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.The last sensation Justina had was her chin striking the concrete.* * *Once Gage and the man called Sven had quickly outlined their plan—a very good plan, in Gage’s eyes—Amancio arrived back at the cabin with the first aid box, handing it to Gage.“Are you sure you’re willing to do this?” Gage asked Sven.“What can they do to me?”“Put you in jail,” Gage replied with a firm nod.“Or kill you.”“Well, Mister Hartline, I’ve already lived a full life.And with Señora Moreno’s help and influence on my side, I’m willing to take my chances.”“Any other time I might try to talk you out of it, sir, but there’s simply no time.” Gage rushed Angelines to the only bathroom in the cabin.Carrying the large first-aid box, he led her inside and closed the door.“No time for modesty.Take off all your clothes, and I mean everything.”She eyed him for a moment before she complied, removing her blouse and bra as he released the pressure dressing.Gage heard her let out a small cry but that was all.“You okay?” he asked, keeping his eyes diverted as he turned on the shower.“Just don’t look at my ass.”“What?”“I hate it.”He shook his head, having no clue what she was talking about.“I feel lightheaded,” she said, grasping the counter.“And you probably will for a while.Trust me, I’ve had a similar injury before and I know it’s no picnic.” He pointed to the shower.“Put all your clothes beside the toilet in that corner and get in the shower.We’re going to have to soap each other’s backs because we have to get every trace of our current scent off of our bodies.” Glanced at her watch.“We need to leave here in about three minutes.Get in now.”Keeping his eyes on her leg wound as she removed all of her clothes, he viewed both the entry and exit wound, thankful the wound was as clean as it was.The exit portion was slightly larger and marked by a few strings of shredded skin and muscle fiber.The deep red of early clotting surrounded both wounds.The shower would wash much of the clotting away, but Gage would fix that afterward.Angelines stepped into the water.She made a sharp hissing sound as the water coursed over her leg wound.“That’ll pass,” Gage said, quickly stripping down and climbing in with her.He grabbed Justina’s shampoo and dumped half the bottle over Angelines’ head, then his own.“Rub that in good, then take that soap and get it everywhere on your body, even on your wound.”Gage turned the other way, hurriedly soaping his hair, his face, his ears, his chest, his stomach, legs, feet—every piece of his body he could reach.“You okay?” he asked, working soap under his arms.“It still burns, but, yeah,” came her reply.He then felt her hands on his back, soaping his shoulder blades and the center of his back, moving downward.Eyes burning, he told her to turn around, following her lead as he soaped her backside.After sticking his face and head under the stream of water, Gage took one step out of the shower and grabbed the mouthwash from the counter, taking a massive mouthful from it and swishing.He suffered a brief coughing fit before handing the bottle to Angelines.“Swish that around and go so far as to actually drink a little bit,” he said, eyes watering.As she did, he rinsed himself, climbing over the tub wall and quickly drying himself.Angelines exited next.“Whatever you do, do not touch our old clothes.Stay clear of them.”Angelines’ leg was marked by diluted blood streaming down her leg after the clots had given way.Gage opened the door and tugged in the stack of clean clothes, segregating them into two piles.Once she’d dried herself, he ripped open a bag of clotting powder, just like he’d used in prison, and pushed globs of the powder into her entry and exit wounds.Again she hissed as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back to the ceiling.Gage then wrapped her leg with an elastic bandage and told her to get dressed as fast as she could.The woman’s clothes were Justina’s, taken from the bedroom.The shirt was from Eastern Bloc, a t-shirt, along with a pair of athletic shorts.Señora Moreno’s men had also provided her with a pair of women’s running shoes, although Gage was pretty sure they weren’t Justina’s based on the size.As Gage handed the shoes over, Angelines, sitting on the closed toilet, grabbed Gage’s arms, pulling him to her as she locked her mouth on his.Instinctively, Gage let it happen for just a moment—one or two seconds—as her tongue probed his mouth.He pulled back, stunned, knowing nothing else to do but look at her watch and inform her they had only thirty seconds.He donned his own clothes that, thankfully, Justina had laundered and kept for him: old blue jeans, his favorite black utility shirt, and his running shoes.With both of them dressed, he yanked the door open, finding Sven and Amancio standing to the side.“Are you sure about this?” Gage asked.Sven dangled a set of keys attached to a miniature orange lifebuoy.“She’s already full of fuel.There’s a compass onboard.Just follow the reservoir due east.With the spring rains the dam has been on full release, and the river is swollen so you shouldn’t have any impassable areas clear to the Llobregat.” He handed Gage a cell phone.“Señora Moreno’s number is first on the speed dial.I’ve been calling,” he said with a worried shake of his head.“No answer?”“No.”“We’ll keep trying.”“You won’t have coverage on the river.And there’s one other thing.”“We’ve really got to go,” Gage protested.Sven told Gage about the bearer bonds.“They’re in a cardboard box, already on the boat.”Gage was speechless.“Señora Moreno insisted that, if you showed up, you take those bonds.”“Why?”“She said they would be yours to use if need be.I honestly don’t know more than that.”“Thank you for everything.” Gage grabbed Angelines by the hand and burst from the rear door of the cabin.She was moving better with the tight leg wrap—the jog to the waiting boat took less than a minute.Gage helped her onboard before climbing behind the controls of the combo fishing and recreational boat.As he turned the key and powered up the Yamaha 115, he estimated the boat as a 17-footer with a low draft due to the tri-hull design.After carving a tight turn on the turquoise water, he headed due east under the cover of the shore trees [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]