searched blindly for the latch. Where was the fire? Where was Rapp? Had he gained access to the library and found the passage? Was he moving silently down it at that very moment? Maybe only a few meters away?
The latch! Where was it?
On the other side of that wall was freedom, Esparza told himself. Rapp, for all his skill, was just one man and the compound was enormous. He couldn’t kill what he couldn’t find.
His fingers finally grazed a recessed metal handle and he twisted it. The muted click seemed dangerously loud as he twisted his body into a position that would allow him to push the panel open a few centimeters. He was rewarded with a rush of humid, smoky air and the flickering glow of flames. Rapp was a formidable killer, but he wasn’t a magician. There would be no way for him to know the passage was there. No way for him to find the exit behind the cascade of vines camouflaging it.
The truth was that while the CIA man had been admittedly good in the jungle, he was out of his element. He didn’t speak the language, he wasn’t familiar with the territory, and he had no backup or communications. Esparza, on the other hand, suffered from none of these disadvantages. All he had to do was get to his vehicle. Once out of immediate danger, he could call in reinforcements. This time Rapp wouldn’t be up against a handful of men. He’d be hunted by military, police, and even local farmers. There would be no escape for him.
The cartel leader inched along the wall with his Desert Eagle held out in front of him. When he came to the edge of the vines, he was finally able to pinpoint the source of the smoke. It wasn’t the house that was on fire, it was the shed where the Arabs had been housed.
Esparza finally broke cover near the east side of the building, weaving through widely spaced trees toward a freestanding garage fifty meters away. When he reached the side door, he pressed his back against the wall next to it. His hand was shaking and slick with sweat, but he finally managed to turn the knob. The door swung open on well-oiled hinges and he slipped inside. The dim outline of his Humvee was only a few meters away.
It was heavily armored, with bullet-resistant glass, run-flat tires, and a supercharged engine. There were no weapons Rapp could get his hands on that would be capable of stopping it and no vehicles in the compound that could chase it down.
He crossed the concrete floor in a crouch, peering through the SUV’s windows to ensure that Rapp wasn’t waiting for him inside.
Empty.
The wave of elation felt similar to the one he’d experience when he’d escaped the hidden passage. Maybe Rapp wasn’t even hunting him. Or, better yet, maybe the traitorous piece of shit had been shot by one of the guards. Anything was possible.
Esparza climbed inside the vehicle, retrieving the key from a hidden compartment beneath the dashboard. The garage door was closed and it would take too much time to raise. While he was confident in the Humvee’s armor, it made no sense to gamble his life on it. Better to just ram the door, spin the wheel, and present Rapp with nothing but a set of receding taillights. He twisted the key in the ignition and hovered his foot over the accelerator.
Nothing.
A second twist produced a similar result and he suddenly realized that the interior lights hadn’t come on when he’d opened the door. He toggled the switch that controlled them to no avail.
His emotional state swung violently back to terror when he popped the hood and went around to look at the engine. The workings of car engines were a complete mystery to him, but the problem was still immediately evident. The battery was missing.
Esparza sank down behind the driver’s-side tire, losing control of his breathing again. It was Rapp. The CIA man was toying with him, trying to make him panic. Trying to make him do something to reveal where he was in the sprawling compound.
Esparza left through the same door he’d entered, holding the gun shaking in his hands. He thought he saw movement in the wavering firelight but managed to keep from squeezing the trigger. Stealth was his only hope now. The slightest sound could lead to his death.
He crept into the jungle, moving through the wet leaves in search of