Chapter Twelve
The night swallowed them up. Catt gripped Ty’s hand as they walked quickly through the jungle, away from the villa. How could Inca see anything? As Catt’s eyes adjusted to the blackness, tinged faintly with moonlight filtering through the trees, everything around her took on dark, threatening shapes. Ahead she could see the proud, confident green warrior striding forward, her rifle in both hands, prepared for combat. Inca walked as if it were daylight. And she was soundless. Breathing through her mouth, Catt tried to remain silent. She was grateful for Ty’s hand on hers. Several times she stumbled across unseen tree roots. And each time, Ty stopped and caught her before she fell to her knees.
Where were they going? How had Inca gotten into the villa? There had to be armed guards. How had she evaded them? Or had she killed them? Catt recalled the bloody stories of Inca’s ability to murder those who stepped into her path. There was such power around her! No wonder people stood in awe of her and called her the jaguar goddess. She seemed almost unearthly to Catt, who wasn’t easily impressed by anything or anyone.
Without warning, they reached the bank of the channel, and Ty suddenly halted. He half turned and placed his hand on Catt’s shoulder, swiftly forcing her into a crouch. Ahead, he saw Inca crouch as well. Luckily, they still had some jungle foliage to camouflage them on this murky night. Eyes slitted, Ty breathed raggedly. His heart was pounding unrelentingly in his chest. He kept his fingers dug into Catt’s shoulder as she huddled next to him, breathing hard. He could feel her trembling beneath his hand. She was scared. So was he. Though his senses were acute and his night vision excellent, he was forced to trust this woman with their lives. He studied her as she stooped like an unmoving stone on the shore, halfway to the dock where two cigarette boats bobbed gently. There was a guard at the end of the wooden pier. What was Inca going to do? If she fired that assault rifle she carried, it would alert the entire villa. And then all hell would break loose.
He wished mightily for a weapon himself. He didn’t like trusting Inca. She was too cocksure of herself, acting almost as if this were a game. Did she seriously consider that real people’s lives were at stake? Catt was pregnant and carrying his child. Above all else, Ty was going to protect her this time. He wasn’t going to lose her or his baby again. No, somehow he had to protect her even if he had no weapon. The guard, obviously not on alert, stood smoking a cigarette, his rifle slung across his left shoulder. Ty thought about leaving Catt’s side, slipping into the water, coming up behind the guard and jumping him.
Instantly, he received a sharp command to remain where he was. Stunned, he heard Inca’s growling voice reverberating inside his head.
You fool! Do not move. My guardian will take care of him. Be patient a moment longer!
An explosion of pain ripped through Ty’s head. He fell to one knee to stop himself from keeling over. It felt as if someone had physically slugged him in the side of the head. Lifting his hand to his aching brow, he watched Inca, who remained unmoving ahead of them. She had spoken to him, and yet she hadn’t moved or said anything out loud. What the hell was going on?
As he focused on Inca’s long, lean back, with its criss-crossed bandoliers, he thought he saw a dark movement off to her right. The darkness seemed to waver, like invisible heat rippling and rising off the hot asphalt of a desert highway. Blinking several times, Ty watched intently. What was near Inca? He saw a darkened form begin to appear. The moonlight shifted through the thick, dense clouds that hung above the treetops. As the light faded, he could see something shadowy near her right side. Whatever it was, it was large. Very large. And it was an animal. But how…? He hadn’t seen any four-legged creature come waltzing out of the jungle.
Hunter’s throat closed with tension. He saw Inca lift her right arm very slowly and slide it across the animal’s broad, short back. What the hell was it? The darkness seemed to deepen until he could barely make out her form, much less that of the creature at her side. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Ty felt a terrorizing sensation rip through him. Moments later, he heard a low, guttural growl. And then something dark and powerful moved swiftly toward the unsuspecting guard.
Ty gripped Catt’s shoulder hard to prepare her. He saw the creature leap upward. The guard let out a sharp cry. In seconds, he slammed to the sandy bank of the channel.
Move! Now! Follow me!
Inca’s voice careened through Hunter’s head. This time, there was no mistaking that it was a telepathic command. This time there was no pain associated with it. Ty didn’t hesitate. Inca stretched lithely to her full height and dug her booted toes into the sand. She sprinted toward the downed, unmoving guard at the dock.
Grabbing Catt by the arm, Ty hauled her upward. “Come on,” he rasped.
Catt ran hard at his side. The sand sucked at her feet. Breath tearing from her, Catt suddenly heard a shout behind them. Oh, no! She heard more cries of surprise and alarm. Several rifle shots were fired. Instantly, Ty pushed her ahead of him. He was protecting her. Catt had no idea if they were being shot at or if the firing of the weapons was to alert the villa personnel that they had escaped.
Ahead, she saw Inca pull the limp guard away from the entrance to the dock. As Inca turned, Catt saw the frozen expression of rage on her face. Her eyes were slitted and her gaze was pinned behind them. In an instant, she had locked and loaded her rifle.
Stepping aside to allow them passage, Inca called to Ty, “Hunter, the keys to the boat are on board. Take the boat on the left. Hurry! They know you are gone. I will try to stop them, but it will not be for long. Go!”
Inca dropped to one knee, the rifle butt jammed against her shoulder. She took careful aim toward the path that led from the villa. Ty hauled Catt past the woman warrior and pushed her forward. Their footsteps echoed eerily on the wooden deck, which was in bad need of repair. Ahead on the left was a red-and-white cigarette boat, its sleek, high hull gleaming in the moonlight. To the right was a blue boat. Noting the controls located in the cockpit at the rear of the vessels, Catt knew these racers were high powered and could attain speeds of over sixty miles an hour with their mighty inboard engines.
A series of rifle shots rang out. Catt instinctively winced. She felt Ty lift her up and over the edge of one of the boats. Her feet made contact with the deck. Quickly, she moved aside as he leaped into the cockpit. Turning, she saw Inca firing systematically toward the path. Catt heard several cries, then more gunfire erupted.
“Get down!” Ty snarled as he groped for the key on the ignition panel in front of him. When he twisted it, the deep-throated engines coughed, sputtered, and then roared to life. The instrument panel became illuminated. He had to get both lines untied from the dock, Ty noted. Making sure Catt was lying down in the cockpit, Ty leaped back onto the pier. Heart thundering, he saw two soldiers running toward them. Inca was flat on her belly in the sand, coolly firing at them. Both men fell with screams and began writhing. Ty jerked at the first rope holding the boat to the dock, several rounds of bullets whistled past him. He heard more cries. Damn! Racing back toward the rear of the boat, he jerked the second rope free.
Leaping back into he cockpit, he grabbed the wheel. The throttles, two of them, sat just to the right, and his hand fell over them. Jerking the steering wheel, he pushed the throttles forward. The boat was only a few feet from the bank. He couldn’t take time to go into reverse. Instead, Ty gunned the massive engines. The boat’s bow, because of the enormous horsepower unleashed, lifted high. At the same instant, the sharp rudder movement to the right caused the boat to arc upward out of the water a good ten feet and dip to the port side, causing water to spill into the cockpit from the violent maneuver.
Ty held his breath. If he didn’t do something fast, the boat would run aground on the sandy shore. “Hold on!” he yelled at Catt. He jammed his right leg downward to compensate for the torque and movement of the huge boat.
Catt bit back a cry. She clung to the deck, her fingers gripping one of the gu
nwales. The boat shuddered with power as it suddenly leaped upward and to the left. Water splashed in across her. Suddenly they were out in the channel and free. They were free of the bank! Gasping, Catt lifted her head. She barely caught a glimpse of the shore, but she saw Inca’s shadowy form sprinting back toward the jungle. The heavy hail of rifle fire was all around them. Catt heard the water pinging and a dozen small geysers erupted around them. She saw Ty jam the twin throttles forward. Hurled suddenly to the back of the boat, Catt uttered a cry of surprise. Gravity pinned her in that position for a good five seconds as the boat lunged forward like a wild horse released from its tether. Muddy channel water arched like two high, thin sheets—rooster tails—on either side of the boat.
Wind tore at Ty’s face as he grimly guided the powerful craft down the channel. He had to be careful. He had no idea where the hell they were and the darkness didn’t help matters. Which was north once the channel joined the Amazon? His head spun with options. He was still dizzy from the blow he’d received earlier. Was Catt all right? Risking it, he glanced momentarily across his shoulder. She was struggling to get up on her hands and knees. Her face was white with terror.
“Stay down!” he roared, and jerked his attention back to the channel, which curved to the right. He slowed the boat and tried to control its power. One wrong move and he could send this speedboat up the bank.
“They’re behind us!” Catt cried. “The other boat! It’s coming after us!”
Damn! Mouth tightening, Hunter zigzagged through one turn after another. He could hear the other vessel racing down upon them, the noise deafening. The driver of the other boat knew this channel, knew its curves and just how fast he could take the boat through them. Ty did not. And because he wasn’t powering the boat at high speed—he didn’t dare risk it—the other boat was advancing rapidly upon them.
“See if there’re weapons on board this thing,” he shouted to Catt. “Get into the hold. There!” And he jabbed a finger at a door that led to the cabin below.
Their lives were on the line. Catt scrambled to her feet. With shaking hands, she tried the door. It opened! Lurching inside, she made her way down the ladder. There was light inside the cabin and she blinked her eyes. Gripping the rungs as the boat jerked to the right, then the left, she hurriedly glanced around. Her eyes burned from the sudden bright light. There! Two rifles were suspended on hooks from the port bulkhead. Slipping and nearly falling as the boat made another unexpected sharp turn, Catt reached out for the first assault rifle. Throwing the sling across her shoulder, she made a grab for the second one. Hurrying up the ladder, she climbed back out on deck. The humid night air slammed into her.
“Hold on!” Ty warned her. “We’re hitting the river.”
Just ahead, the channel opened up. And finally Ty spotted a compass on the console in front of him. Now he knew which way was north. North toward Manaus. Toward possible safety. Bracing himself, he jammed both throttles to the fire wall. Instantly, the roar of the engines thundered around them. The boat shook wildly and the bow lifted. They hit the wide, dark Amazon River at full speed. Ty gauged the turn. He was still learning how to handle this beast that begged to run. It was a huge boat, nearly fifty feet long, slim and tapered. It was built for high speed on a smooth, safe surface. But the Amazon wasn’t safe at all. Logs routinely bobbed along, barely visible above the water’s muddy surface.
Moonlight peeked from behind the ever-present clouds. Hunter could see nothing ahead of the boat except when a slice of moonlight illuminated the water momentarily. Risking everything, he steered the boat to the center of the wide river. Behind them, he heard the roar of the second boat. Their pursuers were coming out of the channel after them. Gunfire began. He knew that in a matter of moments, the drug soldiers would be upon them if he didn’t race up the Amazon at full speed. But in doing so, he risked colliding with a floating log, which would rip the guts out of the boat and send them to their deaths. What choice did he have?
“Stay down,” he yelled at Catt.
She nodded and knelt down on the deck, a rifle in hand. Stabilizing herself as best she could, Catt made sure there was a full clip in the weapon. There was. With shaking fingers, she found the safety and flipped it off. For once she was glad her father had taught her about all kinds of guns as a child growing up. Pressing her left shoulder against the side of the boat and using it to steady the rifle, she sited toward the other boat, which was steadily gaining on them.
She saw winking red-and-yellow gunfire from the other craft. Bullets were humming and singing around them. The boats were within range now, with barely a mile separating them. If they got within a thousand yards, a good marksman could kill them. Trying to steady her breathing, Catt took aim. They only had two clips of ammunition. She had no idea if there was any more or where it would be kept on the boat. She didn’t have time to search for it. No, each round she fired would have to count. The boat skimmed wildly across the muddy, sluggish Amazon. The humid air slapped at her. On either side of them, an arc of water lifted nearly ten feet high. Catt had no idea how fast they were going, but it seemed like a dizzying speed.
A number of bullets sang near her head and she ducked. From where he stood in the cockpit, legs spread, Ty was an open, easy target. They would try to kill him first. No! Suddenly, life became more precious than Catt could ever remember it being. Her mind spun. She didn’t want to kill anyone, but she had to do something to protect them. The engine! Of course, why hadn’t she thought of that before? Swinging her rifle slightly to the right, she took her bead on the center of the boat that was pursuing them and slowly but surely gaining ground. With one methodical shot after another, Catt tried to place a bullet into the hull of the boat and hit the thundering engines. Destroying them would effectively halt their pursuit.
Ty heard Catt firing back. Good! Ahead, he saw a dark object coming up rapidly. Damn! It was a huge log. Swerving to the right to avoid it, he almost capsized the boat in the maneuver. The speedometer on the console read sixty miles an hour. At that speed, the boat roared around the log and came almost completely out of the water from the sharp movement.
Catt was thrown to the deck with a cry. The loose assault rifle flew out of the boat. She grabbed for it. Too late! The rifle disappeared over the side. Sobbing with anger, she felt the gravity pin her once again to the deck. Ty wrestled with the boat as it skimmed along, almost out of control. They were heading sideways toward the opposite bank of the Amazon. Her eyes widened. A scream lurched up her throat. She saw him jerk the wheel back and yank at the throttles.
At the very last moment, the boat steadied and slowed down tremendously. Once he got the bow pointed upstream once again, he slammed the throttles to the fire wall. Braced this time, Catt felt the breath being torn out of her by the speedboat’s lunge forward. Then she managed to look up and her blood went cold.
Screaming out a warning, she saw the drug soldiers’ boat aimed directly at them, no more than a hundred feet away.
“Hold on!” Ty yelled. He saw the boat careening down upon them and knew their pursuers were going to try and ram them. He had only fifty feet of maneuvering room between himself and the shore. Trying to control the wild machine, he jerked the wheel to the left. He knew the drug soldiers were expecting him to move to the right, to try and escape.
The maneuver stunned the soldiers. Ty braced himself. They were going to collide! There wasn’t time to warn Catt. Grabbing the wheel, he kept their boat moving at an angle toward the other vessel. Within seconds, a loud, ripping sound joined the howl of the engines. Ty was thrown heavily to one side. Pain arced up his arm and shoulder. He saw the amazement, the terror, on the faces of the soldiers in the other boat. Moments later they were flying in all directions, weapons one way, bodies another.
Catt screamed as the boats collided and she was thrown against the bulkhead. She heard the cries of men, the sickening sound of one hull being slit like a can opener by another. Within moments, it was all over. She was thrown aga
in, this time to the opposite side of the cockpit. The gunwale at the rear raced at her. Trying to protect her head, Catt threw up her hands to shield herself. Too late! The boat leaped forward like a startled deer and the roar of the engines thundered through her as she fell semiconscious on the deck.
The last thought she had was of her baby. She was going to lose her baby because of the severe trauma to her body.
Ty couldn’t look back to see if Catt was all right or not. He wasn’t sure of anything in those moments after the collision. The drug boat was dead in the water; he saw men swimming all around it in the moonlight as he jerked a glance back across his shoulder. Amazingly, it seemed that his own craft wasn’t taking in water. Maybe he’d gotten lucky and hit the other boat at just the right, glancing angle, incurring only minimal damage himself.
Swinging the boat back toward the center of the wide, dark Amazon, he concentrated on getting them away from the sinking boat and drug soldiers. All his attention was focused on avoiding floating logs, which seemed to be all over the place. As quickly as he could, he steered a course among them. When he was a good mile from the collision site, he finally throttled back. Turning, he searched for Catt.
Pale and unmoving, she lay on her back behind him, one arm thrown outward. To his shock, he saw blood oozing from her right temple. She was bleeding heavily. No! Oh, Lord, no! Desperately he searched for a side channel. He had to put distance between them and the drug soldiers; he didn’t dare land too soon or the men could run down the bank, find them and kill them. Ty’s heart ached with fear. It was impossible to handle the boat and race to Catt’s side at the same time.
Heart pounding, he risked stopping at the next channel opening he saw. They were a good three miles from the drug soldiers by now, far enough away to risk stopping. Hauling back on the throttles, he nosed the boat into the channel. There was no way to dock it, so he put the engines on idle and let the boat slowly come to a halt against the bank. Turning, he devoted all his attention to Catt.
Hunter's Woman Page 18