Eighteen
They made a brief stop at the inn on their way to the airport to retrieve TJ's passport. As Paolo had said, there seemed to be an air of celebration in the village with children playing, guitars strumming, and smiles on everyone's faces. Despite the festive atmosphere, Jake was happy when TJ got back in the truck, and they drove out of the village. He wanted to put as many miles as he could between themselves and any lingering members of Rodrigo's army.
"I almost forgot," Katherine said, handing him a cell phone. "Paolo gave me this. You should call Rusty."
He did so immediately and after making his conversation as brief and efficient as possible, he got Rusty to agree to find them a charter, pay for it and send copies of their passports to the airfield. While Katherine's name hadn't been on the charter to Mexico, Rusty had insisted on getting a copy of her passport before putting her on the plane. Now, Jake was happy that his boss had been so demanding.
After he hung up with Rusty, he called Alicia. There were so many things he had to tell his sister, he didn't know where to start, but he settled on the most pressing problem—making sure TJ would be safe once they got back to the States. He told Alicia that TJ had been kidnapped by a drug cartel who had probably been sold MDT-developed weapons by Jerry or someone else in the company. TJ had important information and was still in danger, so they needed to make sure he got help from the right people.
While Alicia had a million questions, she quickly realized that he couldn't answer most of them and told him she would call her contact at the FBI and see what they should do. He told her he would wait for her to call back and hung up.
"Alicia will make some calls," he told TJ and Katherine.
"You didn't tell her about your dad," Katherine commented.
"I wanted her to focus on TJ's situation. There will be time for all that later."
"Thanks for doing that," TJ said. "I probably should have called the FBI to start with, but MDT has a lot of friends in high places. I was too afraid to reach out on my own."
"You're not on your own anymore," Katherine said. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know you're going to be protected."
"I feel the same way about you," TJ said.
As the two exchanged a look, Jake wondered just what had gone on at the ranch before he'd gotten there. He had a feeling he was not going to like whatever it was. But he told himself that TJ and Katherine were fine; that was all that mattered.
Ten minutes later, Alicia called him back. "That was fast," he told her.
"I spoke to Special Agent Wolfe," Alicia said. "He's in DC. He thinks you guys should fly straight there rather than going back to Corpus Christi. He said a lot of governmental agencies will want to talk to you, and they can protect you."
"That makes sense," he replied.
"I spoke to Dani," Alicia continued. "She's going to talk to the senator as well. She said to come to her apartment when you land. I'm going to get on a plane, too, and meet you there."
"You don't have to do that."
"Are you kidding? I want to know everything, Jake."
Of course she did. "All right. I'll call Rusty and see if he can get us a flight to DC. I doubt we'll be there before tonight."
"Keep me posted and have a safe trip."
"Thanks." He ended the call and punched in Rusty's number. When Rusty answered, he said, "Looks like we need three seats on a plane to DC. Can you make that happen?" Rusty said he would do his best and to check in when they got to the airport.
Jake sighed and shifted positions as he handed Katherine the phone. He was a little cramped sharing the seat with Katherine—not that he'd ever complain about being too close to her, but his leg was starting to throb.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm good. Rusty is going to see what flights he can get us to DC."
"I'm sorry I ever doubted him, Jake."
"Don't worry about it."
"You should rest," she said, looking at him with a critical eye. "I think we've got a ways to go."
She was right. It took them almost two hours to get to the airport in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. They bypassed the main terminal for the smaller terminal on the other side of the airfield that serviced small private planes.
After calls between Rusty and the airport office, they were put on a plane shortly after eleven. It would be an eight-hour flight to DC. With the time change, they'd arrive around ten o'clock at night.
While they waited for their flight, they bought breakfast in the café with the money Sylvia had given them. Jake felt a lot better after downing an order of huevos rancheros and drinking two large glasses of orange juice.
"I'm glad you have an appetite," Katherine said.
"It never goes away," he said with a smile.
"I'm going to use the restroom," TJ said.
As TJ left the table, Jake saw Katherine's concerned gaze follow her brother across the room. "He's going to be okay," he assured her.
"I won't feel safe until we get in the air. I keep thinking someone is going to show up any second and try to stop us."
He couldn't deny that she had reason to be concerned. Rodrigo and his men might be dead, but whomever they were working with at MDT was alive and well.
Katherine turned her gaze back to him. "How are you feeling?"
"You have to stop asking me that. I'll tell you if there's a problem."
"I wish I could believe you would," she said pointedly. "But you're not a complainer."
"Finally, something you like about me," he teased.
"You know I like a lot of things about you. But I am worried the long flight is going to be too much for you."
"I'll make it."
"Those herbs your great-grandmother gave you are going to wear off, and you're going to hurt, Jake."
"I can take the pain. I'm so happy that we're alive, nothing else matters." He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. He had a dozen things he wanted to say to her, but before he could utter a word, TJ came back.
"Am I interrupting?" TJ asked. "Do you want me to wait outside?"
"No," Jake said, letting go of her hand. "It's time to go anyway, and I think the three of us should stay together."
"So you're worried, too," Katherine murmured as they headed toward the door.
"Like you, I'll feel better when we're off the ground."
The plane had eight passenger seats. Katherine took the window, while he sat on the aisle and TJ sat next to him on the opposite aisle. Also on board was an older couple in their sixties who said they were taking a second honeymoon. After some casual chatter, the couple turned their attention to their books and computers while TJ promptly fell asleep.
"Your brother is already out," Jake said as the plane took off.
"He's exhausted."
"You must be, too."
"I'm going to try to nap now that we're in the air." She tipped her head to the window, to the view unfolding before them. "Look at all that rain forest, Jake. I think we hiked through most of it."
"We did."
"I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get out of it. I used to like being on the ground more than flying, but that's changed."
"It's a different perspective; that's for sure."
She glanced back at him. "Is it strange to be a passenger and not be in the pilot's seat?"
"Actually, I'm not too upset about it."
"Because you're in pain."
"It's not that bad."
"You have to tell me if you start feeling chilly, hot, or dizzy," she said, giving him a close look. "While Sylvia's herbal medicine seemed to take the infection right out of you, I don't know how long the effects will last."
"They'll last. She's good. So are you. Hailey would be proud."
A smile spread across Katherine's mouth. "She would have loved our adventure."
"I think she was with us."
"Me, too." Katherine paused. "When she died and I didn't, it made me feel like I had to do something important with my life, because she couldn't. That's part of what drove me, Jake."
"I know. And you did it, Kat. You're still doing it. Every day."
"So what did Sylvia say to you when you were alone in the cabin?"
"She said good-bye. It felt…final."
"I guess at her age any visit from a relative probably feels like it could be the last," Katherine said carefully.
"It was more than that. It was as if she'd done what she was supposed to do. She kept saying this was why she'd lived so long—it was for our destinies to cross, for us to save the village from El Diablo."
"She does have a way with words," Katherine said.
"I know it's all crazy. If we tell anyone that we blew up the ranch with some matches and the help of a bad-assed lightning storm, no one will believe us."
"Or they'd say we just got lucky with the timing of the storm."
"And that's probably what it was."
"As a scientist, I'd have to agree with that, but despite words to the contrary, I think your great-grandmother is a little bit of a witch. She spooks me, anyway. Mostly in a good way, but I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."
He grinned. "Me, either. She told me how to save you, and Paolo helped me set everything else up. I just had this terrible fear when I got to the ranch that you might not actually be there."
"I wondered if you would find me, too, because I wasn't sure where I was. They kept me blindfolded until I was inside. Rodrigo was there; he had an evil smile. He told TJ that if he didn't fix the weapons system, they would hurt me. He gave him two hours. You got there just before the deadline."
His stomach turned over. "God, Katherine. I had no idea."
Her somber blue gaze met his. "You came in time. That's all that matters."
"You must have been terrified."
"I was," she admitted.
"I was, too," he said, looking into her eyes. "When I realized they'd taken you from the yard, I felt a crushing blast of fear. I didn't know how I was going to save you." He took her hand. "I hate to think that you were so close—"
"Don't think about it," she said, cutting him off. "Because then I'll think about it, too, and I really don't want to."
He could see that despite her bravado, she was hanging on by a thread. "You should sleep, Kat. We'll talk it all out when we get to DC."
"We'll be able to keep TJ safe, right?"
He saw the lingering worry in her eyes. "We'll make sure of it."
"I wish I could have spoken to my mom."
Katherine had called her mother from the airport, but the caregiver had told Katherine that her mom was asleep, and Katherine hadn't wanted to leave a message.
"You'll talk to her when we get to DC."
"You're right."
He settled more comfortably into his seat. He wanted to keep talking to Katherine, but exhaustion was catching up to him. "I think I'm going to close my eyes."
"You should. I'll be here when you wake up."
He looked over at her. "You said that last night."
"And I was there in the morning," she reminded him.
"Will you always be there, Kat?" he asked sleepily, his brain shutting down even as he asked what was probably the most important question he could have asked. He just wished he could have stayed awake long enough to hear the answer.
* * *
Would she always be there?
How could she say yes?
On the other hand, how could she say no?
Leaving Jake before had been horrible, but at that time she'd been angry and hurt and desperate to get on with her life before she lost it.
Leaving Jake now…again…
That seemed impossible to contemplate. They'd bonded on their journey. They'd not only found each other again, they'd also found themselves. At least, she had.
She'd been hiding from so many things the past decade, but the biggest thing had been herself. She'd never wanted to look too closely at her thoughts or her actions, always afraid they would derail her. But trekking through Mexico had stripped all of her barriers away and changed her forever. She wasn't the same woman she was a week ago, and she was happy about that.
She'd been far too one-dimensional. That would change. She was going to be there for everyone; not just her patients, but her friends, her family, the people who really mattered—two of whom were in the plane with her.
As she watched Jake sleep, she felt a protective tenderness and an overwhelming love.
Would she always be there when Jake woke up?
How could she be anywhere else?
* * *
When Jake woke up, they were landing in DC. He couldn't believe he'd slept the entire flight. He looked over at Katherine, who was rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Did you catch a nap?"
"A long one," she said. "How about you?"
"I feel better now."
"I'm glad."
As she looked back at him, a hazy memory went around in his head. He felt like he should remember something, but he couldn't think what it was.
Katherine unbuckled her seat belt as the plane came to a stop. "We're back in the States."
"I've never been so happy to be home."
He looked over at TJ, who gave him a nod that finished with a long yawn. "You ready for what's coming TJ?" he asked.
TJ shrugged. "It can't be any worse than what we've been through."
He couldn't help but agree.
After they got off the plane, Alicia met them at the gate and had apparently cleared their way into the country, because they were quickly on their way in a hired SUV to Danielle's Georgetown apartment.
"Special Agent Wolfe is going to meet us at Dani's place," Alicia said. "He wanted to pick you up at the airport, but I told him I had to see you first. I wanted to make sure you were all okay."
"And you want to get answers to your questions before the FBI whisks us away," Jake said dryly, knowing his baby sister very well.
"Maybe," Alicia conceded. "Can you blame me?"
"I guess not," Jake said. "Where's Michael?"
"He's in Miami. He had to work. He said to tell you he's glad you're okay." She gave Jake a speculative glance. "You look like shit, Jake. And what's with the ripped jeans and the bandage around your leg?"