Leopard 04 - Wild Fire

but as far as she could tell, the rain forest sounded the same, although the scream of the monkeys and the cry of the birds seemed overly loud.
    “I smell smoke.”
    She let him pull her up. “Where’s Adan?”
    “With Rio. He’ll be fine. Adan knows how to take care of himself in the forest. It’s you I’m worried about. Let’s get out of this trap.”
    “I didn’t do this, Conner,” she said.
    “You wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill yourself and Adan along with me,” he said, not looking at her. He pulled open the cabin door a few inches and peered out, his hand tightening around hers. “Someone followed you, probably not knowing you were meeting us. And that means it’s an assassination squad.
    Did they know you witnessed the attack on the tribe?”
    Her face went pale, her eyes wide, just like when he’d shown her his claws. “The letter. Adan wrote a letter to the director of the interior of Indian affairs, detailing what had happened and asking for aid.
    When we didn’t hear anything back, he sent word to some of his old friends, men he’d trained in survival.
    The official word came back that no one could risk the political fallout it would cause, bringing in a Special Forces team against Cortez without permission from this government. That’s when I told him about you.”
    “Did he mention you? As a witness?” His fingers involuntarily tightened around hers until she let out a small gasp. He made an effort to relax. “I need to know if they’ve seen you. Did anyone know you were there when Cortez’s men murdered some of the Indians?”
    “Adan and his wife. No one else saw me.”
    “Did you see the letter? Did it mention you?” He hissed the words through clenched teeth, a low growl rumbling in his chest. His leopard was raging now, his mate in danger. Fire was something used by outsiders. And any outsiders coming this far into the rain forest had a purpose. The cabin was only a few miles into the interior, but nearly impossible to find unless one knew where it was, and Adan had assured them all this meeting place was secure.
    He felt the shudder of fear that rippled through her body, and he made an effort to push his cat down enough to maintain complete control. “We’re going to make a run into the trees. When we come onto the porch, leap over the edge.”
    Her gasp was audible. “This cabin sits on stilts. We’re a story up.”
    “You’re leopard. Trust her. She’ll land on her feet. You must have noticed extraordinary skills by this time.”
    “But I’m not . . .”
    He turned his head, his golden eyes glowing yellow-green—a cat’s eyes—focused and unblinking. She trailed off and nodded her head.
    “If you’re too afraid, I can carry you, but I won’t be able to shield you as well.”
    The thought of him carrying her in his arms, held close against his body frightened her almost more than the guns did. She shook her head. “I’ll try.”
    “You’ll do it,” he corrected, his voice gentling. “Jump over the rail on the left side. I’ll be right behind Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    you. Start running for the forest and don’t look back. You’ve got about twenty feet to make it into the tree line. Keep running once you get there. Twenty feet is a long way, but if you let your cat lose . . .”
    “I don’t know how.”
    At least she wasn’t arguing with him about being leopard. That was a start. “You’ll feel her, muscles like steel, flowing like water, beneath your skin. She’ll rise because she senses your fear. Your instinct will be to fight her, but she won’t emerge, you’re not ready yet. Let her come close. You’ll run faster, take longer leaps and you’ll be able to go up into the canopy.”
    His eyes held hers, willing her to believe him. She swallowed hard, but nodded her head.
    “A leopard is tremendously strong. You have that, Isabeau. She won’t swallow you, but for a few moments as she’s rising, you’ll feel that way. Don’t panic. I’ll be right behind you and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
    Isabeau didn’t know why she believed him after everything that had happened between them, but she couldn’t help responding to his voice. The idea of a leopard living in her was absolutely preposterous, but she’d seen her own hand shift into a claw, felt the stiletto-like tips raking across his face. She woke up often, her heart hammering in panic, a scream of protest