Reckless: Midnight Rainbow / Tears of the Renegade

“Look, it’s jaguar proof, mildew proof, fireproof and snake proof. I personally guarantee you that it’s proof against everything except elephants, and I don’t think we’re going to be stomped on by an elephant in Costa Rica! Is there any other damned thing you’re worried about?” he exploded. “If not, why don’t you be quiet and let me get some sleep?”

Jane lay tensely, and silence fell again. She clenched her fists in an effort to control her nervousness, listening to the growing cacophony of the jungle night. Monkeys howled and chattered; insects squeaked their calls; underbrush rustled. She was exhausted but she had no real hope of sleeping, at least not until dawn, and at dawn this devil beside her would want to start another day of marathon travel.

He was totally silent in that unnerving way of his. She couldn’t even hear him breathe. The old fear began to rise in her chest, making her own breathing difficult. She might as well be alone, and that was the one thing she absolutely couldn’t bear.

“Where are you from?”

He heaved a sigh. “Georgia.”

That explained his drawl. She swallowed, trying to ease the constriction of her dry throat. If she could just keep him talking, then she wouldn’t feel so alone. She’d know he was there.

“What part of Georgia?”

“South. Ever hear of the Okefenokee?”

“Yes. It’s a swamp.”

“I grew up in it. My folks own a farm just on the edge of it.” It had been a normal boyhood, except for the skills he’d learned automatically in the swamp, those skills, which had eventually changed his life by shaping him into something not quite human. He willed the memories away, pulling a mental shade down over them, isolating himself. There was no use in thinking about what had been.

“Are you an only child?”

“Why all the questions?” he snapped, edgy at revealing any information about himself.

“I’m just interested, that’s all.”

He paused, suddenly alert. There was something in her voice, a tone that he couldn’t quite place. It was dark, so he couldn’t see her face; he had to go entirely by what his ears told him. If he kept her talking, he might be able to figure it out.

“I’ve got a sister,” he finally said reluctantly.

“I’ll bet she’s younger. You’re so bossy, you must be an older brother.”

He let the dig pass and said only, “She’s four years younger.”

“I’m an only child,” she volunteered.

“I know.”

She searched frantically for something else to say, but the darkness was making her panic. She felt herself move to grab for him, then remembered what he’d said about startling him, and about not making offers she didn’t mean. She ground her teeth together and stilled her reaching hands, the effort so intense that tears actually welled in her eyes. She blinked them away. “Grant,” she said in a shaking voice.

“What?” he growled.

“I don’t want you to think I’m throwing myself at you again because I’m really not, but would you mind very much if I...just held your hand?” she whispered. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid of the dark, and it helps if I know I’m not alone.”

He was still for a moment; then she heard his clothing rustle as he rolled onto his side. “You’re really that afraid of the dark?”

Jane tried for a laugh, but the sound was so shaky that it was close to a sob. “The word terrified only begins to describe how afraid I am. I can’t sleep in the dark. All the time I was at that wretched plantation I was awake all night long, never sleeping until dawn. But at least I could use that time to watch the guards and figure out their routine. Besides, it wasn’t as totally dark there as it is here.”

“If you’re so all-fired scared of the dark, why were you getting ready to hit the jungle on your own?”

A dark, handsome, incredibly cruel face swam before her mind’s eye. “Because even dying in the jungle would be better than Turego,” she said quietly.

Grant grunted. He could understand that choice, but the fact that she had so correctly summed up the situation illustrated once again that she was more than what she seemed. Then again, perhaps she already had reason to know just how vile Turego could be. Had Turego raped her, or would it have been rape? With this woman, who knew? “Did you have sex with him?”

The blunt question made her shudder. “No. I’d been holding him off, but when he left yesterday...it was just yesterday, wasn’t it? It seems like a year ago. Anyway, I knew that, when he came back, I wouldn’t be able to stop him any longer. My time had run out.”

“What makes you so certain of that?”

Jane paused, wondering just how much to tell him, wondering how much he already knew. If he was involved, he would be familiar with Luis’s name; if he wasn’t, the name would mean nothing to him. She wanted to tell him; she didn’t want to be alone in this nightmare any longer. But she remembered George telling her once that secrecy was synonymous with security, and she quelled the need to turn into Grant’s arms and tell him how afraid and alone she had been. If he wasn’t involved already, he was safer not knowing anything about it. On the other hand, if he was involved, she might be safer if he didn’t realize how deeply she was a part of things. Finally, to answer his question, she said, “I wasn’t certain. I was just afraid to stay, afraid of Turego.”

He grunted, and that seemed to be the end of the conversation. Jane clenched her jaw against the sudden chattering of her teeth. It was hot and steamy inside the dark tent, but chills were running up and down her body. Why didn’t he say something else, anything, rather than lying there so quietly? She might as well have been alone. It was unnatural for anyone to be that soundless, that utterly controlled.

“How was Dad?”

“Why?”

“I just wondered.” Was he being deliberately evasive? Why didn’t he want to talk about her father? Perhaps he hadn’t been hired by her father at all and didn’t want to be drawn into a conversation about someone he was supposed to have met, but hadn’t.

After a measured silence, as if he had carefully considered his answer, he said, “He was worried sick about you. Surprised?”

“No, of course not,” she said, startled. “I’d be surprised if he weren’t.”

“It doesn’t surprise you that he’d pay a small fortune to get you out of Turego’s hands, even though you don’t get along with him?”

He was confusing her; she felt left out of the conversation, as if he were talking about someone else entirely. “What are you talking about? We get along perfectly, always have.”

She couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him, but suddenly there was something different about him, as if the very air had become electrically charged. A powerful sense of danger made the fine hairs on her body stand up. The danger was coming from him. Without knowing why, she shrank back from him as far as she could in the confines of the small tent, but there was no escape. With the suddenness of a snake striking, he rolled and pinned her down, forcing her hands over her head and holding them shackled there in a grip that hurt her wrists. “All right, Jane, or Priscilla, or whoever you are, we’re going to talk. I’m going to ask the questions and you’re going to answer them, and you’d better have the right answers or you’re in trouble, sugar. Who are you?”

Had he gone mad? Jane struggled briefly against the grip on her wrists, but there was no breaking it. His weight bore down heavily on her, controlling her completely. His muscled legs clasped hers, preventing her from even kicking. “Wh-what...?” she stammered. “Grant, you’re hurting me!”

“Answer me, damn you! Who are you?”

“Jane Greer!” Desperately, she tried to put some humor in her voice, but it wasn’t a very successful effort.

“I don’t like being lied to, sugar.” His voice was velvety soft, and the sound of it chilled her to her marrow. Not even Turego had affected her like this; Turego was a dangerous, vicious man, but the man who held her now was the most lethal person she’d ever seen. He didn’t have to reach for a weapon to kill her; he could kill her with his bare hands. She was totally helpless against him.

“I’m not lying!” she protested desperately. “I’m Priscilla Jane Hamilton Greer.”

“If you were, you’d know that James Hamilton cut you out of his will several years ago. So you get along with him just perfectly, do you?”

“Yes, I do!” She strained against him, and he deliberately let her feel more of his weight, making it difficult for her to breathe. “He did it to protect me!”

For a long, silent moment in which she could hear the roaring of her blood in her ears, she waited for his reaction. His silence scraped along her nerves. Why didn’t he say something? His warm breath was on her cheek, telling her how close he was to her, but she couldn’t see him at all in that suffocating darkness. “That’s a good one,” he finally responded, and she flinched at the icy sarcasm of his tone. “Too bad I don’t buy it. Try again.”

“I’m telling you the truth! He did it to make me a less attractive kidnap target. It was my idea, damn it!”

“Sure it was,” he crooned, and that low, silky sound made her shudder convulsively. “Come on, you can do better than that.”

Jane closed her eyes, searching desperately for some way of convincing him of her identity. None came to mind, and she had no identification with her. Turego had taken her passport, so she didn’t have even that. “Well, what about you?” she blurted in sudden fury. She’d taken a lot from him, endured without complaining, and now he’d frightened her half out of her mind. She’d had her back to the wall before, and had learned to strike back. “Who are you? How do I know that Dad hired you? If he did why didn’t you know that no one ever calls me Priscilla? You were sloppy with your homework!”