Leopard 04 - Wild Fire

slowly, he straightened, still on his knees, his body buried tight in hers. Deep inside his leopard snarled and raked, fury bursting through him.
    He inhaled deeply and scented— enemy . It was a brief, barely there scent that disappeared almost immediately, as if the male leopard had shifted position with the wind. There was no warning from the canopy, nothing to indicate there was an enemy close, but Conner knew he wasn’t mistaken—he had scented another male leopard briefly. He remained still, his gaze sweeping the surrounding forest.
    “Is something wrong?” Isabeau asked, recognizing the stillness in him. She started to turn her head, but he dug his fingers into her hips and surged forward, sending ripples of aftershocks spreading through her.
    “Don’t move. Just look at me.”
    “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Is someone watching us?” She shivered, suddenly frightened. The rain forest had never scared her, yet now shadows seemed to be lurking behind every tree.
    “He’s out there. Watching us.”
    She didn’t have to ask who “he” was. Ottila Zorba. “How long has he been there?”
    “I have no idea. We’re going inside. I want you to lock yourself in. You know how to shoot. I’ll call for backup and then I’m going to shift and hunt him.”
    She wanted to shake her head, afraid for him. He pulled away from her and moved his body to block Ottila’s view of her while he helped her up and yanked open the door, nearly shoving her inside.
    Ottila hadn’t cut the communication off, probably not wanting to tip them to his presence. Conner made the call to Rio and then began to move through the cabin, preparing to leave her.
    “Wait for Rio, Conner,” Isabeau cautioned. “There’s something about him that’s just plain scary. I’ll feel better if you wait.”
    His leopard wouldn’t let him. He doubted if the man would. She had no idea how much nature and instincts played a part in their lives, dominating even good sense at times. His cat raged, a black, jealous haze spreading through his mind. He dragged weapons out and showed each to her, taping one beneath the tabletop, putting another in a drawer, hiding four guns and two knives for her.
    “He’ll be too busy trying to kill you,” Isabeau pointed out. “He doesn’t want to kill me, but he wants you dead. If that’s really him—and we don’t know for certain . . .”
    “It’s him,” Conner said with certainty. “My cat knows it’s him. Lock the doors, Isabeau. Stay inside and keep the lights out. I’ll call out when I return, otherwise you shoot anything that tries to get in.”
    She clung to him. “Please just listen to me this once. It’s you he’s after. He wants you dead. He wants you to go into the forest after him. Otherwise, why tip you off to his presence?”
    “No one can predict the wind shifting like that. He was caught and he’s probably halfway to the next village by now, running like a rabbit.”
    She knew better, knew Ottila had no intention of running. Her heart pounded with fear for Conner. He was supremely confident, but he hadn’t actually met Ottila as she had. The rogue leopard changed his spots continually, and she had a feeling he was hiding something.
    Conner gently put her from him, leaned down and kissed her just once. Then he lifted the back window and shifted as he dove through. He disappeared almost at once into the shadows. Isabeau closed and locked the window, and then drew the shutters, making certain all of them were in place and no one would be able to come through a window.
    With shaking hands, Isabeau dressed, putting on her clothes like armor. Layers of them. Underwear, jeans, heavy socks, a T-shirt, before wrapping herself in Conner’s sweater. She sat down to wait, her heart beating fast and hard and the taste of fear in her mouth. She had no idea how long she actually sat there, but she realized tears blurred her vision. She couldn’t just sit still. She paced for a while and finally opened the shutters overlooking the front porch and stood staring out, trying to see what was happening in the rain forest. She could hear the sounds of the insects and night creatures—the forest had its own music at night, but there was no disruption, no fight between leopards and no warning from the animals that leopards were in the vicinity.
    By now, she consoled herself, Rio would have joined Conner in the search. And maybe he was wrong.
    Maybe he hadn’t really caught the scent of a