Burning Wild
Page 126

He was on the man in seconds, and Emma fell back, exhausted, sick, disgusted and horrified all at once. She staggered, fell and began to crawl, dragging the leopard’s body through the mud away from the scene of death. She didn’t want to see or hear any more killing. Once away from the terrible struggle, she shifted, sobbing, bending over to relieve her stomach of all contents in protest of the night’s activities.
She could still taste blood in her mouth and she was desperate to rid herself of it. She turned her face up to the sky, allowing the rain to pour over her, wanting it to cleanse her. She wasn’t sorry, but she hated that she’d had to make a life-and-death choice for another human being. She tried to scrub the blood off her body, shivering continually, although she didn’t know if it was from the cold or from deep revulsion.
“Emma.” Jake called her name softly.
She turned to face him. He looked like a warrior, with his glittering eyes and smears of blood decorating him, along with deep scratches, but he appeared to have come out of the battle unscathed for the most part.
“Where’s our son?”
She could see the fear in his eyes. His hands trembled as they reached for her. She pointed toward the grassy slope where she’d hidden Kyle. He took her hand and ran, setting a fast pace. In her exhaustion, Emma could barely keep up, stumbling over the uneven ground until he wrapped his arm around her waist and nearly lifted her off her feet, taking them over the last few feet of muddy terrain before he came to a halt, staring down at the little mound. His chest heaved, breath exploded out of his lungs and he sank to his knees.
“Kyle!” Jake tore through the camouflage Emma had covered him with. He dragged the toddler to him, his hands running over his son, brushing the tears from the boys face, unaware of his own as he saw for himself Kyle was alive. “You have bruises all over you. This was never supposed to happen. I’m sorry, Kyle. I should have . . .” He shook his head and pulled the boy tight to his chest, holding him against his heart. “You’re safe now, son.” He kissed the top of Kyle’s head and nuzzled the thick hair with his chin, murmuring soothing nonsense, almost unbelieving that he had his son safe in his arms.
Kyle flung his arms around his father’s neck and buried his face against his throat. Jake reached out and swept Emma beneath his arm as well, and they all knelt in the grass and clung to one another, weeping. It was Emma who finally lifted her head and tried to be practical.
“We have to get Kyle out of the storm, Jake. How are we getting home?”
Jake rubbed his face over Kyle’s hair one more time, inhaling him, just thankful he was alive. He sighed and made his mind focus on the plan already in place. “We stash clothes in various places. Conner is gathering some for us while Joshua runs back to the ranch to get a truck. He’ll be here as soon as he can to take us home.”
“The ranch hands will be edgy,” Emma said, anxious for Joshua’s safety. “If they spot a leopard, they’ll shoot him.”
“No one will spot Joshua,” Jake assured her. “Not until he wants to be seen.”
“What are we going to tell the police?” Emma didn’t have to ask what had happened to the enemies or Trent. “They’re powerful people. They can’t just disappear.”
“Leopards attacked the horses. They must have come from a private collector or a ranch illegally raising wild animals for hunters and somehow they escaped. The storm must have made them a little crazy.”
“I read that things like that can happen—that wild animals are very affected by storms,” Emma agreed. “And certainly everyone knows of those awful breeding programs.”
Jake nodded. “We do get edgy.” He managed a small grin. “And moody. You and Drake rushed to save the horses, along with the grandparents and our good friend Trent who was visiting at the time along with their bodyguard. The leopards attacked you and Drake. Drake’s injuries were so severe we called in our pilot in the midst of a terrible storm.”
“Which we did have to do,” Emma said. “That can be proved and our wounds are consistent with a leopard attack. Do you think Drake will be all right?”
“I had an orthopedic surgeon in place already to check out his leg. I found one who has a history with the leopard species. He thinks he can fix Drake’s leg so he can shift again. The wound forced the surgery forward, and maybe complicated it, but at least we already had the right doctor. Winston was meeting him at the hospital. I paid him enough money to continue his research for some time in order to make certain he takes very good care of Drake. The amount of money a success with Drake generates will be more than enough incentive to ensure that Drake not only lives, but that his leg will be one hundred percent.”
Emma closed her eyes briefly in relief. “I’ve been so worried for him I was afraid to even think about him.”
“The rest of the story will be that Kyle was attacked in our absence and the grandparents, along with Trent and the bodyguard, hunted the leopards. Kyle has bruises and puncture wounds, as well as skinned heels from being dragged.” Jake rocked Kyle gently, soothing himself more than the boy, wanting to hold his son forever, never to let him out of his sight. The boy’s soft weeping had stopped and he appeared to have gone to sleep, exhausted by his ordeal. “By the time we arrived, the leopards had mauled and killed them and we shot the leopards. We did burn the leopard carcasses, of course. All wounds will be consistent with leopard attacks.”