He looked back in the direction that the cars had gone. Hell. Had they packed the cats up in the cars?
He shook his head. They couldn’t have. He heard the rumbling of a pickup truck and tore into the woods for cover. From his hiding place among the shrubs, he saw two men and a woman get out of the truck. Customers?
Then as they began to water plants, he realized they had to be the hired help. Should he ask them about the jaguars?
He waited until the place was open for business, then drove his truck around to the entrance and parked.
What was he going to ask them?
Wade thought David looked a hundred percent better after having slept on Maya’s couch the night before. The gash on his head was just a white line against his tan forehead now, the colorful bandages gone. They’d shared lunch with Everett and Huntley, who afterward had gone to their own terminal to wait for their flight to Brazil. Now he, Maya, and David were waiting to take their flight to Belize.
Maya had acted anxious most of the day, wringing her hands, pacing, and not paying attention to conversations that had included her. Wade knew she was worried about the hunters and her brother and Kat.
He finally pulled her into a seat and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, trying to relax her. “So tell me, what is your favorite food?”
She looked up at him as if he was crazy, then gave him the warmest smile and nestled her head against his shoulder. “Ice cream. Coffee-flavored, covered in hot fudge topping.”
“Sweet,” he said, meaning she was, just like her choice of food.
“Yours?”
“Juicy red steak.”
“Hmm, sounds yummy,” she said.
David looked up from the romance novel he was reading. “Fried chicken.”
Maya laughed. “Fried foods are not good for you.”
“I run it off.”
She glanced in the direction of the gate next to them where passengers were beginning to take their seats. Wade and David followed her gaze. A woman with hair as long, blond, and full as Lion Mane’s was talking to another woman waiting for a different departure. Wade noted that every person with long, blond hair had caught Maya’s eye.
But Lion Mane wouldn’t be flying anywhere, he didn’t think, and he couldn’t get into the terminal without a plane ticket.
“Favorite color?” Wade prompted.
“That blue chambray shirt of yours.”
He kissed her cheek. “Thanks for trying to get the blood out.”
She looked at him with her beautiful golden eyes. “Sorry it didn’t work.”
David said, “Turquoise, like the Caribbean water.”
Wade thought for a moment, then smiled. “Golden like your eyes, Maya.”
David snorted. “I didn’t know you had a romantic bone in your body.”
Wade glanced at him. “Aren’t you reading something?”
David grinned back at him. “It’s hard to read when I’m more interested in…” He paused to take a look at another blond-haired woman.
Maya sighed. “Did you think it was Lion Mane?”
“Yeah,” David said.
“You didn’t happen to get his name when you danced with him, did you?” Wade asked.
“Of course not. Then he would have really thought I was interested in him, more than just his hair. Besides, after Bill Bettinger came to the nursery, we should be more concerned about looking for him showing up here.”
“Everett tore into him good from what Huntley told us. I doubt you’ll have any more trouble with Bettinger,” Wade said. He hoped to have taken Maya’s mind off her worries, at least for the moment. “What do you like to do that’s fun?”
“Swimming.”
That made him think of her wearing the black lace bra and panties again, swimming in the Amazon. Did she pack those this trip? He smiled.
“What?” Maya asked, observing his expression.
David looked at Wade.
Wade said, “The chase.”
Maya purred, “I just bet you love that.”
David shook his head.
They both watched him.
David closed his book. “I like to read, swim…” He grinned. “…and chase things.”
“Wade said you were reading a romantic suspense story. Do you really like them?”
David smiled. “I’m learning what it takes to get the girl during a high-action adventure.”
Maya chuckled and rolled her eyes.
Maya had tried to hide her nervousness about leaving for Belize, but she hadn’t been able to. Now that hunters could be in the area, she was more than anxious to get there. She had to warn Connor and Kat about the hunters. She was certain her brother and Kat would have made a couple of treks into the jungle already, exploring and marking their territory—it was just instinctual.
Maya prayed that they were fine. She wished she could have reached them by phone, but that was one of the problems with going to remote places. Yet the remote places were just what they needed so they could shift and run in the wild.
She was grateful that Wade had tried to take her mind off her worries. She swore she’d seen Lion Mane and Bill Bettinger at the airport earlier. The blond guy’s hair had been pulled back in a ponytail, which had changed his appearance, but the redhead—well, she had to admit they’d been really far away.
Still… the way the blond had caught her eye and looked startled had caused a shiver to run up her spine. When she tried to get Wade and David to verify who she’d seen, neither had caught sight of them. She guessed her mind was playing tricks on her.
“About last night…” Wade began. His whole body posture was saying she was his
“You were out of your head.” Maya leaned back against her seat. “I understand.”
His mouth quirked up a little, his darkened eyes smiling. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
No, she didn’t. She wanted to run with Wade in the jungle, wanted to see more of him. Wanted more of his kisses. And just… more. From the dark gravelly tone of his voice, he sounded like he already knew that.
Yet, she was afraid of… making a mistake. Her mother had made one with their father. Would she also? Daughter like mother?
Maya rested her hand lightly on Wade’s thigh. She hated that he had to run off and confront smugglers, even though his brother would be with him. She wished he could vacation with her.
“I want to see more of you, Maya. I’ll be at the resort if I can make it.” Wade kissed her softly on the mouth. “Just get word to your family. David and I have to stop these men.”
She wanted to see more of him, too, but she didn’t want him to think she was desperate. Not now that she knew others of their kind existed close to where she lived.
“Connor could assist you in locating the hunters. He won’t want to leave Kat alone, but once I’m there with her, he can help the two of you.” She didn’t want just Wade and David dealing with however many men were behind this operation.
