All around them animals and insects scurried out of their way. After several minutes, Sophia was out of breath, but Gibb was an iron man, taking the lead and battling back the vegetation so she could follow him unimpeded. Who knew the city man was in better physical condition than a woman who’d grown up walking mountains? He was something else. Even in haste, she couldn’t help appreciating his body. The man had a lot to be proud of. She was beginning to despair that they wouldn’t make it to the beach in time. The sound of the airplane engine was long gone, but there was still hope. Since the plane had been flying at an altitude low enough for them to hear it, there was a possibility that the pilot spotted El Diablo on the beach. Wishful thinking, yes, but then again, maybe it was a rescue plane. A man like Gibb Martin did not go missing without people noticing, but it had still been dark when she’d first heard the engine.
