“The stench is still on Fritz,” Rio challenged, “see if you can tell me who it was.”
“Send Franz out,” Drake said. “He looks hungry.”
“Be careful,” Rachael warned, “he attacked me. Viciously, I might add.”
Drake’s scowl deepened. “He attacked you?”
Rachael nodded. “And he bit me, so just be careful around him. He has teeth like a saber-toothed tiger.”
“It wasn’t Franz,” Rio pointed out, “it was Fritz that actually bit you.”
“Does it matter?” Drake burst out. “The animal really attacked you? You’re lucky to be alive.”
“I want Tama to take a look at her leg after he finishes with Kim,” Rio said. He peered at Rachael’s face closely. “You’re breaking out in a sweat. Are you getting too tired, because I’ll put you back in bed. She hasn’t been up at all yet and I don’t want her to overdo.”
“Let me see,” Tama said, looking up from where he was smearing paste over his brother’s bare back.
It was Rio who pulled the blanket away from Rachael’s leg, revealing the swollen mass of punctures and lacerations. The two puncture wounds drained continually and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Rachael was embarrassed.
Drake winced visibly. “My God, Rio, that must hurt like hell. Does she have an infection? We have to take her to a hospital.”
Rachael shook her head, shrinking back into the protection of Rio’s larger body. “No, I told you, Rio, I can’t go to a hospital.”
Kim and Tama examined her leg carefully. “She’s right, Rio. If you take her to a hospital, even under a false name, one of Tomas’s spies will hear of it and let him know. Some are paid, some fear him, some just want the association, but they will give her up to him. You cannot protect her in that environment.”
“I don’t want anyone to risk their life by trying to protect me,” Rachael protested. “My leg is healing fine. I’m way better than I was a few days ago, ask Rio. As soon as I can travel, I’ll be on my way. I won’t have anyone risking their life for me.”
Rio reached across her to lace his fingers through hers. “Rachael, no one is going to turn you over to Tomas, and you’re not just going to walk into the forest alone. It doesn’t work that way.”
Rachael wanted to argue with him that it was exactly that way, but she wouldn’t do it in front of the others. For all his relaxed appearance, Rachael felt the tension coiled tightly in Rio. She knew him, inside and out. He was a stranger, yet all too familiar. He was uncomfortable in such close proximity to the others, although she could tell he felt a camaraderie for them. Without conscious thought she moved closer to him, shifting her weight until she was nestled beneath his shoulder, fitting into his frame as if she were born there. It was a movement of protection and he felt it.
Rio looked down at the top of her curly head. So much hair. Thick and black like a raven’s wing. Curls rioting in all directions. His fingers slipped into the thick mass, rubbed and caressed the curls, watched as they coiled around his thumb. The gesture was completely familiar, was something he did automatically for comfort, for a connection between them. He would never get used to being around people, not even those he called friends, but Rachael was different, was a part of him. Belonged with him.
“Is your wrist broken?” Tama asked her, obviously concerned. “How did that happen? In the river?”
Rachael looked at the makeshift splint. Her leg always hurt so much, she almost never remembered her wrist. “Rio thinks it’s broken. He splinted it, and to be honest, I hardly notice it.”
Emotion welled up, nearly choking Rio. It took him a few moments to realize it was happiness. The warmth of joy spread through his body. It had been such a long while since he’d experienced the feeling he barely recognized it for what it was. Rachael didn’t want to tell the others that he had been responsible for her injury. It shouldn’t have mattered to him, but it did.
“Rio.” Drake said his name sharply. “This traitor, the one you say was here last night, he had to be looking for her.”
“I thought he’d been sent to assassinate me, that he’d joined with the bandits for the reward, but with a million dollars at stake, I doubt if they gave me a thought,” Rio said wryly. He leaned over Rachael, a smile tugging at his mouth. “I guess you’re worth a lot more than I am.”
“She’s prettier too,” Drake teased. “Well you don’t need to be looking.”
Kim and Tama sank down onto the floor beside the chair, pushing the blanket from Rachael’s leg to examine the wounds up close. Rachael could see the terrible marks crisscrossing Kim’s back. “It makes me sick to know they did that because of me. I know you don’t think it’s my fault, but it feels that way.”
Kim smiled up at her. “All of us have things we are responsible for. There is little value in taking on what you can’t control. Let it go.”
Rachael wished it was that easy. She looked away from him to stare out the window into the wild green foliage. The leaves appeared feathery, the creepers wild and twisted green ropes while orchids vied with brilliantly colored fungi for space among the other flowers growing on the thick tree trunks and branches. It was beautiful and primitive and called to something inside of her. She longed to disappear into the deepest forest, simply become something else, something untouchable and wild and free.
She felt it first in her chest, a tightness making it nearly impossible to breathe. Then it was a fire in her stomach, muscles contracting and stretching. Heat seared her flesh, her bones, sizzled in every organ. She itched, a wave of it rushing over her so that she looked down and saw something move beneath her skin as if alive. Her hands curled involuntarily, fingers curving, and her fingertips ached and stung. She gasped and drew back from the edge of a great precipice, her heart pounding in her chest and her lungs fighting for air.
“I can’t breathe, Rio.” It took forever to get the words out. “I need to be outside where I can breathe.”
Rio didn’t ask questions or waste time on arguing, but lifted her immediately against his chest, rising with her as if she were a mere child instead of a fully grown woman in his arms. He stepped carefully around Kim and Tama and the pot of brown-green paste. Rachael caught a glimpse of Drake’s face, his eyes wide and shocked with a knowledge she didn’t possess before he managed to wipe the expression from his face.
Rachael buried her face in Rio’s neck, inhaling his comforting scent, giving herself up to the strength in his arms.
“You’re all right, Rachael,” Rio soothed, one hand stroking her hair as he sat on the small sofa on the verandah. “Listen to the forest, to the monkeys and birds. They make life seem in balance again. Listen to the rain. It has a soothing harmony.”
“What’s happening to me? Do you know what happened? I swear I saw something moving beneath my skin, like a parasite or something.” The humidity created the illusion of a sauna. The sound of the rain was dulled and muted by the heavy canopy overhead. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, as if she’d run a long face. Her wounded leg was throbbing and burning, her pulse pounding there in a frantic rhythm. “I don’t have panic attacks, I don’t. I’m not hysterical, Rio.”
“I know, Rachael. No one thinks you’re hysterical. Just stay calm and when we’re alone, we’ll talk about this.” His heart was pounding as frantically as hers. The possibilities were incredible, almost unbelievable to him. He wanted time to think about it, to do a little research before he provided answers. “Just one thing, Rachael. Have you ever heard the words Han Vol Dan before? Did your mother ever say those words to you or mention them in her stories?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer, feeling as if his world teetered on the edge of an abyss.
Rachael turned the words over in her mind. They weren’t entirely unfamiliar, but she had no idea what they meant and she was fairly certain her mother had never included them in her wild rain forest adventures of the leopard people. “I don’t know. My mother never said those words to me, but..,” she trailed off in confusion.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said.
“What does mat mean? Han Vol Dan? The words flow like music.”
“It’s all right, don’t think about it right now,” Rio reiterated. “I hope you really aren’t blaming yourself for what happened to Kim. I’ve been rescuing kidnap victims for some time all along this river and in three countries. My unit is hired to go in and bring victims out. Sometimes the government contacts us because it’s a politically sensitive situation and other times it’s the family asking us to get them out. And still other times we deliver the ransom and make certain nothing goes wrong so we can return the victim to his home. In nearly every incident where Tomas and his group are involved, the victims have suffered beatings. He’s one of the bloodiest of the bandit leaders. Most consider themselves businessmen. If the money is paid, they deliver the people they’ve taken in good health.”
Rachael shook her head. “It’s just a way of life to them? Kidnapping people? How do their families feel about what they do?”
“Most likely they’re grateful for the money coming in. Some do it for political reasons, and those situations are much more explosive and much more dangerous to my team. And anytime we’re going after someone Tomas has kidnapped, we know it’s dangerous both to them and to us. Tomas has killed hostages even after the ransom’s been paid. His word means nothing at all, to him or to anyone else.”
“Have you met him?”
He nodded. “A few times. He’s crazy and a bit drunk on his own power. He’s been known to kill his own men for a perceived slight. He’s death on women. I think he likes to hurt people.”
“I knew someone like that. He could smile and pretend to be your best friend even as he plotted to murder your family. People like that are so twisted.” Already Rachael was beginning to feel better. The strange malady that had gripped her earlier was gone, leaving her trying to remember what it felt like. She just remembered being afraid. The unexplained episode made her feel slightly ridiculous, the epitome of the hysterical woman. It was no wonder Rio didn’t think she belonged in the forest. “Rio, I’m sorry for acting like such a fool in front of your friends.”
“You didn’t, Rachael. If you’re feeling better, we’ll go back inside and see if Tama and Kim can fix your leg. They’re much more adept at healing than I am. Their father worked a bit with me, but they have had the benefit of his tutelage since they were little.”
She circled his neck with her arms, linking her fingers at the nape of her neck. “I think I’m becoming used to you hauling me around,” she teased.
“Well tuck that blanket around you. I don’t mind you going without underwear in front of me, but I draw the line at parading around in the nude in front of my friends. You’ll give Drake a heart attack.”
“I must be picking up your bad habits,” Rachael said, tugging at the blanket until it covered her bare thighs. She snuggled against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck again, turning her head to look into his vivid green eyes.
They both smiled. It made no sense, but neither cared. They simply melted into one another. She had no idea if she moved first or if he had, but their mouths fused together and joy burst through them. The earth shifted and rocked. Monkeys chattered noisily and a bird shrieked in delight: Prisms of color radiated through the droplets of water on the leaves and moss. Petals from blossoms overhead rained down on them as the wind shifted slightly, but neither noticed. For that moment there was only the two of them, locked in their own world of pure feeling.
It was Rachael who pulled back first, smiling because she couldn’t help herself. “You have an amazing mouth.”
He had heard those words before uttered in that same voice, that same teasing, slightly awed tone. He had felt her fingertip tracing the outline of his lips before. He clearly remembered sweeping away the dishes and laying her on the table, wild with need, wanting her so badly he couldn’t wait long enough to get her to the bedroom.
Rachael’s fingers tangled in his hair, a gesture that always turned his heart over. Sometimes he felt as if he lived for her smile. For her kiss. For the sound of her laughter. He leaned close until his lips were pressed against her ear. “I wish we were alone right now.” His tongue made a small foray, delving into shadows, his teeth nipping gently. Her breasts pushed against his chest, soft tempting mounds, her nipples taut peaks. He had known her body would react to that small tease of his tongue.
“It’s just as well we aren’t,” Rachael pointed out, trying to keep her brain from melting along with the rest of her body. It had to be the humidity. She could testify she’d never quite felt so sexy and so wanting to entice and tempt a man as she did Rio. She stared into his eyes, his strange, beguiling eyes, and felt as if she were falling into him.
A leopard growled a warning, then gave a soft grunting cough from inside the house. Rachael and Rio blinked, trying to shake off the enthrallment they seemed to be under.
“Rio, you’d better tell your little friend to back off, or he’s going to get a surprise,” Drake called.
Rachael was shocked at the gravelly menace in Drake’s voice. Rio stiffened, snapped out an instant command to Franz and the clouded leopard burst from the house. He raised his lip at Rio, his ears flat, his teeth exposed, tail switching back and forth.
“He looks really angry.” Rachael couldn’t quite suppress the note of fear in her voice. “It’s amazing how big he looks, and his teeth are downright scary.”
Rio stepped back to give the cat room. “All leopards have tempers, Rachael. They can be very moody and edgy, even the smallest brother. Franz is naturally upset and he doesn’t tolerate company very well.”
“He should be used to me,” Drake snapped. “The little runt threatened me. If he managed to bite me, I’d stretch his hide between two trees.” He stood in the doorway glaring at the clouded leopard. His eyes were brilliant and focused, almost glassy. There was an aura of danger emanating from him. His hands gripped the railing of the verandah, fingers curled tightly around the wood.
Rio slowly set Rachael onto the overstuffed sofa, never taking his eyes from Drake. There was sudden tension in Rio’s body, although he appeared as relaxed as ever. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Rachael could see he was just as focused on Drake as Drake was on the cat. Neither man moved a muscle, so still they seemed to become part of the forest, blending into the shadows. Clouds moved overhead, darkening the skies. As the wind blew and foliage and creepers feathered back and forth the shadows grew and lengthened. A few raindrops managed to penetrate the heavy canopy and splashed on the railing of the verandah. The sound of wood tearing was loud and unnerving. Long splinters of wood fell to the floor of the porch to lie in curls. Rachael stared at them in surprise. Franz hissed and, facing Drake, backed away as he slowly slunk toward the largest tree branch. As if his back legs were springs, the clouded leopard launched himself into the canopy and disappeared.