‘I can’t believe it’s you,’ I whisper, turning off my microphone. ‘I just can’t believe it.’ I’m so overwhelmed to see him, or possibly a bit high as only lame repetitions are forthcoming. ‘I just can’t believe it. I. Just. Can’t. Believe. IT.’
He looks sideways at me and, in the dim light, I see his eyes crinkle.
‘How are you?’ he whispers back. ‘As soon as I saw you hadn’t left the villa, I suspected Porscha had done something. She’s refusing to speak to me. I came to find out if you’re okay. And you’re not… not in some sort of hostage situation.’
I nod quickly. ‘You’ve come to rescue me?’
Cam puts a finger to his lips. One of the crew has turned round. ‘Okay back there, boss?’
‘Sure thing, buddy. We should be at the shaft entrance any minute now,’ Cam says in response. This has the bonus of causing much relief and excitement.
Cam leans over to whisper in my ear. ‘Do you still want to leave the villa?’
‘Yes. Definitely.’
‘When we get to the top, pretend you feel sick.’
‘Okay. Why?’
‘Trust me. I have a plan.’
I let out a huge sigh of relief. ‘You do? I can’t believe you’d come all this way down here for me.’
‘I’d do anything for you,’ he says quietly as we reach the entrance to the shaft. His eyes are twinkling in the torchlight.
My heart soars. That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. ‘I can’t let you risk your job for me. What if you get caught?’ I whisper back.
‘You’re worth the risk.’
He is looking so intensely at me it’s all I can do not to tell him that I love him. That I’ve fallen head over heels madly in love with him. He’s so kind. So thoughtful. So funny. So heroic. So great to be with. I can’t imagine being with anyone as perfect for me as he is. He gently strokes my cheek, and he looks about to say something when suddenly, a gust of stale air whistles through the tunnel, causing an ethereal shrieking sound.
‘GHOSTS! I CAN SEE THE GHOSTS!’ Mimi screams.
She’s right. I can make out figures swirling around us. Huge twirls of something catching the light and disappearing.
‘OH MY GOD!’ Carlton is yelling. ‘GHOSTS!’
I almost leap into Cam’s arms. He clutches me to him as I hide my head in his solid chest.
‘C’est de la poussière. Du calme! Du calme!’ Henri is yelling.
‘It’s dust!’ translates Cam, much to everyone’s relief. ‘It’s just dust.’
Dust clouds swish around us forming shapes in the darkness. It is very, very scary. When we all take a moment to process, I lift my head from Cam’s chest. I am still enclosed in his tight grip and my heart is thumping wildly. I inhale his scent. The lemon and woody aroma is a welcome distraction as I rest my face against him. I close my eyes to hear the beat of his heart. I feel the heat of his body.
‘Two questions,’ I whisper. ‘One. Are you wearing body armour? And two. How many languages can you speak?’
His cleverness and unexpected talents are an enormous aphrodisiac, and I am inappropriately aroused considering our unique and terrifying circumstances thirty feet below the Mexican jungle in an abandoned mineshaft.
Cam tries not to giggle and tells me with his eyes that we are still trying to maintain a professional distance for the sake of the rescue mission.
‘Put these on,’ instructs the guide once we are safely at the base of the shaft. ‘We will lift you up one by one. Check each other like at the beginning.’
‘But I can barely see,’ moans Mimi. ‘What am I supposed to be checking?’
The instructor rolls his eyes and points to his metal carabiner loops and yanks on one of them. ‘You no check properly, you die. Very simple.’
‘I’ll buddy On-Ree,’ says Carlton quickly. ‘Mimi, might be best if the instructor checks your harness.’
