It had been unexpectedly satisfying leaping out with the rest of the team to push the four-by-four out of the mud and dirt. The physical exertion had somehow helped towards clearing his mind, just as he’d hoped getting out of the compound would do.
Getting away from Oti.
Spending the night next to her in bed, pretending to himself that he didn’t ache to simply turn over and haul her back into his arms, had been torturous. If he’d thought it had been challenging those last few days back in the UK, keeping his distance from her by spending most of his time at the office, then being stuck in that compound with her for the next month or so was going to be agonising.
He’d needed to find something to do that would exhaust him both mentally and physically. By the looks of things, working with the logisticians would be an ideal solution. From everything he’d been able to glean so far, there were two main areas of work in the HOP camps. The medical team who took care of all the patients and the logistics team who took care of everything else, from the erection of the tents and huts to the working of the generators, the digging of wells, going on supply runs—the list seemed never-ending.
Just the kind of work that Lukas felt he could really get his teeth into—getting back to the mechanical work he had always enjoyed, even from a kid back in that garage. Before LVW Industries had even been a dream.
And exactly the kind of thing that could help him keep his mind off his new wife.
Right?
‘We should have to be stopping soon,’ one of the other logisticians in the back, a softly spoken German lad, announced. ‘It is time we are stoking the generator in the truck.’
‘I’ll alert the other vehicles,’ Lukas confirmed, picking up the walkie-talkie again, grateful that they had given him something tangible to do rather than just being a useless addition to the team.
They’d claimed it wasn’t a big deal, and that they were so shattered that handing over to someone else would free them up to grab a few extra hours’ kip in the back seat. But it didn’t matter to Lukas so long as he was a valuable member of the team.
He didn’t give free rides in business, so he certainly didn’t intend to accept them on this posting. And already, he thought, he was beginning to understand why Oti had spent the better part of the past four years so committed to the charity.
‘José says there’s a bit of a flat area on higher ground a couple of kilometres down the road.’ Lukas replaced the handset again. ‘He thinks that would be the most logical place to stop. Less chance of any of the vehicles getting bogged down.’
‘D’accord.’ Jean-Christophe signalled his agreement. ‘Okay. I stop there. But you are ready for interrogation from José, yes?’
‘Sorry?’ Lukas turned sharply to the laughing driver.
‘You have of the luck, travelling with us. This is first mission in this camp for Alex and me, and we are not knowing Oti much well. But José is knowing her for years. He is nice guy, but he is not knowing about you, and I am thinking that he is not being happy.’
‘Something to look forward to, then.’ Lukas grinned.
‘Yes, indeed.’ Jean-Christophe laughed all the harder.
Lukas settled back, unconcerned. He wasn’t bothered about José asking him questions, or anyone else for that matter. In truth, the closeness of the team was a good thing. Oti had likened it to a close family and now he could see what she’d meant. And that should make it easier for her when their marriage—their fake marriage—finally came to an end.
She would have this job, and this family, to come back to. A place where she felt safer, surrounded by people who cared about her. So why did the prospect fill him with something that felt less like relief...and more like jealousy?
‘There. Là-bas.’ Lukas indicated suddenly, rounding a bend to see one of the vehicles ahead of them heading up a dirt path on the side of a slight hill.
There had to be a turn-off somewhere; it didn’t look as though this road headed that way. It didn’t help to peer through the fly-splattered windscreen—water being too much of a luxury to waste too often, especially not on the passenger side—he stuck his head out of the window.
‘About one hundred metres—there looks to be a turn-off.’
Really, it was more of a muddy patch, but it looked promising. Jean-Christophe clearly agreed since, as he reached the point Lukas had indicated, he turned the wheel carefully, inching the vehicle between the worst of the mud pit and the rocky outcrop on the other side.
The road—not that it could be called that—was so narrow that Lukas wondered how the truck driver had navigated it without the wheels sliding off the side. But by the time they arrived on the flatter top, the other two vehicles were already parked in a circle along with two more old charity cars he didn’t recognise. A small group was gathered around the truck, looking concerned.
Jumping out, Lukas, Jean-Christophe and Alex all hurried over to join them. And as they stepped aside he caught sight of Oti in the middle of the group.
What the hell is she even doing here? he thought as his stomach lurched—but, tellingly, it was a good lurch, not a bad one.
Without a word, they edged slightly away from the group, just as the driver was telling them the generator to the truck had packed in, and Alex the loggie was stepping forward to take a closer look.
‘I didn’t plan this,’ Oti began quietly. ‘We just knew you guys were heading back this way, and there’s a camp in this direction where we’ve been intending to run a measles vaccination drive for months. We just didn’t have the supplies.’
‘So you thought you’d save time and meet us en route.’ Lukas kept his tone steady. ‘It makes sense.’
What made less sense was quite how erratic his pulse was. He could feel it slamming around, especially at his neck.