Leopard 04 - Wild Fire

seared him, singeing whiskers and fur. For a moment the heat was so intense, he thought he was on fire. He landed on the other side and crouched, panting, his sides heaving as his leg gave way and he staggered and fell. Rio landed beside him, already reloading.
    “You need medical attention. Get to the trees and let me take care of that,” Rio said. When the leopard shook its head, Rio’s mouth tightened. “That wasn’t a request.”
    Conner snarled, showing teeth, but reluctantly followed his team leader’s order. Rio rarely put things as a command, but he ran the team when Drake wasn’t around—and Drake hadn’t been around in a long while.
    They hurried away from the heat and roar of the fire. There were a few men running away from the flames, so they avoided them. The ones hunting the children and Isabeau were a different matter. The leopard sank down into the thick vegetation, while Rio withdrew his medical kit and found what he needed.
    “I think the bullet’s still in there, Conner. I’m going to have to take it out.”
    He injected the cat with painkiller to numb the area before feeling around to see where the bullet was lodged. Leopards could be unpredictable in the best of times, and digging around for a bullet was not something most would allow. Rio wouldn’t have tried it with just anyone. Conner was strong and held his cat in check through most difficult situations. And they had little time.
    Rio could feel the leopard tremble as he probed the wound. Once he nearly had the slippery bit of metal with the tweezers, but the cat flinched. “Damn it. Hold still. The light’s no good here and I’m working blind.” Mostly the cat’s teeth were too close, making him nervous.
    It took a few more minutes of digging before he managed to grasp the bullet enough to pull it out. The cat shuddered and hissed out a long protest, but resolutely kept its head turned away from him. Hastily, Rio cleaned up the wound site and injected him with antibiotics. “Don’t do anything crazy and that should hold until you can shift again. Let’s go.”
    Conner tested the leg. With the painkiller, he could put more weight on it, but he was weak and a little disoriented. The two set out at a run. Rio slung his gun over his shoulder and tried to keep up with the wounded leopard. The men had set a fast pace with the children. Elijah was obviously carrying Mateo, his footprints were deeper than the others. They came across two bodies, both guards from Imelda’s compound, shot.
    There were smears of blood after that, indicating someone had been injured. Deep inside the leopard, Conner’s heart pounded in fear for Isabeau.
    “Not her,” Rio said. “Felipe or Leonardo I think.” He pointed to a broken stride. “Right here.”
    Both inhaled deeply. “Definitely Felipe,” Rio said.
    They took off running again. The sound of a gunshot reverberated through the forest. Beside the leopard, Rio suddenly jerked and went down on one knee. Blood splattered across the rotting vegetation as Rio fell facedown, sprawling out limply.
    Conner used his powerful claws to grip a leg and pull the body into the deeper cover of the trees, sinking down beside his friend to gently roll him over. He was losing too much blood. Conner shifted, uncaring of the vicious pain slamming through his leg and hip as he crouched beside Rio, working fast to stop the blood.
    There was both an entry and exit wound. The bullet had passed through Rio’s body, close to the heart, but it hadn’t hit it. He had no idea of what damage it had done, but Rio was breathing shallowly. Conner had no doubt who had targeted them. Just as they had stashed supplies and weapons in the forest, so had Ottila.
    He worked on Rio for twenty minutes before he was satisfied he’d done all he could. Rio stirred, lashes fluttering several times. Conner leaned close to his ear. “Lie still. He’s out there hunting us. I’m putting the gun in your hand. It’s fully loaded. There’s water next to your other hand. I’m going to kill him, but it may take some time. I don’t want you getting all impatient on me and trying to move. You understand, Rio.
    Don’t move around.”

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    Rio’s nod was barely perceptible. Conner put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and bowed his head, looking for a little help. He didn’t want to come back to a dead body.
    Shifting, he slunk low to the ground and