Leopard 04 - Wild Fire

small caresses over the back of her hand.
    “You know your mother, Conner,” Gerald continued. “She took one look at that child, without parents to love him, and she immediately bonded. She was living in the cabin with the baby part of the time and the village during the rainy season.”
    “That’s why she was in the village,” Conner said.
    Will nodded. “The boy was in Adan’s house playing with my cousin when Cortez’s men attacked. Your mother tried to stop them from taking the boys. They thought your brother was one of us. He’s only five, Conner.”
    “Why wouldn’t she tell you about having a half brother?” Isabeau asked.
    Conner hung his head. “She knew I would have gone to the village and killed that son of a bitch. I despise him. He uses the women and if they become pregnant, he throws away the child—and the woman—if she won’t get rid of it.”
    The bitterness in his voice sickened him, but he couldn’t help it. He always had a handle on his emotions—except when it came to his father. The man hadn’t been physically abusive to Conner, but emotional abuse was far worse, in Conner’s opinion. It was like Marisa to put her child first and build a life for him. And she would have done the same for his brother, even though she hadn’t given birth to the boy. He knew he couldn’t do less.
    He brought Isabeau’s hand to his jaw and rubbed absently over the faint shadow while he turned the problem over and over in his mind. If Imelda’s rogues took too close a look at the child they might recognize the leopard in him. With a female it was nearly impossible at a young age, but boys . . . one never knew when the leopard would emerge and there often were signs.
    “What’s he like?” Conner asked.
    Beside him Isabeau stirred, drawing instant attention. “What’s his name?”
    Conner nodded and used the pads of her fingers to press tight against his throbbing temples. “Yes. I should have asked that.”
    “Your mother called him Mateo,” Will said.
    Conner swallowed hard, picturing his mother with the small baby. He should have known. Should have gone home to help her. “What’s he like?”
    “Like you,” Gerald answered. “Very much like you. He will be grieving for your mother. He saw her killed.”
    That wasn’t good. His leopard would try to emerge, to help the boy. Conner remembered the anger beating at him continually as a child, rage throbbing like a heartbeat in his veins. The boy would believe he had no one now. If he was like Conner, he would die before he could ever ask his father for help. He would want vengeance.
    “Will Artureo be able to keep Mateo under control? Keep him from revealing his leopard even under duress?”
    There was a small silence. “He’s a headstrong boy,” Gerald said. “And devoted to your mother.” He glanced uneasily at Isabeau.
    “She knows everything,” Conner said. “You can talk freely.”

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    “One of the men shot her when she tried to get Mateo back. They thought she was dead.”
    “I saw her go down,” Isabeau admitted. “Artureo hid me in the trees and ran to help. They took him too.
    I never saw her animal form. I didn’t know about her being leopard.”
    “Marisa crawled into the brush and shifted to her other form,” Gerald said. “The big man, Suma is his name, I saw him shift and he finished her off. No one would go into the forest after them once he took his animal form. The boy saw his mother die, the only mother he’d ever known. I heard him scream, Conner, and it was awful to hear.”
    Conner pushed down his own rising grief. His mother would expect him to get the boy back—not only get him back, but take full responsibility for him. He turned his head slowly to look at Isabeau. He had no choice now. He would have to do whatever it took, pay whatever price demanded of him.
    Isabeau could see the despair in Conner’s eyes, the sorrow and shock. And the distance. Her stomach did a small warning somersault and settled slowly. “Whatever you need, we’ll help,” she offered.
    He let go of her hand and inclined his head toward Gerald and Will. “I thank you for making the journey here to give me this news in person. Assure Adan we’ll get the children back. Tell him to keep to the plan. Will, I’ll find your son. You know me. I’ll bring him home.”
    Will nodded his head, his eyes steady on Conner’s. “You’re the