Wild Rain

Chapter Nineteen

RACHAEL gripped the railing and leaned over to peer at the forest floor below. "I think I'm going stir crazy." She turned around to smile at Rio, half sitting on the banister. "Is that possible out here in this huge forest? And don't say I'm in one of my little moods either!"

"Sure it is. Waiting is always the most difficult part. We know the mole passed the word, so it won't be much longer. I received word that Armando and a huge party arrived and were making their way up the river. We've got people in place watching him. He brought four big-name game hunters with him, which did cause a bit of a problem as the officials don't encourage that sort of thing."

Rachael shivered. "Knowing that man is walking in the same forest is frightening. Armando is truly evil, Rio. It won't take him long to send out his men."

"I know, but it's what we've been waiting for. This is probably our last chance for a little fun. They aren't in our area yet."

"I hate that Elijah is so close and I can't go see him."

Rio reached out to take her hand, holding her open palm over his heart. "At least this has given us some time for your leg to heal properly."

She turned her calf this way and that, frowning. "Properly? Is that what you call it? At least I have a leg. And Fritz is better too. He went out this morning around dawn to hunt food with Franz. I thought that was such a good sign."

Rio tugged on her hand until her body was tight against his. "We don't have to stay here if you'd rather go play," he invited softly.

Rachael looked up at him, his weathered, beloved face. She knew every inch of that face, by touch, by vision. There was a playful gleam in his eyes, one rarely seen by anyone other than Rachael. She loved that boyish, mischievous side of him that crept out at unexpected times. "Is it safe?"

"At the moment. I didn't expect Armando to come himself so soon, but it doesn't really change anything. I'm expecting your uncle's assassin to come checking any day now, but the forest animals will alert us. We don't have to stay here in this house if you want to stretch your legs and play a bit. I have one or two beautiful spots I haven't had a chance to show you." His fingers crushed strands of her hair, rubbed them together. "We've been putting all our energy toward rehearsals for the arrival of your uncle and we haven't managed to take a much-needed break. The temporary hut is built, we've moved you in, we have people up and down the river and in the forest keeping an eye on them. I think we can take a small break."

Rio hadn't chanced a single late night run since her brother had shown up. He didn't want to leave her alone and he felt it was better to give her leg a chance to fully heal. The lure of the forest was on him, calling continually.

Rachael's smile widened and she peeled off the shirt she was wearing, flinging it aside without hesitation. It left her standing in her silky thong and nothing else.

Rio smiled. Breathing Rachael in was becoming a habit. "Maybe we should just stay here," he murmured softly. Her breasts were beautiful, full and ripe and so perfect he had to touch them. His fingers whispered over her skin, tugged at her nipples just to see them peak for him.

"Maybe we shouldn't. I want to go run. You can wait here for me though." Rachael shimmied out of her thong, enjoying the way he watched her. She had never thought about being a sexual being until she was around Rio. He made her so aware of her own body, of his body. Of what they could have together. She moved enticingly, wholly feminine, catching at a branch above her head. "You can be thinking about me while I'm gone," she teased.

"You aren't going anywhere without me," he declared, hastily shedding clothes. She was already shifting, a sleek female leopard with rounded curves and a feline body built for speed and endurance. She leapt to a neighboring branch and hurried along the slanting limb to the next overlapping one.

Rio didn't take time to fold his clothes neatly. The wildness was already upon him, starting in the pit of his stomach, an uncontrollable longing for freedom. His muscles contorted and he shifted in the air, making a flying dive for the branches below him that intersected with the ones she was on.

Rachael leapt from branch to branch, fully aware that Rio was giving chase. If a leopard could have laughed aloud, she would have. She couldn't believe the turn her life had taken. She'd made one small mistake, thinking his house was a hut travelers used, and it had been the best mistake she'd ever made.

Happiness burst through her, shining bright and perfect. She made it to the forest floor and took off, leaping over fallen tree trunks and larger shrubs. Her claws dug into the vegetation to give her extra spring. Rio was coming at her fast, an enormous male with every intention of running her down.

Rachael began to play at dodging him, winding through the trees, staying on the course he obviously wanted her to take. When she went in the wrong direction, he loomed in front of her, too large to go around and too big to confront. She didn't care, the freedom of playing was wonderful. The forest was beautiful, every detail vivid and bright. She played with a toad who didn't seem top appreciative of the company and then raced ahead when Rio nosed at the little creature.

She didn't see the embankment until too late, trying to put the brakes on as she tumbled and landed in the wide blue pool. It was a natural small fall, a basin formed of solid rock. The waterfall was gentle, a long spray of white froth that fell into the clear water. Ferns sprouted everywhere, long and lacy and tall and bushy. Rachael came up for air, shifting as she did so, laughing so hard she went under twice.

Rio caught her around the waist with one strong arm, lifting her to her feet near the edge of the pool. "You reckless, crazy woman. You nearly gave me a heart attack." His voice purred rather than scolded, a wash of velvet over her skin.

Rio touched her face gently, his fingertips tracing the line of her cheek, her jaw, his touch as light as the brush of the wings of the bright butterflies that swarmed over the trees. Yet the impact was a bolt of lightning streaking through her body. His hands settled on the sides of her face, framing her with tenderness while he stared into her eyes.

There was such an intensity of love there, deep in the depths of his vivid green gaze. Desire and hunger burned in the background, but love shone like a bright light consuming her. He lowered his head slowly toward hers. That sensual movement caused her deepest core to react, an exquisite tightening of every muscle, a heat spreading. His body bent over hers, yet his skin didn't quite touch her, a breath of air between them, a breeze fanning the heat that made up their skin. Water slapped at their bodies, frothing from the beat of the falls as millions of droplets entered the pool to swarm around them, touching skin like fingers, stroking a river of sensation over them.

His lips just brushed hers. Gently. Tenderly. The merest touch, yet flames flickered and danced. Hot need rushed through her and spread to every vein, every cell. Rachael leaned closer, lifting her mouth to his. The tips of her breasts caressed his chest lightly, spread flames across skin, a flash point neither expected. Rachael sighed against his mouth, a soft submissive sound, as she opened her mouth to his. Took him inside her. Heat and fire and silk. Something moved inside of her. Recognized him. She felt her other self-rising. Not a takeover, rather a joining.

Rio deepened the kiss, cupping her face in his hands, sliding his fingers around to cradle the back of her head as he kissed her, and his other self rose up to merge with her. Sensation increased, every touch, every taste. The mist from the waterfall on their skin was a tongue touching, licking along their bodies.

Rachael gasped as sensual pleasure infused her, took her over, robbing her of breath, of thought. She leaned into him, rubbed her skin against his skin, wanting the tactile contact. When he lifted his head to take a breath, she lapped at the mist on his chest, her tongue following tiny beads down his belly. His hands moved over her, finding every spot that could make her cry out with passion, that would inflame her more.

Rachael melted into him, skin to skin, rubbing and caressing and needing to touch him, every square inch of him. There was never enough kissing, never enough tasting, and there would never be enough time to explore him the way she wanted before her body made urgent demands.

"You're purring," he murmured softly. "I love the way you purr."

His lips kissed her throat, lingered in the inviting hollow there, drifted lower to taste the droplets of water running over her. His hands went lower, shaped her hips, smoothed over her buttocks to lift her off her feet.

Rachael locked her legs around him. "Do I purr? I didn't know that. I can't help myself." Her teeth nibbled over his shoulder, up his neck to the point of his chin. Her breath was warm and inviting like the soft satin of her skin. "You'd make anyone purr, Rio. Do you feel the leopard in me merging with the leopard in you? How can that happen? How can we experience what they feel when we're really one with them?"

"You're letting me all the way into your mind. All the way into your heart and body. That includes the leopard in you, and my leopard is eager for yours. We're a mated pair, Rachael. Not all of us have that in a single lifetime. I suspect we've been a mated pair in more than one lifetime. You feel so familiar to me." He lowered her body over his and closed his eyes as the incredible sensual pleasure engulfed him.

His blood ran hot through his body, burst through his veins like a wildfire out of control, raced to his head to explode in a rush of heat and flame. She was tight and hot, a velvet sheath gripping his body, surrounding him with so much pleasure it rode the edge of pain. He felt everything for her at once, wild lust, a greedy need, overwhelming love and tenderness. He wanted to take his time, surging in and out of her, rocking her while the water lapped at their bodies, but the pleasure was too intense, even with his slow thrusting. They were too hot, the heat arcing between them and rising fast no matter how hard he tried to slow them down. Her nails dug into his skin. Her head was thrown back, the line of her throat exposed.

Deep inside where it counted, they moved together, blended and merged, becoming one being in one skin. Rachael's soft cry took the last of his control. Her body tightened around his, gripped and clung and made demands.

He lifted his face to the sky, soaring there, taking her with him while the water splashed around their bodies.

"You're swearing," Rachael whispered. There was laughter in her voice. She kissed his shoulder, moved her hips in the rhythm of his, allowing the little aftershocks to ride over both of them.

"You do that to me, Rachael. I think you're going to give me a heart attack. I could make love to you a hundred times a day." He lowered her gently until she was standing waist deep in water, leaning into his body, his arms enfolding her close. "I'm losing my staying power, have you noticed?"

Her soft laughter tightened every cell in his body, washed over him like clean rain. "I thought that was me."

A crash in the bushes near the embankment alerted them that they weren't alone. Rio whirled to face the danger, putting his body between Rachael and the wildly thrashing shrubbery. Two small cats tumbled out into the open, Fritz sliding down the muddy bank and landing in the water almost at their feet. Rachael's hand, on the small of Rio's back, felt the tension drain out of him.

Fritz howled as he pulled himself out of the water, spitting and hissing at Franz. The other male cat clearly laughed, waiting beneath the ferns until Fritz shook off the wet fur. Franz pounced a second time, leaping on his brother and rolling him back down the embankment. They tumbled together in a wild frenzy of fur and claws, making more noises than Rachael had ever heard a cat make.

She burst out laughing and hugged Rio around his narrow waist. "They're like a couple of kids."

He shoved his hand through his mass of silky black hair. "I know." He sounded totally exasperated. "I can't do a thing with them."

That made her laugh all the more. "You have no idea how incredibly sexy I find you." She kissed his chin. "I'm going to swim while I still have the chance. The rain is going to start up again any minute."

"It is raining."

"That's just mist. Look at the rainbow!" She pointed overhead and dove beneath the surface, a flash of bare skin and black silky hair.

He shook his head as he watched her swim away, then turned to look at the two clouded leopards pouncing on one another like leapfrogs. There was no stopping the young cats when they wanted to play rough. He waded through the water to the flat rock where he often lay to soak up the sun. It was always humid and hot, but the spray of water from the fall misted over him, keeping him cool. His gaze strayed to Rachael as she swam in the pool, her bare skin pale in the clear blue of the water.

Rachael rose up under the waterfall, lifting her head to allow the water to cascade over her face. She pushed back the heavy fall of her hair and smiled with the sheer joy of being alive. The water was an amazing shade of blue, the white mist hovering above in the canopy like fluffy clouds. Twilight was falling, a soft gray sky that brought out the bats, wheeling and dipping as they darted for insects over the water. She glanced across the small pool toward Rio. He was stretched out full-length on a large gray slab of rock, his vivid green gaze fixed on her intently.

"I love this place, Rio. Do you come here often?"

"When I want a good long soak and a lazy swim." He didn't lift his head, just watched her standing waist deep in the water looking like a tempting water nymph. "There aren't any leeches in the water here, so it's safe to swim."

Rachael smiled at Rio and began wading toward him. Birds lifted up into the air from the branches of several trees around them, wings fluttering strongly, filling the air with a humming noise. She froze in midstride, looking up toward the airborne flock. Her heart began to pound. She looked across the water at Rio. He was no longer lying lazily but crouched on the rock, all senses alert. He signaled to her without looking at her, moving his hand in a semicircle.

Rachael glanced at the two small clouded leopards lying partially hidden in the overgrown fern. Sleepy from their rough-and-tumble play, the two had been drowsing in the shelter of the fronds; now they were as alert as Rio, mouths open wide, ears up, scenting the air. She forced her body to move, heading in the direction Rio signaled. He wanted her out of the water and into deeper cover immediately. The forest sentinels were on the alert. A hunter had moved into their realm.

Rio's arm swept around her. "It's all right. We knew this was coming. It's important for him to spot you." He brushed a kiss across her temple. "Just not until you get clothes on. We left a fairly clear trail leading to the small hut Tama and Kim and I put up for you. You'll look like a native woman trying to make it on your own."

Rachael leaned into him for comfort. Rio's arm tightened. "We don't have to do it this way, sestrilla. If you're afraid, we can find another way to let him see you."

She shook her head decisively. "No. I want to be the bait. Armando has held my life over Elijah for so long, it feels good to be able to do something positive. I don't care if it is acting like a ninny in a native hut to put on a show for Armando's spy. It makes me feel empowered against that horrible monster. He destroyed Elijah, and he used me to do it."

He nuzzled her ear, all the while walking her out of the water and into the shelter of the trees. "We shift here, Rachael. Armando's spy can't see you as a leopard. We have to give him a wide berth and get you back to the hut. We don't want him coming across your scent as a leopard and identifying you as a shifter. Let him see you from a distance in human form. I'll be covering you. If he makes a wrong move, I'll kill him."

She winced over his bluntness. That was so like Rio. "You're certain he's alone, it's just the spy and not my uncle?"

"Listen to the animals. It's the leopard, and he's heading toward the hut."

She let her breath out. "What about Fritz and Franz? You'll have to make certain they stay away. I don't want them to get hurt. You know they'll follow you wherever you go."

"Don't worry, we've hunted many times together. This will work, Rachael. Your uncle has too big an ego to just let his leopard handle it. If he thinks he can kill you under Elijah's nose, that's what he'll choose to do."

"Don't worry about me. I'll admit to being afraid, but in a positive way. I finally feel useful to Elijah." She turned her face into his shoulder and rubbed affectionately in the way of the big cats. "I'll be fine."

"He may try to grab you to bring you to your uncle, but I doubt it. I'm counting on this being a scouting trip, just to confirm your presence. Be alert anyway, Rachael, just in case I'm wrong."

He stepped up onto the embankment and pulled her up with him so they were nearly hidden in the thick brush. He was already shifting, his fur brushing her bare skin as he did so. That always amazed her, the miracle of change. It seemed incredible that she could plunge her hands into the fur of a leopard, even more incredible that she could stroke its back and rub its ears. In spite of the very real danger from her uncle, Rachael smiled happily as she allowed the change to take hold of her.

The trip through the forest was much longer, slinking carefully along the path leading away from their home. A small hut had been erected in a particularly thick grove of trees. The trunks were thinner and the trees closer together. Rio wanted to make certain a marksman would have a difficult time shooting through the trees. If Armando's hit man wanted to kill Rachael, he would have to do it up close and personal. He would have to use his leopard form to attack her.

Rachael stayed close to Rio as they moved through the trees, making certain to show the gibbons and birds they weren't hunting. They didn't want the intruder alerted to their presence as they wound their way through the trees and brush to the three-sided hut. The fourth side was open and sheltered by the overhead canopy and thatched roof. It was the type of travelers' hut often used by the tribesmen as they moved from place to place.

Rachael's clothes were already stashed in the hut and she hastily shifted to pull them on. Rio remained in his leopard form, his unblinking, watchful gaze fixed on her as she tugged on her jeans and pulled on a shirt. She smiled at him, leaned down and brushed a kiss on top of the leopard's head. "Be safe, Rio. Keep Elijah safe for me." Her heart was pounding, she knew her leopard could hear it, could smell her fear, just as she could taste it in her mouth. When the big cat rubbed up against her leg she wrapped her arm around the thick neck. "Don't underestimate him. Armando Lospostos is a monster. You can't forget that, not even for a moment."

Rio wanted to shift, just for a moment and hold her in his arms to comfort and reassure her, but he didn't dare. The forest had come alive with news. Her uncle had done the unexpected, arriving with his large contingent of men along with his leopard spy. Armando was taking no chances of missing his opportunity. He sent the spy from his hunting camp already being established a few miles upriver. Rio hoped Elijah was listening to the chatter of the creatures as well as their human allies as they carried the news up and down the river and through the trees.

Rio rubbed against Rachael's body in a long caress one last time before leaping into the low-hanging branches of a tree near the open side of the hut. She looked alone and vulnerable. It was just the way she was supposed to look, but damn it all, it still twisted at his heart. He disappeared into the thick foliage, knowing she couldn't see him, hoping she would feel him close. If the spy leopard made a move against her instead of just confirming her presence, Rio had no doubt he would have to make a kill.

It took the leopard a day and night of searching to find Rachael's little hut. She lay alone in the bed, her heart pounding, breathing deep, fighting off the wild side of her nature, trying to be a lamb to lure in the monster that had ruined their lives. She ate alone, did endless, useless chores, found busy work. She went so far as to begin a semblance of a garden, replanting herbs closer to the hut. All the while she felt Rio close to her. She never saw him, but she knew he was there and it warmed her. She was unafraid for her own safety. She trusted Rio, knew his capabilities.

Rachael was in the small garden when she heard the first whisper of unease among the birds in the canopy above her home. The flutter of wings as some took flight. The trilling of alarm as sentinels sounded a warning. She pretended not to hear, drawing on the skills she'd acquired over the years to appear calm and relaxed in the face of every crisis. The leopard spy was stalking her. The monkeys reported his movements as he neared her little hut. The animal was casting for signs of Elijah, of a trap for Armando. All he was going to find was Rachael attempting to make a home in a travelers' hut.

She stood up and smelled him. The wild, feral scent of the intruder creeping up on her. She felt the impact of his gaze as he watched her, excitement taking him. The knowledge that he could take her life, that she was alone, an easy target for a predator such as a leopard. The leopard was certain she didn't have the gift. Armando had assured him she was not a shifter, tied to the human form and not worthy of life. Although she couldn't see him, she could almost feel how his body shook with eagerness for the kill. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Goose bumps rose on her skin. A chill slid down her spine.

Rachael hummed softly to herself, deliberately walked to the nearest tree trunk laden with perfumed orchids and cut several to place on the wooden slab that served as her table. She stayed outdoors within striking distance, knowing Rio had his rifle trained on the leopard at all times. She went inside her little hut and casually arranged the flowers. Her legs were beginning to turn to rubber so she sat on one of the stumps and stared out into the beauty of the forest, attempting to look at ease with her surroundings.

To her astonishment Tama and Kim arrived with four of their tribesmen, talking and gesturing as they asked for water. Kim winked at her. It was the only way to insure the spy leopard didn't try to grab her and carry her back to Armando's camp. He could give Armando reassurance Rachael was alone and Elijah was nowhere near her, but they would have to return to the hut a second time in order to capture her. Even so, she felt the leopard's presence for most of the night. The tribesmen settled down around her, talking long into the night, giving her the courtesy of the hut but successfully preventing the spy from making a move against her. It seemed forever before the feeling of danger passed. She remained still, Waiting, wanting to curl up in a little ball and cry with relief.

Rio arrived at dawn, dragging her into his arms, raining kisses over her face. Elijah was with him, real and solid, hugging her hard, telling her how brave she was.

"Did it work? Did he go back to Armando and tell him I was living here alone and you didn't know about it?" Rachael's voice was muffled against Rio's shirt. She inhaled him, touched him, needing to feel his enormous strength when she felt so fragile.

"It worked, Rachael," Elijah assured. "He went back to Armando like the good little spy and reported everything he saw."

"I felt how eager he was to kill me," she said. "I don't know what he would have done if Kim and Tama hadn't shown up."

"I did too," Rio acknowledged. "He was in my sights the entire time. He never had a chance, sestrilla."

"Now what do we do?" Rachael asked.

'Tama and Kim are going to escort you to their village. You'll be safe with them. Armando will send his men back here to the hut and they'll find it empty. They'll stake it out thinking you'll come back. In the meantime, we have to get rid of his big-game hunters. It looks as if Armando instructed them to bag him a leopard. He knows he can't take Elijah at his camp with all the guards there, but he believes Elijah is shifting at night and hunting for signs of you."

Elijah grinned at her. His gaze remained flat and cold. "It's like him to bring in professional hunters. He couldn't very well tell them I'm a shifter. That would take away one of his big secrets."

"The hunters staked out a goat hoping to draw in a leopard. There aren't supposed to be any big leopards in these parts, only the clouded leopard and the smaller cats. We don't want to take the chance on any other leopard prowling around getting killed. We sent out the word, but we can't be too careful."

"Four big-game hunters?" Rachael echoed. "You mean men who hunt big cats for a living? That's like Armando. I should have guessed he'd do that."

Elijah touched her shoulder gently. "I knew he would. We're prepared for it. You'll be safe with Tama and Kim."

"Don't you think the leopard spy will come back to watch me? I should be here, where he can give his little daily reports to Armando."

"He would never be able to resist killing you," Rio said. "You felt him, his need for the kill. We can't risk it again." Rio caught her face between his hands. "I will not risk you. He's dangerous, and I have to help Elijah with the hunters. We can't afford them at our backs. In any case, Armando would send his men here to grab you. You have to go where it's safe."

At once her heart leapt. Rio could do that with a touch, with a look. Rachael forced a smile when she met his gaze. "You know what you're asking of me, don't you? I had to stand by and watch Armando ruin Elijah's life, torture and torment him over me. He used me to hurt my brother. He can't take you both from me. I would never survive it. You both have to come back to me." She didn't look at her brother, but her voice was choked with tears. "Elijah is going to try to sacrifice himself because he thinks there can be no redemption. Rio, you have to find a way to bring him safely back."

Rio brushed her mouth with his. "You promised to marry me, sestrilla. My beloved one. We need Elijah to give you to me in a proper ceremony. You can be very sure I'll bring him back."

"Thank you." Rachael went with the tribesmen. She only looked back once, and both Elijah and Rio were watching her until she was out of sight.

The two men looked at one another, stripped hastily, and without a word shifted into their animal forms. It was time to go hunting.

The first night Rio and Elijah took the first hunter. He was lying in the blind, his eye glued to his scope, his finger on the trigger of his rifle. Below him, on the forest floor, a small goat cried out in fear. Rio knew the spy leopard walked close, a lookout for the hunters, but they were already inside the hunter's trap, high in the canopy watching.

The second night the spy leopard was waiting in the trees above their kill. His yellow eyes glittered with menace, with a promise of retaliation. They had made him look bad, a creature who felt superior to those he worked with, and he had failed in his job. He didn't want to fail a second time. It was Elijah who made the second kill right under the spy leopard's nose, slipping down into the blind and dispatching the second hunter where he lay in wait.

The leopard discovered the kill on one of his sweeps of the area and went berserk, roaring with rage, promising retaliation. He raced through the forest in the direction of Rachael's small, deserted hut. Rio was grateful she was long gone. The leopard was in a killing mood and wanted desperately to rip something or someone to shreds. Rio followed at a much more leisurely pace, letting the intruder expend energy. He watched from a distance as the shape-shifter ripped apart the small, makeshift hut. He was so enraged, he tore furniture into small sticks and smashed the little bowl of orchids.

Rio gave him no warning, no room to fight, leaping on him from the roof above, teeth sinking deep and hanging on while the leopard rolled and clawed and raked at him. Rio spent most of his life in the forest, most of his life running through the trees both in human and in animal form. The spy leopard had left his normal life for the city and the promise of power and money. He wasn't nearly as fast or as ruthless. Rio accorded the body the respect of his kind, burning it to a fine ash and scattering the remains before joining Elijah.

The third hunter was taken at dusk on the third day, and this time they waited until the last of the professionals realized what happened and hurried away from the scene of death. Elijah padded after the lone hunter, a grim elation spreading through him. The hunter had finally conceded defeat and was stumbling back to camp, horrified at the loss of his friends. He clutched his gun to him as if that single item could save him from the terrors of the darkened forest. The man winced when he heard the low moan of the clouded leopards. He ran when he heard the grunting cough answering the smaller cousins. He burst into the heavily armed camp, clothes torn, parasites on his body and his friends' blood on his clothes.

Armando reacted in his typical fashion. Aggressive, furious that his plans were thwarted and not in the least listening to the hunter's account of his nightmare hunt. Elijah had witnessed the scene many times in the past and knew his uncle was quite capable of erupting into extreme violence. His men knew it too, looking at one another uneasily as the lone hunter tried to explain his failure. Even in the high humidity, the heat of the forest, Armando wore his usual turtleneck sweater, stretched tight over his chest. It was his trademark, that soft expensive shirt that screamed of money and power. He was sweating, but his ego would never allow him to remove it. The leopard curled its lip in a silent snarl of contempt-of hatred.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Armando snapped, fingering his gun continually as a threat. His face twisted with black anger. "I hired four big-game hunters. What's so damned hard about capturing a leopard? You're being paid enough money not to care whether I want the thing alive or dead. Throw a net on it. Wound it. I don't care how you do it. Tranquilize it. Do I have to think for you? If you fail me after the money I'm paying you, you aren't walking out of this forest alive and I can guarantee that. There are four of you and one of him. It can't be that difficult. So get the hell out of my sight and do your damned job."

The man stepped back, this time careful to keep his rifle in front of him, ready to bring it up if he were forced to defend himself. "You aren't listening to me, sir." He glanced warily at the bodyguards, all armed to the teeth. "There aren't four of us. The leopard killed Bob the first night. He just ignored the goat we staked out and went straight to the blind. We left Bob there to lure him in, all of us up in the trees with scopes. He took out Leonard the second night. Craig went last night. Whatever that thing is, he's a man killer. He's as cunning as hell. He didn't even eat them, it was as if he was playing with us all."

Armando swore as he jumped to his feet. The hunter stepped back, gave way immediately. "I don't like any of this; If Rachael isn't back at that hut tomorrow we get out of here. All of us are going to pay her a little visit." When the hunter started toward his tent, Armando caught his arm and jerked him around. "Not you. You have a job to do. You took the money, go get the leopard. Get out of here."

Elijah crouched in the tree, hidden in the foliage overlooking the camp watching the last of the professional hunters reluctantly leave the safety of the site. He waited with endless patience, knowing the rhythm of the hunting camps. Talk died down when the mosquitoes came. Men slapped at the insects, tempers rising. The rain began, a steady downpour increasing everyone's misery. They were essentially city men, only the four hunters were professionals and now three of the four were dead. That put a pall over the campsite. Men disappeared into tents, leaving only the guards at the perimeters. All of them tried to shelter beneath trees. None paid attention to the branches above them. Still he waited, patient. Leopards were always patient. He didn't mind the insects or the rain. This was his world and they were the intruders. He settled down to wait, to get the rhythm of the camp and the men in it.

It was important to go in quietly, get the deed done and get out unseen. The camp was heavily armed. Elijah didn't want a bloodbath here in the forest. They didn't want an investigation. This had to be a stealthy, silent assassination. He crouched there in the bushes not ten feet from one of the sentries and watched his uncle. The light from the lamp illuminated the inside of the tent. One side remained open to give Armando a wide sweep of the area with his gun. And the gun was never more than an inch from his fingertips. One by one the lamps were turned out so that darkness settled over the camp.

The wind blew. The rain fell. Elijah waited until the guards began to grow sleepy. The leopard suddenly came to life. Elijah crept closer, using the freeze-frame, slow motion stalk of the skilled leopard. His focused gaze never left Armando moving around in his tent, gun inches from his fingers. Demon incarnate. Murderer. Every dark deed Armando had committed against his family raged in Elijah's soul. He slipped passed the first guard. The man looked right at him twice and never saw the leopard slinking into the camp.

A man emerged from his tent and stumbled to a nearby tree. He nearly stepped on the leopard, missing the creature by no more than a few inches. Elijah crept forward out of the man's path, gaining another yard. Armando went to the entrance and swept the area for the hundredth time, uneasy with the way the night felt. The rifle was cradled in his arms snug against his chest.

Elijah didn't take his eves off his target, lying hidden in the small shrubbery only a few yards from the tent.

Armando turned his back and the leopard crept forward in silence, moving like fluid over the uneven ground, paws cushioning the heavy body so there was no noise. Only the steady sound of the rain. Elijah paused at the entrance to the tent, careful to stay in the shadow where the light spilling from the lamp couldn't reach him. His gaze settled on his target, his muscles bunched, coiled tight until he was a living spring. He felt the power rush through him, over him.

As if sensing danger, Armando turned back, half lifting the rifle, his eyes searching the night frantically. The leopard hit him hard, driving him backward, teeth sinking into the throat. The powerful jaws crunched down hard in a crushing blow, but the teeth hit metal, not flesh. Elijah tried to power through the protective barrier, bringing up claws to rake at the exposed belly. The same coating of metal covered the soft parts of the body.

Armando had gone over backward, landing hard on the ground, dropping his rifle in the process. The jaws clamped harder, crushing his throat, cutting off all air in spite of his hidden armor. The knife, hidden up his sleeve, sprang into his hand, and he plunged it into the leopard's side repeatedly. The leopard hung on grimly, the yellow-green eyes boring into him. Armando thrashed wildly, but no sound emerged from his laboring throat.

A guard, alerted by the darker shadows, rushed to the opening of the tent, rifle to his shoulder. A second leopard dropped from the tree above, taking him to the ground in a stranglehold. It was done in absolute silence. Rio shook the man one last time to insure he couldn't possibly raise an alarm. He dragged the carcass inside the tent and doused the lamp, plunging the tent into darkness so there would be no shadows to give away the life-and-death struggle between the two combatants.

Rio partially shifted, catching Armando's wrist and twisting to rid him of the knife. He was already dying, black venomous hatred congealed in his eyes as he stared at the face of his nephew, into the eyes of the leopard that slowly crushed his airway, cutting off precious oxygen.

Elijah lay gripping the throat, his sides heaving and slick with blood. Rio nosed him, pushed at him in an effort to get him up and moving before they were discovered. Rio shifted into his human form. "He's gone, Elijah. He's dead." Just to be certain Rio checked the man's pulse. "You're losing too much blood, come on, let's get out of here. Go for the branches just outside the tent."

Elijah couldn't believe the monster was dead. He stared dumbly at Armando, at the open, glassy eyes and knew he looked on the face of evil. There was pain, but it was distant and far away. He pawed clumsily at the shut, ripping the material to expose the meshed braided steel plate beneath it.

"Elijah, we don't have much time." Rio caught the large male around the neck and tried to pull the head around, away from the monster lying crushed and beaten. "You're losing too much blood. You aren't going to survive if we don't get out of here now." When the leopard remained standing over Armando's body, Rio changed tactics. "Rachael's waiting, Elijah. She's afraid for us. Let's get home to her."

The leopard lifted his muzzle and looked at Rio with sad eyes. Despair was there. Confusion. A deep, deep sorrow. Rio touched the furred head again. "You're free. Both of you are free. Your life belongs to you now." Rio shifted shape, taking his animal form, leading the way out of the darkened tent. Leading the way back to Rachael. Back to life.