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better.”
    She felt a melting deep inside her. Don’t cry. He mustn’t think anything is wrong. It has to be an adventure. She cleared her throat. “What song is Dominic teaching you to play?”
    “ ‘Yankee Doodle.’ Shall I play it for you now?”
    “It’s the middle of the night.”
    “I’m not sleepy.” His dark eyes were shining with excitement. “You’re not sleepy either. I can tell.”
    “Well, we’d both better try to rest. Otherwise we’ll be too tired to enjoy the adventure.”
    “Will you come and lie beside me?”
    “For a little while.” She moved across the room, knelt by the bed, and laid her head on the pillow. “If you promise to go to sleep.”
    “I will.” He reached out and touched her hair. “You smell better now.”
    She chuckled. “I suppose I should be glad you were willing to take the risk.”
    “I don’t care.” He closed his eyes. “As long as you’re here. I missed you, Mama.”
    “I missed you too.”
    “And I’m glad we’re going on an adventure together. Though you have adventures all the time, don’t you? Dominic says when you go away from us, you have adventures—”
    “Not like this one. This one is special. Shh, don’t talk.”
    He sighed. “Okay.”
    His breathing deepened to sleep fifteen minutes later, but she didn’t move. Being here next to him was too sweet. God, she was lucky.
    “Tomaco,” Gomez said. “I’m sending four men there now.”
    “She’s been sighted?” Chavez asked.
    “No, but I’ve run across a few people who said they’ve heard of a man, a teacher, who lives there.” He paused. “Dominic Sanders. You remember him?”
    “I remember him well.”
    “It seems he’s become something of a missionary. He’s teaching and caring for the needs of the people in the hills a short distance from Tomaco.”
    “And the child?”
    Gomez shook his head. “No word.”
    But where Dominic Sanders was, he’d find the boy. Elena had looked on Dominic as almost a second father.
    “Should I let you know when I hear something?”
    He could feel the blood dancing in his veins. Every instinct was telling him that he was coming close. A man should obey his instincts. “No.” He headed for the Land Rover parked by the side of the road. “I’m going to Tomaco myself.”
    Galen could hear the faint sound of the rotors in the distance.
    “They’re coming.” He shaded his eyes against the brilliance of the rising sun. “Go watch the road, Forbes. Everyone for miles around will hear those rotors. You’d better go get the kid, Dominic.”
    “I have him.” Elena, holding the child’s hand, came up behind them, her gaze on the horizon. “You’re sure it’s them?”
    “It’s Carmichael.” Galen turned to Dominic. “Get your gear. If they manage to land in this wind, we need to be off the ground and out in a few minutes.”
    “I’m not going.”
    “What?” Galen said.
    Elena turned to Dominic. “You
have
to go. I told you it wasn’t safe for you to stay here.”
    “And I told you that I’ve found a purpose here that I haven’t anywhere else.” He touched the little boy’s head. “He won’t need me anymore. There are people here who do.”
    “That’s not the reason you’re staying. You’re going to try to cover our tracks. You’re blaming yourself.”
    “Who else is there to blame?”
    “There’s no reason for you to feel guilty, dammit. It wasn’t your fault.”
    He shook his head.
    “I won’t leave you here.”
    “Yes, you will.” Dominic smiled. “Barry has to leave here and you have to go with Barry. Who else will protect him?”
    “It’s only a matter of time until Chavez finds this place. Someone will tell him that you were taking care of Barry. You know what that means.”
    “It means I go find another house, not another country.”
    She whirled on the little boy. “Barry, will you go and get me the little plastic case I left in the bathroom?”
    Barry’s expression was troubled. “Dominic is