Tempted into Danger by Melissa Cutler

Author:Melissa Cutler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-11-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Diego roused almost instantly after hitting the ground, but he was disoriented. His skin was cool and ashen, his eyes half-lidded. At his side, Vanessa was torn between wanting to scream or cry, but couldn’t manage either.

Stroking his hair, she repeated his name over and over, but his eyes wouldn’t connect with hers. He briefly muttered something that sounded like Spanish, but his words were too slurred for her to catch.

His bitten arm didn’t look any worse than a few minutes earlier, but his breathing was coming in shallow gasps and she thought his tongue looked swollen.

What she needed was to try to connect with Diego’s crew. They’d know what to do.

The disposable cell phone and satellite phone were easy to find in the small front pouch of the pack. The cell didn’t have any service, but it had phone numbers. He’d said to only use the satellite phone as a last resort. She glanced at his prone, semiconscious body.

A situation couldn’t get more urgent than this.

None of the phone numbers he’d called the night before were labeled with names, not that their names would mean anything to her. She knew of Alicia and Ryan, but that was all.

Deciding it didn’t matter which of his crew answered the phone, she dialed the first number she found. She was trembling so bad, she pressed the speaker to her ear with both hands. On the third ring, an automated voice mail kicked in. “This is Vanessa Crosby. Diego’s hurt. We’re somewhere near the Rio Nobu and I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know the number of this phone, so I hope you do. Please call me, and hurry.”

Diego’s breathing had turned into labored wheezing. Muttering a prayer, she scrolled through the cell phone for the next number. Again, it went to voice mail. By the third voice mail, all she bothered to say was, “Help. Diego’s hurt.”

She pressed the scroll button on the cell phone, but no more phone numbers appeared. Stunned, she stared blankly at the display screen. She had to do something, but what?

Out of options, she dialed Panama’s emergency hotline.

A male dispatcher answered. Relief dropped her to her knees next to Diego.

“Yes, hello. I need help. My...my friend and I are hiking and he was bitten by a pit viper. I gave him four vials of antivenom and he was fine. But then he collapsed and he’s having trouble breathing. I need to know what to do. Help me.”

“Tell me your name and the name of your friend.”

“Jordan. And my friend is Carlos.” She’d blurted the first names that came to mind, thinking that was what Diego would do given the line wasn’t secure.

“Is Carlos conscious?”

“He goes in and out.”

“What’s your location?” the dispatcher asked.

She pressed her fingers to Diego’s neck, searching for a pulse. She found it and felt a little better. “Nobu territory.”

“Do you have GPS coordinates?”

Her heart plummeted. “No. All I know is that we’re near the Rio Nobu. But there’s nowhere to land a helicopter and there aren’t any roads.

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