Dark Predator d-22

by Christine Feehan

  Zacarias. Thinking of him made her feel alive. She loved riding horses, the freedom of flying over the ground, one with her horses. Zacarias gave her that same thrill only more so. He wasn’t peaceful by any means, but being in his company was exhilarating. She sat at her vanity and brushed her long hair into a semblance of submission while she thought about him.

  He was handsome in a rough, brutal sort of way. His body was fit, that of a warrior. Physically there was no doubt she was attracted to him, but that wasn’t the draw. She imagined most women would be unable to resist his looks. He was mesmerizing and had an animal attraction as well. But still . . . There was so much more to him, right there under the surface, and quite frankly, he intrigued her.

  She pulled on her usual house clothes, a blouse and long skirt, frowning a little that she was conforming to what Zacarias liked. It would have been childish to wear jeans just because he’d stated she should wear feminine clothes. She liked her skirts. She wasn’t going to change for him—one way or the other. No one had dictated to her, not even her father, and having Zacarias speak in such commanding tones all the time was a little humorous.

  Someone walked up onto the porch and knocked on the front door. It was a timid knock, not at all like Julio or one of the other boys would make. Her stomach jumped and she glanced toward the master bedroom. She took a loaded gun from the trunk in the hallway and pushed it into her skirt pocket. They didn’t get many visitors, and with Zacarias vulnerable during the day, she was determined to protect him.

  She peered out and was a little shocked to see Lea Eldridge, waiting for her alone on the porch. Lea had never once come to the ranch without her brother. She was a tall, blond woman, very chic. Her hair was never out of place, her makeup perfect and her clothes obviously designer. Where Esteban talked down to the workers, Lea always seemed open and friendly. She was a beautiful woman, and Marguarita liked her more than she did the women she’d grown up with. Lea seemed a genuine, giving person. She always had time to speak to the older workers and children, not just the handsome single men. Marguarita liked that about her.

  She opened the door and frowned when she saw Lea’s face. There was a faint bruise on her cheekbone and obvious signs of tears. Lea’s skin was flawless, as porcelain as peaches and cream, and even with her careful application of makeup, it was impossible to hide the purple. She stepped back to allow Lea entrance.

  Lea glanced around behind her, a covert, stealthy perusal of the surrounding area and roads before she ducked inside and hastily closed the door. “My brother doesn’t know I’m here. No one does.”

  I’ll make tea. I’m glad you came to visit me.

  Marguarita handed her the note and led the way into the kitchen, gesturing for Lea to sit at the table while she prepared tea. It was obvious Lea was very upset. It was times like this that Marguarita was especially frustrated that she couldn’t speak. Writing things down took forever. While the kettle was heating, she sank down into the chair opposite Lea, touched her hand and slid a paper across to her.

  What happened? You’re safe here, Lea.

  Lea blinked back tears and shook her head. “You don’t understand. My brother’s friend, Dan, we call him DS, has found us here. He’s . . . awful. Everywhere we go, he finds us, and Esteban does whatever he says. I thought if we came here, he’d never find us, but he’s here and he’s going to do something terrible. He always does.”

  Who hit you?

  Lea ducked her head, touching her cheek with her fingertips. “The truth is, Esteban does whatever DS tells him to do. I thought we’d moved to this place to get away from him, but he was the one who instructed Esteban to come here and get friendly with the people on this ranch.” She raised sorrowful eyes to Marguarita. “I swear I didn’t know. I really thought we had a chance here to get away from him. He’s the devil, Marguarita. Esteban does terrible things around him. And if he’s planning something to do with this ranch, it isn’t going to be legal or good,” she confessed. “I’m so sorry.”

  Marguarita tapped the note again and sketched a question mark in the air between them.

  Lea rubbed her temples. “DS hit me because I refused to do what he wanted.” A sob welled up. “Esteban just stood there while DS shoved me around.”

  What does DS want from you and Esteban?

  “He wants to meet a member of the De La Cruz family. He’s obsessed with the idea. He wants me to seduce one of them. He says if I don’t, that he’ll kill Esteban. I tried to talk to Esteban but he just laughed and said I’d better get it done then.” Lea wiped at the tears and shook her head. “I don’t have anywhere to go and no one to talk to. I can’t trust anyone. And I didn’t want to betray our friendship, but I don’t know what to do.”

  The teakettle was steaming, so Marguarita rose to pour the boiling water into the teapot. She hastily scribbled a note as she did so and shoved it under Lea’s nose.

  The De La Cruz family rarely visits this ranch. Why would this man think you could possibly seduce one of them when they never stay longer than a day or so and are gone for years? That makes no sense. What does he think seducing one of them would gain him?

  Lea shoved both hands through her hair and shrugged her shoulders. “Wealth, maybe. Thrills. I don’t know. DS runs drugs and weapons though. Esteban got caught up in all of that. He likes the idea of being on the inside of some underground gangster-type organization. DS talks about some secret society he belongs to—that all the members are in the know, and that kind of thing appeals to Esteban.”

  Your parents?

  “They’re both dead. We have a trust fund our uncle controls. Esteban is never satisfied. I keep thinking he’ll mellow out, but he keeps looking for that next thrill. Since he met DS, our lives have been insane. DS hangs out with some very scary people.”

  Why do they believe a De La Cruz will come here?

  “You.” Lea accepted the teacup and small plate of biscuits. “Your accident. Something that bad was bound to bring one of the owners to the ranch to check on things. Esteban probably sent for DS.” She took a sip of tea and regarded Marguarita over the rim of the steaming teacup. “I thought I would have a chance at a real life here. I like it here. And there’s . . . Julio.” She watched Marguarita’s face carefully. “Are you two involved? He’s very protective of you.”

  We were raised as brother and sister.

  “He doesn’t like us, does he?” Lea asked. “He doesn’t even look at me.”

  She sounded so sad, it wrenched at Marguarita’s heart. Julio was right about her, she fell for every wounded thing, man or animal. She sighed and shrugged a little as she wrote.

  Julio said it was strange that you and Esteban came here. You have money and you’re used to the city life. Neither of you seem to fit in here. But he looks at you, Lea. You’re beautiful. How could he not?

  “I want to stay. Even after Esteban moves on, I want to stay here. I like our home and I’m beginning to love the horses. I know I could make a life here. And Esteban will move on. He gets bored easily. I’ve done my best to try to save him from himself, but I know I can’t. He won’t listen to me anymore. If one of the De La Cruz brothers doesn’t show up here soon, DS will want to go to another of the ranches where he might have a better chance of meeting one of them and Esteban will do whatever he says.”

  The brothers keep to themselves. Even when they do show up at one of the ranches, they rarely talk to anyone but Cesaro. They stay a night or two and are gone again.

  “Have you met them?”

  A couple of them, once or twice, but I don’t really know them. Lea, whatever this man, DS, wants with the De La Cruz family, he won’t find it here. Does he want to do some sort of business with them?

  Lea nibbled at a tea biscuit, a small frown on her face. “I don’t honestly know. Esteban won’t talk to me about it. He just tells me to do whatever DS says.”

  Marguarita allowed the tea to slide down her throat. It was hot and sweet and her stomach rebelled a littl
e, but settled after a moment or two. She’d found it difficult to eat food lately. Nothing tasted good, and often, she felt as if she might get sick when she put solid food in her stomach. The scent of meat particularly offended her. She feared it had something to do with the vampire attack on her and her torn throat. Of course Lea thought a large jungle cat had attacked her as most people did. She touched her throat and immediately felt the throb of the mark Zacarias had put on her. Without thinking, her fingertips brushed a caress over the spot.

  “Does it hurt?” Lea asked. “Your throat?”

  Marguarita shook her head. It didn’t hurt anymore, but it was still difficult to accept that she couldn’t speak. Lea had stayed her friend. Esteban had always acted as if he was courting her—until the accident. He continued to come around, but he was careful not to flirt too much with her anymore. She realized he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. Without a voice, she wasn’t up to his standards. Perhaps that was judging him harshly, but she had always known he wasn’t seriously courting her.

  Lea impulsively leaned across the table and put her hand over Marguarita’s. “We’re such a pair. Me with nowhere to go and you with a torn throat.”

  Marguarita smiled at her. She raised her teacup and took another sip.

  “I don’t suppose Julio would have tea with us?” Lea ventured, trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe you could find a secret love potion and slip it to him.”

  Marguarita smiled and shook her head.

  Ask him to show you the horses. Get him talking about them. He loves the horses. I’ve never seen you ride. Do you know how?

  “I hired this man to teach me, but he never shows up. I love to watch you ride, and when I’m on a horse I feel so free. I love the wind in my face and the way the horse moves, flowing across the ground. I know I could live here, even without my brother. I don’t spend much out of my trust fund, Esteban blows through his portion every month, but I could buy property here and be happy.”

  There’s no city life here, Lea. It can be lonely for a woman.

  Lea sighed and stroked her finger down her bruised cheek. “It can be lonely in the middle of a crowd, Marguarita. I just don’t feel I fit anywhere. Not until I came here. I know I seem sort of prissy to you, but I’m a hard worker. I can learn. I just want to find peace.”

  Why do you travel with Esteban when you know he’s involved in illegal activity?

  “He’s all I have. We have the family business and I could go back and work there, but my uncle is the only one alive that’s family other than Esteban. I didn’t even know him before my parents were killed in a small plane crash. He’s older and very rigid. Esteban can’t stand the sight of him and unfortunately, my uncle lets him know at every opportunity that he’s a spoiled rich kid. That just seems to egg Esteban on. I was hoping if I was with him, he’d stop doing such dangerous things.”

  Is he hooked on drugs?

  Lea bit at her lower lip. “He uses cocaine. At first it was recreational, and I tried not to get upset about it. Really everyone we knew used it. But Esteban can’t go a day without it now. I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but he says I don’t know how to have fun. He thinks I’m a workaholic. I used to work for my parents. Esteban was rather spoiled by my father and dad encouraged him to be a playboy.”

  He must have taken your parents’ death very hard.

  Lea nodded. “I think that’s what made him so vulnerable to DS. He started doing more drugs and partying hard. He jumps out of airplanes, skis very hazardous mountains, anything that’s dangerous, he does it. No matter what I say to him, I can’t stop him.” She rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. “I can’t keep following him around the world trying to keep him alive. He won’t listen to me.”

  I’m sorry, Lea. I wish there was something I could do to help.

  Lea sent her a small smile. “I appreciate your listening. It’s been a long time since I felt like I had a real friend I could confide in. I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do to get me and Esteban out of this mess, but you’ve made me feel better.”

  Is it safe for you to go home?

  Marguarita wanted to invite her to stay, but with Zacarias in residence and knowing Esteban and DS were looking to meet a De La Cruz, she felt she had to protect Zacarias. But still, she felt afraid for Lea.

  Lea shrugged. “Esteban loves me. He doesn’t believe DS would really hurt either one of us, but if it came down to it, I believe he would protect me. And I plan on avoiding DS. I just wanted you to know not to trust them when they come here. And they’ll come. I just don’t know what they’re up to. Once I’m back home I can try to get Esteban to tell me.”

  Marguarita shook her head quickly.

  There’s no need, really, Lea. Even if they come here, what are they going to see? The boys at work. Me. You don’t see a De La Cruz anywhere around, do you? They won’t, either. They’ll look around and then go home.

  Lea nodded. “I guess I shouldn’t worry. And the De La Cruz family is very powerful. They probably have people like DS targeting them all the time.”

  The warning siren went off alerting Marguarita that something had happened somewhere on the ranch. Marguarita leaped to her feet, racing toward the front door. She could hear the pounding of hooves as horsemen approached the house at a wild gallop. Marguarita flung the door open. Julio stood with his fist upraised, face white beneath his tan, his clothes covered in blood.

  “We need the helicopter pilot, Marguarita. Ricco’s been gored. His horse threw him and the cattle stampeded. It’s bad. Really bad.”

  She raced back into the bathroom and grabbed the first-aid kit while Julio made the call for the pilot.

  Julio was swearing when she reached his side. She sketched a question mark.

  “Charlie’s drinking again. He’s gone just when we need him most.” Julio shoved his hand through his hair. “He won’t make it if we don’t get him to a hospital.”

  “I can fly a helicopter,” Lea said. “I have a license. I can fly small planes as well. My father owned a charter service, and we all learned to fly.”

  Julio swung around to scowl at the woman as if she’d grown two heads. “You better know what you’re talking about. Ricco’s going to die if we don’t get him medical attention.”

  Color crept up Lea’s neck into her face. “I can fly him to the hospital. I’ve logged hundreds of hours in a helicopter and more in small planes. I can fly just about anything. It’s what my family did.”

  “Then you’re the pilot,” Julio said. “Let’s go. Come on, Marguarita, you’re going to have to try to keep him alive until we make it to help.”

  They ran toward the big hangar housing the aircraft. One thing she had always been grateful to the De La Cruz family for was the first-class equipment they always supplied. The ranch was out so far that they used aircraft for medical aid as well as for checking the cattle and horses in the hills and fields.

  “Is your helicopter kept in good condition?” Lea asked, running to keep up with Julio’s longer strides.

  “Yes. It’s always serviced after every run. But you’d better double-check. I have no idea how long Charlie’s been drinking this time,” Julio replied grimly.

  Several men rushed toward the hangar, carrying Ricco on a stretcher. Marguarita raced to intercept them, trying to inspect the wound as they took him to the helicopter. The steer had caught Ricco in the abdomen and it looked bad. Very bad. She didn’t think, even with a surgeon standing by, that he had much of a chance. She glanced at the sky and looked over the stretcher at Julio, a question in her eyes.

  Julio looked as grim as she felt. He wasn’t stupid. He’d seen what a maddened steer could do before. The sun was still a ball in the sky, but it was dropping slowly. The sky was clear with few clouds. They had a good hour before sunset. Ricco didn’t have that kind of time. She’d seen what the sun had done to Zacarias. She shook her head. Julio glared at her as the men carefully loaded Ricco into the helicopter. Marguarita
climbed in beside him and tore open his shirt.

  She gasped and put pressure on the wound. There was no way he could possibly make it, no matter how fast they got the helicopter into the air.

  Zacarias. She didn’t want to force him to tell her he couldn’t help, but the wound was ghastly and no way would Ricco make it alive to the hospital. I need you. She had no idea if he would answer her call or even care, but she had to try.

  The stirring in her mind was instantaneous, as if all along he had been aware of her awake and out of the house. Are you hurt? His voice was filled with concern for her and strangely it warmed her.

  Not me. Ricco, one of the workers. We’re going to take him to the hospital, but he won’t make it if you can’t help us.

  You wish me to do this for you?

  Her heart leaped, stuttered and then began to pound. His voice was so matter-of-fact and in truth, she wasn’t entirely certain what she was asking of him—but he’d managed to save her and she never should have lived.

  What is the risk to you? She had to know. She bit at her lower lip, suddenly terrified of what she was asking of him. Nothing can happen to you.

  There was a moment that she felt him in her mind, touching every part of her, a brushing caress completely at odds with his lethal presence.

  Show me the wound. Look directly at it.

  Marguarita steeled herself. The horn had penetrated deep and she was certain the tear had all but killed Ricco. It was fortunate he was unconscious because she had nothing to stop the pain. She forced herself to stare at Ricco’s torn stomach, trying to send her own impressions to Zacarias.