Midnight rainbow

Ten minutes later the truck began sputtering and coughing; then the engine stopped altogether, and Grant coasted to a stop, as far to one side of the narrow road as he could get. "It lasted almost two hours," he said, opening the door and getting out.

Jane scrambled across the truck and got out on his side, since he’d parked so close to the edge that her door was blocked by a tree. "How far do you think we got?"

"Thirty miles or so." He wound a lock of her hair around his forefinger and smiled down at her. "Feel up to a walk?"

"A nice afternoon stroll? Sure, why not?"

He lowered his head and took a hard kiss from her mouth. Before she could respond he’d drawn away and pushed her off the road and into the shelter of the forest again. He returned to the truck, and she looked back to see him obliterating their footprints; then he leaped easily up the low bank and came to her side. "There’s another village down the road a few more miles; I hoped we’d make it so we could buy more gas, but–" He broke off and shrugged at the change of plans. "We’ll follow the road and try to get to the village by nightfall, unless they get too close to us. If they do, we’ll have to go back into the interior."

"We’re not going to the swamp?"

"We can’t," he explained gently. "There’s too much open ground to cover, now that they know we’re in the area."

A bleak expression came and went in her eyes so fast that he wasn’t certain he’d seen it. "It’s my fault. If I’d just hidden from them, instead of trying to find you…"

"It’s done. Don’t worry about it. We just have to adjust our plans, and the plan now is to get to Limon as fast as we can, any way we can."

"You’re going to steal another truck?"

"I’ll do whatever has to be done."

Yes, he would. That knowledge was what made her feel so safe with him; he was infinitely capable, in many different areas. Even wearily following him through the overgrown tangle of greenery made her happy, because she was with him. She didn’t let herself think of the fact that they would soon part, that he’d casually kiss her goodbye and walk away, as if she were nothing more than another job finished. She’d deal with that when it happened; she wasn’t going to borrow trouble. She had to devote her energies now to getting out of Costa Rica, or at least to some trustworthy authorities, where Grant wouldn’t be in danger of being shot while trying to protect her. When she’d seen the blood on his face, some vital part inside of her had frozen knowing that she couldn’t survive if anything happened to him. Even though she’d been able to see that he wasn’t badly hurt, the realization of his vulnerability had frightened her. As strong as he was, as vital and dangerous, he was a man, and therefore mortal.

They heard only one vehicle on the road, and it was moving toward the village where they’d stolen the truck. The sun edged downward, and the dim light in the forest began to fade. Right before the darkness became total, they came to the edge of a field, and down the road about half a mile they could see the other village spread out. It was really more of a small town than a village; there were bright electric lights, and cars and trucks were parked on the streets. After days spent in the jungle, it looked like a booming metropolis, a cornerstone of civilization.

"We’ll stay here until it’s completely dark, then go into town," Grant decided, dropping to the ground and stretching out flat on his back. Jane stared at the twinkling lights of the town, torn between a vague uneasiness and an eagerness to take advantage of the comforts a town offered. She wanted a bath, and to sleep in a bed, but after so much time spent alone with Grant, the thought of once more being surrounded by other people made her wary. She couldn’t relax the way Grant did, so she remained on her feet, her face tense and her hands clenched. "You might as well rest, instead of twitching like a nervous cat."

"I am nervous. Are we going on to Limon tonight?"

"Depends on what we find when we get into town." She glared down at him in sudden irritation. He was a master at avoiding straight answers. It was so dark that she couldn’t make out his features; he was only a black form on the ground, but she was certain that he was aware of her anger, and that the corner of his mouth was turning up in that almost-smile of his. She was too tired to find much humor in it, though, so she walked away from him a few paces and sat down, leaning her head on her drawn-up knees and closing her eyes.

There wasn’t even a whisper of sound to warn her, but suddenly he was behind her, his strong hands massaging the tight muscles of her shoulders and neck. "Would you like to sleep in a real bed tonight?" he murmured in her ear.

"And take a real bath. And eat real food. Yes, I’d like that," she said, unaware of how wistful her tone was.

"A town this size probably has a hotel of some sort, but we can’t risk going there, not looking the way we do. I’ll try to find someone who takes in boarders and won’t ask many questions."

Taking her hand, he pulled her to her feet and draped his arm over her shoulder. "Let’s go, then. A bed sounds good to me, too."

Walking across the field, ever closer to the beckoning lights, Jane became more conscious of how she looked, and she pushed her fingers through her tangled hair. She knew that her clothes were filthy, and that her face was probably dirty. "No one is going to let us in," she predicted.

"Money has a way of making people look past the dirt."

She glanced up at him in surprise. "You have money?"

"A good Boy Scout is always prepared."

In the distance, the peculiarly mournful wail of a train whistle floated into the air, reinforcing the fact that they’d left the isolation of the rain forest behind. Oddly, Jane felt almost nakedly vulnerable, and she moved closer to Grant. "This is stupid, but I’m scared," she whispered.