Desperate Escape. Lisa Harris

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СКАЧАТЬ she’d been wearing since they snatched her. Grant’s reminder that the holidays were just around the corner had managed to make her feel more homesick.

      Even as a med student, when she might’ve had to come late or leave early, she’d never missed Christmas with her family. Her mother would have already decorated the tree and started planning the meal that would include all of the relatives in a hundred-mile radius as well as a handful of people from church who didn’t have family nearby.

      She balanced her dinner on her lap and opened the bag her mom had sent. A pair of tan pants, a black tank top and an olive-colored button-down shirt, along with some underwear, a purple sundress, a compact Bible and a small toiletry bag full of travel-size products, including a toothbrush.

      “I wish I could have brought more—”

      “No. Wow. This is perfect. I never knew how excited I could get over deodorant and a new toothbrush.” She let out a soft chuckle and smiled at him. “Thank you. Now all I need is a hot shower.”

      “There’s a letter in there as well from your mother.”

      She pulled out the pink envelope and traced her finger across her mother’s handwriting on the front. She’d wait to read it later when she was alone and didn’t have to keep her emotions in check. Because at the moment it wasn’t going to take much for her to lose it.

      “You said you needed to talk to us about something,” Grant said.

      She set the bag down beside her and picked back up her bowl of food, keeping her voice low enough to ensure none of the guards across the compound could hear her. “I’m sure you know that this is not just some military camp. The men here are involved in drug trafficking, and their network is extensive.”

      Antonio nodded. “My country’s involvement in the trade is no secret. Cocaine barons of South America use countries like mine as part of their route to dealers in Europe.”

      For as much as she’d seen, she still had questions. “As a doctor I’ve heard the rumors, and I’ve seen firsthand patients who have overdosed from cocaine. But why do they stop here? Why not just fly directly to Europe?”

      “It’s a way to avoid detection of large shipments by European militaries,” Antonio said.

      “So, what?” she asked. “They break up their shipment and then transport it?”

      “Exactly. It’s sent by smaller aircraft or even by human mules. South American cartel members show up here with more firepower than our police and military put together. Our police don’t have handcuffs or computers or even enough guns for our officers. They, on the other hand, have money, rifles, ammunition and know every inch of this country’s remote areas. They can literally buy the government and do what they want.”

      “Enough money to pay people off to look the other way and make what they do even easier,” Grant said.

      “They brought me here because they needed a doctor,” she continued. “And I’m sure you know by now that they shot and killed my supervisor, Gavin Richards, when they found out he wasn’t a doctor.”

      She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she could erase what she’d seen. She’d tried to stop them, but could only watch as one of them pulled the trigger. Simply because they didn’t need him.

       I need You to help me through this, God...please.

      She drew in a slow breath. “But that’s not all. The day before I was abducted, I met a man at the hospital during one of my shifts. His name was Sam Parker.”

      “Sam Parker.” Grant leaned forward, his arms resting against his thighs. “He’s a journalist, isn’t he?”

      Maddie pushed her food around on her plate with her spoon, nodded.

      “I saw something about him on the news before I left the States,” Grant said. “He was shot, wasn’t he?”

      “Yeah. He was here in the country doing some research for a spread in a magazine and stumbled across a story someone didn’t want to get out. Whoever it was tried to kill him. Initially he survived, and a Good Samaritan brought him to the hospital where I treated him for a gunshot wound, but he didn’t live through the night.”

      Maddie hesitated before continuing. Death had always been a part of her job, but lately she’d seen so much tragedy. Tragedies that should never have happened. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, her dinner forgotten. “Before he died, he told me he had evidence of a high-profile US State Department employee tied to this country’s drug trafficking.”

      Grant let out a low whistle. “That’s a big story.”

      “Yes, it is,” she said.

      “And plausible,” Antonio added. “The trans-Atlantic traffickers of drugs and other illegal substances need countries where they can not only fly under the radar of the international community, but also—due to high corruption—not have to worry about the local authorities. And with the profits involved, it’s not surprising to discover there are outsiders involved.

      “Do you have a name?” he asked.

      “No, but I’ve got something just as good.” She clutched the locket she was wearing between her fingers. “It’s a flash drive with the evidence Sam was planning to expose. He said if anyone found it he could tell them it was a gift for his girlfriend and no one would think twice.”

      Grant glanced behind them where a couple of the guards were laughing and drinking. “Does anyone know you have this information?”

      “It’s possible someone saw me talking with Sam.” She shook her head. “But when he gave it to me, there was no one else in the room except for a few sick patients, and I’m sure they weren’t paying attention.”

      “So you think you were kidnapped just because they needed a doctor...not because of the information Sam gave you.”

      “As far as I know.”

      “Whatever the reason, we need to get you out of here.”

      Grant didn’t have to say anything else for her to know what he was thinking. Once the epidemic was under control, she’d be disposable—all of them would be—just like Gavin.

      “But how do we get out of here?” Maddie asked. “If they’re guarding the airstrip and the only other way off this island is by water...”

      Grant looked around the camp. “We’re looking at a couple dozen armed men who are currently focused more on what they’re drinking than us at the moment.”

      “But if they catch us a second time,” Maddie said. “They’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

      Her stomach knotted. She set down the plate of food beside her, knowing he was right. This was it. There would be no second reprieve.

      Someone slipped through the shadows behind them and sat down on the log next to Maddie. Jose’s mother. She was carrying an infant tied securely around her back with a piece of wide, colorful cloth. Sliding the baby around in front of her, the mother pulled her out of the makeshift sling and handed the baby to Maddie.

      Maddie СКАЧАТЬ