Enemy Mine (10 page)

It felt as if she were standing with him outside of time, just the two of them. Her breathing seemed to be in sync with the slow rise and fall of his broad chest. With a strangled whisper, Kathy said, “Then it sounds like I’m set.”

Mac hesitated. He saw the burning look in her eyes, its meaning unmistakable. He drew in a deep, ragged breath. “Almost. At dusk, lay up for the night. Find a nice big tree and climb up into it. Suspend your hammock between two stout branches. Jags hunt the trail at night. And yes, they’re tree climbers, but if you’re suspended high up, he isn’t going to spot you. His attention will focus on anything moving on the ground. And you do
not
want to be sleeping at ground level or he’ll find you for sure.”

“So being in a tree minimizes my chances of the jag finding me?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t guarantee he won’t. You are going to have a restless sleep, and there’s no way around it. But it cuts the chances of him finding you.” Mac wanted to touch her cheek. What did her skin feel like? Was it soft and firm as he suspected? His fingers ached to find out.

“And a pocketknife as a weapon isn’t going to do me any good.” She felt Mac’s burning gaze linger on her face, then slowly move down the column of her neck. Oh, God, it felt as if he was actually touching her. Her body responded, her skin tingling wildly in the wake of his intimate inspection.

Mac shook his head. “No, it won’t. That cat is big, strong, built low to the ground and pure muscle. Remember, do
not
look him in the eyes. Avert your gaze. If he does go after you, do what you can to escape. If he corners you, stand your ground, don’t make a sound and don’t move. If you make noise, he’ll leap. If you run, he will sure as hell come after you. The only way
you can out-macho this jaguar is to stand your ground but avoid his gaze. Okay?” Mac dug into her eyes and at the same time slid his fingers across her proud shoulder. He felt the warmth of her flesh, the firm muscles. Her eyes turned soft, an almost haunting look as he kept his hand in place, his heart thundering in response to her unexpected expression. She
wanted
his touch, as much as he wanted to touch her. Heat bolted jaggedly through his lower body and twisted like a writhing snake. Mac ached to make hot, swift love with her. It was the craziest idea in the world, coming totally out of the blue. There was something special about Katherine Lincoln that overrode every guarded wall he’d ever put up between himself and women. She blew through every one of them as if they weren’t there.

Kathy tensed beneath his exploring fingers as they moved tenderly across her shoulder. The contact was startling. Heated. Necessary. She felt her breasts tighten, her nipples contracting sharply at his touch. The look in his hooded eyes told her he wanted her—badly. Mouth dry, her heart banging away in her throat, she made the mistake of gazing at his mouth. The overriding desire to kiss Mac was nearly her undoing.

Panicked, Kathy stepped back, more afraid of herself than him. She managed to choke out, “Sounds good. Thanks for all of this.” She nervously searched his shadowed face as he stood on the trail. He’d dropped his hands back on his hips. His stormy eyes were flecked with concern. “I don’t know why you’re doing this. You’re running some serious risks here to help me.” She tried to read his expression. What wasn’t he telling her?

Katherine Lincoln didn’t have a clue as to how serious the risks were. “Yeah, the
patrón
runs a tight ship and he doesn’t like to be fooled like this. Whatever you do, protect me on this, okay? Don’t ever mention to him what I gave you for the test, or anything else. Otherwise, well, I’m in deep trouble.”

Mac saw a new glint in Katherine’s eyes. A slight smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “What you’ve told me right now will go to my grave, Mac. I promise you that….”

“B
E CAREFUL OUT THERE
,” Mac told Katherine as they approached the dark ribbon of the Urubamba River far below. It was barely light on the horizon, the jungle black beneath them. Katherine Lincoln sat in the left seat, gripping the dark green canvas knapsack that he’d stowed away last night when no one was looking. He’d given it to her once they were in the air.

“I will be,” Kathy said tightly, the headphones on, the mike close to her lips. Today, she wore a long-sleeved dark green blouse, olive-green nylon pants and a good pair of heavy-tread hiking boots. That was all Therese had brought to her villa the evening before. The woman had also given her a bottle of antibiotics to take along, too, which was damn nice, in Kathy’s opinion.

“You’re clear on everything we talked about last night?”

Kathy nodded and felt the shudder of the helo change as he eased the bird to the opposite side of the river. She could see crests of white water leaping upward. “Yes, I’ve memorized every word, believe me.”

“The reason they drop you here is so you won’t be able to see the rope bridge a mile upstream. They do this
on purpose. So, when I hover a little off the rocks here, you know to head north, correct?” Mac could not look at her since he was too busy flying. He had to concentrate extra hard since he hadn’t slept a wink last night. All his mind and body would do was recall how silken and firm Katherine’s skin had felt beneath his hungry inspection. He’d so badly wanted to kiss her. Why hadn’t he just leaned over, cupped her shoulder and drawn her toward him? Mac had seen that she wanted to kiss him, too. God, it’d been so close. So damn close. All night he’d wondered what her mouth would feel like beneath his.

“Yes.” As the helo slowly sank downward, she saw Mac switch on the landing lights. The strong, brilliant beams shot from beneath the carriage of the helicopter, revealing the gray and black rocks below. The terrain from river to jungle wall was a carpet of rocks ranging in size from a person’s fist to large boulders. She understood now why he wasn’t going to land; it would be impossible to do so. Wiping her mouth nervously, Kathy glanced over at Mac. The green light from the cockpit bathed his face and showed the grimness of his profile. His mouth, usually relaxed and ready to smile, was tense.

Adrenaline thrummed through her. This was dangerous. Maybe even more so than her other tests. Even though the cockpit was air-conditioned, a sheen of perspiration beaded Mac’s broad brow. Was he worried for her? Or for himself? After all, he’d told her a lot of things he apparently shouldn’t have. Kathy had a tough time believing it was all because he wanted to get out of babysitting Tiki. Maybe Mac had other feelings for
her. Maybe he wanted her to succeed. Her heart expanded for just a moment and she felt powerfully drawn to him. No! That couldn’t happen. Not now, not ever. Yes, he’d been “nice” to her, but he also had his own selfish reasons for that, too, she reminded herself. And he’d nearly kissed her out on that jungle path…. Oh, she knew she could have taken the lead, stepped up to him and pressed her mouth against his, but she was frightened—for a lot of reasons. Part of her was glad they hadn’t kissed, but another part, her silly heart, ached for his touch and yearned to complete something that had been left undone on that trail.

“Okay, in about a minute I’ll be as close to those rocks as I want to get,” Mac told her, his eyes on the boulders below them. “You’ll have to be careful jumping out. One wrong leap and you’ll twist your ankle or bust your leg. It’s happened before.” Mac was unable to look over at Katherine just then, but he could feel her presence. And in the last moments together, she was making an indelible impression on him. She had pulled her blond, thick, shoulder-length hair into a ponytail at the back of her head. In the gear she wore, she looked like a military combat soldier, not a civilian. But more than anything, the expression glinting in her eyes, or maybe the way she carried herself with an unconscious confidence that few women radiated, convinced him she could make it back. Mac tried to release his mixed feelings toward her. He told himself he was concerned for her for all the right reasons: Tiki was going to get a damn good bodyguard and nanny. But his heart said otherwise. Unwilling to examine those reasons, Mac said,
“Okay, get ready, Katherine. And remember, I’ll try to hang around the villa on the third and fourth day. You won’t make it back before the third day, I don’t think. And if I’m not there, just walk into the villa and go straight to Therese’s office.”

“I got it.” Kathy reached out spontaneously, her hand settling on his broad shoulder. She could feel the muscles beneath his red polo shirt tense at her unexpected touch. “Thanks, Mac, for everything. You’re my hero.”

Kathy wondered where the hell all this had come from. Just as quickly, she withdrew her hand.

“Honey, I’m no one’s hero, believe me,” Mac said, his voice gritty. “Just get home safe and sound? I’ll try to be there to meet you, unless the
patrón
has me flying a lot of unscheduled missions in the next few days. Take care of yourself, bright angel….”

Bright angel.
The endearment was beautiful. Unexpected. Heart-rending. Mac’s voice had dropped to a husky whisper, the emotions clear behind his whispered words. And that was what it was—an endearment.

Kathy stared at him one last time. Mac didn’t look at her, since his focus was needed to keep the bird steady as she leaped to the rocks below. Suddenly, she turned around and twisted the door handle. The door opened, the wind instantly buffeting her. After shoving it open with brute force, Kathy held the door in place with her body. The punishing wind caused by the turning blades slapped violently against her. In her left hand, she clutched the precious knapsack. As she eyed the rocks below, she chose the spot where she wanted to land. Mac was more than skilled at holding the bird steady for her.

Kathy leaped out of the helicopter as it hovered a foot from the rocky shore of the raging, splashing Urubamba River. It was 0530, with the sky still dark, a bare gray line hinting at the coming day. Her feet landed with force and she quickly fought for balance, swinging her arms wide to keep herself steady. Then she moved away from the hovering Bell. If he so much as tipped the bird a little, one of those blades could potentially slice her in half. It wasn’t wise to stand beneath a helicopter.

As soon as Kathy landed and stepped away from the blades, Mac pulled the helo upward. The backwash buffeted her like a boxer, and she crouched down against the rocks until the he moved away. Standing up, Kathy pulled on the knapsack and watched as the Bell headed back across the river. Fear stabbed her. Mac was gone. He could no longer help her. Or protect her. She was totally alone, in a jungle that was her enemy.

Wiping her mouth once more, Kathy felt the humidity bathe her body. As she considered her next steps, the roar of the Urubamba beside her was like continuous, unending thunder. When Coulter had told her this was a powerful river, he hadn’t been kidding. Many foolish kayakers, mostly young men in their twenties, thought they could tame this river, and ended up dead, smashed against the rocks at terrific rates of speed. The emerald-green water tunneling down the canyon, he’d said, came directly out of the towering Andes. Furthermore, it was near freezing in temperature, and if she should fall into it, hypothermia would kill her very quickly even if she managed to avoid the thousands of boulders she’d be swept over.

Kathy felt panic as the helo disappeared into the grayness of the coming dawn, and sternly ordered herself to settle down. She pulled the compass out of her pocket and read it, getting her bearings. As a helo pilot herself, she was used to working with one. After shoving it back in and zipping her pocket closed, she slowly began the trek upriver to locate the rope bridge. Every step was a potential ankle turner among the tumbled rocks. There was no solid, steady ground. Her boots slid again and again on the smooth, worn surfaces of the boulders. All Kathy could do was move slowly, choose her path and keep her arms outstretched to stay balanced.

Dawn came as a vague yellow-gray color hidden behind the thick, slowly moving mist above the jungle. In a reasonably short time, Kathy found the rope bridge, though it didn’t seem all that sturdy. The Peruvians had built two rock towers with thick posts stuck in the tops. From these posts two thick rope cables were strung across the river. The rope bridge was hand-tied beneath the two cables.

Even climbing up the rock tower was going to be precarious and challenging. Kathy reached down and found some wet sand beneath some stones. She rubbed the sand into her hands so that it would give her purchase on the smooth granite. As she hoisted herself up the twenty-foot rock tower, Kathy felt her left arm twinge painfully. Her stitches pulled, and the pain increased. She climbed, anyway, her leg muscles tightening as she found one niche for the toe of her boot and then another.

A flock of dark green and red parrots flew over her to the other side of the river, and she heard the shrieks
and screams of monkeys welcoming the coming day. The world was waking up. Sweat ran off her brow and trickled down her temples as she continued her upward climb. Once she reached the top, Kathy stood with her legs apart for maximum balance and carefully examined the cable ties.

The bridge, if one could call it that, was a make-shift affair of baling wire and ropes knotted around the posts. She wondered if she’d find bubble gum, too. Kathy pushed on the wooden posts and found them solid and unmoving. It appeared the builders had stood the logs on end on the ground and then built the stone towers around them, which would make sense. Otherwise, how could anyone traverse this flimsy-looking bridge and not pull the stakes out in the process? Kathy remembered as she moved to the footholds, the thick, horizontal woven ropes, that the Incans were some of the finest engineers in the world. Well, she was about to find out….

“T
IKI
! My beautiful little Tiki! Come here! Come to Papa!” Carlos Garcia held out his arms to his six-year-old daughter, whom Therese had brought into his office. Every morning before he began the day, he wanted to hold his black-haired, dancing-eyed daughter. Today, Tiki was dressed in blue cotton coveralls and a short-sleeved pink shirt. Her long, straight hair had been drawn into two cute little pigtails, one on each side of her head.

“Papa!” Tiki shrieked and ran forward, her arms wide. She slipped momentarily on the Oriental rug, but then got up and laughed. Scrambling around the huge
mahogany desk, she launched herself into her father’s arms, yelping with joy as he blew raspberries against her cheek and neck. Writhing in his arms, shrieking, she tried to dodge the noisy kisses. This was a morning ritual, one that Tiki loved.

Laughing heartily, Carlos brought his squirming daughter back into his arms. She continued to giggle and threw her tiny arms around his neck. Patting her lovingly on the back, he whispered in a deep, playful growling tone, “And what are you up to today, my little pastry?”

Therese ambled into the room, smiling. “Today, I take her to the dentist in Cuzco. Dr. Sedano has promised her a lollipop when he gets done examining her.”

“Oooh,” Carlos said, holding his daughter on his lap and gently smoothing her hair off her forehead. “You will see Dr. Sedano, eh?”

“Papa, come with me?” Tiki held out her hands toward him.

“Oh, little pastry, I cannot. But, hey, Therese will be with you. Does she not care for you and love you as much as I do? Eh?” He drew his daughter close, embraced her tenderly and placed a kiss on her shiny hair.

Pouting, Tiki sniffed. “I want you, Papa! Please?”

“I can’t, little one, but I promise when you return, we will go down to the fish pond, eh? You always like to look at the colorful fishies. We will work on your counting. You can show me how Señora Fields has taught you to count. All right?” Carlos looked into his daughter’s wide, liquid brown eyes. There were tears in them. Oh, that look hurt him! Carlos fiercely loved his only daughter.
She was his life, the reason he wanted to ruthlessly expand his empire. Someday, she would run his organization. True, it wasn’t a woman’s place, but Paloma had had a girl, not a boy. At first, Carlos had been highly disappointed, but after one look at the little bright-eyed baby girl in pink blankets, his heart was forever smitten.

“Okay, Papa. The fishies?”

“
Sí,
my little one. Let Therese take you to Dr. Sedano in Cuzco, and this afternoon, when you return, we will walk to the fish pond.” He pressed another soft kiss on her brow and set her down. Therese gave him a crooked smile of understanding, took Tiki’s hand and led her around the desk.

“We will be back,” the woman called liltingly at the door, lifting her hand in farewell.

Carlos nodded as the door shut quietly. Once alone, he frowned and walked over to the wide wall of windows that overlooked the grounds below. Hands on his hips, he glanced to the right, where the helicopter pad was located. Two hours ago Coulter had come in from dropping off Señorita Lincoln for her final test. Carlos pulled a cigarette from his gold case, tapped it and then slid it into his mouth. After lighting up, he inhaled deeply. The white smoke curled lazily around him as he thought about the Canadian nanny.

It looked as if this woman might be the answer to his dreams. None of the other nannies had ever done as well as this one had in the first two tests. Hope grew within Carlos’s chest as he stood thinking and smoking. If only this woman would pass the last test. So few had. Did she have the smarts? The moxie? The intuition it would
take to deal with the jaguar whose territory she would have to cross? Carlos wasn’t sure. People were funny. Some of them seemed strong and confident, and yet they failed. Others looked like wimps, incapable of anything, and yet they survived. Which was Señorita Lincoln?

M
AC TRIED TO STOP
worrying about Katherine. As he stood in the airport at Cuzco waiting for Therese to return with Tiki from the dentist’s office, he glanced at his watch for the hundredth time. It was now noon. He knew Therese would take Tiki to lunch at their favorite restaurant, La Retama, which was located on Soldier’s Plaza.