A part of him realized that the how didn't matter, not really. No matter how she acquired them, she'd read them, and in doing so, she'd glimpsed a part of his soul he never meant to share with another human being. Still, it gave him something to focus on, something other than the humiliation of having all the layers of his soul peeled away. It gave him a target for his anger.
The medical bag in one hand, the letters clasped tightly in the other, he stalked from the room, intent on finding his deceitful wife and wringing her neck.
Chapter Twelve
By the time he found her in the large hut at the other end of the village where she'd been yesterday, his rage roared out of control. Moving among the hammocks, Caroline talked soothingly to the occupants and administered medicine. A small child followed her every step, his eyes gleaming up at her with adoration.
Treacherous, lying woman! She'd managed to win them all over, including himself. How pathetic they all were!
Words eluded him. He stood staring at her with such unremitting force that she finally turned to glance at him. Her soft lips curved upward in an artless smile that reminded him forcibly of all that had passed between them last night and this morning, reminded him of her supple body moving against his, the clarity of her trusting gaze, the cries that had slipped past her control as he'd made love to her.
Lust and fury shuddered through his body in equal parts."Some of them seem better," she said. "Maybe the quinine is helping after all."
A jolt set her heart pounding. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She could see it in his face. Her hand trembled as she placed it on the child in the hammock. Maybe she was mistaken; maybe if she ignored it, ignored him....
She jumped at the sound of something hitting the dirt floor behind her. Turning around, her gaze fell on the packet of papers between them before lifting to his rage-contorted face, only to return to the papers.
Letters.
"Oh, dear God!" she muttered, her throat tightening as she recognized Jason's letters to Derek. "Jason, I can explain."
She started toward him, but the glint in his hard, cold eyes halted her. His chest rose and fell with the force of his furious breathing.
This should never have happened. How could she have been so careless? Tears clogged her throat, but she managed to speak past them. "Please listen."
"That's my handwriting," he said, pointing to the letters on the floor. "They're my letters, letters I sent to my cousin."
"I know. I know. I'm sorry. I should have told you...."
He moved closer to her, and Caroline backed away from the steely, uncompromising hatred that burned in his pale eyes.
"Please let me explain," she pleaded.
In two steps, he was on her. Paulo, the child she'd treated in the cabin, moved between them, but Jason ignored the small boy.
Grabbing Caroline by the arm with such force that she cried out in pain, he dragged her toward the door, stopping to retrieve the bundle of letters. Outside in the glaring light of day, he hauled her along, unaffected by her attempts to pull free. Paulo trailed behind them, shrieking in agitated Portuguese.
Activity came to a standstill as all eyes turned to the doutora and the tall, angry man who dragged her so forcefully through the village. Pocedo, the man Jason had attacked yesterday, the leader of the village, stepped forward, but Jason glared a warning at the other man. Pocedo might wield ultimate power in the village, but Caroline sensed that Jason made it clear to the other man that his authority did not extend to his wife.
Pocedo seemed to understand. He stopped where he was, his countenance every bit as angry and threatening as Jason's. No one in the village liked the idea of this stranger attacking their doutora, but no one dared challenge him.
Nearby, a woman bent over a cooking fire. Jason stopped before her and tossed the letters onto the flame.
"No!" Caroline shrieked. She rushed toward the fire, taking Jason by surprise and breaking free. But before she could reach the fire, he'd grabbed her by the arm again and wheeled her around, forcing her up against his hard body.
"We will not speak of anything in those letters—ever!" he said through clenched teeth, his tone indomitable. "I've packed your belongings. We're leaving now."
The cold, slate blue sky sizzled with lightning as the first huge drops of rain began to fall. Caroline