Wild Rain

Chapter Eighteen

RIO pressed the blade deeper into Elijah's throat. "She isn't going anywhere with you." His voice was gravelly, a growl of sheer menace. "Not now. Not ever."

"Rio, no, you can't hurt him," Rachael protested. "This is Elijah, my brother."

Elijah didn't move a muscle. He stayed perfectly still, feeling the burning sting of the blade across his throat. Instead of loosening his grip at Rachael's command, Rio tightened his arm until it was a steel band, a vise squeezing ever tighter.

"Stay where you are, Rachael. This gentleman and I are going outside together. If you want to live, Elijah, take very small steps in exact sync with mine. One wrong move and you're a dead man."

"Rio, what are you doing?" Rachael took a step toward them.

The knife drew blood. Elijah held up his hand to his sister, halting her progress instantly. She watched with enormous eyes as the two men moved together out the door, back onto the verandah. Rachael followed at a safe distance, her heart pounding:

"I know you're armed."

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Gun at the small of my back. A second strapped to my leg. I have a knife up my sleeve and a second under my left arm."

Rachael blinked. She glanced at the elder, who remained sitting quietly on the sofa as if they were all having tea. She had no idea her brother was armed. Where had all the weapons come from?

"Tell me why I should keep you alive." The words were barely audible, a whisper of menace in the dead of the night. "Don't look to Rachael to get you out of this. She loves you. It's me you have to convince. Because I don't love you."

Rio ignored the elder sitting so quietly on the verandah. He was already banished, condemned for all time for a deed he could never take back. He might as well do something worthwhile and remove all threats to Rachael's life while he was racking up the sins.

"I love my sister," Elijah answered quietly. His voice came out in a croak. "You don't have to believe me."

"I have to believe you if you're going to live. Rachael deserves a life."

"Yes she does. I'm not her enemy." Elijah stayed very still, aware that at no time did the knife waver from his throat. He had learned patience in a hard school, knowing most of the time there would be a moment of distraction when he could make his move, but there was no give in the man behind him. The dozens of defense moves he had perfected would never work against that viselike grip. Elijah sighed. "Two reasons. I followed her here to save her life. And better than that, if you don't release me, she's going to be so pissed with you, you'll wish you'd stayed in your animal form."

Rio glanced at the open door where Rachael stood with her hand pressed to her mouth. She looked a bit shocked but it wouldn't last long. She shook her head at him in silent appeal, her eyes anxious.

Rio slowly eased the razor-sharp blade from Elijah's throat and stepped away. "Put all your weapons on the floor in front of you. Be very careful, Elijah. You know our people. We see everything in hunting mode. Right now, consider me a hunter."

Elijah, with deliberate slowness, removed the weapons and stacked them neatly on the verandah. Rachael stared in horror at the growing pile.

"Take them into the house, sestrilla," Rio said, keeping his voice as gentle as possible. He waited until she'd gathered up the guns and knives and disappeared into the house. "Turn around, very slowly."

Elijah turned around to face Rio for the first time. They stared at one another, two strong males with ice-cold eyes and a dangerous temperament disguised with a carefully cultivated civilized demeanor.

Rachael's brother spoke first. "I'm Elijah Lospostos, Rachael's brother."

"You're the one who put a million-dollar price on her head."

"I had to move fast. I figured between the government officials and bandits, everyone would work very hard to keep Rachael alive. Our uncle would have to use his assassins to hunt her. He wouldn't find anyone willing to give up that kind of money, not and kill her. I made it too irresistible to pass it up. No one was going to kill her." He tilted his head to one side studying Rio. "You've forgotten your clothes."

Rio shrugged, the knife never wavering. "Bad habit of mine. Have you had any coffee? I could use something to drink."

Rachael pushed past her brother to wrap her arm around Rio's waist. "You need to sit down. Did you get there in time?"

Rio kept his penetrating gaze on Elijah. "Yes. He's going to be fine, Elder."

Rachael couldn't help smiling at the older man, but he turned his face away. She caught the sheen of tears glistening in his eyes, and his hands shook as he lifted them to wipe his face. "Thank you, Rio." The voice was choked, barely audible.

"He's a good boy."

Rachael urged Rio toward the door. He was swaying with weariness. Rio bared his teeth at Elijah in a semblance of a smile and waved him toward the door first.

"Call off the others first," Elijah said without moving. "I know they're waiting."

Rachael listened. She heard the moaning of the wind. The rhythm of the rain. "Fritz and Franz," she turned her face up toward Rio. "Are they inside? Waiting for him to go in?"

Rio grinned at her. His face was pale and there was a sheen of perspiration coating his skin. "Of course. They like to hunt too."

"Very funny. Call them off."

Rio uttered a series of vocalizations. Rachael watched her brother's face. He was frowning. She dug her nails into Rio's bare skin. "What exactly did you tell them?"

"To be alert," Elijah answered for her. "What are those two little cubs doing? I've never heard of training cubs for combat."

Rachael rolled her eyes. "Don't think for one minute those little demon seeds are cubs. They're fully grown clouded leopards with bad manners, tempers and very lethal saber-toothed tiger teeth."

"I take it you had a run-in with them." Elijah hadn't budged. He stared into the darkened interior of the house, but refused to take one step into the room.

"One of them nearly took my leg off. Don't be a baby." She was trying not to notice her brother's throat was bleeding. He hadn't once touched it. She tried not to notice the knife still in Rio's hand, his gaze focused and unblinking on her brother's face. "Rio wouldn't have you go in if it wasn't safe." She tried to say the words with conviction, but her tone was more a question than reassurance.

"It might be a good way to get rid of me without guilt," Elijah said.

"I wouldn't feel guilt if I had to get rid of you," Rio answered easily. "Go in."

Elijah sighed and entered the house, obviously on the alert. He was a shifter, a very good one, fast and efficient, a killer should there be need, but his clothes would hamper him, slow him down when he might need the speed against two fifty-pound leopards. He saw the eyes gleaming at him in the darkness. The two cats had separated and were waiting patiently. One crouched on the mantle, the other was belly to the ground beside the chair. Just waiting. Ears flat, lips snarling. Eyes glowing.

Rio felt the effects of traveling so many miles in such a short time. His body burned with fatigue. He hadn't had the necessary time to recoup after donating more blood than he could afford. Franz had called him from a distance, alerting him to the danger to Rachael. Rio slugged down the orange juice and rushed out, not taking the time to rest from the dizzying blood loss. The trip back had been a nightmare, terror choking him. He pushed the swift-moving leopard to the limit, racing across the miles even when the beast burned for air.

"Rio?" Rachael's voice was a soft concern. "Come sit down. Between your arsenal and my brother's, we have enough weapons to start a war. If any other neighbor comes calling, begging for sugar, I say we should just shoot them."

"We can't do that," Rio protested. "Tama's bound to come looking for his stray researcher."

Elijah pushed his hand through his hair. "That guide is a pain in the butt. I had to have a couple of my men create a minor catastrophe in order to get his eyes off of me." He stepped cautiously around the chair and sank onto the sofa.

"The garrote." Rio ordered as he caught up a pair of jeans and stepped into them. "Take that off too."

Rachael's eyebrows flew up. "Elijah, you can't be carrying a garrote."

"I forgot about it." Elijah reached up to remove the necklace from around his throat. He handed it to his sister to be added to the growing stockpile of weapons.

Rachael heaved an exaggerated sigh. "The two of you are crazy."

"Probably," Rio conceded. He took the glass of water she gave him and tipped the entire contents down his throat. "I take it Elijah didn't try to kill you."

"Tony was working for Armando." She busied herself making coffee so she wouldn't have to look at either of them. Her hands were shaking. Her knees felt weak. She had dreaded this moment for so long and now she didn't know how to feel. She almost didn't trust the relief sweeping through her and she was afraid she might start crying all over both of them. "You had it figured out. Elijah is a shifter."

"So of course you couldn't go to the police. The first rule is we keep everything in our realm." Rio let out his breath slowly. "And Armando is using shifters as assassins."

"He bribed a couple of shifters in South America. Or maybe he blackmailed them, I don't know: He's capable of anything. He could have threatened to burn down the rain forest, or take a major hunting party in to wipe everyone out." Elijah stretched his legs out in front of him, his black eyes gleaming like obsidian in the night. "I'm not certain he's human. I went into his house one night. The leopard can go in so stealthily, I was certain I could take him." He sighed and shook his head. "He isn't a man, he's a devil. He had a double in his room and he was nowhere to be found."

"How many shifters does he have?"

"Two that I know of. I doubt if he has more. We're an elusive bunch, and he doesn't spend a great deal of time in South America. Duncan was one of them."

The elder came in and inclined his head. "I must go back to the village and care for my grandson. I thank, you for what you did, Rio."

"I was happy to be of some small service, Elder," Rio replied. "I do want news of Drake should you hear. I was unable to get near Joshua and no one else volunteered the information."

Rachael's head snapped up. She glared at the old man. "Who did you say was civilized?" She asked sweetly.

"Hafelina." There was more love than reprimand in the single endearment.

Little cat. She knew it now. Knew what he called her. The long-forgotten language was one she distantly remembered from her childhood and it was beginning to come back to her.

Elijah sat up very straight, a frown on his face. He shook his head but remained silent as the older man came into the room. There was a dignity about him that demanded respect.

"Don't reprimand her for speaking her mind or defending you, Rio," the elder said. "She is a woman of courage and integrity. I am no longer a member of the council, but I am bound by our laws. I'll do my best to change what was decreed, but I face punishment for my actions. I wish that I'd taken action some time ago instead of waiting until a personal crisis happened. I'll send word of Drake's condition immediately. Don't get up, I'll shift on the verandah. My pack is out there." He smiled at Rachael. "I am blessed I had such an opportunity to meet you and exchange ideas." His gaze went to Elijah. "Your sister has taught an old man it is never too late to right a wrong. You know the right path."

Elijah gripped the arms of the chair hard, nails digging deep. "There is no redemption for what I've done."

Delgrotto smiled. "Even the sacred high council can be wrong. Who can measure the worth of a man but his own sense of honor?"

Elijah looked away from the warmth in those old eyes. "If I can't forgive myself, how would I ever accept forgiveness from others?"

"No council can turn away the request of asylum, of sanctuary. It matters little where you were born. There are few true shifters left in this world. We can't afford to lose any of them." The elder moved into the shadows of the verandah, shedding his clothes and packing them carefully in the traditional leather bag he strapped around his neck before shifting.

There was a long silence. Rachael sighed. "I really wanted to detest that man."

"He's a good man," Rio said. "He's right to believe in the laws that govern our people. We can't be judged by human standards and we can't take our problems to the police. We have to protect and patrol our own ranks."

"I see what's going on here," Elijah said. "Only a man who has found his mate refers to her as sestrilla or hafelina. You can't have Rachael. You can't possibly protect her from Armando. I didn't keep her alive this entire time to let her die out here in this jungle."

There was a whip to his voice and Rachael winced visibly. Ignoring Elijah, she took a bowl of the vegetable soup and a cup of coffee to Rio. "Eat all of it, you need it," she encouraged. "And don't give me any guff over your precious elder. He isn't a bad man, he's just not as wise as a woman."

Elijah groaned. "Don't get her started with the women being superior to men argument, we'll get nowhere with this. Rachael, you can't stay. I can tell you feel something for this man, but you can't stay."

"I'm in love with him, Elijah." Rachael said it quietly, staring into her brother's eyes as she handed him a bowl of soup.

"Damn it, Rachael."

Rachael huffed out her breath in exasperation. "Why is it men always say that to me? I seem to bring out swearing in the male species."

She curled up across from Elijah, settling on the arm of Rio's chair, her arms curving around his neck. She had to touch him, her fingers smoothing his shaggy hair. She wanted to inspect his body and make certain there were no scratches to get infected in the humidity of the forest. She had to be content with teasing the nape of his neck with her fingers.

Rio exchanged a long look of understanding with Elijah. "I understand completely, she tends to make me swear too." He followed the admission with a yelp when she tugged at his hair. "I'm Rio, by the way, Rio Santana."

"You'll have to come back where I can protect you too, then. I have soldiers. My home is a fortress. I can keep you both safe. I live near the Glades so you'll be able to run free when the need strikes." Elijah stared at Rio hard, his gaze piercing and focused, a mixture of promised retaliation and challenge.

"You may be able to protect Rachael there, but I can do just as good a job or better here," Rio replied mildly. He leaned his head back into the strong massage of her fingers. "Before you get all bent out of shape, has it occurred to you that you need to do something different? Something unexpected? Your uncle knows you. He raised you. He knows how your mind works. But he doesn't know how my mind works. He doesn't even know about me."

Rachael nuzzled the top of Rio's head with her chin. Her breasts brushed the side of his face, soft and warm and inviting when he was bone weary. "You need to sleep, Rio. I can feel how tired you are."

"Armando will not come to this place."

"Sure he will. If the stakes are high enough. If he thinks he has a chance to win the game for good. It isn't all that hard to find someone to bribe to leak vital information. He has to have someone in his pay, someone who can supply him with information. It could even be some of the bandits. They'd want to collect from both sides."

Rio drank the remainder of the soup and put the bowl on a small end table. His hand found Rachael's. At once he brought her fingers to his mouth. All the time he watched Elijah.

Elijah regarded him through half-closed eyes. "You're thinking to feed him information on Rachael. Something that will bring him here to make certain the job is done right. He'd want to know it's finished. He'd want to know she was dead and he'd want me to know it."

Rio nodded. "There are bandits up and down the river. Some are fairly decent men, just trying to make a living. There are one or two tribes who would be willing to give us aid here and there. This is my realm, not his. He's infiltrated South America; I doubt he's had time here."

"Duncan knew the layout of the house," Rachael said. "Someone told him."

"Not necessarily. Delgrotto knew nothing of Duncan. As an elder, all information of importance is brought before the council. A member of our species unknown to us would be considered of great importance. I doubt if Duncan had any contact with anyone from my people. He was a shifter and he knew shifters populated this area. He listened to Tomas and his men, gathered information on my team and guessed we were shifters. As a leopard, he could easily find the scents and track us, where as a man, he would find it impossible. Most importantly, Duncan didn't have time to get this information to Armando. He was captured by bandits and then he came nosing around here, looking for Rachael. He found me instead."

Elijah rubbed his jaw. "So your idea is to bring Armando here."

"Rachael isn't going back. She's my woman. You know the legends, and you can call them myths if you like, but I know she's supposed to be with me and the only way you're going to take her from me is over my dead body."

Elijah shrugged his broad shoulders. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Rachael knocked a heavy book to the floor. It hit with a thud and brought an abrupt silence. "If you both keep it up," she hissed between bared teeth, "I'm dumping the rest of the soup over your heads. Get some brain cells working here, you two. I love you both. Posturing and threatening each other isn't winning any points with me. In fact, it's downright irritating." Rachael snatched her hand back from Rio and caught up the empty soup bowl. "Elijah, you want coffee or not?"

"Are you going to dump it in my lap?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Then I think I'll pass until you get over your little…" he broke off abruptly as Rio frantically signaled him to silence.

Rachael turned to glare at her brother. "I know you weren't going to accuse me of being moody-or temperamental. You deserve an entire pot of coffee in your lap. You should have talked to me. I'm a grown woman, not a child to be protected. I know exactly what Armando's capable of and I knew you had no choice but to try to get rid of him if either of us was going to have a chance at a normal life." She swung around to include Rio in her displeasure. "If you ever get a thick-headed notion to go all silent and macho on me, please just get over it fast. I'm likely to smack you with another stick if you do."

Elijah's eyebrow shot up. "She smacked you with a stick?"

"Gave me a scar," Rio said proudly and swept back his black hair to reveal the jagged white line. "Right on the temple too. She nearly took my head off."

"She knows what she's doing," Elijah confirmed, "And she hits like a man, but she can't cook very well."

"I'm a good cook," Rachael said, outraged. "I'm a very good cook. I can't help it if you don't like anything other than rice and beans. And no spices."

"There's such a thing as too much spice," Elijah said.

Rio grinned wickedly at Rachael. "Oh, I don't know, Elijah, you might be missing out. Live a little."

Rachael groaned and rinsed the dishes, but she was smiling again. The man had a sinful mouth and he had a way of putting fantasies in her head at the most inopportune times.

Rio leaned back in his chair. "The elder had a good idea. If you went to the village and asked for asylum, they'd have to give it to you. You'd be placed under the protection of our lair. It just gives us more people to count on our side."

"What exactly do you do aside from piss off the local bandits?" Elijah asked.

Rio's grin widened. "You've been talking to Tomas and his men, haven't you? Basically that's exactly what I do. That's my job."

"You do that to everyone without much effort," Rachael pointed out.

Franz leapt down from the mantel and scooted under Rio's feet, peering out at Elijah curiously. Rio stretched his legs further to accommodate the small leopard. "I lay up on a knoll, or in a tree, or wherever I can find and guard my team as they go in to bring out kidnap victims, or pay ransom. I do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Once they're out, I lay a false trail and lead the bandits away from the team and into the forest."

"I've heard the bandits have bolt-holes."

"There are mazes of tunnels in the cane fields, just about every field. You don't want to drop into one of them and try to pursue, not if you value your life. We've had to go in a couple of times when the bandits used the tunnels to hide their prisoners. We blew up the tunnels in order to discourage them from using them for that purpose. It's too dangerous to us, although we'll go in if we have to."

"So we don't want Armando to fall in with the bandits and get the idea of using the tunnels."

"If your uncle finds out she's playing house in the forest with some local yokel, don't you think he'd come with guns blazing? Especially if the information was given out to you, instead of him, for the million-dollar reward. We have to locate Armando's mole and let him overhear Rachael's been found. He'll immediately contact your uncle and Armando will come very quickly to get here before you."

"He'll send his killer after her."

Rio shrugged. "Of course he will. He'll want to confirm her presence and he'll want me out of the way. They'll expect an easy kill."

"He'll hunt you, Rio. Leopards make frightening enemies. They never turn aside and they're as cunning as hell. I ought to know."

Rio grinned at Elijah, but it was a particularly lethal smirk. "I'm very aware of what a leopard can do."

Rachael curled up in Rio's lap. Fitting herself to his body seemed perfectly natural. The night had taken on a surreal feel, a dreamlike quality. She couldn't believe Elijah was sprawled in a chair only feet away from Rio, looking relaxed and at home. How had she ever doubted him? His eyes didn't look ice-cold and merciless, although she knew they could. Right now he looked like her big brother, just lying around the house talking. She had forgotten that image of him. Elijah at rest. Elijah relaxed. Elijah with a faint smile on his face.

She buried her face against Rio's chest, confident he wouldn't say a word when he felt her hot tears against his skin. He would understand the enormity of the gift she'd been given this one night. Rio wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close to him, protectively, just as she knew he would. He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin, one hand tunneling in her thick mass of hair, just holding her close.

"This is my territory, Elijah. My realm. Those who enter it are subject to the laws of my people and my laws. Man or beast, it matters little. Armando may be a big deal in South America and in Florida, but he's no one here."

Elijah nodded his head. "I've been slowly cashing out our assets and putting the money where Armando can't touch it. He doesn't know, of course. But I'm hoping to get Rachael and me free of our estate and go back to my homeland. Unfortunately, there are problems."

"You could come here, Elijah," Rachael offered. Her voice was muffled against Rio's chest and he couldn't see her face. "The elders would accept you, Delgrotto already said as much. No one knows you here. You could have a new start."

"I don't even know how anymore, Rachael." Elijah looked at his sister through long lashes. His eyes were flat and cold. "If I can't talk to you, my own sister, how do you think I could ever learn to live with others again? Thank you for the offer, but if we manage to remove the threat of Armando, the last thing I intend to do is taint your life."

Rachael stirred as if to protest, but Rio's arm tightened in warning. "Let's just take one thing at a time. Armando is first. Let's find his mole and put out the word."

"He'll know I'm here."

"All to the good. He'll want to kill Rachael right under your nose. You've already established a research camp as your cover so you look as though you're trying to appear legitimate to him while you search for her. Just search in the wrong areas so he'll be convinced you're combing the region for Rachael."

"So I'm the dope miles away when he tries to hit Rachael. I don't think so. If that man sets foot in this country, I'm not leaving Rachael's side."

Rachael sighed heavily. "Do you see where I get words like 'imbecile' and 'idiot' in my vocabulary? Elijah, just this once, please, for me, listen to what Rio has to say."

"What do you know of this man, Rachael? You're betting your life on him."

"I know that. And if you're insisting on staying, maybe you should listen to him as well, because it could save both of our lives, and that ought to tell you all you need to know. I left home rather than put you in a position of having to…" She trailed off. Only Rio knew she jammed her fist in her mouth to choke back the words before they could be said.

Elijah sat up straight. "I never wanted you dead. Never, Rachael. It was always the two of us. Hell, without you, what did I have to fight for? Why would I bother? I would have disappeared into the jungle and he would never have tracked me. But I didn't think you could."

"Because I couldn't shift?" She turned her head to look at her brother. "I didn't even know we were capable of shifting. How did you know?"

"It just happened. When I was young, a little boy. Mom told me not to say anything. We always spoke of it in whispers."

Rio brought up his hand to the nape of Rachael's neck in a slow massage. "Of course. She was still trying to hide it from her new husband. He didn't know until later. And then the elders of your mother's lair found out an outsider knew. It had to have happened that way."

"Something went wrong. Mom and Dad were very nervous until we reached Florida. They were nervous for a couple of years. Mom wouldn't allow me to shift and said I wasn't to tell anyone." Elijah sighed. "They were trying to protect us from our own kind. They should have been looking toward Armando."

"He knew, though." Rio said. "He used to take you places and let you run."

"If I had just told Mom right away-but I didn't. Just once, if I had said something to her, they might still be alive." Elijah fell silent, listening to the soothing rain. "And then when I did tell her, I should have kept my mouth shut. Armando already had made his plans and he killed them."

"Their deaths had nothing to do with what you didn't or did tell our parents, Elijah," Rachael denied. "You can't take on the responsibility. You did everything you could to keep us alive."

"I didn't kill Armando, Rachael. "

"Killing him might set the two of you free, Elijah," Rio said, "but it won't bring anyone back, and it won't make you feel any better."

"I'll settle for making certain Rachael is safe. Even if we could find a way to put him in jail, he'd send someone after her and he'd never stop until she was dead. It doesn't matter if I went against the laws of our people and got a conviction, he'd find a way to kill her. I know him. Armando is vindictive and he hates me. In his mind, I betrayed him. He offered to make me his son. I was the heir to his empire and I went along with it for years. I had to make him believe it."

Elijah looked into Rio's eyes with the focused stare of his kind. "You probably can't understand that kind of twisted hatred, but he wants to kill Rachael more than he wants anything else. I chose her over him. That's the way he looks at it. She held some kind of power over me, otherwise, I would have become his son."

"But you made your move too soon and you couldn't get him. Why?" Rio returned the focused stare, every bit as unblinking and merciless.

"He came to me one night and told me it was time to clean house. He wanted Rachael dead. He said he knew I couldn't do it, so he wasn't asking me to kill her, he didn't need a sign of loyalty. He told me he was going to do it himself, that he wouldn't take the chance that any of the men would dishonor her first." Elijah drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. "That's exactly how he put it to me. He was casually talking about killing my sister, but not to worry, none of the men would be allowed to rape her first."

"So you had to make your move."

"I had my men in place. I had a loyal following. I got Rachael to a safe house and made my move. Unfortunately, he was still too strong. He knows the way to defeat me is to get to her. She's everything I care about. You know that, don't you, Rachael? I swear I don't know what I said to you when I pulled you out of that car, but Tony was taking you to Armando, and you would have been sent back to me in pieces."

"It's all right," she said softly. "Elijah, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Whatever was said is forgotten. Please forgive me for the terrible things I was thinking."

"Who could blame you, Rachael? We've lived with betrayal for so long it's become a way of life for the both of us." Elijah shifted in his chair. "So tell me what you want me to do, Rio. Let's see if we can manage to hash out a plan to remove the threat to Rachael."

Rio rocked Rachael gently, a soothing, comforting gesture he was barely aware of making. Her body trembled in his arms. She was overwhelmed by everything but hung on to her calm demeanor because she was Rachael and that's what she did. She had a way of moving him, turning him inside out over the simplest things. He felt the love she had for her brother and the fear for him all mixed together.

"Have Tama take you downriver, far downriver, as many miles as possible. We'll start the rumor that Rachael's shoe was found. Then let's get an informant on the river to tell a government official in front of Armando's mole that Rachael is living in the forest. Once the mole gets the information to your uncle, he'll send his leopard out to confirm first."

"Or kill her."

"Or kill her," Rio agreed. "That will be the most critical time. You'll have to put your trust in me and stay a long way away. I'll try to keep you informed, but this won't work if he even thinks you're anywhere near her. He'll sense a trap. You'll have to be downriver and on the lookout for a hit on you."

Rachael stirred restlessly, shooting an apprehensive look at her brother. "What kind of protection did you bring with you?"

"I have some of my best men. In the forest, it won't be easy to surprise me, not even for his leopard assassin. Rachael, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself," Elijah reassured.

"Elijah's right, sestrilla," Rio murmured softly, adding his own reassurance, "I suspect your uncle would want him alive, would want him to suffer with the knowledge of your death before anything else. If we're wrong and he sends the leopard to kill Elijah, you have to have faith in your brother's abilities. He's stayed alive and kept you alive all these years. He won't be taken easily. And Tama will be with him. There isn't a better guide, or a more responsible one, unless it's Kim."

Rachael bit at her knuckles. "I don't like this, I don't like us separated when he comes after us."

"He won't come if he knows you're with Elijah," Rio said patiently. "He's afraid of Elijah. Your brother is probably the only man he is afraid of. That's why he has to destroy him before he kills him. And the only means he has of destroying him is through you.".

"I know of his leopard assassin, Rachael," Elijah added. "I can take him if he comes at me. I can take him in either form, human or animal." There was complete confidence in his voice.

Rachael nodded and managed a faint smile, but Rio could feel her body trembling. He pulled her closer, trying to protect her from her brother's all-seeing eyes. "Once Armando has entered the country, Kim Pang, Tama's brother, will get word to Tama. You can head this way the moment Armando has entered our forest. I'll have a few of my men standing by with radios to let us know where he is. He can't take animal form, but he'll come in with hunters, hoping to protect himself. What do you think, Elijah?"

"I think I'm going to trust you with my sister's life." Elijah stood up, stretched, a completely feline motion. His eyes were hard and cold and without mercy. "Don't let me down."

"Aren't you going to stay?" Rachael asked, looking close to tears again.

"I have to be back in camp. You never know if he has eyes or ears planted and I don't want to blow the plan before we have a chance to see if it will even work." Elijah loomed over them, tall and dangerous and very alone. "You take care of her, Rio." He brushed Rachael's head with a gentle kiss, touched her shoulder and went out into the night.

Rachael tried to pull away from Rio to go after her brother.

"Let him go. This is hard for him, to let loose of you after all these years. He needs to be alone. People like us need space, Rachael. He has to find his own way. He's spent a lifetime concentrating on keeping the both of you alive. He'll need to adjust in order to find another reason to go on. The forest is where he'll find it. He doesn't know that yet, but it will call to him."

She ran her hands over his body, inspecting him for damage after his long run. "You need rest, Rio. At least come to bed with me."

It sounded good to him. He wanted to lie down beside her, hold her in his arms and feel her warmth after the terror of thinking someone was attacking her. He lay for a long time listening to the wind moaning in the trees. Listening to the songs of the rain through the canopy. Listening to the rhythm of her breathing. Holding her soft body next to his, her hair crushed in his hands, his body wrapped protectively around hers. He remembered thinking happiness was an illusion, that life was simply to live until it was over, giving service to his people. Happiness was this woman in his arms. He allowed himself to drift off with the scent of her filling his lungs and the feel of her imprinted into his flesh and bones.