by Rula Sinara
Her? A good influence on a man like Mac? That notion would have been laughable back when they were kids. If anything, when she’d tried to influence him...tried to tell him to listen to his family and stay home in South Africa...he’d bolted and never returned. If she was changing him in any way, he’d end up resenting her. Was she giving off signals without realizing it?
“I don’t know what you mean. Mac is Mac. Always has been and always will be. He looks out for people and is passionate about his life here in Kenya. If anyone—anyone—came to him with the possibility of bringing down a poaching ring, he’d have been on it just like he’s been with my situation. The only thing making it more personal is Nick.”
Kesi sighed and gave the tent one last perusal, then motioned for Tessa to follow her out.
“If you say so. Maybe you’re right,” Kesi said.
“I am. Kesi, please don’t imply anything is going on. I’m still married. It’s...it’s just wrong. I can’t go there.” Guilt pounded through her veins. What was she doing?
“I’m sorry. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I assumed things were over with your marriage because of what happened.”
Kesi was wrong. They didn’t know what was on the drives yet. They hadn’t heard back from Ben. She still couldn’t be sure she hadn’t sent everyone on a wild-goose chase.
Nothing was over.
CHAPTER NINE
“ANYTHING EXCITING HAPPEN while I was gone?” Mac asked while helping to set up a foldout table near the fire pit area. Mugi was bent down on his knees, making sure the legs on his end were locked. The Johnsons seemed to be a nice family. The Mr. and Mrs. were taking a few minutes to relax in their tent after, to everyone else’s surprise, Nick had offered to keep an eye on the twins while entertaining them.
“No. Nothing you’d consider exciting, though I must say, I find your nephew quite refreshing.”
Mac and Mugi turned to where Nick was showing the boys how to tie a slipknot, a skill he had only just learned himself earlier that day. Prior to that, he’d passed on his newfound knowledge of how to make a wooden toothbrush, bristles and all, from the toothbrush tree at the edge of camp.
“Look at how patient he’s being. And so confident,” Mugi said. “That’s not the same teen you arrived with. Remember that meltdown he had right out here before we even had the chance to meet him?”
“Not easily forgotten. He’s definitely not the same boy,” Mac agreed. “It’s good to see him like this.”
“Okay, stop watching him. Let’s not ruin a good thing,” Kesi said as she and Tessa joined them.
They were both balancing several dishes of food. Mugi took the white tablecloth Kesi had on her shoulder and covered the table so they could set up the late lunch/early dinner.
“I’ll go grab some chairs,” he said.
He walked off and they all finished setting up. Mac gathered some wood so that the fire would be ready for after dinner. It was all about the ambience and experience. A lot of camps had hired help to serve the food and take care of things, but Mugi and Kesi wanted to create something different. They were all hands on. This wasn’t just a camp. It was their home. But sometimes, Mac wondered how they planned to manage if things got busier...or when they got older. Taking visitors off on jeep tours was tiring, and if Mugi was gone, that left Kesi to do all the work at base on her own. They really needed to hire at least one other person to take care of the day trips and menial chores.
The radio receiver he’d clipped to his belt sounded. It was Anna.
“I read you, Mama Tembo. Over.”
“Raptor King, can you fly over? Bakhari got loose. Need help spotting. Worried. Over.”
“Done. I’ll be in touch. Over.”
Bakhari was a baby elephant she’d rescued from a snare injury about three years ago. A favorite at Busara, and last Mac had seen, Bakhari had the beginnings of tusks, though nothing significant. He wasn’t old enough to be off on his own. In wild herds, elephant babies didn’t get weaned until at least four or five years of age, when their tusks, at half a foot, would start to bother their mothers. But he knew Anna was worried because, tiny tusks or not, it wasn’t safe out there. Busara was Bakhari’s “herd” until he got relocated to a reserve better equipped to handle the hormonal behavior of adolescent elephant bulls and their eventual transition back into the wild.
Times like this were why he liked being in control of his job. His career. He could wake up and do what he knew was right and necessary...and not have to wait on clearance from someone with authority over him. Someone likely driven by a financial bottom line.
Ultimately, he knew that organizations like KWS and their affiliates were better equipped than he was to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking. And if KWS’s use of drones to track poachers and stop them before they killed proved as effective as everyone hoped, then there might not be any need for his volunteer flyovers and efforts. He’d never stop volunteering as long as he was needed, but that would be a dream come true. An effective crackdown on poaching. The end of illegal killings and kidnappings of wild animals for pet sales or body parts. The authorities and the growing number of conservation organizations were not only making a difference in that respect, they were also raising global awareness and helping conservancies and research groups with their needs. Mac was only one man trying to make a difference...trying to help his friends make a difference. He hated the idea of being grounded if his company went under and he was forced to sell his chopper to make ends meet. And Anna’s call reminded him why he did what he did. Failure wasn’t an option.
“I need to do a flyover,” he told Kesi and Tessa as he headed for his landing site.
He had a baby elephant to find.
* * *
“I KNEW MUGI could spin a story, but wow. He was really in his element as an entertainer out there.” Tessa walked alongside Kesi, each of them carrying a stack of clean towels. They’d still been drying on the line behind the cottage when they were preparing for the Johnsons earlier.
“I’ve heard most of those stories, but I could hear them a million times over. It’s in the way he tells them,” Kesi agreed. “If you don’t mind putting those in Mac and Nick’s tent, I’ll take these over to the Johnsons.”
Tessa walked over to the guys’ tent and slipped inside. She chuckled when she saw that neither Mac nor Nick had bothered to make their beds. She set her pile on a chair, then tied back the mosquito netting around Nick’s bed and tugged his sheets straight. After setting a towel and washcloth on the end of his bed, she went over to Mac’s. He’d already tied back his netting and for a moment she hesitated. She really didn’t need to fix his bed. That was simply not her job, and it was...personal. Like what she did at home, with Brice. Only they shared a bed.
She ignored the rumpled mess and went to the chair to get the towels. Something black scurried out from underneath his varnished tree-stump nightstand and disappeared under his cot. She jumped before she registered that snakes didn’t scurry, they slithered. But there were other lovely critters like scorpions around here. She didn’t want Mac or Nick getting stung. She grabbed a decorative spear off its perch on the wall and crouched down at a safe distance. She used the tip to lift the edge of the sheet. A large black beetle hurried from its hiding place and out the door. Tessa let go of her breath.
She set the spear back in its place over the dresser near the end of Mac’s bed. The bottom drawer hadn’t been properly closed. He had been in a rush to answer Anna’s call for help. She started to push it shut, but stopped. What if a snake had crawled in it? Drawers made cozy sleeping spots. She’d taken in a stray cat once, when she was Nick’s age, and a few days later, woke up to the sound of mewing. The cat, who she’d named Nimbus after the cumulonimbus storm clouds that always made her worry about her parents at sea, had birthed a litter of kitte
ns in the bottom drawer of her dresser. Kittens. Baby snakes. No way. She took the spear and put the end in the gap and levered the drawer open wider. Hard to see. She pulled it farther out and poked at the shirts dumped in along with a stack of papers. No snakes. Thank the universe and beyond. She had no clue what she would have done if she had found a snake. Or its babies.
The bottom edge of a note stuck out from under the top of the paper stack. She wasn’t a snoop. Not except for when she’d broken into Brice’s office. But those were extenuating circumstances. She respected privacy. But she couldn’t take her eyes off the letters Br. She put the spear back and bent down for a closer look. She edged the paper out, just enough to see the next letter. If it wasn’t an i, she’d look no more. Mac’s papers were none of her business. It was an i. She pulled the entire note out.
Darling, I’m back home. Thought you’d be here by now. Miss you. Give me a call. Love, Brice.
Her blood rushed to her feet and she held onto the dresser with her free hand until she felt steady. Brice had left her a message and Mac was hiding it from her? She reread it twice. If he was home and not upset, then maybe he hadn’t found anything missing yet. Her heart raced. He was missing her. He’d signed Love, Brice. He was calling her darling like he always did. She held the note to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut.
Trust. Traitor. If he’s innocent, you’re betraying him.
What Kesi had said earlier about the chemistry between Tessa and Mac came back to haunt her. She was betraying Brice in more ways than one. She couldn’t deny her attraction and deepening feelings for Mac or that something about being around him felt right. She was a terrible person. But she needed to find out the truth about her husband. She needed to put this all behind her. She’d chosen to marry him and was prepared to honor her vows, but she needed to know if her loyalty was deserved. And what about Mac? Did he deserve any more from her than Brice? He didn’t trust her with the note. What did that say about their relationship? About his respect for her? It didn’t matter how she felt about him; he still saw her as the same naïve and sheltered teen he’d known and that ticked her off, but Mac was being himself. Overly protective. That wasn’t a crime. And neither of them knew if Brice was a criminal or not.
What if Brice was playing it cool on purpose? What if the message was a way of fishing her out? She hid the scrap of paper in her pocket and closed the drawer. If he was trying to fish her out, then good. Let him. Because if she’d realized anything when she scared off that hyena, it was that she was willing to take the risk. She was ready to be a decoy if it meant protecting those she loved.
Forgive me, Mac.
* * *
“BRICE?”
“Tessa. For crying out loud, where have you been? Why haven’t you returned my messages? I’ve been worried sick.”
Had he left more than one? Tessa bit her lip as she held the cumbersome satellite phone to her ear. She really hoped that Mugi and Kesi didn’t notice it had gone missing.
“I’m sorry. I...” Did she tell him or didn’t she? His message had sounded honest. Honest enough to spark her guilt. Ben had asked her to lie low. So had Mac. But he’d also kept the note from her. Why? If what Kesi had said was true, if Mac had deeper feelings for her, could he be acting on jealousy? Or was he being overly protective because he believed Brice guilty until proven innocent. Not the other way around. She wasn’t sure what to think anymore. She racked her brain for something neutral to say. “Nick wanted to go on a mini safari, so I didn’t have a way of checking in. I just got back to the lodge and saw your message about needing to talk to me. You knew I was bringing him up here and you know he can be demanding.”
“Tessa, listen to me. I need you to stay put. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t go anywhere alone. Keep Nick with you at all times.”
Alarms blared in her head and her feet felt cold. Was he worried? Or coming after her because of his missing drives? He sounded genuinely scared for her and Nick. Panic constricted around her waist like a python.
“Brice, what’s going on?”
“I got home from my trip and found our house ransacked. The place was turned upside down. I had no idea if you were okay.”
His last words sounded achy and distraught. Tessa’s head spun. She’d misjudged him. If he came home to a break-in mess, then she’d be the last person he’d suspect of taking the thumb drives from his office. That would mean he wasn’t angry or suspicious. He really was worried. Who had broken in and what were they trying to find? Was someone else onto her suspicions, or did Ben have something to do with this? Was someone Brice worked with or maybe someone who’d attended one of their parties involved in the ivory dealings? Katia? No way. Tessa couldn’t even picture it. Someone else at the paper, maybe? Had she endangered Brice, thinking he was the danger?
“My gosh, Brice. No, we’re fine. That must have happened after we left. What did the police say? Are there suspects?”
“The police think it was a simple burglary because there were a couple of valuables missing. But I don’t think so. Keep what I’m about to tell you to yourself, okay? I can trust you, right?”
That was a loaded question.
She pictured herself in his office and wondered if it was now a pile of shattered glass.
“Haven’t you always?”
“Tessa, I think you’re in danger.”
“Because of one burglary? I’m not even there.”
“Listen to me. Less than a year ago, I found out that some of the companies I’d invested in were involved in illegal activities. At first, it was just suspicions, but after a while, I was sure.”
“What type of activity?”
“Ivory trade. Paying poachers and suppliers under the table. Looking the other way when necessary. It’s too much for you to understand. There are so many layers of contacts in what they do, so no one would ever be able to pin it on them.”
The muscles in her neck tensed. That was exactly what Anna and Ben had said. The ivory mafia.
“We’re talking men with money who know how to keep their hands clean. Dangerous men, Tessa. I had to play along to some extent because I was afraid if I didn’t they’d come after my family. I didn’t know the full nature of my first deal until I was entrenched in it all.”
Tessa sat back on her bed, stunned. Her chest and fingers felt numb. She’d been right all along to doubt herself. Instead of staying safe and keeping her mouth shut, she’d written that damn article and pulled herself, and Nick, into a dangerous whirlpool. All along, Brice was trying to protect them and now she’d probably endangered him, too. She knew how ruthless gangs could be. If they saw Brice as a weak link, they’d kill him. And his blood would be on her hands.
“Tessa?”
“I’m here. I don’t know what to say or what to believe anymore, Brice.”
“I understand.” His voice softened. “These past six months haven’t been easy on you. I’m sorry I wasn’t more present. But I was trying to find a way to extricate myself from it all without endangering anyone. I’m afraid it didn’t work.”
“Are you in danger, Brice? Please go to the police. Ask for prot—”
“These people are beyond the police. Tessa... Katia’s dead. Her car broke past a guardrail on her way home last night. The report says it was an accident. That she’d lost control, maybe fell asleep at the wheel. I don’t think so.”
“What?” Tessa’s eyes stung and her head strained with pressure. “No!” She covered her mouth and started pacing. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. No one was supposed to get hurt. The whole point of uncovering what was going on was to protect the innocent. What had she done? Kat hadn’t just lost her job because of her...she’d lost her life.
“Maybe it was an accident,” she said. Kat dead?
“I doubt it. Tessa, I checked her computer at the office before the authoriti
es took it as part of their investigation.”
Tessa knew what was coming next.
“You’d sent her an article that she didn’t post, yet she’d emailed a copy to a private account. Someone...a mole at the company...must have found out what she was up to. If there is a mole, they know you wrote the article. And if they pass that information on...”
The truth will set you free. Or not.
“I did. I wrote it.”
“Why, Tessa? Don’t you realize you put everyone in danger, including yourself?”
“Brice, I wasn’t sure what was going on between us. You were acting so different and withdrawn. Then Nick moved in. And I overheard some things that made me wonder if you were involved in something bad or maybe even having an affair.”
“Are you kidding me? Tessa, I love you. I’ve always been faithful. And I told you the nature of my involvement. I had to put your safety, and your family’s, first. Our family.”
“My family? What are you saying? Nick’s in danger?”
“I’m saying that after what happened to Katia, I did some asking around and I have reason to believe Maria and Allan’s plane crash wasn’t accidental. I was told they weren’t just monitoring South Africa’s parks. They’d uncovered information on poaching trails and border activities with Uganda. A chain they had reason to believe made its way up to Tanzania and into Kenya.” He paused. “They were in the way.”
She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t breathe.
“I wanted to tell you in person. I’m sorry to tell you this way, but you have to understand why I need you to do as I say. You’re out of your league here, Tessa. I wish you’d just written your fashion report and let me deal with this. I wish you’d trusted me.”
He was right. This was exactly why she didn’t take risks. This was why she played it safe and stuck with her stable, secure life. Brice had given her that life and now she’d ruined everything. And Katia was dead because of her.
