Leopard 02 - Wild Rain

her head. She didn’t have flights of fancy and she didn’t fall head over heels just because a man had a killer body.
    Rio unexpectedly leaned very close to her, his lips against her ear. “You’re doing it again. You can’t look at me like that. It’s going to get you into trouble someday.”
    Drake cleared his throat. “Why in the world would someone put up a million dollars to get you back?”
    Rachael continued to look at Rio. She saw only Rio. His weathered face, the lines etched there from too many missions, too many decisions he didn’t want to make. Eyes that held so much focused intensity. Eyes that could be as cold as ice or burning with such heat she caught fire. Eyes that were a vivid green instead of the yellow-green she’d seen so often.
    “Well, that is the question, isn’t it?” Rachael murmured. “What have I done? What did I steal? Because no one would put up that kind of money without a just cause.”
    “You forgot the most important question. What do you know?” Rio amended.
    Rachael took a deep breath, turned away from his all-seeing stare. “I thought you all had to go rescue the others.”
    “It isn’t that easy. Tomas moves his camp and moves his prisoners all the time. They have tunnels in the fields they drop down into. The cane fields can cover a maze of tunnels that go for miles,” Rio explained.
    “Rat holes,” Drake said. “They have so many bolt-holes it takes time to find them and pinpoint their location.”
    “And just about the time we have a fix on them, the prisoners are moved again,” Rio added. “We have to move carefully, especially with Tomas. Drake and Tama were able to get Kim out because no one expected a rescue so soon. This series of storms are some of the worst we’ve experienced in years. The last thing anyone would think was that Kim’s family would know something happened and go after him using one of our people to aid him.”
    Rachael was too exhausted to do anything but lie back on the pillows and think. She hated to admit it, but the strangely colored concoction Kim and Tama had smeared on her leg had definitely taken away much of the pain. She glanced down at her leg and nearly laughed. Her calf and ankle were still swollen nearly double the normal size and now appeared as if she were wearing a brownish-green sock.
    The two puncture wounds continually drained, which added to the entire effect. “Lovely,” she murmured.
    “I think so,” Drake said, grinning at her with boyish charm.
    Rio waited for the sudden surge of black jealousy that seemed to be a curse hanging over his species, but surprisingly it didn’t come. He could feel the brush of Rachael’s fingers along his back, the way she tugged absently on the waistband of his pants. It was such a small thing, but it was familiar and comforting. He felt confident and secure in his relationship. Rio smiled and shook his head. He had to keep reminding himself he didn’t have a relationship with her. He reached behind him to capture her hand. “I swear, Rachael, I have flashbacks around you.”
    They stared at one another, completely in tune at that moment. Their smiles were slow and genuine, smiles of complete understanding, spreading warmth through them both.
    Drake cleared his throat to draw Rio’s attention. “And you always thought it was a myth. Rachael, my dear, I don’t think you have to worry about anyone turning you in for money or for anything else.
    You’ve come home where you belong.”
    “Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?” Rachael asked. But she could see it on Rio’s face. He knew exactly what Drake was talking about. And she saw something else. Just for the briefest of moments she saw hope and happiness in Rio’s eyes. It flickered there and was quickly covered up.
    “You do know.”
    “Drake has a thing about old legends. He believes in fairy tales. I don’t,” Rio answered gruffly.
    Drake nudged him. “But you’re beginning to. What about Maggie and Brandt? Are they a myth? You just don’t want to admit when you’re wrong.” He turned his attention to Rachael. “Rio’s stubborn. No one’s ever been able to do a thing with him. Good luck is all I’m going to say.”
    Rio groaned. “Don’t believe him, Rachael. He always has more to say. If we were lucky he’d shut up now, but it isn’t going to happen.”
    Kim and Tama nodded in agreement, laughing aloud as they did so.
    Rachael was very aware of Rio’s thumb sliding