Primitive Nights (23 page)

Her thoughts broke off as the driver swerved. The motion tipped her to the side enough that she opened her eyes. “You don’t have to hurry quite that much. Um. Shit.
Por favor despacio
.”

The driver didn’t respond—he continued to veer through the curves and turns, his large hands gripped to the steering wheel. The streetlights flashed by in a blur.

She tried again, hanging on to the seat for balance. “Please slow down. I’m not—”

Her words broke off when he flew around a corner so fast the car felt near to coming off two wheels. She screamed. “Let me out, now!”

The driver skidded the car sideways into a parking lot, smashing against something hard in the process. The jarring impact threw her forward, and her head smashed against the front seat.

The driver turned and reached for her door, swinging it open with a shout, “Out.”

Scrambling across the seat, she pulled the bags out behind her and toppled to the ground. The moment she was free, the cab sped off, spinning tires that threw pebbles against her body. A cloud of dust swirled around her, and she pounded a fist against one of the bags. “Asshole!”

Her head was throbbing when she pushed up from the ground, and she covered the lump forming on her forehead with her palm. She looked around at the unfamiliar buildings and houses. Fear coursed through her. She had no idea where she was.

“Leave the bags.”

Myla jerked around at the deep, male voice. Two men stepped from the shadows of the building closest to the parking lot. She shifted back, looping the bags over her shoulders at the same time. They weighed a ton, but she couldn’t leave them. They were the only hope for Damon’s tribe. “What do you want?”

The taller of the men stepped into the dim light streaming down from a window. “Miss Jordan, you shouldn’t have come back.”

Goose bumps formed along her arms and raised the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck. She kept moving back, her eyes on the men. The other man hadn’t moved, though the small red glow from the cigar he held between his lips gave away his position in the shadows.

She returned her gaze to the man who spoke. “Who are you?”

He laughed. “It doesn’t matter, does it? Tell me where your little journal is and we’ll go.”

The journal.

They knew.

Shit.

And she didn’t believe it was going to be as simple as he claimed. “I don’t have it.”

The man shook his head. “Not an acceptable answer.” He snapped his fingers and the other man came forward.

The end of the cigar bloomed to life. “She will no’ talk to you?” His laughter echoed through the nearly empty lot. “She will for me, yes?”

Myla stumbled, barely able to keep her balance under the weight of the bags. “It is the only answer there is. I—gave it to a friend for safekeeping.”

The first man held up a hand. “Just a moment, Eduardo. She seems to wish to talk now.” The other man nodded and leaned back against an old car. “Tell me your friend’s name and I will send Eduardo to get the journal. Then you can go to wherever it was you were going.”

She let the bags fall from her shoulders. He lied, and she was in serious trouble. “I gave it to a friend who will send it to the authorities if anything happens to me.” The threat sounded weak, even to her own ears, but it always seemed to buy time in the movies.

“You lie!”

The moment he stepped forward she took off, screaming into the empty streets, praying someone might hear her and call the police. Taking several corners, she made her way closer to the jungle. The trees were visible. All she had to do was reach them and she was certain she could hide.

The men’s footfalls pounded behind her against the streets and sidewalks. They came closer with each step. She knew she had stamina for running long distances, but she’d never had much speed. At this rate, they’d catch her before she could get to the trees. She had to do something.

Up ahead at the end of a small alley, she saw several trash cans. She grabbed them as she passed, toppling the containers into the alley behind her. The men’s curses reached out to her and a wave of satisfaction gave her a new burst of energy. There! Straight ahead lay the jungle and safety. Just a few more minutes.

The trash cans only slowed the men a fraction. She could still hear them behind her. There was nothing else to use for an obstacle. They closed the distance until the sounds of their harsh breathing filled her ears.

She cried out as she rushed forward into the trees, the men right behind. A hand caught on her shirt. She jerked free, heart hammering in her chest from the exertion. The adrenaline rush caused by her fear was wearing off and when one of the men grabbed her waist, she cried out desperately, unable to put up a significant fight.

He shook her hard and slammed her face forward against a tree. “Enough! Stupid—bitch. You—should have—taken the easy—way.” His harsh breathing staggered his words.

“You’ll kill me—either way.”

His body pressed her into the tree and the rough bark scratched her belly. He gripped her arms and pulled them behind her. Coarse bindings wrapped around her wrists. In a desperate attempt to gain her freedom, she drove her head back, smashing it into his face. The loud crack of her head against his nose was small satisfaction compared to his gurgled groans of pain.

His grasp slackened, and she spun around. He blinked at her through watery eyes, and she took his stunned silence for the opening it was. When her foot connected with his crotch, a second loud groan came from his throat, and she took off.

She only made it a few steps when she was jerked to a stop by the other man’s grip on her bindings. He grabbed her bound wrists and pulled them up high until her arms were out straight behind her. The odd angle caused pain to slice through each shoulder, and she had to stand on tiptoes to alleviate some of the pressure. “You will no’ try this wit’ me. I will kill you.”

The first man came over then and grabbed her face. “You’re gonna pay for that.” Blood poured freely from his crooked, swollen nose, and he squeezed hard until his fingers bit into her jawbone. She tried to clench her jaw closed but the brutal pressure of his fingers digging into the muscles forced her to open her mouth. He reached down to unbuckle his belt. “That’s a good girl. Put her on her knees, Eduardo.”

“Do not fight me, miss. It will only make it worse.”

She struggled in vain as Eduardo followed the other man’s directions. His knee connected with the backs of hers and she dropped to the ground. He held her there with firm pressure on each shoulder.

The man with the swollen nose laughed. “If you’d given me the journal, you would have met your end in a much more pleasant manner. As it is, we’ll have to try different ways to get the information we need, but I can promise you we’ll get it.”

He came nearer. The belt he’d removed was wrapped around his hand with a long length still hanging down. He swung it against his leg, and the snap the end made when it connected with his pants made her jump.

“Let’s see what you have to say after a couple of those, eh?”

He raised the belt, and Myla closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact. She could handle this. She could. The soft cry of a
maliki
bird somewhere in the trees filled her mind with peace.

Chapter Sixteen

The dense humidity of the night air clung to his skin as Damon knelt next to the tree. Each angry word and threat from the men less than twenty feet away enhanced the anger fueling his mind. It made it easy to ignore the exhaustion pulling at him. His head did not hurt as badly as his leg. In the rush to follow his foolish
alogu,
he had ripped the knife wound in his thigh open again. It would have been be worth it to find her safe.

The soft swish of the dart hurtling past did little to alleviate his fury. Seiret’s aim was perfect, and the man holding Myla slapped at the back of his neck where the dart pierced his skin. He pulled the dart free, staring at it for a moment before tumbling backward to the jungle floor.

The other man cursed. “Eduardo! Get up.”

The words had barely left his lips when a second dart sailed through the air. This time Damon watched it puncture the throat of Myla’s attacker. The man stumbled back and yanked the dart out. Damon walked from the cover of the trees to stand before the man as he dropped to his knees. “Do you feel pain, white man?”

The man nodded, his eyes bulging.

“Good.” Damon placed his foot against the man’s chest and gave him a shove, watching dispassionately as he tumbled back into the bushes. “Suffer until the poison wears off. It is less punishment than you deserve.”

He turned to find Seiret helping Myla to her feet. Her voice was soft, confusion evident in the crinkled lines of her forehead. “How did you— What are you doing here?”

Damon sent Seiret back to ready the canoe then smiled at Myla. “This is not a very good greeting. No smile, no gratitude, no—”

She rushed forward and leapt into his arms, her lips covering his with light kisses. “Thank you, Damon. You were wonderful.”

He set her back and untied her hands. “I am the boss?”

“Yes, you are.” Her smile was huge. “How did you find me?”

“Seiret is a good friend. He knew I would come. He knew I would be angry if he lost you.”

Her eyes widened. “He followed me?”

Her disbelief would have been funny if not for the danger around them. “He says the hut structures in your village are convenient for crossing like jumping from tree to tree, but he nearly lost you in the vehicle. Now come, we must go.”

He glanced around. Never having ventured so close to the enemy’s home, he found the lights and buildings fascinating. All the things his mother had described lay before him. It was no more than ten steps out of the trees into a new world.

A bright yellow automobile passed by on the smooth black—road—if he recalled correctly. The windows of the buildings sparkled under the lights that beamed from the front of the vehicle. Inside one of the house windows was a small box with pictures of people. But the people moved. Television.

His mind raced.

He could witness all the wonders of her world. Taste soda and wine, walk down through the villages where people sold food and gifts for money. The constant movements and color shifts from the television drew his attention again. A woman passed by the window, blocking his view. She was cloaked in a puffy cloth that looked soft as a cloud.

Myla’s world. A world that was half of his heritage. One he had never thought to see.

Myla’s soft touch on his shoulder brought him back to reality. “Damon, are you okay?”

Ripping his eyes from the scene before him, he pulled her close. “I am now that you are safe. It was foolish for you to come back here alone.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand what happened. These men—” she waved, indicating the men on the ground, “—they wanted my journal. It contains the proof of InterCorp’s crimes, but I can’t believe Carrie would have anything to do with this.”

“Carrie?” He pulled her deeper into the shadows. “Who is this?”

Myla took a deep breath. “I had to call her, to ask—but I never imagined. Then the men came and I ran…”

She looked away, and Damon wrapped his arms around her. “Let me take you back. With me you will be safe.”

Her hand came up to rest against his cheek, the sad set of her eyes tugging at his heart. “Don’t you see? They knew I came back and they will continue to look for me. I have to tell the others at E.I. what I’ve learned and meet with the government officials before InterCorp’s people manage to kill me.”

Having her in such danger was too much. He grabbed her arms. “It is no longer important. Come with me. These people who seek to harm you will never find you in my jungle.”

“Yes they will, Damon.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and he caught it with his thumb. “There is nowhere left for us to hide. The technology from my world will find us no matter where we go. The danger you face now will only get worse if I am with you. This has to stop.”

“It will. For now, we must find safety.” He ran a hand down over his face, fighting the growing frustration. “I must know you are safe.”

“It will be better if I stay—”

Damon shook his head. He could not let her go alone. “Myla, you must wait until I can be with you, to protect you.” When she hesitated, he pressed on. “My people need you.”

She pulled out of his grasp. “We have to go back for the bags. Damon, I dropped them when I ran. All the supplies and medications are in the bags.”

The excitement her words provoked was impossible to ignore. His fear at finding her missing from his mother’s hut had only compounded the panic experienced at learning more in his tribe had fallen ill. Now, with her medicines, there was hope. “Take me to where they are.”

“This way.”

Damon followed her through the winding roads. Buildings and houses reached toward the sky, blocking the stars and the moon. Noise filtered out from every direction, ringing in his ears with a deafening staccato that made his head pound. Mixtures of various scents came to him on the air. Strong pungent odors that made him wrinkle his nose, and lighter intriguing aromas so foreign he wished to examine each one.