Cautiously, she looked over his shoulder and angled her head. It was there, faint and white through the dim light and thick foliage. Automatically, she dropped her voice to a whisper. “Remo?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” He went silent as he thought of and rejected a half dozen ideas. “We’ll take it slow.”
It took them fifteen minutes to reach the tiny settlement. By then, it was fully dark. They could see the light through the window of what seemed to be a small store or trading post. Moths as big as the palm of her hand batted against the glass. Outside was a jeep.
“Ask and you shall receive,” Doug said under his breath. “Let’s have a look.” Crouching, he made his way over to the window. What he saw inside made him grin.
Remo, his tailored shirt stained and limp, sat at a table scowling into a glass of beer. Across from him was Barns, balding, molelike, and grinning at nothing in particular.
“Well, well,” Doug breathed. “Looks like our lucky day.”
“What’re they doing here?”
“Running in circles. Remo looks like he needs a shave and a husky Norwegian masseuse.” Doug counted three others in the bar, all giving the Americans a wide berth. He also saw two bowls of steaming soup, a sandwich, and what looked like a bag of potato chips. Saliva pooled in his mouth.
“A shame we can’t order something to go.”
Whitney’d seen the food as well. She barely stopped herself from pressing her nose up against the glass. “Can’t we wait until they leave and then go in and eat?”
“They leave, so does the jeep. Okay, sugar, you’re going to be lookout again. This time do a better job.”
“I told you I couldn’t whistle last time because I was busy staying alive.”
“We’re both going to stay alive, and we’re going to liberate ourselves a set of wheels. Come on.”
Moving quickly, he circled the hut. With whispers and hand signals, he positioned Whitney near the front window while he crept to the jeep and went to work.
She watched, gasping when Remo rose and began to pace. Eyes wide, she looked back at the jeep. Sprawled on the floor, Doug was hidden from view. She gritted her teeth and pressed her back to the wall as Remo passed the window.
“Make it fast,” she hissed to Doug. “He’s getting restless.”
“Don’t rush me,” he muttered as he freed wires. “These things take a delicate touch.”
She glanced inside in time to see Remo shove Barns to his feet. “You better get your delicate touch moving, Douglas. They’re coming.”
Swearing, he wiped sweat from his fingers. Another minute. All he needed was another minute. “Pile in, sugar, we’re almost there.” When she didn’t respond, he looked up to see the little front porch of the hut was empty. “Sonofabitch.” Struggling with the wires, he searched for her. “Whitney? Goddamn it, this is no time to take a walk.”
Still swearing, fingers working, he scanned the settlement. Nothing.
He jolted at the sound of squeals, barks, and confusion as the engine roared into life. As he started to leap out of the jeep, gun raised, Whitney raced around the side of the hut and jumped inside.
“Hit the gas, sugar,” she panted. “Or we’ll have company.”
The words weren’t out of her mouth before he had the jeep roaring down the narrow dirt road. A low-hanging branch swiped against the windshield and broke with a crack like a gunshot. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Remo running around the side of the hut. He pushed Whitney’s face into the seat and the gas pedal to the floor before the first of three shots rang out.
“Where’d you go?” Doug demanded as they left the light of the settlement behind. “A hell of a lookout you make when I nearly get myself shot looking for you.”
“That’s gratitude.” She shook back her hair as she sat up. “If I hadn’t created a diversion, you’d never have gotten the jeep hot-wired in time.”
He slowed down only enough to assure himself he wouldn’t smash the jeep against a tree. “What’re you talking about?”
“When I saw Remo was coming out, I figured you needed a diversion—like in the movies.”
“Terrific.” He negotiated a bend, bumped over a rock, and kept on going.
“So, I ran around back and let the dog into the pigsty.”
Whitney brushed the hair out of her eyes and revealed a very smug smile. “It was quite entertaining, but I couldn’t hang around