A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  She wondered what Riley would do if she told him she never tired of looking at him. Even more so now.

  He didn’t have the short hair he’d had back then. The longer locks were always tied back with a strip of leather. Time had carved sharp lines in his features, but she still saw the same man she saw that first time—saw and fell in love with him two seconds later.

  For three years Jenna had told herself she’d gotten Riley out of her system. She’d even convinced herself she was ready to get on with her life.

  Then Riley showed up again at her request, and all his return did was teach her she still wasn’t over him. He’d had her heart all this time.

  No wonder no other man had a chance.

  She boosted herself up onto the altar and sat there with her legs crossed Indian-style.

  “I’d say it’s more than big enough to hold a man for sacrifice,” she announced, patting the stone top.

  Riley walked over and braced his hands against the edge. “Naw, you look much better up there than I would. Of course, you’d have to wear a lot less.”

  “So would you.” She traced the outline of his T-shirt neckline. “Your skin would be oiled and you’d wear feathers so you wouldn’t be completely nude before the gods.” Her lips curved upward. “Long feathers.”

  His eyes darkened with the same desire that glowed in her eyes. “You’re just asking for it, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but I have an idea you wouldn’t be up to having an audience,” she said in a low breathy voice that seemed to ooze sex.

  Riley grabbed her around her waist and pulled her off the altar.

  “Okay, Smitty, you’ve had your fun. Come on, let’s get back down so the driver doesn’t take off without us.”

  Jenna looked around as Riley dragged her back to the stairs.

  “I bet this place would be fascinating on a night when there’s a full moon.”

  “Only if you’re into all that woo-woo stuff.” He shook his head.

  “I bet on a quiet night you can hear the drums and the priests chanting.” She hopped down the stairs one at a time. “Then you’d hear the cries of the victims as the knife descends.”

  Riley stopped and pulled her to a stop. “When did you pick up this bloodthirsty nature?” he asked.

  “I picked up a few books in the resort gift shop. It was very informative about the tribes that lived here centuries ago,” she replied. She looked around with an expression on her face that could only be called wistful. Her whisper echoed the ache written on her face. “I wish I could draw all this. And use all the rich colors for that time period.”

  Riley felt her pain as if it was his own. He cocked an elbow around her neck and drew her to him. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

  “You will draw again,” he assured her, gently rubbing his cheek against her hair. “I never had any doubts. You shouldn’t, either.”

  She smiled up at him. “You’re good for my ego, Riley.”

  Once they reached solid ground, Jenna looked around, whispered in Riley’s ear and went off to her left.

  “Don’t go too far,” he warned, beginning to follow her when an older man stopped him to ask a question.

  Jenna wrinkled her nose at the pungent aroma of vegetation as she found a private spot. Afterward, her attention was caught by a large cluster of colorful blossoms.

  She had just leaned down to carefully touch a blossom when a new smell reached her nostrils. This one had nothing to do with the lush vegetation around her. She stiffened as she identified it as one that brought back old nightmares.

  She opened her mouth to scream Riley’s name at the same moment a hand clapped over it.

  Memories ran over her like molten lava as the scent of baby powder invaded her nostrils along with the sharper tang of licorice.

  “You’re lookin’ real hot today, Jenna,” the man whispered nastily in her ear. His other hand passed across her breasts then roughly pressed her against him.

  She froze, afraid to do anything that might incite him.

  “Have you missed me, Jenna?” His breath was hot and sour. “I’ve sure missed you. We had quite a time that night, didn’t we?” He tightened his hold, deliberately pulling her up off her feet.

  No! It’s a nightmare! All I have to do is wake up and everything will be all right!

  Her eyes frantically whipped right and left, hoping Riley would suddenly appear. Her assailant’s callused hand was filthy, and she had to constantly swallow to keep from gagging.

  Riley! Where are you? She hated the tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Don’t worry, baby.” His tongue snaked out and dipped in her tears. “I’ll take really good care of you. Too bad I can’t keep you for too long. But then, you knew that, didn’t you?”

  He’s going to kill me. He didn’t kill me last time, so he’s going to do it this time.

  She shifted her weight with the hope of stamping her foot on his, but he jerked her back so quickly her head snapped back and forth. A knife appeared in his hand, and the sharp blade rested against her throat.

  “Don’t try anything funny,” he warned, barely pressing the knife down.

  Jenna could feel the sting first, then a damp sensation, as a trickle of warm blood trailed down her neck.

  She was helpless as he started walking backward, dragging her with him farther into the vegetation that quickly hid them from the group. She lashed out with her feet, but he was bigger and stronger than she was. She hated herself for tears that refused to stop.

  This wasn’t Riley’s fault, she told herself. She should have been more careful. Stayed closer to the group, even though it wouldn’t have been easy. She was afraid he’d blame himself for what she’d done. She didn’t want him feeling responsible for her death.

  “Hey, buddy, don’t you know it’s against the law to take souvenirs out of the area. Something like that can get you in a lot of trouble.”

  Jenna’s cries were muffled by the man’s hand as he spun around with her limply hanging in his hold. He tightened his arm against her throat.

  Riley stood nearby with his weapon in his hand. The look on his face said it all.

  “You try to shoot me, she’ll get her throat slit.”

  Jenna trembled as she heard the threat she already knew the man wouldn’t hesitate to keep. She tried to use her eyes to communicate with Riley to no avail. He barely spared her a glance after he’d seen the trickle of blood marring her throat.

  “She’s a tasty piece, Cooper,” the man snarled. “You’ve had your fun. Now it’s my turn. But first, I’m gonna see you dead.” He raised his free hand, revealing his knife. Before it could leave his hand, Riley’s hand was up. The explosion sent birds screeching and wildly flying overhead.

  Jenna screamed the moment the man’s hand slid away from her face. She was blind to the world around her, and her ears rang from the gunshot that flew so close to her. She sank down to the ground, screaming even more when the man’s arm flopped onto her leg. She tried to crawl away.

  “Jen, you’re okay. Everything’s fine,” Riley repeated in a calm voice that somehow managed to sound frantic at the same time. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest.

  “What happened?”

  “Who’s he?”

  Riley looked up and found himself looking at four men. The driver also stood there. He carried a pistol, which he kept aimed at the man.

  “This scum decided he wanted to take my woman,” Riley muttered, still keeping a protective hold on Jenna.

  One of the men moved closer and crouched down by the body. He pressed his fingers against the carotid artery.

  “He’s still alive.”

  “I want to know why he’s out here,” Riley said grimly.

  One of the other men pulled out a cellular phone. “The hotel can pick him up.”

  “It was him. It was him,” Jenna babbled, frantically pawing at Riley.

  “I know, baby. I know,” he soothed, g
athering her hands in his. He freed one hand to press his handkerchief against the cut on her neck. He was relieved when the bleeding stopped and he could see the cut. It was shallow. He inwardly shuddered at what could have happened to her.

  “Do you want something to calm her down?” A young blond woman held out a pill container.

  Riley inwardly winced at the variety the woman carried.

  “No, thanks. I’m just going to get her to the bus.” He stood, pulling Jenna up with him. He swung her into his arms.

  She closed her eyes and clung tightly to him.

  “Don’t say anymore, honey,” he whispered. “We’ll be back at the hotel in no time.”

  One of the men stopped Riley to tell him a couple of them would be staying behind to keep an eye on the wounded man. Riley knew he should stay in case the man regained consciousness, but he didn’t want to leave Jenna. His heart was having a massive argument with his brain.

  “You need to stay here, don’t you?” Her chin trembled violently, tearstains streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were bright with fear. “You need to be here in case he comes to, you don’t want anyone else questioning him, so you have to stay behind.”

  He nodded. Conflicting emotions raced across his face.

  Jenna motioned for him to put her down. “Then you stay here. I’m sure I won’t be in any danger on the bus going back to the hotel.” Her voice wobbled tearfully again even as hysterical laughter tried to edge its way in. “Can you imagine anyone wanting to hijack the bus? Where would they go?”

  Riley pulled Jenna to him and held on to her hard. Anyone who saw his face saw the conflicting emotions and the pain twisting him into knots inside.

  “I’ll make it as fast as I can,” he promised, his voice was hard with conviction. “When you get back, ask for Sasha. Stay with him. He’ll look after you.”

  Riley escorted Jenna to the bus and made sure she was all right before he left her. The woman who had offered Jenna a tranquilizer earlier promised to keep an eye on her.

  “He’s really cute,” she told Jenna as she settled into the seat beside her as the driver started the engine. “My Andy stayed behind to help. I tell you, it’s not safe anywhere. Andy said we could have a great honeymoon down here and party. Now some creep shows up and ruins the whole thing.”

  Jenna turned away to look out the window. She wasn’t sure whether to burst out laughing or crying at the woman’s glib comment. She wanted to tell her the day wouldn’t have been just ruined. If the man had succeeded, Jenna would have been very much dead.

  Riley didn’t want to let Jenna out of his sight. But he knew he couldn’t keep her with him. She needed to get away from here right away. And he trusted Sasha to take good care of her until he got back to the hotel.

  Two men stayed behind with him. Andrew, a contractor from Detroit who was there on his honeymoon. And Marcus, a stockbroker from Texas, who’d brought his wife for a second honeymoon after the birth of their second child.

  “Looks as if the bleeding stopped,” Andrew commented. He absently nudged the unconscious man with the toe of his shoe. “What do you think he wanted with your wife?”

  “Hell if I know,” Riley muttered the lie without a second thought. He frowned as he studied their prisoner. “Maybe he grabbed her because she had wandered away from the group and he figured her for an easy mark. Dammit, I told her to stay close by! I only turned away for a second.” He took a deep breath.

  Marcus shook his head. “Who knows what he was after. He doesn’t look like he belongs around here.”

  Riley crouched down and began searching through the man’s pockets. He doubted he would find anything useful, but he could hope.

  Other than a vehicle key and a wallet containing cash, no other identification was found.

  “I wonder where he left his truck,” Andrew stated, looking around. “He couldn’t have left it too far away. I’ll go see if I can find it.”

  Riley would have liked that privilege himself, but he also knew he couldn’t do everything. He could only hope there wasn’t anything about Jenna or him to be found in the vehicle.

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  “It could have been my wife.” Andrew clapped him on the back. “Give a shout when someone from the hotel shows up.” He made a circle around them, examined the ground and headed off.

  Marcus shook his head. “This isn’t good.”

  Riley shot him a sharp look. “I know I’d like to find out how he got here and why he’s here.”

  “‘Why’ is a good question to ask. Obviously he thought he could catch some rich tourists.”

  Riley froze momentarily when the man on the ground moved his head and moaned. His eyelids fluttered but didn’t open. Riley thought of the fear that had left Jenna a quivering mass.

  The man had held her intimately, touched her. A savage anger welled up inside him, and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to kill the man with his bare hands.

  “Let’s just hope he comes to long enough to answer some questions,” he said in a hard voice. “I want the chance to find out what he thought he was doing.”

  When a small pickup arrived, Riley and Marcus lifted the still-unconscious man and laid him in the back of the truck. The driver leaned on the horn several times and after a while, Andrew appeared.

  “I found an old Jeep about two miles from here,” he announced. “I took it apart as much as I could, but I couldn’t find anything. Not even a rental agreement. He wake up?”

  The two men shook their heads.

  By now Riley was eager to get back to the hotel. And back to Jenna.

  The ride back was bumpy, with the prisoner moaning in pain more than once when they hit a pothole. Riley sat in the back of the truck as did Andrew while Marcus sat with the driver. The two men were silent during the ride back as if each was buried in his own thoughts.

  When they arrived at the hotel, the driver guided the truck to the rear of the main building and explained he would take the wounded man down to the infirmary. He was certain the hotel would call the authorities. Riley didn’t want that done, but he figured Sasha would already know that.

  Riley thanked the other two men for their help and said drinks were definitely on him. For now, he wanted to see if he could find anything out.

  He impatiently waited while the doctor examined his new patient. The man brusquely ordered a nurse to prepare for surgery.

  “You won’t learn anything from this man today,” he told Riley.

  “If he wakes up, I want to be called immediately,” he said grimly.

  “You will.” The doctor’s smile softened. “I was summoned to your bungalow when your wife returned.”

  “Is she all right?” he asked sharply.

  “Shaken, of course, but physically, she is fine. The cut on her throat was superficial. One meant to look more dangerous than it was. There will be no scar.”

  Riley nodded at the doctor’s reassurances, although all he cared about was that Jenna was all right.

  “I left a sedative for her in case she becomes agitated in the night. Sometimes, it takes the body closing down for the brain to relive those fears,” he explained.

  “Thank you.”

  Riley left as quickly as he could and headed for the bungalow. When he entered the parlor he found Sasha seated in a chair reading.

  Riley had to smile at seeing the elderly man sporting a pair of old-fashioned reading glasses and reading a book of Russian poetry.

  Sasha looked up and removed his glasses. “She is asleep. Is the man alive?”

  Riley nodded. “The doctor is going to take out the bullet now. He said not to wony about him until tomorrow. I told him I wanted to know the minute he woke up.”

  “I want to be with you when you interrogate him. This man attacked a guest of my resort. I wish to know how he managed to find out when the tour group would be at the temple. It worries me to think one of my people would give him that kind of information,” Sasha said sharply as he
placed a bookmark in his book before closing it.

  “The driver figured someone would be calling the authorities,” Riley said.

  Sasha nodded. “But it will take time for someone to show up.”

  Riley felt very tired. The adrenaline he’d been running on for the past few hours was rapidly leaving his body.

  “You have a woman with a great heart and much courage. Cherish her, my friend. Women like her are very rare.” Sasha patted his shoulder as he walked past.

  The moment the door closed after the older man, Riley was inside the bedroom to check on Jenna.

  She lay curled up under the covers. Her respiration was normal, and she didn’t appear to be having any bad dreams.

  Riley wanted nothing more than to lie down beside her and take her in his arms. He wanted the assurance of her body nestled against his. He needed to know she was all right. But he also knew a shower would be in order first.

  Then he’d do just what Sasha suggested.

  He’d cherish Jenna for all he was worth.

  Chapter 11

  Jenna’s first thoughts when she woke up were those of unceasing terror. It was as if the past days hadn’t happened. She was back in that monstrous world of pain again.

  She sat up in bed feeling horror clawing at her throat. The sounds coming from her were unintelligible as she blindly fought the monsters terrorizing her. She lashed out with all her strength, needing to fight back even if she was rewarded with more pain.

  She was so lost in her nightmare, she barely felt the pair of arms warmly surround her. Once she realized whose arms were wrapped around her, she grew limp in his embrace.

  She opened her eyes and drew in deep breaths to help clear her mind. She turned her head to see it was dark outside.

  Riley had obviously left on a lamp in the parlor that sent a soft yellow glow streaming through the open doorway and across their bed.

  A rough palm warmly caressed her cheek.

  “You okay?” His voice was soft and comforting to her frazzled mind.

  She nodded as words still failed her. She remained curled up against him with her cheek resting against his chest.