by Amber Jacobs
“Let me see it,” she ordered sternly, once Leandra had settled wearily on her sleeping pallet.
Leandra drew away. “There’s nothing you can do,” she insisted. “I’ll be fine if I can just rest.” But her eyes betrayed her suffering, and Ashley’s face hardened.
“Leandra, I’m not going to just sit here while you’re hurting. I have to do something. That punch shouldn’t have affected you like that.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at her friend. “Let me look.”
For a moment, Leandra’s face said she wasn’t going to cooperate, then she silently nodded and moved to expose her shoulder.
Ashley knelt beside her and gently reached out. She paused when Leandra flinched reflexively, then she very slowly tugged the fur halter away from the injured shoulder. Leandra’s face was a stony mask while she struggled to permit the inspection.
Beneath the brief clothing, Leandra’s skin remained covered with dusty paint. Ashley ran sensitive fingers over the exposed area, searching for some sign of injury in the bone. Instead, she felt a series of lumps and ridges in the skin itself, and she leaned closer to examine the irregularities in the dim light. Blonde brows contracted in puzzlement, then shot up as understanding dawned.
No longer hidden by clothing, Leandra’s shoulder revealed a series of raised scar tissue that ran in a strange pattern along her chest, near her collarbone. A quick check revealed a second set of scars on her back, nearly identical to the ones in the front. Ashley ran her fingertips over the old wounds, hearing a sharp intake of breath as she probed gently.
“What happened here?” she asked quietly.
Leandra gritted her teeth and gave a half shrug with her uninjured shoulder. “Shar-Ranjana’s father didn’t exactly take an immediate liking to me.”
“He what?” Ashley stared at the raised marks and suddenly saw them for what they were: bite marks. Very large bite marks. She gasped. “A tiger did this?”
Leandra nodded. “A long time ago. When I first came here.” She shifted a little on the sleeping mat, the memories of that time making her visibly uncomfortable. “It’s a long story.”
Ashley recognized the signs; this wasn’t a topic Leandra wanted to discuss. Still, she could feel the tension in her body, could read it in the taut muscles that refused to relax. Her fingertips probed a little harder, earning a sharp grunt of pain from her friend. “How long ago did this happen?”
“Four years or so.” Tears ran down Leandra’s cheeks, though her face remained stoic. When she finally met Ashley’s gaze, she choked out, “Why won’t it stop hurting?”
Ashley offered comfort the best way she knew how. She reached out and gently pulled Leandra into a hug. Leandra tensed at first, but surrendered to the embrace almost instantly. A sob wrenched from deep in her throat, and she let the tears come. With her good hand, she clutched Ashley to her and buried her face in silky hair that smelled of apricot and flowers. “Why won’t it stop?” she sobbed, releasing her pain for the first time since she’d received the wounds.
Ashley hugged Leandra tightly, letting her cry. She made soothing noises, trying to comfort the woman as her body was wracked with helpless shudders. When Leandra started to calm, Ashley gently stroked her coarse dreadlocks and wished she could offer more than a shoulder to cry on. “It’s all right,” she whispered softly. “It’ll be okay.”
Leandra’s sobs eventually weakened and stopped. Ashley could feel sympathetic tears pricking the corners of her own eyes, and when Leandra finally pulled back from their embrace and met her gaze, the suffering was plain in every line of her expression. Clearly embarrassed by her moment of vulnerability, she wiped at her face with her wrist, smearing the intricate paint. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be—”
Ashley pressed two fingers to Leandra’s lips, silencing her. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Leandra,” she said reassuringly. “We all need to cry sometimes.”
Leandra snuffled a little, then cast her gaze toward the ground. “It’s just…” She struggled for a moment. “Sometimes I don’t feel it for days, and I start to think maybe it’s never going to hurt again. And then something happens. I’ll knock it during a hunt or bump it on a tree branch, and it feels just as bad as when it first happened.” She touched the scars gently, then lowered her hand. “Why does it still hurt?”
“I don’t know.” Ashley studied the marks again. “Did the doctors do any surgery?”
“There weren’t any doctors. A couple from one of the villages helped me while I was recovering, but…” She half-shrugged again. “I couldn’t go to a hospital.”
“Well, it’s no wonder it still hurts. The muscles and nerves must be all screwed up. My brother-in-law is a physician. He deals with this kind of damage all the time, only usually it comes from sports injuries.” She was amazed that Leandra had been able to survive out here with such an injury. “It could probably be fixed,” she continued. “But you’d need to go to a hospital and have surgery done.”
Leandra smiled grimly. “That’s not too likely while I’m living out here, is it?”
“I guess not.” Ashley rubbed at the smeared stripes on Leandra’s face. “Guess you’re going to need to redo your paint job, huh?”
“Yeah.” Leandra sighed and lay down on her pallet, looking a good deal more relaxed. “I’ll take a bath tomorrow. There’s a little waterfall not too far away, farther up around the mountain. I usually go there to clean up and mix the paint.”
“Mmm.” Ashley forced her mind not to venture into any contemplations involving her friend’s naked, wet body. Instead, she decided to turn her thoughts to more pressing concerns. “Who do you think those men were?”
“Poachers.” Leandra closed her eyes and blew a lock of hair from her face. “I’ve listened to some of them over the years. They call me the ‘Indian Menace.’ Those guys probably decided to get rid of me so they could go after Shar-Ranjana without having to watch their backs. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would pay good money to have me put down.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?”
“Why should it? I’m quieter, faster, and deadlier than they are. I’ll survive. They won’t.”
Ashley shook her head at Leandra’s simple logic. That’s how she’s learned things work. Predator, prey. She’s the more effective killer, so nothing else matters. “What if that man comes back with others? Can you dodge a bullet?”
Leandra grinned. “I dodged two today, didn’t I?”
Ashley sighed. “Forget it.” She looked around the cave. “Do you have a rag or something? Your shoulder might feel better with a cold compress.”
Leandra gestured toward the crates at the back of the cave. “Over there.”
“Thanks.” Ashley rummaged through the stocks of rice, salt, and other staples, before she found a bundle of cloth. Ripping some up, she ventured cautiously to the river at the base of the mountain and returned shortly with a saucepan full of water. After dipping the rags into the cool water, she pressed them against the sore shoulder. Leandra flinched at first, but smiled as the painful heat in her muscles was bled from her by the damp cloth.
“That feels wonderful.” A low purr rumbled through her belly and throat. Ashley grinned at the sounds, knowing she was doing something right. I wonder what it might take to get her really purring, she thought wickedly, picturing a few things she might try.
This is one kitten I wouldn’t mind letting lick my bowl clean.
Instantly, a hot flush burned in her cheeks, and she was grateful Leandra’s eyes were closed. Bad Ashley! she scolded mentally. Bad, bad Ashley! Get your mind out of the gutter.
But as soon as she let her eyes roam down the full length of Leandra’s wonderfully exposed form, the prurient thoughts came right back. She licked suddenly dry lips.
Cats like being stroked, right? Her fingers twitched. Maybe I could just stroke her
a little lower… I’m sure she’d like that. Her eyes flirted with the hem of Leandra’s brief skirt. Then I could slide my fingers up her thighs and around her hips…then maybe down until I reach…
Ashley’s eyes snapped open, and she pulled herself out of her little fantasy with a shake and a shudder. Leandra sensed her movement and glanced up.
“Something wrong?”
“Uh…no, I was just…” Ashley struggled to formulate coherent thought, her eyes eventually finding a lifeline. “I just noticed it’s almost afternoon. Grady will probably get worried if I’m not back by sundown, and it’ll take me at least two hours to make it back to camp. So…”
“You have to go?”
Ashley almost nodded, but something in those words stopped her. Tired and hurting, her defenses low, Leandra couldn’t mask the desperate, longing tone in her voice. After the magical day they had shared, Ashley found the idea of returning to Grady and the others less than appealing. She wanted to hold on to this moment, this connection, just a little longer. “Do you want me to stay?” she asked, very softly.
Leandra looked away, the fingers of her left hand toying with one of her thin braids. “No. Not if it’s going to cause problems for you.”
Ashley sidled closer. “So…you do want me to stay?”
Leandra brought her gaze back to Ashley’s. “Yes.”
Ashley’s heart soared. To hell with Grady, she thought. Like I told him, if I want to spend the whole night with Leandra, he’s got nothing to say about it. “Then I’ll stay.” She melted at the look of delight on Leandra’s face. That look was worth every moment of hassle she was going to get for this little adventure. “After all,” she added, smiling, “you did promise you’d feed me, right?”
It took him almost an hour, but at last he caught sight of the flash of sunlight off metal, winking from the underbrush. Jack Corbin grunted with satisfaction and retrieved the rifle he’d lost during his encounter with the ferocious jungle-woman. Checking the weapon carefully, he was pleased to find it in working order. Soon, it was loaded and slung over his shoulder once more.
Stepping out onto the grasslands, the weary poacher regarded the flurry of feathers and bloodied beaks that writhed about on the ground nearby with detached interest. The scavenger birds had been quick to descend and feast on the body of Shaun Duggan, and soon they would have it stripped to the bone. Jack observed the feeding without a flicker of emotion. The loss of his partner had been unfortunate, but certainly not crippling.
He watched for a few more minutes before turning away, his attention drawn to a distant light that glowed from halfway up the nearby mountain range. His quarry had retreated, just as he had, and he knew exactly where she had gone. Still, Jack had no intention of attacking the tiger-woman in her lair. She would have the advantage there and would fight all the harder to defend her home. Better to wait for her to come out into the open where he could get a clear shot and neutralize her advantage of stealth and speed.
The ambush had not gone as he had hoped. The strange woman was cannier than he’d expected, somehow picking up on his presence and evading his shot with impressive agility. Jack didn’t like to think he’d underestimated his prey, but in this case, he had to admit he’d assumed too much. The dark-haired woman was even more dangerous than he’d thought, and he knew he’d only escaped death because of a lucky punch.
All had not been in vain, however. He’d discovered two important holes in his quarry’s armor. First, the strange weakness that had felled her with such surprising ease. Jack wasn’t sure what was wrong with the woman’s shoulder, but he guessed it was an old wound of some sort. Regardless, it would serve as an advantage he could exploit in a hand-to-hand fight next time, if things came to that.
Second—and more intriguing—was the young blonde. Jack hadn’t been expecting her appearance, and it had jeopardized his original plan. He had noted with interest the desperate tone in the tiger-woman’s voice when the blonde was threatened, and his thoughts went to ways he might use her against her friend. Certainly, she might be used as bait to lure the dangerous jungle-woman out into the open.
Ignoring the burning pain of the deep cuts across his chest and the bruises on his body, Jack turned and made his way back to his camp. He would rest and treat his wounds tonight, and tomorrow he would plan his next attack.
As he tramped along the narrow jungle trails, he felt something niggling at the back of his mind, like an itch he couldn’t quite scratch. There was something about the strange woman…something beyond her wild appearance and savage nature. Those clear, sapphire-colored eyes and chiseled features had, for a second there, seemed almost familiar.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the disturbing sensation, Jack scowled darkly and looked forward to round two.
Ashley tossed her leaf/plate away and leaned back against the rock behind her with a long, guttural sigh of utter contentment. Across the fire, Leandra nibbled the edges of her own leaf briefly before chewing the bitter foliage and swallowing it.
“Delicious,” Ashley pronounced happily.
Leandra nodded but remained quiet. She had taken a mild painkiller from her first-aid kit and seemed more or less recovered from her fight with the poacher.
Their meal had been another simple affair, consisting of rice, root vegetables, and diced chunks of salted venison, all seasoned with a mix of wild herbs. Outside, the sun stained the distant horizon interesting shades of pink and orange, and turned the edges of the clouds deep purple.
“It’s going to be dark soon,” Leandra noted.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“You know, if you want to go back to your own camp, I can take you,” she offered, flexing her arm to demonstrate her recovered range of movement. “My shoulder feels much better now. It wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Actually, I’d rather stay here if it’s okay with you.” Ashley didn’t want to leave Leandra now. If she went back to her tent, she knew she’d lie awake all night worrying about her. She looked at the thin, rough pallet dubiously. “Think there’s enough room on that thing for two?”
Leandra’s eyes widened “Um…sure, I-I guess, if—” She cleared her throat. “If you want. But, you know, I could sleep on the ground if you need the room.”
Ashley smiled, intrigued by Leandra’s flustered reaction. Maybe I could just sleep on top of you. “Don’t be silly, Leandra. We can snuggle up together, and that way we’ll both be comfortable. Although…” She chewed her lower lip coyly and watched her friend’s reaction carefully. “I usually prefer to sleep in the buff. I don’t suppose that’s a good idea without a blanket though, huh?”
“N-no, probably not.” Leandra’s voice sounded noticeably strained, and she seemed unable to meet Ashley’s gaze. “It gets cold just before dawn.”
Ashley grinned rakishly, pleased at the response. What’s got you so tongue-tied, Jungle Jane? “Oh well, I can manage for one night, I suppose. Besides, you’ll keep me warm, right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great.”
As the sun began its descent in earnest, the two women moved to the mouth of the cave so they could watch the stars assume their places in the heavens. Here and there a dark hole formed in the sky where clouds hid the sparkling lights. The distant sound of gibbons singing reached them from the forest below, echoing with the strange calls of the night hunters and their prey. Ashley listened to the majestic symphony of the jungle, trying not to dwell on the fact that she’d be leaving this world behind in less than a week.
She turned to the woman sitting silently beside her. “Do you ever miss all the things you gave up when you came out here?” she asked.
Leandra’s eyes glowed in the flickering light of the fire, her face an interesting study of shadowed hollows and primitive stripes. “Sometimes,” she whispered.
“Do you ever think of going back?”
“Som
etimes.” Leandra was silent for long moments. “Going back means opening old wounds.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know that I’ve earned the right to leave this place yet.”
“Earned the right?” Ashley considered that statement, that choice of phrasing, and felt another piece to the puzzle of Leandra’s history fall into place. Understanding dawned, clear and sharp. “This is a punishment, isn’t it?” she said, shifting around to face her friend more directly. “You’re out here because you’re trying to make up for something.”
Leandra nodded.
“For being a poacher?”
Silence for a moment. Then the quiet answer. “Not just for that.” Leandra’s eyes were distant, obviously looking back at the past. “It’s difficult to explain.”
Ashley heard the unspoken words. She’s never had to explain it to anyone but herself. She convicted herself of whatever crime she thinks she committed. She passed judgment, and she enforced her decision. And the only one she’s ever had to answer to is herself. “You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to.”
Again, silence descended. Leandra sat cross-legged, staring thoughtfully up at the moon. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you like me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you want to be my friend? You’ve seen what I do, how I live. Why would you want to be friends with a killer?”
Ashley cocked her head to the side. “You’re a nice person, Leandra,” she said softly. “I admit, I don’t really like what you’re doing out here, but I can separate it from the person you are. I think you’re interesting and loyal, and I don’t know why, but I feel really comfortable when I’m with you. Safe.” Her eyes turned inquisitive. “Why do you ask?”
