Drawing Deep (15 page)

Though he still didn’t appear pleased, Lance answered the phone and Ria made her way to the trail. When she was certain Lance could no longer see her, she increased her sped to a supernatural pace, reaching the other clearing in less than a minute.

She understood now why it was called a rock garden. Several huge boulders were grouped together off at one side of the clearing, creating a rocky arrangement close to forty feet long, and, as she circled the formation, about fifteen feet wide in some areas. Using the smaller ones that surrounded the massive boulders as steps, she climbed her way to the top.

Several of the boulders were nearly flat, almost inviting so. She had dressed for the cooler confines of the ruin, but had ditched the long-sleeved shirt at some point when she’d become too warm.

That had become a problem lately. Too warm. One of the reasons she’d bolted from her room last night.

Don’t think about it.

Because thinking about what had happened between her and Santos last night only increased that warmth. Into an inferno. Her pulse accelerated, her belly twisted, and she grew achy in places he’d touched too damn intimately. Dampness quickened between her legs.

Shit. I’m thinking about it.

She plopped down on her butt, stretched out her legs and gazed over the clearing. After several silent minutes of concentration, she realized what she saw was exactly what it appeared. A clearing in a forest. One that happened to have a collection of huge rocks.

Sighing, she laid back and closed her eyes. She was so tired. Even if she’d figured out part of the puzzle that was the ruin, there was still so much more to wade through.

The rock was warm from the sun, and as it seeped into her back, her front soaked up the last of the overhead rays. Birds chirped happy songs all around her while ground animals scurried and played on the forest floor.

She didn’t know she’d fallen asleep until her eyes suddenly flew open. Not long, she estimated, based on the sun’s location in the sky, but not smart either. Exposing herself like this would only use up the blood she’d taken yesterday at a faster rate. Even if that wasn’t an issue, she should get back to Lance and find out what his contact said about the coin.

Before she could rise, a sense of power filled the air, making the tiny hairs on her body stand on end. Motionless, she reached out with her senses. The birds’ noisy chatter had decreased to an occasional twitter. The sounds of rabbits and squirrels scattering about now gone. She breathed in deep, and smelled something wild, musky and powerful.

Cautiously, she turned her head to her right, and saw him watching her with gleaming, predatory eyes. The heart that had maintained a steady rhythm skipped a beat.

Santos. Only it wasn’t the Santos she was familiar with.

Slowly, she lifted herself into a sitting position, her eyes never parting from the unblinking greenish-yellow ones of the huge jaguar that lay at the edge of the clearing.

It rose on its haunches, as if mirroring her action. Ria swallowed, her mouth drier than dirt. She might have known Santos was a jaguar shifter, but actually seeing him thus with her own eyes was another thing altogether. He was, undoubtedly, a magnificent animal. Strength and energy radiated from his silent frame, reminding her of how she’d felt when she’d seen him last night. And though he was on four legs instead of two, with the setting sun shimmering over vibrant orange, yellow and midnight black rosettes that covered him rather than clothing, she still thought he was gorgeous. Breathtaking.

“Beautiful.” The word slid unbidden past her stunned lips.

The cat lowered its head and let out a sub vocal growl that stretched its mouth wide open, showcasing the glistening fangs and razor-sharp teeth. Her heart skyrocketed to the back of her throat. While she thought this creature was Santos, she couldn’t be positive. And even if it was, did he remember who
she
was in his animal form?

The deadly predator stood, head low and acutely observant of her every move, and stalked toward her, its tailing swishing wildly. As it came closer, she understood she was screwed. No way could she outrun it, and climbing a tree to safety was a ridiculous option, so she held absolutely still.

Until it vaulted onto the rock directly in front of her. She couldn’t stop the involuntary squawk that passed her lips, or the hunching of her shoulders as she tried to make herself as little as possible. The cat began to prowl around her. With her head up, she kept him in her vision as much as possible. When he passed behind her, he rubbed his great length along her back. The press of his heat, all those powerful muscles over her much smaller frame was terrifying.

It was exhilarating.

When he did it again, she understood. He was marking her.

“You better not pee on me,” she muttered unhappily.

It let out a strange coughing sound, flashing his pearly whites right next to her ear as his mouth stretch unbelievably wide. She had no doubt he could crush her head into so much pulp before she ever saw it happen. She winced at the grisly image. “Or bite me. That really wouldn’t be nice.” Her voice was barely audible.

Then the jaguar did something unexpected, and no less frightening. It was tall enough that, with it standing and her sitting, it could easily set its chin on the top of her head.

Was that supposed to be reassuring? Or a position of dominance? Danger?

Never from me.

Her eyes darted from side to side as Santos’s words from last night came to mind. His claim she would never suffer any danger from him.

Blowing out a bolstering breath of air, she stated as calm as she could, “I’m going to raise my hand, and touch you. Okay?”

His head moved, slid down her cheek to rest on her shoulder. She lifted her hand very slowly and touched the outside of his face, instinctively scratching the soft pelt that lay under her hand. He began to purr.

“Okay. This is okay. I can handle this.”

That head turned and then a huge, wet tongue came out and licked her from temple to chin. She grimaced. “That’s not okay.”

Suddenly the cat pulled away, shifting to growl low in its throat in the direction of the trail she’d come from. With a gleaming look at her, it leapt off the rock and disappeared in the forest.

She was staring after it in bemusement when Lance’s voice called out. “Hey. What’ya doing up there?”

Using the bottom of her t-shirt to dry the cat slobber from her face, she stood on unsteady feet. “Just looking around. Your friend have anything of interest to say?”

“Yeah. Get this. Some homeless guy goes into the museum in Panama with one of the coins, looking to sell it. After some checking and analyzing, in which they sent Arturo several photos, they figured it was a fake. Told the guy it was only worth the bronze it was made of.”

“Don’t suppose they got the guy’s name, or where he got the coin from.” She asked as she picked her way off the boulders.

Lance shook his head. “Nope. But what makes this into a creep feast is that the man was killed in an apparent mugging later that night just around the corner of the museum.”

Her jaw dropped. “No way.”

“Yes ma’am. He’s considered a John Doe. No ID, no prints, etcetera and so on. Though the assistant curator of the museum contacted the police and reported the coin incident in hopes of helping, nothing panned out.”

Was it only a coincidence? Then again, who robs a homeless man? “When did this happen?”

His brow quirked. “About the same time the Felix family started having problems with poachers and squatters utilizing the building above the ruin as shelter.”

She gnawed her lip. “So someone stumbles or steals the coin from here, heads into Panama to sell it, and then is later killed.”

“That pretty much sums it up. I figure whoever killed this guy is part of those who chased down Gwen and Rome in the reserve a few months back. Even with the cameras I’m starting to feel uneasy. And speaking of which, we need to get going. I have to take Chris and Robby to the airport after dinner.”

Feeling a little uneasy herself, Ria tossed one last look over her shoulder before hurrying to catch up with Lance.

Ria walked into the back door of the b&b and came to a startled halt when Annie greeted her with one long look at her dusty and dirty form and offered up a large, rectangular, plastic shopping bag. “Just in time I’d say.”

Accepting the bag by its handles, Ria looked inside and found her clothes from yesterday. She bet there wasn’t a single spot remaining of the previous day’s ordeal. “Thanks, Annie.”

“Tripped did you?”

Ria thought it an odd question but Lance only laughed and patted the top of her head. Dirt drifted in the air. “Let’s just say Ria gets a little carried away when it comes to her work.”

Annie arched a brow as dirt landed on her clean kitchen floor. “So I see. An early dinner will be ready shortly so you can take your friends to the airport without suffering hunger pangs. As for you,” she eyed Ria’s rumpled clothes. “Why don’t you bring down all the clothes you need washed after your shower and I’ll take care of them.”

Ria guessed she was taking a shower before dinner. And washing her clothes. Beyond the fact it was necessary, Ria found it strange she harbored no discontent with Annie’s subtle order. Or Melinda’s ministrations and deliberate herding of yesterday, for that matter. Maybe it was some kind of ingrained response to a mother’s nurturing; a truly unique experience for Ria. “There’s no need for you to do that. If there’s a machine available, I’ll throw them in before dinner.”

“Good enough.” Annie nodded with approval. “We’re just about done with the bedding now that all the guests are gone so there’ll be one you can use. Take your time.”

Feeling as if she’d been dismissed, Ria exited the kitchen, amused at the both of them. She dropped her backpack off in her room and gathered what she needed for a shower. With no desire to rush, preferring to wave Chris off rather than spend dinner listening to his reminders, she bowed her head and let the hot water stream over her neck and shoulders.

Unfortunately, a brush off would be rude to Robby. She didn’t envy him this trip to Alaska. There was bound to be a lot of tension between Chris and Teri, along with everyone else. Secrets didn’t remain so for long in their close-knit group, which was why Ria had always been so very careful at hiding hers.

She shook her head as she dried off. Being a vampire was quite different than being pregnant. She didn’t think her co-workers would necessarily freak if she ever told them the truth. They’d come across a lot of weird stuff in their research and travels, however, they might very well treat her differently, possibly even warily, and that she didn’t want.

She blew her hair dry, fluffing it with her fingers so that it stood up in the spiky style she preferred. Dressed in clean clothes, she shoved every dirty piece she could find into a large plastic bag and headed for the stairs.

Either she’d taken longer then thought or the group had shoveled down their dinner, because they were amassed at the base of the stairs when she came down, as were Gwen, Rome and Melinda.

“There you are,” Robby said. “Didn’t know if we’d see you before we left. What’s that?”

Inquisitive by nature, as Ria was herself, she didn’t take offensive at his nosiness. “My dirty clothes.”

“Ah.”

“Lance was just telling us you think a meteorite hit the reserve?” Gwen asked.

Ria lifted her shoulders. “It’s a theory that would explain how the hole was created and why such a large area in an otherwise dense forest is devoid of vegetation.”

Gwen nodded. “I’d always wondered myself. Makes sense. The site of the impact would have obliterated everything around it, spewing out a shower of iron or silicate and causing the surrounding area to become inhospitable to new growth.”

Ria grinned. “Exactly.”

Rome wrapped an arm around Gwen’s neck, pulling her close so he could plant a kiss on her temple. “I love how your brain works.”

“That’s not all you love.” Gwen snickered before turning back to Ria. “I sent off some soil samples from the pit to be analyzed. They should be back by now. I’ll check in the morning and let you know what the lab found.”

“That’d be great. Thanks.” Ria cleared her throat. The casual display of affection between Gwen and Rome caused Ria to feel a twinge of envy. It must be nice to know you were loved like that. No hesitation, no suspicion. Just total and complete acceptance. “You going too?”

Gwen had on a jacket, as did Rome. “Yep. Someone needs to keep my brother out of trouble. And of course this one,” she poked Rome in the stomach with a finger, “thinks he’s going to keep me out of trouble.”

Chris, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, checked his watch. “We should go. Thank you for your hospitality.” He directed his words to Melinda. Then he nodded at Ria. “Ria.”

That was all all he said. No orders, pointed reminders or inappropriate comments. Just her name. “Have a safe trip and good luck.”

Andreas materialized out of nowhere and stood with Melinda to see the group off. For her part, Ria scampered toward the kitchen, breathing in deep as mouth-watering scents tickled her nose. “Something sure smells wonderful,” she said in general as she stepped into the room.

“Chicken teriyaki, pork fried rice and spring rolls.” Annie told her. “It’s all ready so make yourself a plate when you’re done.”

Ria should have thought about the logistics of Lance shuttling Chris and Robby to the airport. She’d acted selfishly, not wanting to tag along, but now, when she entered the dining room, she realized there was a price to pay for that selfishness. Melinda, Andreas, Porter, Annie, and Annie’s husband Bob were all in the room, either sitting at the table or standing at the sideboard, scooping up food from a trio of chafing dishes.

Ria was the odd man out.

“Fill up a plate, Ria,” Melinda invited, “and come sit down. I’d like to hear more about what you’ve found out at the reserve. A meteorite I believe it was?”