leaving this godforsaken cave.”
“I want you to stay calm,” he said.
Mattie got a prickly sensation on the back of her neck. “I’ll be a lot calmer if you’d tell me why you’re telling me to be calm.”
Yellow light flared when Cutter struck a match. His eyes were already on hers. She gazed back at him, wondering why he was wasting time, not to mention matches. Then movement on the ceiling snagged her attention. At first she thought the soil and rock were somehow shifting. Then she realized what she was looking at were thousands of tiny bodies squeezed together to form a single, undulating layer.
Bats.
“Oh my God.”
“Don’t make a sound,” Cutter said.
The logical part of her brain knew bats were harmless for the most part. But their smallrodent bodies gave her the creeps nonetheless. “Please tell me they’re not blocking our exit.”
“We’re going to have to walk beneath them.”
Mattie closed her eyes tightly, her imagination conjuring images of sharp bat teeth sinking to skin in search of blood. “Are they vampire bats?”
“They eat insects. And they’re hibernating. We should try not to disturb them.”
“Cutter, I think that’s one thing you’re not going to have to worry about.”
Amusement glinted in his eyes before the match went out. “I want you to stay with me.”
She started when he took her hand. “How far is the opening?”
“Twenty feet. We go past the bats. Then we climb.” He squeezed her hand. “Let’s go.”
The ammonia smell of guano filled her nostrils as they neared the bats. Mattie could hear the intermittent squeaks of the animals. The swish of tiny wings. The occasional spatter of droppings hitting the cave floor. Gooseflesh rose all over her body as they sidled past.
Then she felt a gust of cold, fresh air on her face. Ahead she caught a glimpse of daylight. Relief rippled through her. She let go of Cutter’s hand and quickened her step. The cavenarrowed, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was getting out of there.
“Nice and slow,” Cutter said.
But Mattie was already on her hands and knees, crawling toward the light. Sharp rocks cut uncomfortably into her knees, but she barely felt the pain. “I’m almost there,” she said, excitedly.
“I’m right behind you.”
She was so relieved to be out of the cave, she barely noticed when her hands plunged into snow or when cold wind slapped her face. Then the bitter cold began to permeate her clothing as she got to her feet, shivering, blinking at the bright white light.
Cutter scrambled to his feet beside her. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” he muttered.
The lightly falling snow had burgeoned into a blizzard.
“WHAT DO WE DO NOW?”
The same question reverberated in Cutter’s head as he assessed the conditions. Wind-driven snow slashed down from a white-on-white sky. Visibility was less than twenty feet. The wind had picked up markedly and blew with the wicked howl of a gale.
Under different circumstances the answerwould have been clear. Stay in the cave until conditions improved. But with The Jaguar and his men in hot pursuit—possibly even inside the cave and tracking them at this very moment—Cutter knew they had no choice but to risk traveling in the storm. What it boiled down to, he realized, was how he preferred to die. Of hypothermia? Or at the hands of a man whose penchant for cruelty Cutter had already experienced once.
“We keep moving,” Cutter said.
She blinked rapidly as snow swirled around her face. “How do you propose we do that when we can’t see? When we have no earthly idea where we are?”
“I’ve got a compass.”
“A compass? It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a compass to get us through this storm.”
He jammed a thumb in the direction of the cave. “Or maybe you want to hang out in the cave a little while longer.”
“Look, I’m no fan of vampires, but—”
“I’m not talking about the damn bats. I’m
“I want you to stay calm,” he said.
Mattie got a prickly sensation on the back of her neck. “I’ll be a lot calmer if you’d tell me why you’re telling me to be calm.”
Yellow light flared when Cutter struck a match. His eyes were already on hers. She gazed back at him, wondering why he was wasting time, not to mention matches. Then movement on the ceiling snagged her attention. At first she thought the soil and rock were somehow shifting. Then she realized what she was looking at were thousands of tiny bodies squeezed together to form a single, undulating layer.
Bats.
“Oh my God.”
“Don’t make a sound,” Cutter said.
The logical part of her brain knew bats were harmless for the most part. But their smallrodent bodies gave her the creeps nonetheless. “Please tell me they’re not blocking our exit.”
“We’re going to have to walk beneath them.”
Mattie closed her eyes tightly, her imagination conjuring images of sharp bat teeth sinking to skin in search of blood. “Are they vampire bats?”
“They eat insects. And they’re hibernating. We should try not to disturb them.”
“Cutter, I think that’s one thing you’re not going to have to worry about.”
Amusement glinted in his eyes before the match went out. “I want you to stay with me.”
She started when he took her hand. “How far is the opening?”
“Twenty feet. We go past the bats. Then we climb.” He squeezed her hand. “Let’s go.”
The ammonia smell of guano filled her nostrils as they neared the bats. Mattie could hear the intermittent squeaks of the animals. The swish of tiny wings. The occasional spatter of droppings hitting the cave floor. Gooseflesh rose all over her body as they sidled past.
Then she felt a gust of cold, fresh air on her face. Ahead she caught a glimpse of daylight. Relief rippled through her. She let go of Cutter’s hand and quickened her step. The cavenarrowed, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was getting out of there.
“Nice and slow,” Cutter said.
But Mattie was already on her hands and knees, crawling toward the light. Sharp rocks cut uncomfortably into her knees, but she barely felt the pain. “I’m almost there,” she said, excitedly.
“I’m right behind you.”
She was so relieved to be out of the cave, she barely noticed when her hands plunged into snow or when cold wind slapped her face. Then the bitter cold began to permeate her clothing as she got to her feet, shivering, blinking at the bright white light.
Cutter scrambled to his feet beside her. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” he muttered.
The lightly falling snow had burgeoned into a blizzard.
“WHAT DO WE DO NOW?”
The same question reverberated in Cutter’s head as he assessed the conditions. Wind-driven snow slashed down from a white-on-white sky. Visibility was less than twenty feet. The wind had picked up markedly and blew with the wicked howl of a gale.
Under different circumstances the answerwould have been clear. Stay in the cave until conditions improved. But with The Jaguar and his men in hot pursuit—possibly even inside the cave and tracking them at this very moment—Cutter knew they had no choice but to risk traveling in the storm. What it boiled down to, he realized, was how he preferred to die. Of hypothermia? Or at the hands of a man whose penchant for cruelty Cutter had already experienced once.
“We keep moving,” Cutter said.
She blinked rapidly as snow swirled around her face. “How do you propose we do that when we can’t see? When we have no earthly idea where we are?”
“I’ve got a compass.”
“A compass? It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a compass to get us through this storm.”
He jammed a thumb in the direction of the cave. “Or maybe you want to hang out in the cave a little while longer.”
“Look, I’m no fan of vampires, but—”
“I’m not talking about the damn bats. I’m
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