Free Tempted by His Target by Jill Sorenson Page B

results. Sitting down on the bus, he would blend in with the crowd. “Ready?”
    She slung her messenger bag across her shoulder and followed him out the door. Unlike Oaxaca City, where the daily grind started early, Tehuantepec was a quiet village of textile weavers and tradesmen. They walked toward the bus station in silence.
    It was hard to believe they’d been involved in a high-speed chase yesterday morning. She hoped the next leg of the trip was less eventful.
    Walking down the deserted road, Isabel felt uneasy. The conversation they’d had last night shouldn’t have happened. He knew too much about her already. Perhaps because of the close calls they’d faced, she’d bonded with him emotionally. She wanted to tell him her secrets, ask him to hold her…let him help her.
    But she couldn’t relax her guard. He was risking his life by traveling with her. He’d accepted that, and she’d been honest about the danger. As long as she kept him in the dark with regards to her true identity, he’d be able to walk away unscathed. La Familia couldn’t drill him for information he didn’t have.
    Every time she revealed a detail about her past, she made it easier for Brandon to find out who she was. With a little effort and a basic internet connection, he could discover her name, notify the authorities and cause a lot of trouble for them both.
    Isabel regretted many of the decisions she’d made leading up to this point, and she agonized over her next step. For the past two years, she’d been trapped in Mexico, putting her life on hold. She couldn’t move forward or turn back. Now she had the opportunity to break free. What would she do with it?
    If she turned herself in, she’d probably go straight to jail, trading one miserable existence for another.
    And if she didn’t, she was destined to keep running forever.
    The bus station was busier than she’d anticipated, and the terminal was filled with early-morning passengers. She bought third-class tickets, the only kind available in many rural areas, to Tapachula. From there it would be a short trip to Guatemala.
    While they waited for their bus to board, she paid for a cup of yogurt at the snack shop. Brandon bought a ham and cheese torta from a female vendor on the sidewalk, washing it down with fresh-squeezed orange juice.
    “How long will it take to get to there?” he asked.
    “All day.”
    “Can we cross the border tonight?”
    She shrugged. “It depends on the bus schedule. We’ll probably have to wait until morning.”
    He didn’t ask what they would do after they crossed the border, assuming they made it that far. The La Familia drug cartel was determined and resourceful. They had no qualms about bribing the authorities or harming innocent people. Isabel hoped Carranza’s men were on a wild-goose chase to Mexico City, but she couldn’t bank on it.
    “We’ll be entering an area called the Isthmus,” she said. “There are rebel soldiers here, and all throughout Chiapas, so the government has its own men patrolling the area. We can expect military checkpoints and routine searches.”
    He emptied his container of juice. “Great.”
    “Foreign travelers have been sympathetic to the rebels, so they’re often targeted for questioning.”
    “And for handouts?”
    “Yes,” she said, inclining her head. “Like the local police, military men will accept money when it’s offered.”
    “That’s a polite way to describe highway robbery.”
    She stiffened, getting defensive. These weren’t her people, but after several years in Mexico she felt compassion for them. “Most government employees can’t afford to feed their families on the wages they’re paid. Do you know that mailmen work for tips? Hunger, not greed, is the real motivation.”
    He smiled easily, his teeth a brilliant flash of white. “Sounds like you’re a rebel sympathizer.”
    The teasing accusation caught her off guard. She’d been too busy looking out for herself to worry about