Leopard 02 - Wild Rain

intimately back and forth over her wrist. “Is that true, Drake?”
    “Lies, all lies,” he denied, clutching his heart. “And they call themselves my friends. I risk my life for them and this is how they repay me.”

    “Poor thing,” she commiserated, trying not to laugh. Drake and Rio were such powerful, dominant-looking males, yet at that moment they looked like two boys laughing over a silly joke together.
    Rachael had all kinds of questions, but she put them aside until she could be alone with Rio.
    “Rachael’s tired,” Rio said. “We should let her rest while we decide what we’re going to do about finding this lost group of do-gooders.” He saw her swift frown and hastily retracted. “Kidnap victims.”
    Drake laughed again. “I always wondered what could make you politically correct. It isn’t a what, it’s a who.”
    Rachael watched the four men go out onto the verandah, leaving her with Fritz. They closed the door, but she could hear the low sound of their voices. Somehow it was reassuring to hear them as she drifted between waking and sleeping. Rain was intermittent. There would be the murmur of the wind in the trees, the flutter of leaves and the continual sound of insects and birds, of troupes of monkeys chattering back and forth as they moved through branches. The sounds crept into her dreams, familiar and soothing. The humidity was never oppressive, but rather heightened her senses, making her aware of the curves of her body, of her nerve endings, of her sexuality. She felt drops of sweat running down the valley between her breasts.
    Rachael closed her eyes and Rio was there, bending his dark head toward her body, his tongue swirling over the swell of her breast, sending a shiver down her spine. Her body tightened in anticipation. He looked at her and her breath caught in her throat. There was so much love there. So much devotion. She felt tears welling up. She knew him so well, every expression, every line. When he was tired or happy or angry. She wrapped her arms around him, held him to her while they listened to the wind and rain beating softly at the window.
    Rio tapped at the window, wishing he’d thought to pull the blanket aside so he could see Rachael. He was certain she would fall asleep fast. Her leg was healing, but very slowly. He counted them lucky that she hadn’t lost it. “Tama, thank you for mixing up the herbs to heal Rachael’s leg. I was worried I might not be able to save it. She was pretty sick for a while.”
    “You know most of the healing plants,” Tama replied. “This is a mixture my father uses when we must heal quickly without much pain while traveling through the forest and rivers. The river can be dangerous to open wounds. This puts a sealant over it to prevent parasites or bacteria from getting under the skin.”
    “Don’t worry, Rio, I made certain I left the puncture wounds open to drain,” Kim added. “Are you going to tell us how that happened?”
    “Not to mention, you look a little worse for wear yourself,” Drake pointed out.
    Rio put his hand on the window, spread his fingers as if he could touch her. He felt her calling to him.
    There was no sound, but he knew she was there in his mind, maybe in his skin, reaching for him, separated only by the thin walls. “I took a couple of minor hits, nothing big, getting our last vic out.
    And I had the little run-in with the leopard. If you come across anyone with damage from a big cat, let me know. He’s got to go for treatment somewhere.”
    “You think he was after you or after the woman?”

    “I thought he was sent after me at first. He was definitely tracking, but now I think maybe it was Rachael all along.”
    “The reward?”
    Rio’s fingertips drummed on the window. “I don’t think he meant to take her out of here. I think he was going to kill her.”
    Drake winced visibly. “One of ours? We don’t kill women, Rio, especially one of our women and she is. You know she is.”
    “I don’t know anything at this point.” Rio leaned against the railing and looked at his friends. “Since she’s been around I’m in a perpetual state of confusion.” He grinned a little sheepishly.
    “Who is she, Rio? Where’d she come from?” Drake asked.
    Rio shrugged. “I don’t know. She doesn’t talk about herself very much.” He rubbed his hands together and looked out into the darkened interior of the forest. “I remember her. I remember everything about her. Sometimes when