Bodyguard: Ambush (Book 3) (29 page)

‘In the bush, strangers are welcomed
as family. You simply never know when
you
might need help.’ The Wolf
stood and returned the medical kit to its place in the supply pile.

‘So what are you and your men doing in
the park?’ asked Connor, putting his shirt back on. Revitalized by the meal, his
senses were returning and he noted none of the group wore park ranger uniforms.

‘We’re conservationists,’
replied the Wolf. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back and examine
that buffalo.’

‘But what
about contacting the authorities?’

‘That’s all in hand,’
assured the Wolf, picking up his rifle. ‘Abel has put a call in on the radio. The
best thing you two can do now is get some rest.’

With food in their bellies, Connor and Amber
were soon overcome by tiredness and it didn’t take much to persuade them to lie
down beneath one of the tarpaulins. Abel had laid out two bedrolls for them and before
their heads even hit the padded blankets they were asleep.

Connor entered such a deep slumber that he
struggled to rouse himself when he heard Amber arguing with someone.

‘But I need the toilet,’
insisted Amber.

‘Stay!’ the man was saying.

Connor rose up on his elbows and saw Amber
at the edge of the camp, attempting to get past one of the Wolf’s men, a
loose-limbed individual with tight-knit hair and bulging muscles that told of a hard
life rather than days in the gym.

‘Toilet,’ she repeated. ‘I
have to go.’

Immovable as stone, the man stared blankly
at her.

‘
Les toilettes
,’ Amber
repeated in French.

Comprehension lit up on the man’s face
and he grunted, pointing to a tree a few metres from the camp. Amber
hurried towards it, disappearing into the undergrowth. But
the man followed part-way, keeping a close eye on her.

‘
Arrêtez!
’ he called
after. ‘
Pas plus loin
.’

Connor sat up and rubbed his eyes. The sleep
had done him the world of good and his strength had somewhat returned. His side still
ached, though the tablets had dulled some of the pain. Glancing at his watch, he saw it
was past five o’clock in the afternoon. They’d been asleep for more than
four hours. Connor took another dose of painkillers, then looked round the camp for the
Wolf but couldn’t see him.
Surely a rescue party from the lodge should have
reached them by now?

Stepping out from under the tarpaulin,
Connor felt the call of nature himself and headed into the bush. But Abel appeared in
front of him, blocking his path.

‘Where you go?’ he asked.

‘Toilet,’ replied Connor, then
added for clarity, ‘
Les toilettes.
’

Abel moved aside. ‘Don’t go far.
Lions.’

Connor nodded and walked a few metres from
the camp. As he relieved himself against a tree, he glanced back over his shoulder. Abel
was watching him closely and an uneasy feeling crept over Connor. Something was wrong
here. While he was only too aware of the dangers of the African bush and wouldn’t
be surprised if there
were
lions nearby, he was beginning to feel more like a
prisoner than a guest.

When he returned to the camp, Amber was
sitting by the fire, her expression unreadable.

Connor sat down next
to her. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

She nodded and smiled. But the smile seemed
forced, more for the benefit of Abel and the muscleman still guarding the camp. Connor
wondered where the Wolf and the other two men were.
Perhaps they’d gone to
meet the rescue party?
It seemed logical. After all, the Wolf had been nothing
but hospitable towards them.

So why was his sixth sense for danger
twitching?

Abel poured them some tea from a beaten-up
kettle and handed them a packet of dry biscuits each. Then he strolled over to his
musclebound friend and the two chatted in hushed tones to each other, every so often
glancing in Connor and Amber’s direction. The two men seemed on edge. But Connor
reasoned that perhaps he was overreacting. Now he’d told them about the Black
Mamba and the rebel soldiers they were probably concerned for their own lives.

Amber rested her head affectionately on his
shoulder. Connor didn’t mind but found it strange that she was being so familiar
with him considering their circumstances. Then she whispered in his ear, ‘I need
to tell you something.’

Connor nodded his head imperceptibly so as
not to attract the attention of Abel or the other man.

‘I spotted some camouflage netting
when I went to the toilet. There were
six
elephant tusks hidden beneath
it.’

Connor immediately grasped the dangerous
situation that put them in.

‘The Wolf’s no conservationist.
He’s a poacher,’ said Amber under her breath.

It all made perfect sense now. The hidden
camp. The pile
of supplies. The high-powered
telescopic rifle. Even the enraged buffalo. Connor recalled seeing quite a few bullet
holes in the slain animal. At the time of the attack he’d heard only three shots,
but there had been some gunfire earlier in the distance. That suggested the bull was
already injured and hurting when they came across it. Shot no doubt by the Wolf.

Before making any rash decisions, Connor
needed to confirm his suspicions about their predicament. Leaving Amber by the fire, he
strolled over to Abel and his friend where they squatted at the boundary of the camp.
They stood at his approach, Abel’s eyes narrowing and the muscleman crossing his
arms.

‘Where’s the Wolf?’ asked
Connor nonchalantly.

‘On a bushwalk,’ Abel
replied.

‘When will he be back?’

‘Later.’

‘What about the authorities? When will
they be arriving?’

‘Soon.’

Gathering he’d get little more than
one-word answers from Abel, Connor tried a different tack.

‘Can I use your radio, please?’
he asked.

Abel shook his head.

‘But I need to contact the lodge to
–’

‘No radio,’ he cut in.

‘But Wolf said you –’

‘He has the
only radio.’

Connor realized he was being stonewalled. He
wouldn’t find out anything further from Abel or his tight-lipped companion.
However, he had all the answers he needed. The Wolf had said Abel had put a call in to
the authorities. But how could he if the Wolf had the
only
radio?

He returned to sit beside Amber. Finishing
his biscuits, he said under his breath, ‘We need to leave.’

‘Surely we’re safer here with
the Wolf and his men, than we’ll be out there alone?’ Amber questioned,
glancing nervously towards the savannah beyond the trees.

‘Possibly,’ Connor replied.
‘However, I believe we’re being held against our will. And I don’t
think they’ve called anyone for help.’

‘But the Wolf said –’

‘I know what he said, but I’m
certain he’s lying. Which means no one knows where we are, or even that
we’re still alive.’

Amber shook her head in disbelief.
‘Why would he lie to us?’

Connor looked at Amber. ‘He’s an
illegal
poacher. He has no interest in contacting the authorities. So we
have to leave while we can.’

‘Shouldn’t we wait until morning
at least?’

‘Who knows what they’ve got
planned for us? Besides, every hour that passes reduces our chances of getting out of
here alive. The rebels will soon have control of the park and, with the president likely
dead, they’ll try to take over the country. That means civil war.’

Amber nodded in
reluctant agreement to his plan. Connor squeezed her hand reassuringly, then stood up to
attract Abel’s attention.

‘We’re going for a rest,’
he said, yawning and putting his hands together in a mime of sleep. By now the sun was
low on the horizon, sending golden shafts of light through the copse’s canopy. In
less than an hour it would be dark.

Abel nodded, but kept his eye on them as
they made their way over to the tarpaulin shelter. Settling down on the bedrolls, Connor
and Amber feigned sleep. Convinced by their act, Abel and muscleman returned to their
conversation. A short while later Connor heard them engrossed in a game of
igisoro
, having dug pits in the earth to make a temporary playing board.
Connor nudged Amber and, as quietly as they could, they slid out of the back of the
shelter and into the undergrowth. Ideally he’d have liked to take some supplies
from the camp – at the very least a bottle of water – but he didn’t want to risk
arousing the men’s suspicions. As soon as they were hidden from view, Connor crept
with Amber between the trees towards the open savannah.

‘Where do you think you’re
going?’ growled a voice.

Connor and Amber stopped in their tracks as
the Wolf materialized in front of them, his rifle unslung. The two other men from the
camp stood behind him, menacing in their silence.

‘To the safari lodge,’ said
Connor, his tone defiant.

The Wolf glanced at the horizon, where the
sun was beginning to settle. ‘Too dangerous. Dusk is prime hunting time for lions
and hyenas.’

‘We’re
going anyway,’ Connor insisted, despite a frisson of fear running through his
veins at the mention of hyenas.

‘Not a wise decision. We spotted your
rebels patrolling the plain.’

‘Better the devil we know,’
replied Amber.

The Wolf frowned. ‘What do you mean by
that?’

‘You haven’t contacted the
authorities, have you?’ she accused.

The Wolf’s face remained impassive,
but there was a flicker of hesitation in his slate-grey eyes. ‘We’ve tried
to get through, but no one’s answering.’

‘We don’t believe you,’
said Amber, her temper rising. ‘You’re no conservationist! I’ve seen
your stash of ivory. Now let us through.’

She started to stride past, Connor keeping
close by her side, but one of the men blocked their path, a bloodied machete hanging
loose in his hand, the message chillingly clear.

The Wolf let out a heavy sigh and shook his
head regretfully. ‘If you’ve seen the ivory, then I’m afraid I
definitely
can’t let you go.’

‘We won’t tell anyone about
it,’ Connor assured him. ‘Or about you.’

‘I can’t take that risk,’
he replied with an apologetic yet cold smile. ‘That ivory’s worth over two
million dollars on the black market. If the authorities are brought in, I stand to lose
it all, including my freedom. So I’m sure you’ll understand why you must
stay in the camp. At least until the ivory’s been transported out of the
park.’

Amber glared at the
Wolf. ‘I thought you were a good man,’ she said bitterly. ‘But
you’re no better than those rebels out there. Killing innocent animals merely to
line your own pockets. You’re just a low-life
poacher
!’

The Wolf stared down his broad nose at her,
offended to the core. ‘
I’m
one of the last great game
hunters,’ he corrected her, his chest puffing up self-importantly. ‘Here in
Africa to face down the Big Five.’

With a grand sweep of his arm, he stepped
aside to reveal the severed head of the bull buffalo lying in the grass. Its dead eyes
stared blankly up at them, all its majestic might extinguished.

Proudly patting the buffalo’s highly
prized bossed horns, the Wolf declared, ‘Once I’ve completed my Big Five
collection, I promise to deliver you to the authorities, safe and sound.’

‘And when might that be?’ asked
Connor.

‘I’ve one more trophy to hunt
down,’ grinned the Wolf. ‘The elusive leopard.’