She huddled against the wall of the cell and tried to stop trembling. She felt hurt and bruised and violated. And dirty. Sweet Jesus, how dirty. She forced back the tears.

I am not my body.

I am not my body.

"Meet me at the airport in twenty minutes," Galen said curtly when Forbes picked up the phone.

"You'll do it?" Forbes said.

"Private hangar. We're taking Logan's private jet and pilot. I told him that he could damn well contribute more than lip service. We'll land the jet at an airport outside Medell¡n and there will be a jeep waiting for us to drive to Tomaco. You don't report in to your superiors. You don't talk to anyone unless I okay it. I run the show. The minute you call in the feds is the minute I step out of the picture. Understand?"

"We'll talk about it later."

Galen tried to hold on to his temper. "Listen to me, Forbes. I'm pissed. I have an idea I may get nailed because I'm idiot enough to go along with you. Therefore, it's not the tune to fancy-dance with words around me. I know you like to run the show yourself and you may do a good job. But not this one. This one's mine or I don't get on that plane."

Forbes was silent a moment. "I made her a promise, Galen."

"My way."

"Okay." Forbes sighed. "Your show." He hung up.

Galen put his phone in his pocket and headed for the door. It was no small victory. Forbes was stubborn and had the confidence of his years in the field. Galen had a hunch that he also had a streak of old-fashioned gallantry and that could be why Chavez had chosen a woman to bait the trap.

If it was a trap. The scales were weighted against Elena Kyler's story being legitimate, but stranger things had happened in Galen's life than the scenario Forbes had described.

Galen would have to treat it like a trap: It was the only way to keep Forbes alive.

And his own skin intact.

"Repeat that very slowly, Gomez." Rico Chavez's hand tightened on the phone. "She escaped?"

"Last night. She killed two guards at the prison and escaped in one of their uniforms."

"You fool. You relied on prison guards instead of our own men?"

"Juarez, the warden, didn't like the idea of our men having the run of the prison. He said it wouldn't look good."

"He's paid well enough so that we shouldn't have to worry about what he likes and doesn't like. Why did you stow her at the prison instead of taking her to the compound?"

"We were close to Belim, and I thought a few days in that cell first might soften her up."

"Find her."

"We're already tracking her. A woman of her description was seen heading for the hills south of Belim. She won't get away. After all, she's only a woman."

"I wonder if that's what those two guards thought before she killed them," Chavez said silkily.

Gomez realized he'd blundered. "I won't take anything for granted. I'll report as soon as we've located her."

Idiot.

Chavez's knuckles were white as he hung up the phone. He forced himself to release the receiver. He had warned Gomez to he careful, but the man had no conception what Elena Kyler could do. He was the only match for Elena. If he hadn't decided it was essential to come to this meeting with the Delgados, this disaster would never have happened.

No matter. Two more days and the negotiations should be completed and he would be free to leave. He went to the mirror and straightened the lapels of his tuxedo. He found the Delgados' fondness for formal dress almost as tiresome as their lack of ambition. It would be another night of drinking and gambling and he would be expected to fuck the blonde they'd provided to entertain him. It was always a blonde, usually tall and curvy-and soft.

It was that softness he found most distasteful. A man was a hunter, a conqueror, and he couldn't enjoy his power if the woman was only a weak vessel. A woman should be strong and clever and have enough power of her own to provide amusement.

Like Elena Kyler.

He could hardly wait to leave here and get on the hunt.

"You've been on that phone since we've been airborne," Forbes said. "Am I allowed to ask whom you've been calling?"

"Jose Manero, for one."

"Manero?"

"He's one of the premier information gurus in the world. He's supplied me with info for any number of jobs in S.A. and the U.S. He has the best contacts in the business and has moles in practically every drug operation in Colombia."

Forbes frowned. "I've never heard of him."

"He likes it that way. You're DEA. And I'm trusting you to keep his name to yourself. I've also been getting a team together." Galen crossed out the last name on his list. "It will take twenty-four hours for all the members of the team to arrive in Colombia. That may still be okay. I called a contact in Mexico City and Chavez is still there. My man will let me know when he gets on the move." He looked down at his scrawled notes. "Belim Prison shouldn't be difficult. It's scarcely larger than a city jail, and the guards are as crooked as their warden. I'd rather put a bribe in place than have to use explosives. But explosives are quick and a bribe sometimes requires time and finesse. We'll have to see if-"

"I don't think you're going to have to worry about Belim."

Galen looked at him. "I thought that's what this was about."

"I've just called my own contact in Belim."

Galen's lips tightened. "I told you not to phone anyone unless you talked to me."

"It wasn't official and you were busy." Forbes hurried on. "There was a big stir at the prison two nights ago. Two guards killed. Elena Kyler escaped."

"I see."

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming," Forbes said. "This will make it much easier for us. It's just a simple pickup now. We go to Tomaco and wait for her to come to us."

"Come to you, you mean. I'm out of it. I warned you, Forbes."

He stiffened. "I didn't do anything that would warrant- okay, I didn't follow your instructions. I won't do it again. No exceptions. Okay?"

Galen didn't answer.

"Please."

Galen gazed at him for a minute and then shrugged. "You may not need me now anyway."

Forbes suddenly grinned. "You're disappointed. You dug out all that information and made all those plans and now you're not going to get to use them. Too bad, Galen."

"I'll adjust." He threw his pen down. "And it may not be as simple as you might think. She may be captured before she gets to Tomaco. It's over seventy miles from Belim. Or maybe this is just another twist in Chavez's plans to zero in on you. Or it could be she'll be so scared that she'll take off and you'll never hear from her again."

"She won't run away." He shifted his gaze to the darkness outside the plane window. "You didn't talk to her. I've never heard anyone more determined. She's on her way, Galen. I can feel it."

The mud was in her mouth.

Elena spit it out and kept crawling. The rain last night had been bad and good. The wet earth left tracks, but it spoiled the scent for the dogs. If she wasn't stupid, she'd be able to avoid the trackers.

She wouldn't be stupid. She'd avoided them for two days and she'd keep on eluding them. She'd take her time and listen and move as her father had taught her. Keep to the ground. They couldn't see you if you were on the ground. The river was only a few miles over this hill, and that would drown her scent even more.