Silver Linings

on the theory that she would not go far. Perhaps he had assumed she would head for the sea in some primitive instinct to avoid the jungle.
    She risked the flashlight again in short bursts of light. She quickly learned it was easier not to subject her eyes to the changes in shadows. Mattie continued her journey with the aid of the moon and wet feet. As long as her shoes stayed wet, she knew she was on the right path.
    A familiar roaring sound told her she was approaching the waterfalls. Mattie picked up her pace, hoping she would not fall and twist her ankle. She still had all those caves to get through.
    God, the caves .
    And then what? she wondered bleakly. Assuming she survived the caves, she could not stay in Cormier's sanctuary forever. She would die of thirst and starvation. But she would worry about escape later. Right now the important thing was to get away from the blue-eyed vampire in the beautiful white mansion.
    She would rather die of thirst and starvation in the cavern than lure Hugh to his death, and she knew that was what Rainbird intended.
    Mattie burst through the last green barrier and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of the magnificent twin waterfalls bathed in silver moonlight. It was an eerie sight that touched some deep cord within her. There were things on this earth that were more powerful and would last eons longer than Jack Rainbird. And they could protect her from him now.
    Mattie went forward and stepped up on the first of the wet, slippery rocks that outlined the foaming pool. She dared not fall tonight. Hugh was not here to catch her.
    But this time she was not trying to juggle her purse and a French string bag full of pâté and bottles of sparkling water. This time it was a little easier. This time she was a little more determined.
    Mattie did not slip. She leaped off the last rock, straight through a shower of water, and found herself in the black mouth of the cave. She flicked on the flashlight and scanned the walls for the marks Cormier had left behind.
    Now came the hard part, she told herself ruefully. Now she had to walk through these twisting, turning tunnels of darkness all by herself.
    It was worse than any crowded elevator but not quite as bad as having Jack Rainbird try to seduce her in a white and silver room. All things were relative, it seemed.
    Twice she found herself turning down wrong corridors, but both times she was able to retrace her steps and find the small white marks on the walls. At several points along the way she wanted to close her eyes, but she did not dare. She might miss one of the white marks.
    Her stomach was in knots. Her heart was pounding, and the flashlight threatened to fall from her damp palms. But she could not go back. The only direction was forward. Walking through the corridors was a lot like going through life without an obvious talent, Mattie told herself. You just kept moving forward until you found the right path.
    She was getting close to the point of screaming, convinced she had made a wrong turn and was heading toward oblivion, when she caught a whiff of fresh sea air.
    “Oh, my God.” Mattie broke into a stumbling run.
    The air became fresher and laden with the tang of salt. It was going to be all right, at least for a while. Rainbird and his men would never find her here.
    Of course, neither would anyone else, she reminded herself grimly.
    Obviously she would have to risk a trip back out sooner or later. But perhaps after a day or so Rainbird would not be looking so hard for her. Perhaps he would assume she had either escaped or drowned in the sea or died somewhere in the jungles.
    She would worry about getting off Purgatory when she had recovered from this first, mad dash to freedom.
    She was running full tilt when she reached the entrance to the massive cavern where she and Hugh had hoped to find Cormier's boat. The flashlight pierced the gloom in front of her, revealing the natural boat basin.
    The first thing Mattie noticed was that this time there was a boat tied up at the dock. A swift, sleek, very powerful-looking cruiser.
    Before she could comprehend the meaning of the boat in the cavern, a man's arm came out of the darkness and tightened like a steel noose about her throat.
    Mattie tried to scream, but the sound was promptly choked off. She dropped the flashlight to struggle futilely with her assailant and felt the point of a knife graze her skin in warning.
    “Well, shit,” said Hugh, lowering the knife. “It's