Bodyguard: Ambush (Book 3) (12 page)

‘So, tell me, how many have you
protected before us?’

Connor replied, ‘This is my third
assignment.’

Amber pouted in disappointment. ‘Not
many then.’

‘Well, they’re all still
alive!’ retorted Connor. He took a breath to calm himself. ‘Listen, I think
we’ve got off on the wrong foot. I’m not here to stop you doing things.
I’m here to keep you safe.’

‘From what?’ Amber asked,
indicating the tranquil night. ‘Mosquitoes? It’s a mystery to me why my
father even employed you. I simply don’t need a boy looking after me. If you want
to be useful, protect my brother and keep him away from me. Now, goodnight.’

He watched her stride off into the
darkness.

‘Women, eh?’ snorted Gunner,
coming up from behind and shrugging in sympathy. ‘As wild and unpredictable as
Africa –’ he winked at Connor – ‘and just as captivating.’

‘Those drummers were awesome!’
exclaimed Henri, beating at the night air with his fists as Connor led him up the path,
the boy’s parents having joined President Bagaza and his ministers for a nightcap
on the lodge’s main veranda.

‘I mean, how high could they
leap!’ Henri jumped into the darkness.

Connor grabbed him before he stumbled into a
thorn bush. ‘Careful, Henri, remember what Gunner said. Stick to the path, there
might be snakes.’

‘
O … K
,’ he
wheezed.

‘Are you all right?’ Connor
asked, hearing the slight whistle to the boy’s breath.

‘
Fine
,’ replied Henri,
pulling an inhaler from his pocket and taking a puff. After ten seconds he breathed out,
his lungs already sounding clearer. ‘Just a bit of asthma.’

Connor slowed his pace up the hill. From
where he was, he could see the light on in Amber’s suite. She’d drawn the
curtains and her shadow flittered across them.

Connor turned to Henri. ‘Is your
sister always so …’
He tried to think
of the most diplomatic word. ‘Headstrong?’

Henri nodded, sighing in recognition.
‘And grouchy. Even more so since her boyfriend dumped her last week, for her best
friend … by text message!’

‘That sounds harsh,’ Connor
remarked.

Henri shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, Maurice
was an idiot. I think she’s most upset about her friend betraying her, though. She
cried a lot about that.’

‘That’s understandable,’
said Connor. He walked Henri to his room. ‘See you at dawn for the
safari.’

Yawning, Henri nodded. ‘I hope we spot
lions tomorrow,’ he murmured before disappearing inside.

Heading back to his own room, Connor opened
the glass door to the private deck and sat in a lounger. He gazed up at the blanket of
stars overhead. Never had he seen so many in his life. The night was so clear they truly
sparkled like diamonds in the sky.

He glanced over at Amber’s suite. The
lights were still on, but there was no movement. At least her recent heartbreak
explained her frostiness, thought Connor. She’d probably had enough of boys for
the time being. And if she knew of her father’s past affair, she likely had a
trust issue too – especially following the betrayal of her best friend. Connor decided
to cut Amber a bit of slack. He’d give her some space. As long as he knew where
she was and she didn’t wander beyond the lodge’s grounds, he could
legitimately protect her.

Pulling out his phone, Connor dialled
Buddyguard HQ
to check in for the night.
Charley answered within two rings.

After going through formal call-in protocol,
she asked, ‘How are the Cubs settling in?’

Prior to any mission, call signs and code
words were agreed, since it was always assumed that radio communications could be easily
intercepted and no network was a hundred per cent secure. So Amber and Henri had been
assigned the call signs Cub One and Cub Two.

‘As well as can be expected,’
Connor replied. ‘The youngest has accepted its new brother; the older one is a
little more resistant.’

‘What about the Nest?’ enquired
Charley.

Connor delivered his assessment of the
lodge’s lax security situation, being careful not to reveal anything too specific
that might identify the location.

‘Not ideal,’ she agreed.
‘But there aren’t any storms on the horizon so you should be OK. Have you
anything else to report?’

‘I’ve heard talk about the Black
Mamba coming back. Any idea who this might be?’

‘Not off the top of my head, sorry.
I’ll look into it and get back to you.’

‘Thanks,’ said Connor. ‘It
might be nothing, but a couple of the ministers here seemed concerned. How’s the
birdwatching going, by the way?’ he asked, subtly referring to Amir and Operation
Hawk-Eye.

Charley lowered her voice as if she
didn’t want anyone else at HQ to hear. ‘It’s having its ups and downs,
but don’t
worry – our friend
hasn’t had his wings clipped yet. Tell me, how’s your luxury
suite?’

‘Pretty shabby,’ Connor replied,
reclining further back in his padded lounger. ‘There are only two showers, and the
private plunge pool isn’t that big.’

‘Sounds
horrible
.’

‘Yeah, but I’ll
survive.’

‘We’re counting on it,’
said Charley warmly. ‘Listen, I have to go. Stay safe.’

She signed off. Connor sighed contentedly
and returned to gazing at the stars. He always felt better after talking with Charley.
More grounded. Talking through the mission helped him put it in perspective. While the
security arrangements were less than perfect, the remote location reduced the risk of
direct threats. He thought that he might even be able to relax enough to enjoy the
safari tomorrow morning. Connor pocketed the phone and closed his eyes … A second later
they flew open as a piercing scream shattered the peace of the night.

Connor catapulted himself off the lounger and
leapt from the decking. Pushing through the privacy barrier of bushes, he scrambled on
to the neighbouring deck. The scream had come from within Amber’s suite. It
sounded as if she was being attacked, but the curtains obscured whatever was going on
inside.

He yanked at the glass door. Locked. He
heard another desperate cry. Connor sprinted round to the front. The main door was also
bolted. Taking a step back, he front-kicked it with all his might. The lock gave way and
he burst into the room. Amber wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Connor’s first
thought was that she’d been kidnapped. Then another scream erupted from the
bathroom.

Throwing open the door, Connor found Amber
standing in the middle of the tiled floor, wrapped in a towel, shaking her head
furiously.

‘Get it off me! Get it off
me!’

‘What?’ said Connor, looking
round the room for the threat.

‘The spider!’

Connor felt a surge
of relief. He’d thought it was something deadly serious.

‘Hold still,’ he instructed,
grabbing her by the shoulders and searching her damp locks of hair for the intruder.
When he saw it, he jerked away. No wonder Amber was screaming – the spider’s body
was the size of a golf ball. Dark brown with spindly hairy legs and two prominent fangs,
it was fearsome enough to give anyone a heart attack.

Connor grabbed Amber’s hairbrush from
the shelf and batted the spider off before it could sink its fangs into her. The
creature scuttled across the tiles at a horrific speed. Amber yelped again and leapt
into the bath for safety.

Gunner ran in. ‘What’s going
on?’ demanded the ranger, looking between Connor and Amber, still dripping wet
from her shower.

‘Spider,’ explained Connor,
pointing to the creature now scurrying up the wall.

Gunner eyed it, whipped off his hat and
plonked it over the offending arachnid.

‘Just a rain spider. Nothing to worry
about,’ he said, picking up a magazine and trapping it inside his hat.
‘Relatively harmless. They hunt at night and sleep during the day. They can bite,
but their venom’s no more dangerous than a bee sting …’ He glanced at Amber,
trembling in the bathtub. ‘Granted, though, they look bloody
terrifying.’

Amber nodded mutely, her eyes not leaving
Gunner’s hat for a second.

‘It’s the small black-button
spiders with red underbellies you need to avoid like the plague,’ warned the
ranger,
checking the bathroom for any other
creepy-crawlies. ‘They have one of the most toxic venoms produced in nature,
fifteen times stronger than a rattlesnake’s. You’ll probably know them as
black widow spiders –’ He was interrupted by two soldiers from the presidential
guard appearing at the door.

Better late than never
, thought
Connor.

‘False alarm,’ said Gunner to
the soldiers, and they wandered back outside, muttering to themselves.

Gunner held up his hat cheerily.
‘Well, Amber, that’s your official welcome to Africa. All clear
now.’

He headed for the main door and spotted the
damaged lock. ‘I’ll have someone fix that tomorrow. Oh, and remember to
shake out your boots before putting them on in the morning. You don’t want any
other nasty shocks.’

He disappeared into the night to release the
eight-legged intruder.

Connor turned to Amber. ‘Will you be
all right?’

Quickly recovering her composure now the
spider was gone, she pulled her towel closer around her and shooed him out of the
bathroom. ‘Yes, absolutely.’

There was a flush to her cheeks and she
wouldn’t quite meet his eye. But, as she closed the door on him, she smiled shyly.
‘At least you’re tough enough to fight off spiders.’

Dawn had barely broken and the sun, low on
the horizon, cast a golden sheen across the wakening savannah. A few zebra glanced up
from their early-morning grazing as the convoy of Land Rovers bumped their way along the
dirt track, sending up clouds of dust into the warm, still air.

In the lead vehicle Connor sat next to
Henri, who was fidgeting with excitement, his head darting left and right like a
meerkat’s as he searched for animals. Stifling a yawn from the impossibly early
start, Amber steadied herself in the front seat beside Gunner, who was at the wheel.
Although there was ample space, Laurent and Cerise had elected to go in the second
vehicle to give their children the freedom to enjoy the safari alone. The other four
Land Rovers transported the president, his ministers, their wives and a detachment of
the presidential guard.

Perched on the bonnet seat of Connor’s
vehicle was their tracker, Buju, a quiet man with soulful eyes and a shy smile. Upon
introduction, Gunner had spoken for him, explaining that Buju had grown up in the Ruvubu
Valley, lived off the land by hunting and gathering, and that he knew every
gully, waterway and crevice of the national
park like the back of his hand. Buju would be their eyes and ears on the safari.

From the man’s watchful gaze and calm,
almost still, presence, Buju appeared very attuned to his environment and Connor
realized it would be hard for any predator to sneak up on them without their tracker
noticing. Yet, despite this assurance, Connor didn’t allow himself to lower his
own guard. Although it was good to have another pair of eyes on the lookout for danger,
his Principals’ safety ultimately lay with him.