Leopard 04 - Wild Fire

understand with your family.”
    She frowned at him. “It was pretty ugly to make that kind of discovery.”
    “I know. I’m sincerely sorry.”
    If she hadn’t been leopard, she would have believed him. He was one of the best actors she’d ever run across. He delivered his lines with absolute sincerity and looked so sad and guilty she had the urge to reassure him even though she knew he was lying. She sighed. “What else can I do but forgive you? At least he’s been discovered, although what a horrible way to die.”
    “Thinking of all those young girls and their families,” Alberto said, “I can’t say I’m surprised. And all the times he went out with Imelda . . .” He shuddered. “It could have happened to her.”
    Isabeau found she couldn’t speak, so simply nodded, trying to look understanding. She suddenly realized why the old man had taken such an interest in her. She was their leverage, their hostage. She had been a Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    hostage at the party and she was now. They hadn’t been able to keep Elijah from sending a bodyguard with her this time, but she was, in effect, the Cortez’s prisoner. They could kill her at any time if Elijah or Marcos made a hostile move.
    She had to assume that not only Harry was armed, but Alberto as well and that both were ready to kill her at a moment’s notice. Was Conner close enough to stop them? Did he know? He was making them believe he thought any threat might come from an outside source, not them. Harry had backed away from Ottila the other night because he knew just how dangerous the man really was. He knew the truth, just as Imelda did—that Ottila and Suma were leopards. Imelda had shared her knowledge with her grandfather and his trusted bodyguard.
    Alberto waved toward a looping path. “Harry, this way, I want to show Isabeau my favorite spot.”
    “If you don’t mind, Alberto,” Isabeau said, “it’s getting difficult for me to walk. I thought we could take a look at the greenhouse and get off the uneven surface. Besides, I’d love to see the size of your vegetables if you’re using this soil.”
    Alberto smiled at her. “I shouldn’t have even considered you coming out to the garden. I just wanted to show it to someone who would really appreciate it. We can go sit on the verandah and visit. The greenhouse has recently been sprayed and no one can go in for twenty-four hours.”
    “How disappointing,” Isabeau said. She’d managed to get them within thirty feet of the building.
    Conner was much closer, but seemingly disinterested, although he was talking into his radio. His gaze continually swept the rooftops and the fenceline. She took a cautious sniff of the air, testing for the scent of leopards. If Alberto and Harry knew, had others been hired as well? “I used to grow vegetables when I lived at home with my father, but now that I travel so much,” she shrugged, but took another few steps toward the greenhouse.
    “Another time, perhaps,” Alberto said as Harry pushed the chair toward the house.
    The door to the greenhouse swung open and for one moment there was the sound of a child crying, hastily cut off as the servant slammed the door closed. The woman whirled around to see them all staring at her, Alberto furious. He swore at her in the local Indian dialect even as he reached beneath his lap blanket, as understanding dawned. Alberto was a shrewd, cunning man who had put together the Cortez empire. In that split second he realized he’d fallen into a trap and that they’d come to find the children, not negotiate deals or friendships. Isabeau saw the knowledge on his face.
    Conner suddenly moved, his speed blinding, as he rushed them. Simultaneously, the scent of leopard filled her lungs. She screamed and threw herself toward Conner, terrified as she recognized the overpowering smell of her worst nightmare, barely registering that the old man was aiming a gun at her head.
    Harry whirled to face the large cat dropping out of the tree above their heads, his shotgun bucking in his hands. The shotgun boomed, a deafening sound that exploded through the air just as the sound of gunfire erupted from the direction of the house. Alberto’s deceptively sweet mask had been replaced by a twisted, cunning killer, lips drawn back in a snarl as he whipped up the gun and fired several shots at her just as Conner took her to the ground, covering her body with his.
    Alberto