The Unseen (13 page)

They walked side by side down the steps into the sand. Bunny relished the squeeze of sand between her toes. Equatorial sun warmed her back.
Everything about this moment feels so perfect.
She wondered what Winston’s hands would feel like skimming down low on her spine. A flicker of breeze on her skin made it easier to imagine.

Bunny shuffled her feet into the shallow water, which lapped soothingly around her ankles. “The water feels great.” She touched the water and brushed it over her arms.
It feels so sensual.

* * * *

Winston’s male instincts kicked into overdrive when Bunny massaged water over her body. The water glistened on her smooth skin, exaggerating its curvy contours. When she spilled water above her breasts, he muffled a gasp.
Oh, to be a lucky drop of water gliding down there.

Despite his above-average libido, he couldn’t remember lusting after a woman’s physique quite like this before. Although Bunny was an extremely enticing woman, their life-and-death struggle had enhanced the attraction, he told himself.

They’d be alone together for days with not a lot to occupy their time. The more he feasted his eyes on Bunny’s curves, the more he ached to have her naked and panting under his weight.

He tried to push aside his lascivious thoughts. But then he thought about Bunny’s big puppy-dog eyes. They spoke more directly than her mouth. Every time they gazed in his direction, they said
I want to be touched
. How could he not respond to this kind of persuasion?

As long as she knows it’s just fun, we can just have a bit of a fling and then go our separate ways.

For some reason, the thought of Bunny leaving didn’t sit well in his belly. He found that strange. Relationships lasting more than days or weeks had never been his style. But there was something about Bunny he’d never seen in any other woman. It wasn’t just the way the sun glistened on her soft damp curves. Her energy and ability to bounce back and dive into life thrilled him. The woman had been through hell.

For some reason, he found himself wanting to protect her from bastards like her ex.

“Well, are you going to get in the water or not? You’re looking way too serious over there.” Bunny pouted and turned away before plunging in the water.

When she surfaced and began swimming a jerky breaststroke, he slid into the water and swam up beside her. “Hey, don’t go out over your head. Sometimes there are currents out here.”

“So you think I can’t handle myself?” She gazed over at him, her brows raised flirtatiously.

Blimey, she’s alluring when she’s wet.
Her wet dark hair clung to the sides of her face, exaggerating her cheekbones and making her brown eyes look bigger and livelier than ever.

His penis swelled inside his swimsuit.
Oh, shit. I’m going to be the one drowning here if I don’t watch it.
“No. I just don’t think we should go out any further, that’s all.”

“Look, I know how to do the survival float,” Bunny proudly proclaimed before she flopped forward, letting her arms and legs dangle down in the water while her back and bum floated up.

His tongue slid over his lips as he absorbed the stunning view of black lycra clinging to her rounded backside. “Yes, I see that,” he said when she bobbed up for a breath, wiping water from her pink lips. “I’m very impressed.”

“I’d say more like aroused.” She teased. “Were you looking at my butt?”

“Of course—” A wave splashed into his face. “Not.” He sputtered out the final word, blushing.

Bunny burst out laughing and then splashed him again. “You’re a really bad liar, you know.”

“It was hard not to notice the way it rose up in front of my face.” He treaded water and started tracing its shape in the air before he realized how ridiculous his gestures must look.

“I can see it had an effect on you. I’ll try to keep it out of sight from now on.”

“You don’t have to do that. I rather liked looking at your bum.”

“Well if you want to look again, you’ll have to chase me.” Bunny surface dived and started breaststroke kicking underwater toward shore.

He paddled after her until she broke the surface to draw in an urgent breath.

“You better watch out—I’m catching up,” said Winston.

“Yes, I can see that.” By now, Bunny was red in the face and out-of-breath.

The surf quickly carried them back up to the beach. Bunny allowed a wave to carry her up on the sand. She jumped up, sand sticking to the front of her swimsuit and the pearly white skin above her breasts.

He sucked in a breath, aching to peel her swimsuit off. But he knew he didn’t dare. The woman had been hurt, so he had to ensure she was on board before things got heavy.

“My butt isn’t even visible, but you’re still staring at me.” Bunny waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Winston blinked and refocused his gaze. “Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right. But I couldn’t help noticing the sand.”

“The sand? Is that the new term for these?” She bounced her breasts under her palms and then turned and sprinted toward the house. Her out-turned feet scattered sand in every direction.

Winston was too entranced by her bouncing backside to notice she was a clumsy runner until she tripped and stumbled to her knees. “Ouch.”

“Here, let me help you up.” Winston reached for her sand encrusted hands and pulled her to her feet, steadying her with his other arm. Her enormous brown eyes begged him to step in closer. While his libido urged him to crush her lips in a kiss, his intellect told him to keep his distance.

This close to her magnetic, pleading eyes, he was a caught fish. Closing his eyes, he leaned in to claim her glossy pink lips. But his mouth met empty air. He opened his eyes to see that Bunny had stepped away.

“I have to pee so bad, my bladder feels like it’s going to explode.” She strode briskly toward the house.

Winston clapped his hands to his head, following reluctantly behind her. She had to know what he was about to do. He wondered if she was as afraid of involvement as he was. It made sense after all she’d been through with Jason. Winston wanted to be the man to let her know that everything could be all right. With him.

Rich stuffed the phone back in his pocket and motioned for the men to stop walking. “We’ve got a new development. Bunny Miller just called to report that Amanda and Tom have been kidnapped and Rebecca and Kent are pursuing them. I propose we split up into two groups. One can proceed to the cave to protect the onsite personnel and the other can backtrack and attempt a rescue.”

Rich and Duc An, the local militia leader, worked out the logistics of dividing up the troops and within minutes the groups had split apart.

Rich, leading the group to rescue Kent, hacked his way through the jungle with his machete and sloshed his way through the intermittent rivers. He used his compass to match the trend they’d walked, while cutting a new path through the brush so they’d be less likely to be surprised. He knew the best way to stay ahead of the game was to act in an unexpected manner. His logic had kept him and others alive in numerous cases in the past.

Still, these new developments distressed him.

In a matter of hours, they’d lost the upper hand. He’d expected to reach the cave the next day, have a quick gun battle, and call it finished. This kidnapping had already forced them to split up into smaller groups.

He wasn’t sure if Bunny was secure or not. For all he knew, she was calling under duress just to set him up. Either way, she was one person and sometimes minimizing casualties was the best you could hope for.

Right now, his number one priority was getting Kent back alive. He owed that much to his father for saving his butt out here before. If necessary, Rich would sacrifice his life to make sure Edward’s son left this jungle alive.

Serving his country and protecting people with purpose meant everything to Rich.

He’d always lived a solitary life, never allowed himself to get too close to anyone. The men he’d served with had mattered more to him than anyone else. They’d been his family.

Hell, he’d never even known his parents. Both drug-users, they’d abandoned him when he was five. And he’d passed from foster home to foster home until he turned eighteen. No one had wanted him. He was too stoic, too unemotional, his temporary caregivers would say. Emotions are worthless in a situation like this, he thought.

Little light filtered through the trees and cutting their way through the forest became increasingly difficult. No breeze stirred the sticky, still air. Rich wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Discomfort and hardship were a way of life for Rich, the price paid to get a job done.

His men had already been briefed on his intentions—they’d walk all night if they had to. Rescuing Kent and the others had become their top priority, sleep be damned.

He knew the biggest thing he had to be careful of on a trek like this was getting too comfortable. Hacking and pushing his way through the leaves in this sticky heat, he could easily fall into a stupor. That had gotten too many men he knew killed in the war. The men would reminisce about the people they’d left behind instead of remaining silent and vigilant. And then a shot would ring out and half the person’s head would be missing. He sighed, wanting to push those grisly images out of his mind.

Stay alert and on top of your game
. He blinked often, turning his head this way and that, directing his gaze on any sudden movement like an eagle on the hunt for new prey. His arm muscles flexed as he kept his weapon up in front of his chest ready to fire. As the group leader, he knew he’d be the first to fall. In case that happened, he’d have to stay alive long enough to fill his attacker full of holes.

Rich jerked his weapon toward some low-lying underbrush. “Over there,” he whispered, motioning his men in the direction of the sound. They formed a circle around the perimeter, surrounding it from every side.

“Wait, don’t shoot,” said a voice that sounded like Kent’s. “And be careful. The smugglers are as invisible as I am.”

Rich raised his hands to stop the approach of the rest of the men. “Hold your fire, men.” He inched his way toward the source of the sound. “Say what? Kent is that you? Why can’t I see you?”

The men lowered their weapons and turned their heads toward Rich. Their mouths had fallen open and confusion registered on their faces.

Kent’s voice called out from empty space. “Hey, I really appreciate your putting the guns down guys. I rather wanted to keep my head intact a little while longer.”

The men looked at each other and shifted uneasily on their feet.

“What the fuck?” The bushes rustled and he heard Kent’s voice, but he couldn’t see a damn thing. “Why can’t I see you?”

“You can’t see me because I’m holding the invisibility powder and it seems to somehow change the molecular structure of the body when even a small amount of it contacts the skin. Things attached to the body like clothes, backpacks and weapons disappear as well. The smugglers must have found the powder somewhere in the cave. Rebecca managed to snatch some of it from those men and rescue Amanda, and I freed Tom a little later. But those men are on our tail and staying out of sight with the powder, too. The only way to take them out is to aim for sound or a footprint in the mud. Do you want us visible so you don’t shoot us accidentally?”

Falling rain beat on the leaves at a faster and more frenetic tempo. Rich tumbled what Kent had said around in his head. The whole scenario was so far out of the scope of logic.
First I’m dealing with a kidnapping, now I’m dealing with invisible people.
What’s in that goddamn water I’m drinking?
“Yeah, I think that might be wise. Now, how far away do you think they are? And where are the others?”

“Not far, that’s why I’m trying not to make too much noise. And Rebecca, Amanda, and Tom are hiding behind that tree.”

Rich watched a stone lift up off the ground and soar toward a tree trunk several feet away.

He scratched his head and sighed. “This is a lot to process. Bunny mentioned you and Rebecca were going after Amanda and Tom, but she didn’t mention invisible men. Somehow, the men knew she was heading for a hotel and sent assassins after her.”

All at once, Kent appeared out of thin air. He pulled out a bandana and wiped mud and rain from his face. “Assassins after Bunny? And she escaped?”

Rich blinked and shook his head. “I see you’re back. God, this is fucking weird. Yeah, Bunny said she was staying with some man she fled the hotel with.”

Kent stuffed the bandana back into his pocket and frowned. “Hmm. This whole picture gets weirder by the minute.”

“Why don’t you start hiking back toward the hotel while we launch an attack. I’ll send one of my men with you for extra protection.”

Rich felt the press of a gun against his skull. “Don’t make a move or I’ll blow your head off.”

Fuck.
Rich clenched his teeth, recognizing the voice.
“Take your hands off me, you goddamned traitor.”

He’d worried the Vietnamese soldiers might not be trustworthy—people in poor countries sometimes sold out to the highest bidder in situations like this—but one of Kent’s top notch scientists, Phan, had said it wouldn’t be a problem.
Famous last words.

A single gunshot rang out from behind a tree and Rich felt the pressure against his skull slacken. He whirled around to see his assailant crumple to the ground, blood pouring from his chest. “Who’s the sharpshooter?”

“That would be me,” said a female voice from behind a tree. “I’m really sick of these assholes jerking us around.”

Kent raised his fist in Rich’s directions. “How about my Bec. She keeps grabbing my gun and not wanting to give it back. She’s never been one to put up with any shit.”

The guy wants to bump fists?
Rich masked a frown, raising his fist reluctantly. “Anybody else whose allegiance isn’t what we think might want to come clear now so you don’t end up like this guy.” Rich kicked the lifeless body with the sole of his shoe and donned a stern, that-was-no-big-deal expression.