“Stop biting and don’t scream,” Jett breathed, holding her tightly. “Or they’ll be down here in two seconds.”
Relief made her knees go weak.
He eased his hand away, and she could not help wrapping him in a tight hug. His hands went reflexively around her waist, and he chuckled softly. “You won’t think I deserve a hug when you find out about my little diversion,” he whispered, lips grazing her ear. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”
Her good sense returned, and she shoved him away. “I was just...relieved that you weren’t dead.”
“You and me both,” he said, taking her hand and urging her back toward the exit. “That would have ruined my whole day. Keep moving. We don’t have much of a head start. Where’s your helper?”
Sarah told her the plan she’d concocted.
“That was savvy,” he said.
“You sound surprised.”
“Didn’t think you had the street smarts to come up with a plan like that.”
“Just because I’m not a tough guy like you doesn’t mean I can’t think on my feet.”
“Yeah, you were thinking just fine when you dumped me in high school.”
Heat seared her cheeks as she yanked her hand away. “Maybe this isn’t the greatest time to go into our past relationship failures.”
“Your failure, not mine. I wasn’t the one who walked away. You broke up with me, remember?”
She ground her teeth together to keep from firing off an angry retort. The light traced the exit door just ahead of them. They burst through the sultry air into the sunlight. Darting a look back, she saw drifts of smoke coming from the clinic. In the distance came the shouts of the men inside and a clamor of Spanish as the townspeople came running with buckets to put out the fire.
He grabbed her hand again and tugged her into action.
Keeping their heads down, they ran along the road, kicking up pockets of dust, heading for the cluster of palm trees where Juanita must be waiting.
“Just how big a diversion did you create?” Sarah panted, turning to look back again at the smoking clinic.
“It’s still standing, isn’t it?” Jett said. “There she is.” They ran to the idling truck and leaped in the back next to the patient. Juanita sat ramrod straight behind the wheel, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
“Drive to the dock,” Jett commanded.
“They’ll find you there,” Juanita said. “Come with me until it’s dark. I have a place we can hide that Beretta’s men don’t know about. My father will treat Mr. Young there. You can sneak out after sunset.”
“But the police...” Sarah said.
Juanita put the truck in gear. “They are of no help.”
“She’s right,” Jett said. “The cops aren’t going to keep this guy safe from Beretta—Rodriguez told you as much. We have to get out of here, head for US waters. The coast guard will intercept us, and we can tell them the whole story.”
Sarah shook her head. “We can’t just run away. We have to tell the doctor, arrange to have another nurse assigned, talk to the chief of police...”
“I will do all that,” Juanita said quietly.
“No,” Sarah said. “Not alone. You won’t be safe.”
“This village is my home,” Juanita said. “I’m not leaving. My father and I will keep the clinic open and talk to the police, even though it will do no good.”
“I can’t...”
“Yes,” she said, catching Sarah’s eye in the rearview mirror. “You must.”
Sarah had worked with Juanita for the three months she’d been at the clinic, and the woman had always been quiet, even tempered. The iron in her voice was new, or perhaps Sarah had not taken the time to recognize it before.
“Okay,” she finally said. “We’ll escape after dark.” As they sped out of town toward Juanita’s house, Sarah prayed darkness would come quickly.
It was nearly four when they arrived with their ailing patient at a small brick building with a crooked front door and a corrugated metal roof. Jett figured it had been a little café at one time, but now the windows were shuttered and the front step sagged. Like the town itself, it seemed to be sinking under the crushing weight of the poverty all around it.
He climbed from the truck and tried to stretch out some of the stiffness in his back, but the pain from his bruised body put an end to that. You’re not an eighteen-year-old kid anymore, he thought. There’s a price to be paid now for putting your body on the line. Didn’t matter. He’d pay it anyway, regardless of the consequences. He’d never hesitated to take the savage blows intended for his mother.
Why don’t you hit me? he’d taunted his father countless times when dear old Dad had come home stinking of whiskey. Leave her alone, he’d shouted, like a lion tamer luring a beast with an offering of fresh meat. He shook the thought away, wondering if he’d ever be able to rid himself of those memories.
A one-eared dog trotted up, sniffing the group as they unloaded Young from the truck, offering a tentative yip. Another hungry soul, scrounging anywhere for anything. Jett stooped to give the bony head a pat. “Sorry I don’t have any food for you, boy.”
The dog wagged its tail anyway as Juanita hurried to open the door. “Inside, quickly,” she said.
The interior was molten, warmer even than the air outside. Immediately they were bathed in sweat. Jett and Sarah carried Young inside and laid his stretcher on a long wooden table. Sarah loosened his straps, and he moaned. His eyes flickered open, but he was clearly out of it, forehead lined with pain and eyes sunken, skin waxy.
“He needs IV fluids,” Sarah said, rummaging in her bag.
Juanita nodded. “While you administer them, I will go get us some food and water.”
“Want me to go with you?” Jett said. “What if Beretta’s men followed us?”
Juanita flashed a quick smile. “Then I will be quick, and on the lookout like Detective Sarah.”
Sarah laughed, a sound that was at odds with their dire circumstances, like the peal of cheerful music in a dungeon. “I left my magnifying glass back in Coronado. Right now, I’m Nurse Sarah.”
“Probably a more helpful occupation for the circumstances.” Juanita frowned at the patient and sped out the door, closing it behind her.
Jett watched Sarah fuss over Young. “So how exactly are you going to be both a nurse and a detective?”
Her attention was fixed on her work. “I’ve decided to give up nursing after this mission and help full-time with the detective agency.”
That surprised him. She’d always been passionate about her occupation. “Yeah? Why did you decide on that?”
“Because I guess I’ve had enough of death,” she said.
The expression, that sadness in her voice, made him want to fold her in his arms. The experience of losing her father had changed her, taking some of the brilliance away from her smile. But, hey, he thought uncharitably, she had her God. Wasn’t He supposed to protect people like her? Still, it grieved him that she should be touched by tragedy of that magnitude. Some people deserved the bitter stuff that life dished out to them. Sarah did not.
As he puzzled over what to say, he made himself useful by holding the plastic tubing and handing