Jungle Inferno Read online

  Several times she’d thought about calling Aunt Vivi and talking to her, asking her about it but she knew her parents would have a fit. Her mother’s sister was telepathic and she belonged to The Lotus Circle, an ancient society now resurrected and spread throughout the world via the internet. Its members were people with special abilities, always ready to help each other and provide assistance and comfort when necessary. Despite how the rest of the family felt, Faith stood in awe of her. Did receiving Mark’s message this way mean, like her aunt, that she might be a telepath, also? The thought made her both anxious and excited.

  Faith closed her eyes and built her reply in her head. Just to see if she could do it.

  Leave now?

  She opened her eyes to see Mark dip his head.

  A tiny thrill skittered through her. Clearly she had the same gift as Aunt Vivi. But Mark! Where had he come by this? Who in his family had this special gift that had filtered down to him?

  Faith closed her book and shoved everything into her backpack. Mark had already left the large reading room and she followed as quickly as she could She found him outside sitting on one of the broad stone steps, the quirky grin still on his face.

  “It worked,” he told her.

  “How did you do that?” She lowered herself to the step beside him. “How did you know you could do it?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. A feeling. I kept hearing bits and pieces of people’s messages in my head. Strangers. I wanted to try this for a long time, to see if I could actually send a message to someone.” He grinned. “I wanted it to be you.”

  He reached over and took one of her small hands in his. At sixteen he already had the structure of a man. Tall body just filling out. Large, warm hands. Eyes full of mischief and a face on the verge of being rugged. All topped with a thick head of inky black hair.

  To fourteen-year-old Faith he was the man of her dreams. The invisible bond between them had been forged the day they met, when Faith and her family moved next door to the Hallorans. The shy six-year-old was nervous about entering a new school and meeting strangers. Until the eight-year-old boy held out his hand and said, “I’ll take care of you,” and helped her onto the bus. Something passed between them, as sharp as a bolt of lightning yet more comforting. Secure. Faith had raised her eyes to Mark’s, warmed at the sight of his smile and they’d been a team since then.

  As they got older, on warm nights they sat outside counting stars and sharing dreams. When Mark dated now and then, Faith felt an unreasoning rush of jealousy but the thread that bound them still remained as strong as ever. And none of the relationships, even beyond high school, ever lasted.

  For herself she had no desire to spend time with other boys. Assuming, of course, her parents would ever lift the restrictions and allow her something beyond group activities.

  They’d always been able to read each other’s thoughts, even as tiny children. This had to be just a natural outgrowth of that. Didn’t it? Faith frowned. Or did she—and Mark—have a connection far beyond the ordinary?

  “Heavy thoughts for a small person,” he teased, squeezing her hand.

  She looked up at him and smiled. Even at fourteen the sight of him could make her heart stumble and her blood race. “Just wondering if we could do that again. You know. Talk without talking.”

  “Maybe. It would be a nice thing when I leave for college in another year.”

  Mark had been accepted at Texas A&M and planned to become a member of their elite ROTC Corps. Then into the Army.

  “It would save on telephone bills,” she joked.

  “Tell you what. Let’s try it tonight when we’re at home. Maybe before we each go to sleep.”

  “A-all right.” Talk to him while they were in their beds? She shivered.

  “Cold?”

  No. I’m having forbidden thoughts about you.

  “Come on.” He put his arm around her and drew her close to him, giving her a quick squeeze. “I’ll drive you home. Don’t forget about tonight.”

  As if she could.

  She could hardly wait for evening to come and darkness, so she could test this new phase of their relationship. At ten o’clock she climbed into bed, prepared to lie awake until whatever time Mark might send her a message. Knowing him it could be as late as midnight. But she had barely settled her head on the pillow and tried to clear her mind of any obstacles when she heard him. Sharp. Clear. As if he was standing beside her.

  Hi, Tidbit.

  His name for her since he’d shot up to his present height while she remained at a tiny five foot one.

  Hi. An image flashed across her brain like a flickering move. Mark, on his bed in nothing but his boxers. The same grin on his face. Faith slid down and pulled the blanket over her head, cheeks hot with teenage embarrassment.

  For a long moment silence filled the room. Then faintly, she heard, ’Night.

  Then the image was gone and so was the lingering sound of the message.

  Faith turned over and hugged her pillow to her body. Was it possible to fall in love at fourteen?

  * * * * *

  Faith stood in the shower, letting the hot water beat down on her, hoping it would sweep the clutter out of her mind. She’d tried three more times to reach him, focusing her message, making her mind a blank except for that one image of him. Nothing. Now so many images of Mark were crowding together she couldn’t separate them from the latest one, so full of pain it hurt her just to think about it.

  Lord, she missed him. More than she ever admitted to herself. The men she’d dated in college and beyond were merely pale imitations of the man who held both her heart and her soul in the palm of his hand. But so much separated them, things that kept getting in the way. College. The Army. Even her career to a small degree, although she could write anywhere. But Mark’s military assignments were so secret and required such focus he made the choice not to be distracted by her nearness.

  Except for that one weekend. The weekend she kept tucked in her mind like a precious gem, pulling it out to warm herself in private. She thought of the one long weekend they’d had together. Unexpected and unexpectedly hot and sensuous. Who had known that their friendship would open up to a mind-blowing sexual connection. But that was the only time they’d been able to communicate. That left only the telepathic messages but to Faith they were more special than anything. A means of sharing that shut everyone else out. Words. Images. Enough to keep them going.

  They both knew phone calls and brief contact would only leave them wanting more, so by unspoken agreement they pushed everything to the back of their minds.

  For now.

  Until Mark felt he had honored his commitment to his country and they were both ready to think about the future.

  Until tonight.

  She closed her eyes and ran her hands over her body, remembering how it felt to have Mark’s hands on her. His mouth on her nipples. His fingers molding her breasts. She slid her soap-slicked fingers down through the softness of her pubic curls and touched her clit, softly the way he’d done, just enough to tease her at first, then increasing both tempo and pressure until she was practically begging him to be inside her.

  He’d laughed, a slow, sexy chuckle, and told her, “Don’t rush me. I’m planning on taking my time. I never thought we’d get to this point, so I don’t want to miss anything.”

  And he hadn’t. Not one single thing. She realized suddenly that her fingers slipping into her cunt were a very poor substitute for Mark’s thick, hard cock. The tremors making the walls of her cunt quiver were a pale imitation of the spasms that rocked her when Mark fucked her.

  Deliberately pushing the memories from her mind, she turned off the shower, squeezed the water from her long hair and reached for a thick towel to wrap around herself, another one to squeeze the excess water from her hair before using the blow dryer.

  I can find him. I’m a writer. I know how to do research.

  But this was a little more complicated than delvin
g into a politician’s life. She wouldn’t be able to find people willing to talk. Or even acknowledge that they knew Mark Halloran or anything to do with his assignments.

  She’d start with his parents. Maybe they had a tiny glimmer of where he’d been sent. At least the general region.

  But first she’d call Aunt Vivi and go talk to her. If there was another telepath where Mark was being held who was erecting shields to block his mind, she’d need help to get around them. And help to strengthen her own abilities to send her messages to Mark.

  She slipped into bed and turned out the light. All those years from the time they were children, forging a relationship that outsiders couldn’t pierce. Being there for each other. Was it love, what they had? They’d hardly spent enough intimate time with each other to know. Whatever it was, though, it was unbreakable.

  “We’ll always be there for each other, right?” That’s what he’d said the last time she’d seen him.

  She’d nodded. “Always. If you need me, I’ll come to you.”

  “Same goes, darlin’.”

  How could they even imagine he would be the one asking her for help.

  As she always did at night she closed her eyes and willed Mark’s face to come to her. But tonight it wasn’t the one with the rumpled black hair and laughing vivid blue eyes. Tonight it was the one with deep ridges of pain and anguish that darkened the blue almost to black.

  Tidbit.

  She sat bolt upright. I’m here, Mark.

  I… you. Please…kill…

  Faith felt shock race through her. Kill? Whoever captured him was going to kill him? Her heart banged against her ribs like a jackhammer. She lay back down and forced a calmness she didn’t feel. With an effort of will she directed all her energy into the message.

  Tell me where you are. Please.

  But no matter how long she lay awake, straining her senses, the only thing that answered her was silence.

  Chapter Two

  The morning did little to ease the tension left from the night before. First thing, Faith took care of things hanging fire with her agent and her publicity person. Then she deliberately shut down her computer, ruthlessly driving her mind away from the latest book she was trying to start and swallowed the last of her coffee. It was time to talk to her aunt.

  “Of course you can come and see me,” Aunt Vivi told her. After a brief silence, she added, “Is this personal or professional?”

  Faith swallowed a sigh. “Both.”

  “All right. Come over about ten. The house is quiet by then.”

  Aunt Vivi opened her front door the moment Faith pulled into the driveway.

  “Have you been watching for me?” Faith gave a small laugh.

  “Yes.” Vivi nodded. “I felt the tension in your voice and sensed your trouble.” She put an arm around her niece. “Come in. I’ve made some tea. I want to know what’s troubling your mind and shutting down your inner person.”

  They sat at the kitchen table, scene of every important conversation Faith could remember, inhaling the fragrance of the vanilla tea that Vivi liked.

  “Mark contacted me,” Faith said at last.

  Vivi raised one eyebrow. “That’s nothing new. The two of you have been sending each other telepathic messages since you were teenagers.”

  Faith shook her head. “This is different. It frightened me.”

  “Oh?” Vivi frowned. “How so? I can’t imagine Mark doing anything to scare you.”

  “He’s in trouble. That alone scares me. Mark has always been the solid, indestructible rock.” She raked her fingers through her hair. The two of them had one unbreakable commitment to each other. No matter where they were, if one of them needed the other, they’d come. At once. And she would, if she could only find out where he was. “And I got such an image of pain. Of agony. And I felt it too.”

  Vivi took her niece’s hand. “Remember I told you a long time ago, when you first came to me to talk about this, that you might also have some empathic abilities too? That, in the right circumstances, you could sense other people’s feelings and emotions. And pain.”

  “Yes. I remember.” Faith picked up her tea cup. “But I’ve never felt it as strongly as this.” She forced herself to look directly at Vivi. “I felt as if the pain was mine. You know?”

  “And that’s because of the relationship between you and Mark.” Vivi sighed. “I’ve always wondered why the two of you never moved forward with what I knew you felt for each other.”

  Faith shrugged. “Time. Circumstances. Not wanting to ruin a friendship with something that might not last.” She shook her head. “Now I wish we had.”

  “If wishes were horses.” Vivi quoted her favorite saying. “I hope you’ll both acknowledge your feelings once you’re together again.”

  “If only. Aunt Vivi, it frightens me to think what he must be going through. And I don’t even know where he is.”

  Vivi rose and refilled their cups. She squeezed Faith’s shoulder, a gesture of warmth. “You have no idea if your messages got through to him.”

  “No. None at all. And I had the feeling his were being shut down on that end. That’s why only bits and pieces come through.”

  Vivi nodded. “That’s entirely possible. If they have a telepath among them he could be closing the psychic door.”

  “I keep hoping that in one of these messages he’ll be able to give me some kind of clue as to where he is. If he even knows. Right now I don’t even have a starting point.” She ran her finger around the rim of the cup. “And I have to be able to tell him I got his messages to me.” She looked up. “That’s why I’m here. I can’t do this myself, especially if they have a psychic blocker.”

  “All right.” Vivi put one of her hands over Faith’s. “I think for this we need other members of the Circle.” She leaned over and kissed her niece’s cheek. “Don’t sweat it. We’ll get this done.”

  Faith went to stand at the big window overlooking the backyard. The abundance of flowers always soothed her, calmed her nerves when she was jittery. Right now she could have used a truckload of them. The thought of Mark somewhere in danger, wounded, maybe dying, terrified her in ways she couldn’t admit. If that was the case, the last thing she wanted to think about was all the years they’d wasted. Years they could have been together instead of off chasing dreams.

  No! She wouldn’t think about that. Somehow she would let him know his message came through and she was on it. Finding him. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, as if the very friction could dispel the cold that had settled inside her.

  She heard Vivi speaking softly on the phone, then come to stand beside her. “Sarah and Emily will be here in about an hour. Then we’ll see what we can do.”

  Something quick, I hope.

  * * * * *

  The sun was a globe of fire creeping up in the sky, turning everything below it into an oven. It was barely nine o’clock in the morning yet Mark Halloran was sure the temperature was already close to triple digits. The humidity was as thick as a rainfall. The roar and grunt of the howler monkeys was already splitting the air as they leaped from tree to tree feasting on the canopy leaves.

  How the hell did people live in places like this?

  Or work in them.

  And this appeared to be a permanent camp, with tents, lean-tos and crude buildings. It also boasted a campfire pit and other amenities they wouldn’t have taken the time for in a transitory situation, unlike the temporary setup where the meeting had taken place. Where they’d been told the Wolf was going to meet with Escobedo’s group. Rick Latrobe had a friend from his Special Ops days who was deep undercover with Escobedo’s group. He’d risked his life to get the message out that the Wolf was going to make a personal appearance. Unusual for him but this shipment was so large and involved so much money, Escobedo insisted.

  Not at his camp, however. Not even the Wolf would be privy to its location. A meeting place not far away was set up. For the Wolf it would be in and out. Just li
ke that. He would arrive with the shipment, Escobedo would bring the money. As soon as both parties were satisfied with the goods, the transaction would take place and that would be that.

  Mark had gone to his commanding office, Major John Gregorio, with the information. The major had passed it up the chain and the word had come down to act. The United States government had waited a very long time for a chance at the Wolf. To make it a two-fer upped the ante.

  A simple mission. Get in. Take out the bad guys. Get out. One less group of Al Qaeda plotters to worry about. And the arms dealer meeting with them. That was the key. That’s what he and his men had been told. It was a chance to clean out a viper’s nest and take out a key arms player at the same time.

  With the weakening of the Tupac Amaru terrorist group and the decline of Shining Path, Al Qaeda had been recruiting heavily and spending big money to rebuild Peru’s terrorist structure. Another foothold in South America for the promised Islamic world.

  But someone had leaked the mission, Escobedo’s group was waiting for them and now most of his men were dead. After burning the bodies of Mark’s men they’d cleaned up every trace of what had taken place and moved, all of them including the Wolf, what Mark reckoned was about ten miles away.

  He grunted, trying to shift to a more comfortable position. The tent gave him little protection him from the ruthless sun and having his ankle chained to a stake barely two feet away severely restricted his movements. For maybe the thousandth time he wondered what had gone wrong and landed him in this abominable mess.

  God, what a mess it had been. One minute they were finding their positions to take their shots, carefully hidden, the target painted. The next they were the targets instead. The noise of the AK47s still echoed in his ears, along with the stench of the blood of his dying men. They’d even gotten the comm guy they’d left at the insertion and extraction point with their gear.

  He’d forced himself to look when they dragged the bodies into the center of the camp, piled them together and set them on fire. They stood watching with arrogant, evil grins on their faces, then opened bottles of whiskey to celebrate. Mark was sure it was a sight he’d never forget.