribbean Sea in a few days,” he said.

“Not me,” Cooper said. “I get seasick. I'll be useless on a boat. I'll monitor things from Puerto Rico and liaison with the Coast Guard.”

“Good.”

“Then I'll get right on working out Cash Montgomery's whereabouts.”

Sonny shot a look to Cooper and then to Gil. “You're not still searching for my brother, are you?”

He looked at her directly. She liked that about him. He made no apologies for what he needed to do. He looked her square in the eye and gave her the truth.

“The job hasn't ended, Sonny. It's just taken a new turn.”

She wouldn't let him see how it hurt her that he'd continue to pursue her brother after what had gone on between them last night. He'd held her, kissed her like he meant it. Yet his pursuit of her brother was something they couldn't resolve. Maybe ever.

“I won't waste my breath arguing with you about how wrong that is,” she said.

Although she didn't know the details of Dylan's plan to rescue Cash, her parents did, and so did her future sister-in-law, Tammie. And as soon as Marco landed in Miami, he'd start grilling them about Cash. It was best she kept her mouth shut, taking things one step at a time.

“Good. Because we don't have time for it.”

Sonny lifted her chin. “Then let's get going. The sooner we get out of Colombia, the better.”

T
hey'd decided to leave the villa after Ellie had had her feeding and was sleepy. It was easier to transport her through town without drawing attention if she were asleep and not likely to laugh or cry. Gil had told them all that the enemy had many invisible faces. A smiling tourist who stopped to give attention to a laughing baby could easily contact a soldier to report seeing her.

When Ellie was awake she was curious, always looking around as if she didn't want to miss what was going on. But when she finally slept, she was out cold. What Sonny had mistaken for colic the first night was probably just Ellie's reaction to another change, another place, another stranger taking care of her.

Ellie seemed content now, tucked beneath Sonny's poncho. The fabric would shield Ellie from the hot afternoon sun. The muted colors allowed them to blend in with the scenery rather than make her stand out in a crowd.

Gil instructed them before they walked out the door to stay at ease. Sonny only wished she were feeling at ease about leaving the villa, no matter how much they needed to do it. They couldn't stay holed up there forever. But leaving the relative security these walls provided left them so exposed.

She climbed into the backseat of the car and Gil slipped in next to her. The car was hot from sitting in the sun. Even as they started to move, the breeze blowing in from the windows gave them little relief.

Sonny slipped the side of the poncho up, exposing the baby's face, but keeping her body and feet covered. If she woke up en route to the pier, it would make it easier to give her a bottle.

As they drove, Sonny's eyes darted from person to person on the streets, noting who turned to look at them as they passed.

“No one can see her in your lap,” Gil said, sensing her anxiety. “As long as the car keeps moving, we'll be fine. Don't be nervous.”

“How long is it going to take?”

“Not long. Olof is in a small pier in the old part of town. He moved his boat there this morning. There are too many boats moored at the marina where he was staying and more soldiers in that section of the city.”

She nodded. “I just hope he's there.”

Gil smiled, his eyes filled with warmth and reassurance. It didn't take away the nervous energy that was coursing through her, but knowing that he had her back made all the difference in the world.

They reached the old section of town near a park called Parque Simón Bolivar and immediately got stuck in traffic.

“Was there this much traffic on the street yesterday?” she asked, biting her bottom lip as she peered out the window at the crowd assembled in the park.

“I know you wanted to go the tourist route to blend in,” Marco said, looking at them in the rearview mirror. “But we're going to get caught in all this traffic trying to make it to the coast.”

“True. Take this right turn, Marco,” Gil said, pointing to a small side road that looked like an alleyway. Only one car could pass down the road easily. “This should take us past San Pedro Claver Square and we'll only be a block or two from the pier.”

Sonny drew in a deep breath and glanced down at Ellie. She was wiggling in her arms as if she were trying to get comfortable. Sweat made her downy hair stick to her forehead. Sonny lifted just a bit more so the light breeze from the window bathed her face.

Under different circumstances, Sonny would have loved to take in all the exquisite, old architectural features of the buildings in the old part of the city. She loved how each of the homes had second-story iron balconies, like the French Quarter in New Orleans. The buildings were painted in bright colors of red, butter-yellow and orange, reminding her of a sunset.

Many of the residents decorated their balconies with weathered urns filled with spectacularly colored flowers. The stucco walls of the buildings were cracked in places, with paint peeling and the color fading from the harsh rays of the Colombian sun. It was a sharp contrast to the modern buildings near the tourist area with beaches and hotels that reminded her of Miami.

She wouldn't be coming back to Colombia anytime soon, thank you very much. As beautiful as Cartagena was, the only memory she wanted to hold on to from this place was reaching into the basket in the back of Torres's car and pulling Ellie into her arms for the first time.

No, that wasn't true, she decided, stealing a glance over at Gil. She had other memories to hold on to. She just wondered if she was still going to feel the same when they reached Miami. Gil's pursuit of her brother was relentless. If it were anyone else he was after, she'd admire his tenacity. But she wasn't going to allow anyone to interfere with Cash's rescue. Especially not in the name of money.

The car spilled out onto another busy road.

“This road is no better than the last,” Marco said, glancing in the rearview mirror at Gil, his face steeped with worry. “Looks like they're having some kind of festival.”

“No,” Gil said, shifting forward in the seat to look out the front windshield. “They're checking cars.”

“What?” Cooper said.

“Gil, I don't like this,” Marco said.

“Don't worry. There are enough people on the streets for us to get lost in the crowd of tourists. The pier is just on the other side of the square on the inlet,” Gil said.

In retrospect, it probably would've been better for them to wait until later in the evening to move. But they didn't have much of a choice. They'd been at the villa too long as it was.

“I still can't believe Eduardo Sanchez has the Colombian military in his back pocket the way he does,” Marco said.

“He's one dangerous man. I want you to take us as close as you can to the pier. And try not to act so guilty, Marco,” Gil said.

“Look at those machine guns. Is that an M16, Gil?” Marco asked.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” Gil answered. “I'll keep an eye on the guns.”

“Easy for you to say,” Cooper said, gripping the seat. “You're going to need a lot of eyes out there, Gil. I've never seen this kind of manpower.”

“I have,” Gil said quietly. Sonny knew he was referring to his own duty in the Special Forces. He hadn't been very open about it. But Sonny understood that kind of silence well. Dylan had never wanted to share stories about his time in the military in any great detail.

“Are you okay, Cooper?” Sonny asked.

She drew in a deep breath. “Fine. Or I will be, when I get on that plane.”

Gil closed his eyes for a brief moment. “You'll get there, Cooper.”

“But what about you? I'm not sure I like this plan,” Cooper said, glancing in the back. “Are you sure you can trust this Swedish guy?”

“No. But it's all we have to work with right now.”

“Maybe Sonny can go alone with the baby? This Swedish guy should be able to take her out into the Gulf. I mean, he managed to cross the whole Atlantic in a boat all by himself. Sailing a few hundred miles across the Gulf shouldn't be a problem.”

Gil shook his head. “What happens if something goes wrong? Sonny has the baby to think about. What is she going to do then?”

“She's in the car, you know,” Sonny reminded them all. “Why do you people keep forgetting that one little fact?”

Gil smiled apologetically. “If something happens, I'll be right there. That's all I'm trying to say.”

“Whoa,” Cooper said, her hands braced against the dashboard. “Is that a roadblock?”

“If it isn't, it's disguised as a pretty good one,” Marco said, searching down a side street a few hundred yards before the gridlock of cars ahead.

“Back up, Marco,” Cooper said, turning to look over her shoulder at the traffic behind them.

“You have to go through it,” Sonny said. “It'll look too suspicious if you try to turn here now.”

“We'll get out here,” Gil said, grabbing Sonny by the hand and opening the passenger door before the car came to a stop. “You won't have a problem going through the roadblock without us in the car.”

“Wait, Gil, you can't get out here,” Marco protested. “We're still a few blocks from the pier.”

Cooper talked over him. “You're a sitting duck on the street. What if the baby wakes up?”

“We were sitting ducks as soon as I took Sonny and Ellie into the car with us at the airport. I'm not risking the two of you in that roadblock with Sonny and the baby in the car. Sonny's right. There's no place to turn the car around without it being obvious.”

Marco banged his hand on the steering wheel. “I'm not leaving you out on the street, Gil.”

“It's only a few more blocks. There's so much commotion going on outside, no one will notice us.”

Cooper shook her head. “You don't know that for sure.”

“No one does,” Sonny said. “It's still safer than trying to get through that roadblock.”

“Gil, the roadblock might not have anything to do with the baby at all. It could be some other random thing,” Marco argued.

“I'm not taking that chance.” Gil climbed out of the car, waited for Sonny and the baby to follow and then quickly slammed the door. “Get yourself out of Colombia and stick to the plan. If all goes well, we'll meet up in Puerto Rico at the end of the week.”

The look on Marco's face stopped Sonny short. Did he really think he wasn't going to see his friend again? “Be careful,” Marco said to them.

“Thank you both for everything,” Sonny said to Marco and Cooper as she stood by the passenger side window. “You don't know how much I appreciate everything you've done—you're doing—for us.”

“Good luck to both of you,” Cooper said. “We'll see you in Puerto Rico in a week.”

“Take care,” Gil said. He took Sonny gently by the arm and moved her in the opposite direction, away from the roadblock.

Sonny reached beneath the poncho as she felt Ellie stir awake with her movement. Now that they were walking quickly through the crowded square toward the side street, the baby was being jostled around.

“She's waking up,” she murmured to Gil.

“We're almost there.”

They dodged the roadblock by going down an alleyway leading to the wall that surrounded the city.

Ellie started crying. Even though the sound was muffled beneath the poncho, her voice seemed to echo off the stone walls in the alley. When they emerged on the other side, Gil slowed her down.

There were military police everywhere, talking to the tourists.

“They can't be looking for us,” Sonny said quietly, trying to shush Ellie at the same time. Her pulse thrummed loudly in her ear, drowning out the street noise.

“No. Something has happened here.”

A man ran down the street past them, yelling in Spanish to a group of people. Although Sonny knew Spanish well, the dialect and the urgency with which the man spoke made it difficult for her to understand every word.

“Someone has been killed,” she said, her body limp with dread. “There's a body.”

“It doesn't concern us. Keep moving. We still have to get through this street before we reach—”

Gil stopped short.

“What is it?”

“There weren't any guards down at the pier earlier. Let's go this way. We may be able to go around them.”

They walked through crowded San Pedro Claver Square. The baby was now awake and fussing loudly. Although Sonny knew the poncho would protect her from the harsh heat of the sun, it was still hot under there.

Gil looked at her, and at the wiggling poncho.

“She's awake,” Sonny said, trying desperately to keep her voice from revealing the alarm she felt.

A woman at the market turned at the sound of Ellie crying.

“Keep her quiet,” Gil said, his voice low. “Give her a bottle if you have to.”

“How can I do that without drawing attention?”

“Quickly.” He took her by the hand and moved faster. Sonny had to practically run to keep up with him. She held her hand steady on Ellie's back.

Soldiers were at every stairway leading down to the pier where they were to meet Olof. One soldier clearly heard Ellie's cries and raised his gun.

Without thought, Sonny pulled Gil in the direction of a large church. Gil seemed to know what she was thinking and didn't resist. With one hand gripping his suitcase and the other on the small of her back, he moved her quickly over the brick and concrete streets, weaving in between people in the square, ignoring the shouts of the soldiers at their backs.

Gil pushed through the door of the church and led her into the quiet, leaving the commotion behind them outside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the change of light. The inside of the church was cool. With a quick movement, she lifted the poncho off Ellie and unleashed the baby's cries. The sound of her distress echoed off the walls of the church.

As the noise outside drew closer, a priest appeared at the altar, curious about what was happening just outside the door.