His Only Obsession (Protectors #27)

by Beverly Barton

  Will and Jordan managed to sneak onto the narrow mezzanine area of the two-story central chamber inside the temple. The chamber was filled to capacity, but the upper level was vacant except for the carved stone dignitaries seated in silver pews. Will glanced at the silent, imposing figures and wondered who or what they represented. With no more time to waste musing about this strange place, Will motioned for Jordan to go left while he went right. They kept down, out of sight, and moved in absolute silence. Positioned on either side of the overhanging railing, which was fashioned out of pink marble and decked with heavy metallic ropes, Jordan and Will peered down at the ceremony taking place in the temple.

  Will clenched his teeth when he saw the man he assumed was the high priest raise the glistening sword and slash open Mick McGuire, from neck to pubic area. Mick screamed in pain as the blade cut him open, effectively gutting him.

  Will’s gaze connected with Jordan’s. Will issued him a silent warning—suck it up and sit tight. Well aware of the fact that Jordan had never been exposed to such deadly violence, Will hoped the young guy didn’t fall apart on him.

  While the priest’s assistants caught McGuire’s blood in a silver bowl, Will scanned the room and saw a pale-faced Gwen standing beside her father on a raised platform. She wore a sheer gown that revealed the ample curves of her body. A thick coating of heavy makeup had been applied to her face, and her long, dark hair had been plaited in three braids.

  The soft, eerie music of flutes filled the temple, the sound unnerving and oddly out of place at a ceremony that glorified human sacrifice. The priest’s underlings brought the bowl of blood to Lord Baruti, who carried it with him as he returned to the podium. He set the bowl on a marble stand, then turned to Dr. Arnell and Gwen.

  “For the high crime of removing the life-giving Eshe plants from the holy fields, the first sacrifice has been made,” the priest announced to his audience. A loud cheer rose from the crowd. “But the gods are not satisfied. They demand another sacrifice.”

  Gwen’s heart caught in her throat when Lord Baruti looked directly at her father. What had he meant by another sacrifice? Had her father made a bargain of some kind with the priest, a bargain to save Gwen’s life?

  Lord Baruti motioned for them to come to him. Her father went without hesitation, all but dragging Gwen with him. The priest smiled.

  “Emery Arnell, you came to Umi to steal the precious Eshe plant and take it back to your world. But it is forbidden for anyone other than my elite brigade, under my guidance, to harvest the Eshe plants. Do you understand the severity of your crime?”

  “Yes, Lord Baruti,” Emery replied.

  “And do you understand that the penalty for stealing the Eshe plant is death?”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “But you still desire the Eshe plant, do you not? You treasure it above all else?”

  Gwen’s stomach knotted painfully.

  “I do, Lord Baruti. I have spent my life searching for Umi, dreaming of the day I could return to my world with samples of the Eshe plant and give all people the gift of good health and long life.”

  “You are a benevolent seeker,” the priest said. “I shall spare your life and allow you to return to your world with a sample of the Eshe plant, if you are willing to pay the ultimate price.”

  “I will give you anything you ask for,” Emery said. “No price is too high.”

  Baruti’s ring-adorned hand lifted. He pointed his index finger directly at Gwen. “I give you the choice—your life and a sample of the Eshe plant in exchange for your daughter’s life.”

  Gwen held her breath.

  Emery turned to her, grasped her hands and sighed heavily. “You know that I love you more dearly than anyone on earth.”

  “Yes, Daddy, I know.”

  “I wish it could be different,” he said. “I wish I did not have to make such a terrible choice.”

  Every nerve in Gwen’s body trembled with realization, every muscle constricted.

  “It is with great regret that I give you my daughter as a sacrifice,” Emery told Lord Baruti.

  Despite hearing her father’s declaration, Gwen did not fully comprehend that he had chosen his own life and the Eshe plant over saving her life. Before her brain absorbed the horrific truth, Gwen watched as the high priest motioned her father to him, then led him to the bowl filled with Mick McGuire’s blood. He dipped his index finger into the blood, painted a slash across her father’s forehead and across each cheekbone.

  Another riotous roar rose from the assembled group. The elite brigade stomped their spears, the sefu of Baruti, against the marble floor.

  It was at that moment, with the roar of the crowd thundering in her ears and the glazed look of madness shining in her father’s eyes that Gwen realized he had finally lost his mind.

  “You, Emery Arnell, are a fool to believe that anything, even the Eshe plant, has greater value than one who is blood of your blood, bone of your bone.” The priest bowed his head for a moment, then shouted, “For such unforgivable foolishness, both you and your daughter will be sacrificed to the gods!”

  “No, no!” Emery cried. “You can’t do this. You promised me the Eshe plant. You swore to me—”

  “Silence!” Lord Baruti motioned for two members of the elite brigade to come forward and take Emery.

  Emery struggled against them, crying out to Gwen, who tried to go to him but was restrained by one strong, burly guard.

  “Daddy!”

  Lord Baruti followed the precession to the altar, where others of the elite brigade were unchaining Mick McGuire’s mutilated body. The guard restraining Gwen dragged her off the podium while the drums began beating again. Loudly. Rhythmically. As if announcing the departure of one soul and the beginning of a new ritualistic sacrifice.

  All eyes focused on the altar and the high priest as Mick’s body was carried away and maidens rushed forward to wash the bloody marble slab. Gwen’s guard loosened his tenacious hold on her, enough so that after a few minutes, she managed to free herself without him noticing. She stayed at his side, not wanting to alert him that she was only biding her time until she could slip away from him.

  While the drums pounded and the people chanted, Gwen searched the temple for any means of escape. As her gaze lifted to the mezzanine, she saw a flash of movement near the pink marble banisters. Her heart caught in her throat when she noticed a man cut through one of the metallic ropes draped across the banisters. With the crowd’s attention focused on the ceremony, Will climbed down the metallic rope and dropped onto the floor, only a few feet behind a group of people absorbed in the gruesome spectacle. Gwen slowly moved away from her guard and managed to edge ever so gradually toward the back wall. By the time the guard realized she was missing, Gwen had escaped. Within minutes, she met up with Will, but not before they were spotted.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Will told her as several people in the crowd started moving toward them.

  “But I can’t leave my father.”

  “It’s too late to save him.” Will grabbed her arm.

  She hesitated for half a second, then, knowing Will was right, she followed him. Before they could reach an escape route, Will stopped, shoved her behind him and pulled his pistol from the waistband of his pants. He aimed and fired repeatedly, sending half a dozen natives to the marble floor, their life’s blood oozing from them.

  Barely managing to escape the temple, Will would not allow Gwen to look back, to slow down for even a second. They met up with Jordan outside the temple and the three of them fled down one exterior corridor after another, at least ten members of the elite brigade chasing them. The white light of one of the sefu spears grazed Jordan’s shoulder. He staggered like a drunk, but somehow managed to stay on his feet. Will shoved Gwen behind a twenty-foot pillar and covered Jordan while he struggled to catch up with them, shooting several guards and halting their pursuit.

  Will hurried to Jordan, circled his waist and dragged him behind the pillar
with Gwen. He took the Ruger hanging in Jordan’s limp hand and handed it to Gwen.

  “Do you have any idea how to use this?” Will asked.

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about hitting anything. Just aim and shoot. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Leave me,” Jordan said, his speech slightly slurred. “You can’t get away…with me holding you back.”

  Ignoring Jordan’s pleas to leave him behind, Will and Gwen flanked him, lifted him under his arms and crept away from the pillared corridor. Will didn’t understand why the elite brigade wasn’t following them, but he didn’t stop to check out the situation. They needed every advantage they could get. A five-minute head start might give them a fighting chance, especially if they could lose themselves in the jungle area of the mountain. How close he could take them to the village where they had left Cheryl and Sebak remained to be seen.

  “Why aren’t they coming after us?” Gwen asked, slightly winded, her face dotted with perspiration.

  “I have no idea, unless they’re trained to tend to their wounded immediately regardless of anything else,” Will told her. “It’s only a theory, but I don’t give a rat’s ass why they’ve stop chasing us, at least for now. We need to get moving while we have the chance.”

  Will led them along the fence until they reached a closed gate. When he tried to open the gate, he found it locked. Not hesitating, he aimed his gun, fired and blew off the lock. With no more than a nudge, the gate swung open, and they left the palace grounds. They emerged closer to the massive stone entrance than Will realized and were confronted by four members of the elite brigade. Shooting, he downed two guards in rapid succession. As the remaining two aimed their weapons, he shoved Gwen and Jordan to the ground, shouting for them to roll. He managed to sidestep an oncoming light ray, all the while firing his gun repeatedly. Another guard fell, but the fourth man stopped suddenly, dropped his spear and stared at his downed colleagues, a look of bewildered horror on his face.

  It was in that moment, brief though it was, Will realized these men had never seen anyone killed in any other way except ritual sacrifice. They were stunned by the deadly force of Will’s weapon.

  Will eased over to the nearest dead guard, grabbed his spear, then stuck his gun into the waistband of his pants.

  “Come on,” he called to Gwen and Jordan, then helped them to their feet. “Let’s get the hell out of here while we can.”

  “What’s the matter with that guard?” Gwen asked. “He looks as if he’s gone into a trance.”

  Will hurried her along, helping her with Jordan, who seemed to be sleepwalking. As they headed toward the stone roadway leading off the mountain, Will answered Gwen’s question. “I think he was stunned to see his three comrades dead. I believe that’s the reason the other soldiers stopped following us.”

  “Oh my God!” He saw the look of realization in Gwen’s eyes. “The sefu only tranquilizes its victims. Here on Umi, death usually comes only to the very, very old and to the human sacrifices.”

  “We need to get off the road and into the jungle as soon as possible. We can’t be sure that once they come out of their shock and regroup, they won’t come after us.”

  They didn’t reach the village of Bahiti until the following morning. Will could have managed to keep going all through the night, but neither Jordan nor Gwen would have made it without the half dozen brief rest stops. During every moment of their escape, Will had stayed constantly alert to any signs that they were being followed.

  Despite her exhaustion, blistered feet and brush-scratched arms and legs, Gwen had not uttered one word of complaint, and thankfully, before dawn Jordan returned to normal, the effects of the tranquilizer having finally worn off.

  The central fires in the village burned brightly, warming the chilly morning air. Men were already working in the fields and women were busying themselves in the village. Small, brown-skinned, naked children ran around laughing and playing. A tropical paradise, Will thought. So deceptive.

  Cheryl saw them as they entered the village and came running, rushing straight into Jordan’s arms. Sebak emerged from a nearby hut and waited for them to come to him.

  “Did Lord Baruti allow you to leave Mount Kaphiri?” Sebak asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.

  “Not exactly,” Will said.

  Sebak looked behind them, searching the pathway that led into the village. “Where is Dr. Arnell? And the other one?”

  “They’re dead,” Jordan replied. “Both of them were sacrificed.”

  Cheryl cringed.

  “It’s only a matter of time before the elite brigade come after us. Not only did I save Gwen from being the third sacrifice, but we killed at least a dozen guards when we escaped,” Will said. “We need to get to the beach on the other side of the island as fast as we can and leave Umi today.”

  “I understand. I will guide you back to Oseye,” Sebak said. “From there, you must go on your own.”

  “What will the elite brigade do to you and the other villagers?” Gwen asked. “They’ll know that you helped us, that you didn’t report our presence on the island.”

  “Your weapons kill,” Sebak said, as if that explained everything.

  “We forced you and your village to help us. You did as we ordered you to do out of fear for your lives.” Will knew that the elite brigade would believe Sebak’s reason. Hadn’t they panicked and become stunned to the point of terror when they realized that guns killed, not simply tranquilized?

  Grasping Sebak’s hand, Will said, “We owe you our lives, my friend.”

  Will, Gwen, Cheryl and Jordan reached the beach at twilight. Despite the dangers involved in taking the raft back to the Footloose in the dark, Will knew that other risks were far greater if they waited until the next day to leave.

  While Will started the engines and manned the helm, Gwen stayed at his side. Cheryl and Jordan stood on the deck and gazed back at the mystical island of Umi. When they were several miles out to sea, Will handed Gwen the sefu of Baruti spear.

  “You know what to do with this,” he told her.

  She nodded, stood, left the helm and joined Jordan and Cheryl on the starboard deck. Will knew what Gwen thought—that the spear was warm, as if alive, and as light as a feather. She lifted it over the railing and tossed it into the Atlantic.

  When she rejoined Will at the helm, he slipped his arm around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder. They remained that way for quite some time.

  Finally Will broke the silence. “I’m sorry about your father.”

  “So am I.”

  “If I could have saved him—”

  “No one could have saved him. He was lost long before he rediscovered Umi. His obsession destroyed him. In the end he was insane.”

  Will kissed her temple. As tears trickled from her eyes, Gwen clung to Will.

  “I love you,” he told her.

  “I know,” she said. “You’ve proven to me just how much you love me.”

  “More than anything or anyone on earth.”

  “You already know that I love you in the same way.”

  “When we get back to the States—”

  “You’re going to buy me some red silk undies.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I am. And you’re going to wear them on our wedding night.”

  Gwen sighed deeply. “Was that a proposal?”

  “Let’s call it a trial run. Once we get home and we put our lives back together, I’m going to do it right. A diamond ring, flowers, music, me down on bended knee.”

  “Will we ever be able to put our lives back together?”

  “Eventually. But the only way we can do that is if the four of us—” he nodded toward Cheryl and Jordan “—never reveal the truth about what happened to us, never breathe a word that your father’s island and the magical youth plant exist.”

  “I think they’ll agree, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Something tells me that they want a future to
gether, just as you and I do.”

  Gwen snuggled against Will as he took the Footloose due west, straight toward the Bahamas. In time the anger and pain and disappointment that she had experienced in the temple of the high priest’s palace atop Mount Kaphiri would lessen, and perhaps someday vanish completely. Forgiving her father would not be easy, but with Will’s love and support, Gwen knew that she could learn to release the past and happily face the future, knowing in her heart of hearts that she, and she alone, was Will Pierce’s only obsession, just as he was hers.

  Epilogue

  Gwen stood over Will where he sat on an armless chair in their honeymoon hotel room, his gaze riveted to her body. She did a sexy little dance, shimmying her hips and swaying her breasts. The red bra she wore was sheer lace with underwired, pushup cups that made the very most of her B-cup breasts. The matching bikini panties were strips of silk holding the V-shaped lace that barely covered her. She had never worn anything so blatantly skimpy and alluring in her entire life. But loving Will brought out the vamp in her, and there was nothing she liked more than giving her man what he wanted.

  This was the third set of matching red underwear that Will had bought for her, and each set had become progressively skimpier and sexier. The first set, which he’d bought a few weeks after their return to the United States, had been relatively tame, but she hadn’t managed to keep them on long enough for him to appreciate them. One look at her in the satin bra and panties and Will had ripped them off her. The second pair had been red silk with black lace trim. He’d bought them at an exclusive lingerie shop in Atlanta before he moved to Huntsville a few months ago and opened his own P.I. agency. She had worn them for him on the night of their engagement party six weeks ago.

  They had married this morning, seven months after meeting in Puerto Nuevo, in an afternoon wedding at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. Cheryl Kress, newly engaged to Jordan Elders, had been Gwen’s maid of honor, and Jordan had been Will’s best man. Will’s family had flown in from Texas—brothers, sisters-in-law and nephews, as well as his mother and stepfather from Louisiana—and several Dundee agents had driven over from Atlanta. Gwen’s ex-husband and his partner, along with her friends and colleagues had attended the ceremony. The wedding had been perfect, and only once had Gwen allowed herself a moment of grief, giving that little girl inside her a chance to wish that her father was there to give her away. But she had walked down the aisle alone, knowing that once she became Will’s wife, she would never be alone again.