Into the Darkness

by Margaret Daley

  A sound behind her caused her to hug her purse closer to her and hurry her pace. She had taken only two more steps before arms locked around her middle and yanked her off her feet.

  Chapter Two

  Kate opened her mouth to scream, but a hand slapped down on her face to keep her silent. Twisting and kicking did little to dislodge her from the steel-like trap she found herself in.

  Her captor hauled her back into the dark shadows between the bar and the building next door. Terror froze her heart until it exploded into a thunderous beat that drowned out all other sounds. The reeking scent of alcohol and body odor accosted her while her assailant’s hot breath singed her neck.

  A man spoke something in a guttural voice that must have been Portuguese or Spanish. She didn’t have to speak the language to know his intentions. He made them very clear by the way he pawed her and tried to yank her purse from her grip.

  Lord, help me!

  Mr. Slader appeared before her, all six and a half feet of him blocking the alley. Was he rescuing her or helping her assailant? She remembered her first impression of him in the bar. Ruthless would have been an apt word. Terror evolved into a raging panic that threatened to shut down her body. The world spun before her eyes as sweat poured into them, stinging them.

  Mr. Slader said something to the man who held her. The arms about her tightened until her breath became trapped in her lungs and she couldn’t inhale properly. One dirty hand clutched her throat and squeezed as her captor muttered a response. Blackness swirled before her, her chest on fire, her lungs burning. She blinked, trying to clear the haze from her vision.

  As though in slow motion, she saw Mr. Slader rush forward, growling deep in his throat as if he were an animal cornered and forced to charge. The hand about her loosened for just a second. Something inside her snapped. She brought her elbow back, jabbing it into her assailant’s stomach. He groaned and released her.

  Kate fell to the side as her rescuer locked his arms about her aggressor, embracing him like a grizzly bear attacking. Scrambling out of the way, she sucked deep breaths, searing her lungs, and looked about for a weapon to use in case her Mr. Slader lost the fight.

  The cluttered alley held only trash, tossed about as if someone had turned over several garbage cans. Nothing useful. Nothing like a large rock or a blunt, heavy object. The mere thought took her by surprise. Where had that come from? She’d never harmed a human being in her life—she went out of her way to avoid even hurting an insect. But then, she’d never been accosted before, either.

  Frustrated at being a spectator, she could only watch as Mr. Slader threw the blond giant back against the wooden wall of the building. A grunt punctuated the silence. Her captor shook his head, then fixed his gaze on Mr. Slader. The man charged forward, driving her rescuer into the opposite wall. The sound of his body connecting with the wood made her cringe.

  She leaped to her feet. She couldn’t do nothing. She never was able to sit by and let another do what she should do. Again, she scanned the littered alleyway. Her gaze fell upon a stick—no, more like a club. Quickly, before she lost her nerve, she snatched it up and swung at the giant’s head. The sound of wood connecting with flesh reverberated through the alley, causing her to wince. She offered up a quick prayer that no permanent harm had befallen her assailant—just enough discomfort to allow her and Mr. Slader to escape.

  Her captor crumpled to the dirt at the feet of her rescuer. She moved forward.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Mr. Slader asked, gripping her upper arm and pulling her away.

  “Making sure he’s alive.”

  “Believe me, lady, he’s still breathing, and we don’t want to be around when he wakes up.” He tugged her toward the street.

  “But—”

  Mr. Slader rounded on her. “Move it!”

  “Move it! Well, I never!” She had a good mind to dig her heels into the dirt and stay put. Then she glanced back at the man on the ground and saw movement. That was when she decided she’d better obey.

  Mr. Slader’s hand grasped hers, and he practically dragged her down the street and into another alley. She opened her mouth to ask where they were going when she noticed a large animal scurrying across the trash. It was a rat! She dug her heels in and stopped.

  He peered back at her. “We need to be far away from that man when he wakes up.”

  Kate dangled her hand and waved it toward the rat, which paused in its rummaging through the flung garbage on the ground. “It’s a rat. The size of a cat!”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So? You want me to go near it?”

  “That’s the only way down the alley, so yes.”

  Kate should have resented his patronizing tone of voice, but the beady eyes of the rat were fixed on her as though she were its next meal. She sidled toward Mr. Slader, staying close to his side, as if he were her new best friend. “After snakes, rats are my least favorite animal.”

  One of his brows shot up. “And you don’t think you’re going to see snakes if you go into the jungle?”

  “Yes, I’m sure I’ll see them, and I’ll deal with it, since I have to in order to find Zach, but—”

  “Lady, that man knows me. I need to get you out of here and back to the Grande Hotel.”

  “How do you know where I’m staying?”

  “There’s only one place in Mandras that a person like you would be staying.”

  “A person like me?”

  “Someone who doesn’t belong in the jungle, in the Amazon, in Brazil, anywhere near here. Okay? Let’s go.” He grabbed for her hand he had released and pulled her forward at the same time the big rat charged at her.

  Kate screamed, one worthy of a helpless victim in a horror movie. The rat changed direction and scurried back under a mound of trash, the rubbish’s offensive odor wafting to her and threatening to overwhelm her. Mr. Slader scowled and hauled her past the pile. Holding her breath, she hurried toward the exit, gladly following Mr. Slader now.

  By the time she left the alley, now ahead of him, she rushed into a small mob of people—well, at least three who had heard her scream and were checking out what had happened. That fact bolstered her faith in the human race.

  But before she could express her gratitude to them, Mr. Slader whisked her away in the opposite direction from the people gathering. A few yards from the crowd, she yanked her hand away, but he grasped it harder. “Slow down. I want to thank—”

  “You were about to become their entertainment for the afternoon.” Mr. Slader released her and set out in the direction toward where her hotel was located—at least, where she hoped it was.

  She hastened after the exasperating man who just assumed she would follow him without question—which she did when she looked over the audience that had assembled. One man’s gaze actually glinted as it roved over her. Another’s cold look frosted her.

  The unsavory lot gathering quickened her steps. “What do you mean their entertainment?” she asked, hoping she was misreading the men.

  “Just that. They had come to watch, not rescue. We don’t get too many women like you here. Mandras isn’t in any travel agent’s database.”

  Winded, her lungs burning from the fast pace the man set, Kate placed a hand on his arm. “Please slow down.”

  Mr. Slader halted, his attention fixed on her hand about his arm. Then he shifted his sharp regard to her face, and she was positive the temperature in the tropics had just set a record high. Even more beads of perspiration popped out on her forehead.

  Finally realizing she still touched him, she snatched her hand away, feeling the scorch of his scrutiny. “They might have been coming to help. You don’t know for sure.” Then she remembered the toothless grin on one man’s face, that too-appreciative gleam on another’s, and doubted her declaration.

  He barked a laugh. “I know most of these people. Believe me, lady, no one was prepared to help you.”

  “You did.”

  His eyes widened f
or a few seconds before he chuckled. “True. But I’m about to rectify that mistake. After I deliver you to your hotel, you’re on your own, lady.”

  “My name is Kate Collier, Mr. Slader.”

  “And my name is just Slader. There is no mister in front of it so stop using it.” He started down the dirt street riddled with grooves and holes, rainwater filling them and disguising their depth. “Let’s get going before our friend back there decides to investigate the scream. I’m sure everyone in this half of Mandras heard it. You don’t want Slick to discover your whereabouts.”

  Even though perspiration rolled in rivers down her face and soaked the cotton material of her dress, just the mention of her assailant sent her half running after Mr.—no, just Slader. “You think he’d come after us.”

  “There is no us.”

  She was sure she saw him shudder when he said the word us. How could she possibly convince him to guide her deep into the jungle, miles up the Zingu River to where Zach had last been heard from? Well, it was obvious Mr. Slader—she wouldn’t let herself think of him any other way—hadn’t met a person whose faith in the Lord made it possible to do anything. She had gotten this far without any harm befalling her. Somehow, she would convince Mr. Slader to help her. She hadn’t figured out how yet, but she would, with the Lord’s help.

  After walking at almost a jog for ten minutes, he came to a stop. His brow covered in sweat, he removed his baseball cap and ran the back of his hand across his forehead. That was when Kate noticed his white, button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up above the elbows, drenched and clinging to his body, revealing his muscular build even more. She looked away, pulling another tissue from her purse to dab at her face, glad for the moment of rest.

  When she was through, her tissue was wet, and she looked around for a trash can. In Red Creek there was one on every corner in the downtown area. Of course, this wasn’t exactly downtown Mandras and certainly not downtown Red Creek. She wasn’t even sure Mandras had a downtown area unless someone considered it to be the dock where she’d gotten off the riverboat. That was where all the vendors hawked their wares, live animals, fish and fruit from the nearby jungle.

  “Toss it on the ground like everyone else does. It’ll decompose and return to nature in no time. Everything does quickly here in the Amazon.”

  Kate snapped her jaw closed after realizing her mouth hung open in surprise. “I do not litter. Not even in the jungle.”

  Mr. Slader took a step closer, then another, until only a foot separated them—way too near for her peace of mind. She was beginning to feel the other side of Mandras wasn’t far enough away. And she needed him to guide her through the jungle. Oh, my!

  “What do you intend to do, with your garbage, Miss Collier?”

  Kate held her ground, gritting her teeth together, while her pulse rate sped, betraying her. His musky scent—not wholly unpleasant—flowed over her. “I’ll find an appropriate trash can to dispose of my waste.”

  He actually blinked several times, the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Are you for real?”

  She straightened, sure he was insulting her. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I bet you don’t dare jaywalk or anything else that’s against the law, for that matter.”

  “Contrary to what some people think—” She let her gaze trek down his length, which was a mistake. She quickly looked back up at his face, swallowing hard. “Laws were not made to be broken. If everyone went around breaking the laws, chaos would rule.”

  “Then you have definitely come to the wrong place. Chaos rules in the jungle.”

  “There’s order everywhere. I’ve read several books about the jungle.”

  He held his hands up, palms facing her. “No more. There’s no way a book can truly capture what the jungle is like.” He pivoted. “Let’s go. We’ve rested long enough.”

  Again, Mr. Slader set a quick pace and before long, Kate found herself in front of her hotel with its faded blue facade and white-painted shutters. The building was the best on the whole street, which really wasn’t saying that much. She’d seen her room and didn’t relish spending too much time in it. Bare and uncomfortable came to mind when she thought of it, a bit of civilization but only a bit.

  He started to leave.

  “Don’t go.” She reached to stop him and caught the air.

  But he looked back at her, and she hurried toward him. “The least I can do is buy you a drink for walking me all the way back here.”

  One of his brows quirked. “A drink? I got the strong impression you weren’t the drinking kind, that you’d never seen the inside of a bar.”

  “I meant tea or bottled water from the dining room,” she said, fiercely trying to cling to the idea of civilization for as long as she could.

  “What if I wanted something a bit stronger?”

  She nibbled on her lower lip, clenching and unclenching her hands. “Water is what someone should drink in the tropics. It’s the best liquid to rehydrate you. I read that alcohol really can dehydrate a person.”

  “What are you, a librarian?”

  “I’m the secretary for my church. But I love to read and spend many hours reading good books. When I decided I would be coming to the Amazon, I devoured every book I could find. Thankfully, I’m a speed reader.”

  “I think I’ll pass on the tea and water.”

  “Please join me. Give me a chance to explain the importance of seeking your help.”

  “I can’t see you changing my mind.”

  “I’ll pay you for your time. All you have to do is listen.”

  “You’ll pay me just to listen to you?”

  She nodded, aware of how desperate that sounded. But she was desperate. She was the last hope for her brother. He wasn’t dead. She knew it and intended to prove it by finding him when everyone else had given him up for dead.

  “You’ve got fifteen minutes.” He moved toward the door that led into the lobby.

  Mr. Slader walked past the entrance into the bar and sat in the corner, facing the front door, his eyes scanning back and forth. Kate took the rattan chair on the other side of the scarred table, which looked as though someone had taken a knife to it over and over. She placed her purse in her lap and clutched its leather straps.

  “Zach works for a pharmaceutical company as a biochemist, heading up the research division. He loves working in the field. My brother is brilliant. Not only does he have a doctorate in biochemistry but also anthropology, with extensive knowledge of linguistic patterns among the different Indian tribes in the Amazon. This area is like a second home to him.”

  “Contrary to you?”

  Her fingernails dug into her palms. “The rainforest holds a certain fascination for me, but reading about it satisfies my curiosity. Maybe you’ve heard of my brother, Dr. Zachary Collier.”

  His brow furrowed, his lips thinning. “I know about the search a few months back for him and his team. I was approached, but I was involved in another matter at the time. Both the Brazilian and American governments were involved, though. Your brother must have powerful friends.”

  “The company he works for does have some pull. But they came up empty-handed. No trace of him or the men with him. Vanished one day, just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “They were supposed to call in at a certain time and missed it. No one’s heard from them since.”

  Relaxed, Mr. Slader leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his hands together. “Lady, that happens down here. Some men don’t want to be found. Some men just plain get lost.”

  “Not Zach. He knows what he’s doing.”

  With one brow arched, Mr. Slader asked, “Contrary to you?”

  “We’re twins but very different in a lot of ways.” She waved her hand in the air. “But we’re digressing.” Drawing in a large breath, she released it on a long sigh. “Zach is alive. I know it.”

  His brow arched even higher. “How?”

  “He is not
dead.” If she said it enough times, it would have to be the truth. She’d lost everyone she’d ever cared about. She was not going to lose her twin.

  “This is all interesting, but you’ve said nothing to change my mind.” Mr. Slader started to stand.

  “Have you heard of the Quentas tribe?”

  Mr. Slader stopped in midmotion and sat down again, nothing relaxed about him now. “I haven’t heard them mentioned in a while. No one has seen one in years. Just once about ten years ago, and the outcome of that encounter wasn’t good. The expedition team that trekked through their part of the jungle disappeared and was never heard from since. People don’t go there anymore.”

  Kate sat on the edge of her chair, glanced around to make sure no one was listening and said, “Zach made contact.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “He sent me a cryptic message the day before he disappeared. He was excited about his discovery. In fact, that was one of the reasons he had returned to that area. He heard some fascinating stories about this tribe’s incredible healing powers. He wanted to investigate.”

  The line of Mr. Slader’s jaw hardened, and his eyes narrowed. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “His contact was someone he felt would be a bridge between him and the Quentas. If what he believed is even half-true, it’s worth the risk. The benefits to mankind could be enormous.”

  “And the profits, too?”

  “Zach has never cared one way or another about the money. He has more than enough money to do whatever he wants. He’s always used his knowledge to help others, sometimes at great risk to himself.”

  “How do you know I won’t betray you? Take your money and leave you out in the jungle to fend for yourself?”

  Kate straightened her shoulders until pain shot down her back. “I’m not a complete fool. Zach knew someone in the military—General Halston. When my brother disappeared, I called the general, at first to insist they continue the search. When that became impossible, he recommended you. He said you were trustworthy and knew this area of the jungle well. He said you were skilled in keeping yourself and others alive. That you knew several different Indian dialects. That you were the only one for the job. The management at this hotel agreed.”