She squints and puts her hand over her heart and freezes. Slowly, her head turns, stopping at each pile of flowers against the tree line.
I blink hard when she holds her hand out as if to tell me she knows I'm here.
All day, she stares in my direction. Her lunch and dinner, she eats outside of her tower of prison. When darkness begins to creep in, Carlos comes outside, and the vengeance in my veins stirs.
Vanessa's body shakes hard, and she recoils the moment he comes near her, holding her hands to her face.
His eyes turn to slits, and he angrily shakes his head, yelling at her, but I'm too far away to hear. He storms off and back into the house.
Her face crumples in tears, and she hugs her knees in the chair and rocks.
She's having another panic attack.
Hours pass, and everything turns black. I watch her with my night goggles. She swats flies and scratches welts from their bites until she draws blood, looking lost in her thoughts and staring in my direction.
I'm here, Flower. I'm going to rescue you, I promise.
Carlos comes back on the balcony and barks something at her and points inside the room.
She rises and focuses on the floor as she passes him, but he stops her.
The torture I feel, stopping myself from rushing the house and putting a bullet in his head, is like nothing I've ever experienced before.
He pulls her into his arms and holds her tight as she trembles in fear. For several minutes, he strokes her hair and says something to her. A blood curdling wail comes out of her, and his response is to not release her.
The sobbing is so loud, it echoes throughout the jungle until she goes quiet and is so limp, it's like she's given up the fight.
He picks her up and carries her inside, and the curtains shut.
I need to kill him now.
I rise and move toward the edge of the woods.
"Stay back." Mack takes his hand and yanks me back into the foliage.
"I can't do this anymore. He needs to die. She can't be in there with him."
"There have been developments."
"What do you mean?"
"He held a press conference today."
My pulse speeds up more. "And?"
Mack takes his phone out and pulls a video up. Carlos is claiming that they just located Vanessa, and she's been severely traumatized. He continues to report he's employed the best therapist in Belize to help her, and, according to the therapist, Vanessa is expected to make a quick recovery.
"What kind of bullshit is that?" I bark.
"Carlos is going to be taking her out soon. Be prepared."
He's going to take her to more of his events with Global Leaders.
"She can't handle that right now. She's petrified of him enough without other men she's scared of around. She'll completely break down."
"We need to stick to the plan," Mack barks.
"What plan is that? My woman is in there, and nothing is happening. Every second she's with him is another moment he breaks her. I can't keep her in danger like this anymore."
Mack crosses his arms. "I'm ready to kill those bastards. But you make the wrong move now, and she's the one who ends up dead. There are only two of us and dozens of his men inside and outside his house. You know this. Don't be emotional and make the wrong decision."
"We need to move on this."
"We will. Now that he's going to be surfacing with her, we'll establish patterns and new functions they will attend. There won't be any room for error when we attack."
"She can't stay there any longer. He's breaking her, and she might never be able to come back if we don't move now. I'm getting her tonight." I yank my Glock out of my back pants pocket.
Mack shoves me against a tree and takes my arm and holds it straight above me, so my gun is aimed in the air.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I growl.
"Keep your voice down. You're not thinking straight. You're all emotion right now. Get your shit together. You do something stupid, and she's dead. Stop and think."
"She needs out."
"Yeah. She needs to get out alive. Why don't you go to my house and get a night of rest? I'll keep guard."
"No."
"You're too close to this, Hunter."
I seethe at him. "I don't remember you being cautious in the past. You've gotten soft."
His eyes darken. "No. I learned my lesson."
"What does that mean?"
"The last time I stormed in on emotion and didn't patiently wait for the right moment, people died. The wrong people. So decide what side of the bloodshed you want her on." He steps back and releases his hold on me.
I turn toward her room and stare.
"Do I need to camp out all night with you to make sure you don't risk her safety?"
"She's not safe now," I growl.
"She's alive."
Silence.
"Guess I'm staying."
I turn to him. "No. Go. I'll wait."
He sits down against the tree. "See, I just don't believe you. It looks like you get me all night."
"Whatever," I grumble, ready for all this to be over and my Flower to be in my arms and far away from this place.
"Where are you going?" Mack asks.
"To collect red hibiscuses."
"Why?"
"To let her know I'm here."
"You're giving them a reason to be suspicious something is going on."
I spin on him. "You're making me wait to rescue her. I'm adhering to your plan. But she needs to know I'm here."
"But—"
"No. You won't win on this one, so let it go."
I search for hours, collecting red hibiscuses and vines. When I have a massive pile, I put several dozen into each bouquet and tie the vines around each end. The next few hours I spend on the edge of the jungle. I toss the vines up in trees and tug them until the bouquets are in the air then secure each end to the tree so they don't fall.
Since Mack is around, I get some sleep, which is the first night I've slept for more than an hour.
When I wake up, I grab my binoculars and get back into my position where I can watch for her.
It's after eight when she comes out. She has a cup of coffee and walks to the railing. A smile forms on her face, and new tears fall. She puts her hand over her heart again then flips it so her palm faces me.
I'm coming for you, Flower. I'm here, and I'm coming.
No matter what, I will kill Carlos and any of the men who try to protect him and get in my way. But I need to make sure that she doesn't kill herself first, and he doesn't break her to the point of no return.
25
Vanessa
Days move slowly. Trepidation about having to go to an event with Carlos grows with every minute that passes. The red hibiscuses are the only thing that helps me keep going and not end it all.
Hunter is out there. He's alive. And every day that passes and I see the flowers moved tells me that he's not forgotten me.
For countless hours, I sit on the balcony and fixate on the flowers in the trees. Every night he moves them. I'm guessing he collects more because they are always vibrant in color and in full bloom.