The Man in the Photograph by Linda Style

Author:Linda Style
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2002-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

AFTER WAITING FIFTEEN minutes and the engine still wouldn’t turn over, Adam had agreed they should set out on foot carrying their gear.

They couldn’t just sit in the car on some godforsaken road waiting for help to come, because who knew when that might happen? Act Rather Than React was Jillian’s motto, and fortunately, she and Adam had been of the same mind when it came to assessing the situation.

The girl had to have come from somewhere close by, Jillian reasoned, and if they kept to the road, they shouldn’t have any problems. Except that it was drizzling and her gear was getting heavy and now the mud was sucking at their boots. With every step, the road got worse and their progress slower.

They hadn’t covered a whole lot of ground when Jillian noticed that the usually raucous forest was eerily silent. She saw something large dart through the trees just off the road and a little in front of them. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

“Adam. Wait a minute, will you?” she called out as she switched her suitcase to the other hand, then hurried to catch up. Although Adam was loaded down with the rest of their supplies, he looked as if he was on an afternoon hike. He stopped until she reached him. “We have to keep moving. It’s already eleven and if we’re going to reach Cabacera, get the car fixed and make it back to Mirador before dark, we’ve got to hustle. Otherwise, we might be spending the night out here—and I don’t think you’d like that very much.”

“And you would?”

He chuckled. “No. But I guarantee you’d be more uncomfortable than I would.”

“Oh, really?” She stopped abruptly.

“Yeah, really. So what’s up?” He gave her a nudge to keep moving while they talked.

She hitched up her gear and slogged on, walking faster to stay in step with him. She usually had no trouble keeping up with anyone, but with Adam, she felt like a little kid struggling to keep up with a big brother. She dropped back a step. “Nothing really, except…well, listen.”

“I don’t hear anything.”

“That’s my point. It’s dead quiet.”

He kept on walking.

“What do you think it means? Isn’t that a sign of something?” she said to his back.

“I think it means you’ve seen too many Rama of the Jungle movies.”

“That’s not true. It’s just that I…well, I have this eerie feeling.”

He stopped abruptly, causing her to nearly bump into him. He turned fully around, crossed his arms over his chest and gave her an impatient, skeptical look, the kind where one eyebrow shot up and she knew he was thinking she was nuts. The rain stopped as quickly as it had started. A ray of sunshine poked through the trees above.

“You have an eerie feeling.”

She moved closer to whisper, “I have keen senses. I know things sometimes, call it intuition or whatever, but most of the time it’s correct. And right now I have this feeling…like we’re being watched.”

A slow grin erupted.

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