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someone after her and he'd never stop until she was dead. It doesn't matter if I went against the laws of
our people and got a conviction, he'd find a way to kill her. I know him. Armando is vindictive and he
hates me. In his mind, I betrayed him. He offered to make me his son. I was the heir to his empire and I
went along with it for years. I had to make him believe it."
Elijah looked into Rio's eyes with the focused stare of his kind. "You probably can't understand that kind
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of twisted hatred, but he wants to kill Rachael more than he wants anything else. I chose her over him.
That's the way he looks at it. She held some kind of power over me, otherwise, I would have become his
son."
"But you made your move too soon and you couldn't get him. Why?" Rio returned the focused stare,
every bit as unblinking and merciless.
"He came to me one night and told me it was time to clean house. He wanted Rachael dead. He said he
knew I couldn't do it, so he wasn't asking me to kill her, he didn't need a sign of loyalty. He told me he
was going to do it himself, that he wouldn't take the chance that any of the men would dishonor her first."
Elijah drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. "That's exactly how he put it to me. He was casually
talking about killing my sister, but not to worry, none of the men would be allowed to rape her first."
"So you had to make your move."
"I had my men in place. I had a loyal following. I got Rachael to a safe house and made my move.
Unfortunately, he was still too strong. He knows the way to defeat me is to get to her. She's everything I
care about. You know that, don't you, Rachael? I swear I don't know what I said to you when I pulled
you out of that car, but Tony was taking you to Armando, and you would have been sent back to me in
pieces."
"It's all right," she said softly. "Elijah, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Whatever was said is forgotten.
Please forgive me for the terrible things I was thinking."
"Who could blame you, Rachael? We've lived with betrayal for so long it's become a way of life for the
both of us." Elijah shifted in his chair. "So tell me what you want me to do, Rio. Let's see if we can
manage to hash out a plan to remove the threat to Rachael."
Rio rocked Rachael gently, a soothing, comforting gesture he was barely aware of making. Her body
trembled in his arms. She was overwhelmed by everything but hung on to her calm demeanor because
she was Rachael and that's what she did. She had a way of moving him, turning him inside out over the
simplest things. He felt the love she had for her brother and the fear for him all mixed together.
"Have Tama take you downriver, far downriver, as many miles as possible. We'll start the rumor that
Rachael's shoe was found. Then let's get an informant on the river to tell a government official in front of
Armando's mole that Rachael is living in the forest. Once the mole gets the information to your uncle, he'll
send his leopard out to confirm first."
"Or kill her "Or kill her," Rio agreed. "That will be the most critical time. You'll have to put your trust in
me and stay a long way away. I'll try to keep you informed, but this won't work if he even thinks you're
anywhere near her. He'll sense a trap. You'll have to be downriver and on the lookout for a hit on you."
Rachael stirred restlessly, shooting an apprehensive look at her brother. "What kind of protection did you
bring with you?"
"I have some of my best men. In the forest, it won't be
easy to surprise me, not even for his leopard assassin. Rachael, don't worry about me. I can take care of
myself," Elijah reassured.
"Elijah's right, sestrilla," Rio murmured softly, adding his own reassurance, "I suspect your uncle would
want him alive, would want him to suffer with the knowledge of your death before anything else. If we're
wrong and he sends the leopard to kill Elijah, you have to have faith in your brother's abilities. He's
stayed alive and kept you alive all these years. He won't be taken easily. And Tama will be with him.
There isn't a better guide, or a more responsible one, unless it's Kim."
Rachael bit at her knuckles. "I don't like this, I don't like us separated when he comes after us."
"He won't come if he knows you're with Elijah," Rio said patiently. "He's afraid of Elijah. Your brother is
probably the only man he is afraid of. That's why he has to destroy him before he kills him. And the only
means he has of destroying him is through you." .
"I know of his leopard assassin, Rachael," Elijah added. "I can take him if he comes at me. I can take him
in either form, human or animal." There was complete confidence in his voice.
Rachael nodded and managed a faint smile, but Rio could feel her body trembling. He pulled her closer,
trying to protect her from her brother's all-seeing eyes. "Once Armando has entered the country, Kim
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Pang, Tama's brother, will get word to Tama. You can head this way the moment Armando has entered
our forest. I'll have a few of my men standing by with radios to let us know where he is. He can't take
animal form, but he'll come in with hunters, hoping to protect himself. What do you think, Elijah?"
"I think I'm going to trust you with my sister's life." Elijah stood up, stretched, a completely feline motion.
His eyes were hard and cold and without mercy. "Don't let me down."
"Aren't you going to stay?" Rachael asked, looking close to tears again.
"I have to be back in camp. You never know if he has eyes or ears planted and I don't want to blow the
plan before we have a chance to see if it will even work."Elijah loomed over them, tall and dangerous and
very alone. "You take care of her, Rio." He brushed Rachael's head with a gentle kiss, touched her
shoulder and went out into the night.
Rachael tried to pull away from Rio to go after her brother. "Let him go. This is hard for him, to let loose
of you after all these years. He needs to be alone. People like us need space, Rachael. He has to find his
own way. He's spent a lifetime concentrating on keeping the both of you alive. He'll need to adjust in
order to find another reason to go on. The forest is where he'll find it. He doesn't know that yet, but it will
call to him." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]