Chapter 7
Life is filled with discoveries. Today I discovered that I'm the one bugged by turning my bedroom into a paint studio, not my husband. He has plenty of room on his side of the bed and hasn't even come close to stubbing his toes. Me? I like sitting on the little antique sofa my grandfather made while I put on my shoes. Now that I can't, I'm bugged, and painting much quicker than I predicted. I've added a couple more coats of paint and the sofa table will be ready to move out to the great room tonight. Oh, the wonders of owning a flexible house! My great room will become the paint studio while I refinish the top. Now it's time to discover what happens next in...
Hidden Secrets
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 7
A branch snapped near Natalie's head, bringing her
fully back to her senses. She'd dozed off—at least halfway. Now she was
completely awake and relieved to know she was still alive—if only for a few
more minutes. Every inch of her body ached. Stiff from sitting. Stiff from
deep-down fear. Stiff from being totally helpless.
Her ears focused on every sound and the depth of
silence surrounding her, but nothing moved except distant waves caressing sand.
Then she heard faint movement. Another rat? The drunk woman had returned? No.
No one was nearby and rats had no ability to suddenly go still and quiet. They
scurried on as if unconcerned with their surroundings—little rulers of the dark.
Drunk women swayed and tripped, unaware of the mess littering their wake. Most
likely the man had returned. She felt it in her bones. Her fear deepened,
turning blood red behind her eyelids.
She slowly inhaled. With purpose. And she caught it.
The hind of body odor. Easy to acquire in the humid climate, and hard to hide.
So common. Very distinct from rotting foliage and jungle decay. Different than
wilting flowers, dripping sap, stale pools of water and the ocean spray. Human
odors didn’t resemble animals, most of which cleansed themselves regularly. The
man had definitely returned.
Natalie flinched her fists into tight balls. She knew
her life hung in the balance. But she was prepared. She'd tuck, roll and
run—and like a greased pig at the Iowa State Fair, she'd slip through the grasp
of her pursuers. No, she’d pause to claim a poisoned dart, a prized possession
to stop the man, and then she'd be free. She hoped. It was her only chance.
Either that, or she'd be dead.
Three.
Two.
One!
Natalie lunged. Suddenly the stars went out. Pitch
blackness crashed around her like thunder. Hail pounded, except it oddly
sounded like sharp spikes on metal. Arrows on a shield? And there was a
crushing weight upon her. Before she could fully identify what was happening, a
hand circled her throat and clung tight as she was wrenched to her feet. The
lines holding her were now tangled. Tight. Biting. She was jerked forward. Dragged.
Natalie's foot caught and she fell forward, sharply
hitting her elbow on the rock wall. Hot pain shot through her and an even
hotter word spilled out. She tried to gain her footing but fell again, this
time smacking her forehead on something hard like a knee or elbow. She cried
out a second time and a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her into the air. A
crash of metal, wood and stone reverberated behind her as she was dragged into
the jungle trailing remnants of cut lines.
Natalie could only envision herself being captured by
King Kong as she clawed at the hands holding her while her knees sank to the
ground and bumped and smashed on protruding roots as she was dragged along. If
she had her gun… She wished for a knife. Much quieter. Just as deadly. Just as
quick. She'd disembowel her assailant and break free. She'd leave him in his
gore as she ran for the sea. She'd escape. She'd go home.
She'd come back.
She’d clean house. She'd start with Ricardo and finish
with the cabana!
She kicked. Hard. With every ounce of force she had
and then some. Like an atomic bomb detonating. She knew she wasn’t quite
reaching the vital spots she wanted, but was coming awfully close.
"Girl, if you don't settle down and get your feet
moving in the right direction you'll get us both killed. And if Katie is an
only child, thanks to you, you'll have to hide forever from Jenn!"
Natalie went limp. "Nick?" she gasped.
"Shut up and get moving. We've got to get out of
here—and fast!"
Natalie tried to get her feet working, but they were
still tangled in twine. "Why didn't you tell me it was you? Take a guess
at how I planned to take you out."
"I already know it was with a hairpin. Now maybe
you ought to think about how you'll help me out instead."
They broke into a clearing and Nick pushed Natalie
against a tree for support. Her body, still tangled, lost its balance and
tumbled to the ground. Nick knelt before her and worked on the lashings.
"What have you got?" he asked, completely business like.
"Besides a headache and a cobweb of twine
trailing me like a well-lit path?"
Nick quietly chuckled, but still sounded tense. He
pulled out a knife and went to work on the bands.
"I've got a broken, bruised and tattered
reputation," she said as she yanked a wad of twine free. Nick quickly
glanced at her. Natalie could see he needed a shave. His eyes were sunken in
dark holes. Maybe it was the night, but maybe he'd escaped from something
similar. She had no way of knowing and even if she asked, he probably would
never tell. She went back to working herself free.
"About half a mile down the coast there's a safe
passage through the reef. They brought in a boat yesterday. A shipment," Nick
said.
Natalie groaned as she worked her wrists to free them.
"I've been searching north and all along the opening was south?"
Nick glanced at her again. In the darkness she more
felt his look than saw it. She hoped he could see better in the dark than she
could and his knife didn't miss its mark and slice her instead of the ropes
around her ankles. He looked back at her feet. "Looks that way. They
unloaded guns, drugs and slaves."
"Slaves? What work is there to be done here? This
island has a near zero population and…"
"Children. Mere kids. Not plantation laborers.
They won't be here for long."
Natalie groaned, then felt her hands finally burst
free. She leaned over and began helping Nick work on the knots holding her
ankles shackled as she gave details she'd learned. "The boss is a ruthless
man named Ricardo Carratix. The cabana above that luxurious patio I was
marooned on serves as a satellite to his headquarters on top of the hill. Carlo
is one of his henchmen. I believe he's deadly but not altogether bright.
There's another passage through the reef directly out from the patio, but I
suspect it's not accessible except at high tide. I haven't learned much more.
Sorry."
"Two ports?" Nick said.
Natalie nodded in the darkness. "Possibly three.
I swear there's got to be another one north. I overheard them say…"
Nick pressed his hand over Natalie's mouth. She heard
it too. Hounds. Not far away. They weren't tracking wild boar. Natalie wildly
looked around in the inky blackness, but darkness couldn't hide them from dogs.
The sea was their only hope. "I can swim," she whispered.
Nick grabbed her wrist and dragged her forward,
leaving a nest of twine behind. "All night?"
A palm frond slapped her across the face leaving a
stinging welt. "Yes, and for days at a time."
"With sharks?"
"And without."
With her feet finally under her, they ran, heedless of
sharp palm fronds slicing their arms and legs leaving smears of blood in their
wake. Natalie paused only long enough to shed the long skirt threatening to
trip her. It would only drag her to the bottom of the ocean once it was wet
anyway.
For the first time in hours Natalie praised her string
of returning good luck when they plunged into the black ocean where only
starlight glimmered because the moon had already drown in its inky depths. Now
if only they could hide as easily, then resurface safely when daylight
returned.
End Chapter 7
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