Ther e was no sound, but he knew she was there in his mind, maybe in his skin, reaching for him, separated only by the thin walls. “I took a couple of minor hits, nothing big, getting our last vic out.
And I had the little run-in with the leopard. If you come across anyone with damage from a big cat, let me know. He’s got to go for treatment somewhere.”
“You think he was after you or after the woman?”
“I thought he was sent after me at first. He was definitely tracking, but now I think maybe it was Rachael all along.”
“The reward?”
Rio’s fingertips drummed on the window. “I don’t think he meant to take her out of here. I think he was going to kill her.”
Drake winced visibly. “One of ours? We don’t kill women, Rio, especially one of our women and she is. You know she is.”
“I don’t know anything at this point.” Rio leaned against the railing and looked at his friends. “Since she’s been around I’m in a perpetual state of confusion.” He grinned a little sheepishly.
“Who is she, Rio? Where’d she come from?” Drake asked.
Rio shrugged. “I don’t know. She doesn’t talk about herself very much.” He rubbed his hands together and looked out into the darkened interior of the forest. “I remember her. I remember everything about her. Sometimes when I’m with her, I can’t tell the difference between the past and the present.”
“Does she remember you?”
“I think she does sometimes. I see it in her eyes. And she admits to being just as confused as I am.”
Rio shoved both hands through his hair. “What have you heard, Kim? Did anyone in the camp give you any information on her?”
“I’m sorry, Rio. They want that money and they’ll turn the forest inside out to get it. Whoever is offering the reward wants her badly.”
“She said they wanted her dead,” Rio admitted, “but nothing else. She didn’t say why and she obviously believes they’ll keep coming.”
“Anyone offering a million dollars is serious,” Drake concluded.
Kim shook his head. “Not dead, Rio. They are not to kill her. If she is har med in any way, the reward will not be paid. I heard Tomas talking to his men. He repeated it several times. They are not to harm her.”
The wind blew steadily through the leaves, turning them from dark to silver as the rays of diffused sunlight burst through the canopy. Rio straightened from where he was leaning against the railing, paced restlessly the length of the verandah before returning to stand in front of Kim. “You’re certain of this?”
Kim nodded. “Tomas said she was not to be harmed or they wouldn’t get the money. He was adamant.”
“Rachael said they were tr ying to kill her. Could she be wrong? She said a cobra was put into her room right before they went upriver. And she left the States under false papers in order to disappear because someone wanted her dead.”
“Do you think she’s lying to you?” Drake asked.
Rio paced a second time, turning the idea over in his mind. Finally he shook his head. “I think she believes someone is trying to kill her. And she doesn’t panic easily, so it isn’t hysteria. If Rachael says someone wants her dead, I have to believe her. It’s possible we’re dealing with two separate factions.
Someone is willing to pay a great deal of money to keep her alive. They’re making a big fuss openly, going to the government demanding they find her, and someone else. Someone much quieter who is working to keep her silent. That person is hiring assassins to make certain she doesn’t talk.”
“That’s a jump, Rio,” Drake said.
“I know it is, but it’s possible. I believe her when she says someone is tr ying to kill her. Why would a woman like Rachael try to disappear into the rain forest?”
“She’s close to the Han Vol Dan, Rio. You felt it just as strongly as I did. She’s very close. Maybe it draws our people back to the forest.”
“Maybe. I asked her if she heard those words before and she couldn’t remember. She said they weren’t unfamiliar, yet she had no real knowledge of them.”
“It complicates things,” Drake said. “It’s a dangerous time for ever yone. I’m leaving here tonight. I don’t dare stay around when she’s so close.”
“Did you feel it, Kim? Tama?” Rio asked curiously. “You’ve been around our people many years. I practically grew up with you.”
“I’ve never been close to anyone during the time of the Han Vol Dan,” Kim admitted. “I’ve heard of it, of course. Our elders speak of such things, but to my knowledge, no one other than your people have witnessed such an event.” He looked to his brother for confirmation.