be a SEAL at all if it weren’t for what happened to my father. I just couldn’t understand how anyone, regardless of culture or religion, could target thousands of innocent people like that. It was just so warped.”
The pain in his voice made her clutch him tighter. “I saw my friends die in Valencia,” she heard herself admit.
He lifted his head abruptly, surprise fixing his gaze. “You saw them die?” he repeated in astonishment. “You were there? You never told me that.” They’d still been in contact via e-mail.
“I was sitting in the outdoor café with them when the bomb went off.”
“Jesus, Luce,” he breathed. “How’d you keep from getting killed?”
“The wrought-iron table flipped over, pinning me under it.”
He searched her rigidly held face with horror. She could feel his heart pounding through their wet clothing as he pulled her suddenly, fiercely to him. “God, no wonder,” he rasped by her ear.
For a moment she let him hold her, and she absorbed the comfort of his heat, his honest and complete sympathy. “No wonder what?” she prompted after a while.
He set her slightly away from him, seeming to consider what he would say next. “No wonder you’ve taken so many risks all these years,” he said steadily.
His assertion made her frown. “What are you talking about? Our jobs are dangerous. I don’t take any unnecessary risks,” she insisted.
He just looked at her. “Think back on your career, Luce, and be honest with yourself. Ten months ago, the agency told you to bury your intel gear and go on ice. Did you do that? No, you had to sneak into the warehouse to get those CDs. And don’t try to deny it. I could feel them in your pocket.”
She drew a sharp breath. “That was completely necessary,” she insisted.
“And the car chase in Morocco? Was that necessary, too?”
“Of course.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Haven’t you ever considered that you feel guilty for not dying when your friends died?” he asked her gently.
A mix of emotions erupted in Lucy’s chest. She fought to keep her tone light, incredulous, even. “Bravo, James,” she exclaimed. “You should have majored in psychology. Like I said before, you’re a freaking genius.” With a mighty shove, she managed to secure her freedom, pushing off the wall of granite to dive beneath his arm, swimming out of the intimate enclosure where his words had opened a raw wound.
He thought she suffered from survivor’s guilt. What a crock of shit.
As her eyes cleared the water, adrenaline dropkicked in her stomach. Oh, no. There sat David on a log not ten feet away, regarding her with puzzled wariness. There was no telling how long he’d been there or how much he might have overheard of their conversation. A single English word could have been enough to betray them.
She could sense Gus about to break the surface beside her. She tried kicking him underwater and missed. And all she could do was hope he would open his eyes before he opened his mouth first and got them both killed.
THE INSTANT HIS HEAD CLEARED THE WATER, Gus mentally kicked himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! he raged, wrestling down his powerful dismay in order to send the stealthy Arhuacan a pleasant smile.
With a long side stroke, he shared quick eye contact with Lucy, who looked pale-faced but composed. Maybe all wasn’t lost. It depended on how much, if anything, the youth had overheard.
“What do you have there?” he asked, nodding at the object in David’s hands as he dragged himself from the water.
“Achoi tree bark,” said David, showing him the bark’s milky underside. “My mother’s people have used it for years. You boil it in water to make a tea. It will stop the swelling.” He flicked a glance at Lucy as she rose from the water.
Easing onto the rock next to David, Gus reached for his boots, practically under the rebel’s feet. He made a point to sit parallel to him, keeping his body language friendly, nonconfrontational. Wringing the water from his T-shirt and then his pants, he breathed in sync with him as Lucy sat on the shore, presenting her profile and doing likewise. Second by second, Gus could sense David relaxing, reordering his suspicions.
Damn it, they should’ve been using this opportunity to milk the kid for information. Instead he and Lucy had been too caught up in each other and their motives for doing what they did to even notice his return.
“Do you feel better?” David asked him with a