Echoes at Dawn (24 page)

Even the smell of death hovered close by. Grace drew it
into herself, pulling all the blackness away from the baby, replacing it with gentle warmth, encouragement and the goodness that had seemed so distant to Grace until the last few days.

She drew on the strength that Rio had given her. The will to live that he’d inspired. And she gave it to this child.

Weakness invaded her body. She moaned with the weight of it. It was suffocating, pressing down relentlessly. Despair tugged at her, sucking her into a black hole she’d sworn she’d never return to.

She wobbled and felt Browning hold her up, supporting her as she slumped. But it was useless. Grace lacked the strength even to hold up her head.

She was no longer herself, but this tiny baby barely clinging to life. She was cognizant of the need to break away and summoned the last of her strength to sever the connection between woman and child.

A lusty cry split the air and Sumathi gasped in wonder. Grace stared dully down at the baby, who now kicked and threw her arms about as if demanding to be fed that instant. Her color was better and she no longer looked as if death was winning the battle.

But as she glanced up at Browning and saw the paleness of his face and the horror in his eyes, she knew that death had found a new victim.

RAGE
was a terrible, black thing, swelling out of control as Rio cut a path through the jungle. Terrence was barely able to keep up, and Decker, Alton and Diego followed close behind but no one was able to keep pace with their team leader.

The message had been simple. Browning had Grace and now Grace needed Rio. Browning had sounded bleak and resigned through the com. Fear as Rio had never experienced had struck him and then black rage that he’d been betrayed by a man he trusted. One of his
team
.

They weren’t just a team. They lived, breathed the same air, they had a bond unexplainable by most. And yet Browning had taken Grace. Had put her in unimaginable danger. He’d lied to Rio. Lied to his teammates.

For that alone he deserved to die.

But Browning had messed with Grace. The one thing Rio considered his own. A woman he’d die protecting.

He’d put his hands on Grace. He’d frightened her and God knows what else. He’d touched what belonged to Rio.

“Rio, man, you have to slow down,” Terrence called. “You’ll kill him before we get the full story.”

Rio paused only long enough to stare coldly back at his first, a man he trusted implicitly, but then he was fast learning that trust could be broken as easily as a bone.

“He’s going to die. There is no doubt about that. The question is how long he suffers before I kill the son of a bitch.”

Diego let out a curse and surged forward, trying to overtake Rio. But Rio resumed his ruthless pace through the jungle toward the southeastern bank of the river. His pulse was like a hammer, pounding furiously through his veins.

What had Browning done? And why?

He’d entertained countless scenarios. That Browning had turned traitor and delivered Grace into Hancock’s hands. But then why would he tell Rio where to find Grace and that she needed him?

He charged through the last of the thick overgrowth separating him from the village that was just down the river from his compound. His gaze swept the perimeter, his rifle raised and ready to lay waste to any threat.

Villagers scattered. Sounds of distress and fear rose, and children were quickly herded away toward the cover of the jungle. But Rio wasn’t focused on them. His gaze found Browning, standing outside one of the huts, unarmed, stiff and straight as if awaiting judgment.

Rio charged toward him, but Browning didn’t flinch away. Didn’t even try to defend himself when Rio drove him to the ground.

“Where is she?” Rio growled.

His voice was of someone possessed. A product of his demonic rage and overwhelming fear for Grace.

He grasped Browning’s shirt, yanked him upward until their faces were close.

“Inside,” Browning said, sorrow thick in his voice.

Rio dropped him and then got up, running for the door. He yanked it open and saw Grace lying on the floor, a
young woman hovering over her. Across from Grace on a tiny pallet lay an infant swaddled in a blanket.

“Get away from her,” he snarled.

He dropped to his knees, nearly shoving the frightened woman out of the way. Grace lay completely still, pale, her breathing so shallow he could barely see her chest rise and fall. He felt for a pulse and it fluttered ever so lightly, erratic and weak.

Oh God. What had she done?

He picked his head up as the door opened and he locked on to the guilt in Browning’s eyes. Terrence stood behind Browning, his face a mask of rage.

Terrence shoved Browning through the opening. “Tell him what you did.”

The woman scrambled up and ran toward Browning. She threw herself between him and Rio and clung tenaciously as if trying to protect him.

Gently, Browning disentangled the woman and pushed her away. “No, Sumathi. You knew this would happen. A trade. My life for my daughter’s. You knew he would kill me for this betrayal.” He cast a look filled with regret and sorrow toward where Grace lay. “I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Rio rose, his hands trembling. “You did this to her? After seeing what it did, you made her do this?”

Sumathi thrust her chin up. “No! He didn’t make her. It was her choice. He brought her here, but it was her choice!”

“Sumathi, be quiet,” Browning said in a low, firm voice. “Take our daughter and leave. Go to your parents’ hut and stay there until this is over.”

She started to protest, but Browning quieted her with a look and an upheld hand.

Sumathi flew toward where the baby lay, gathered the sleeping infant in her arms, and with a last sorrowful look in Browning’s direction, left the hut.

Rio couldn’t wrap his head around any of it. There was a lot he didn’t know but all he could think of was the fact
that Grace lay a few feet away and she was in a bad, bad way. And his teammate was at the heart of it all.

“You have thirty seconds to explain yourself,” Rio gritted out.

Browning gestured in the direction Sumathi had fled. “She’s my woman and she had my child. Ana. But she’s been sick since birth. She’s never gained weight. She grows weaker by the day. The doctors say it’s failure to thrive and that we should do this and that but nothing has worked and she was dying.”

The frustration in Browning’s voice mounted and echoed through the small room.

“When we pulled the mission to retrieve Grace, it gave me hope. After hearing of what she could
do
, I thought, my God, she’s a miracle. She could save my daughter. And I knew then, that I’d do anything at all, even betray you, to save her.”

A sick knot formed in Rio’s stomach. “Did you force her to do this? What did you threaten her with?”

Browning’s head snapped up and his eyes blazed. “I didn’t threaten her. I gave you false information so I could set it up to get her out of the compound without raising suspicion. I brought her here and then explained why. She was frightened and confused at first. Then she seemed resigned. Once she saw Ana, she couldn’t refuse. I knew she shouldn’t have done it. God, I knew it, but I didn’t care because I also knew she was my daughter’s only chance.”

There was a mixture of emotions on the rest of Rio’s men’s faces. Anger. Betrayal. But also understanding. And indecision. As if they couldn’t make up their mind to be judge and jury over a man desperate to save his daughter.

But Rio couldn’t give him a pass. Not when it meant Grace could die. May even be dying now. Browning had broken the trust of the team. He’d betrayed them all. How could they ever trust him again? How could he possibly trust Grace to Browning’s protection now that he’d shown he would sacrifice her to achieve his ends?

Rio wanted to rage at him. Wanted to kill him. But he couldn’t bring himself to give in to the urge when there was so much resignation in Browning’s eyes. A man would do a lot to protect what belonged to him. Rio didn’t fault the intent, but he sure as hell took issue with the method.

Knowing he had to see to Grace, he turned away from Browning, his action significant in that he no longer looked at or acknowledged his former teammate. His heart was heavy as he bent and gently picked up Grace’s limp body from the mat.

As he walked toward the door of the hut, Diego, Alton, Decker and Terrence all stood to the side to let him pass. Browning stood, unmoving, and Rio walked by him without a word or a glance.

Browning had made his choice. It was a choice that he was right to make, but Rio couldn’t forgive it all the same. Not when what he loved had been sacrificed for what Browning loved and valued.

Now Browning would live with the consequences. As would Rio.

Silently, Terrence, Decker, Diego and Alton followed Rio from the hut, leaving Browning inside. Rio stepped into the sunlight and then waited for Terrence to catch up.

“See if there is a boat that will take us back. I want the journey to be as smooth as possible for Grace instead of us making a rough trek through the jungle the way we came.”

An older man, his skin worn and leathery from a lifetime in the sun, stepped forward. He wore baggy, torn pants and a dirty T-shirt. He was missing at least two of his front teeth but he regarded Rio somberly.

“I have a boat.”

“My woman has great need,” Rio said in a quiet voice. “I’ll pay you well for the use of your boat.”

The old man shook his head and then stepped forward. He placed his palm down over Grace’s forehead and murmured a quiet incantation. Then he stepped away and motioned for Rio to follow.

“T, you’re with me,” Rio said. To the others he said, “Meet us back at the house. I want the perimeter secure.”

The boat was small, one guided with poles, though there were other motorboats pulled up on shore. Rio stepped carefully into the boat, keeping his weight in the center as he gently eased down with Grace held tightly in his arms. Terrence came aboard, followed by the old man, who then gestured for a young boy to come. The boy clambered on, moving swiftly to the back.

The old man and the young boy worked in unison, positioning the poles and pulling the boat into the current. They kept close to shore, in the shallower water, poles moving swiftly.

“How is she?” Terrence asked in a low voice.

Rio stared down at Grace’s still face. She was unmoving against him. She wasn’t moving enough air for him to even notice the rise of her chest. “I don’t know. She wasn’t strong enough for this, Terrence. I could kill Browning for this. She’s already been through so much. How could he ask her to do more? To risk her life this way?”

Terrence sighed and looked away. The big man was struggling. Rio knew him too well to be fooled.

“Say whatever it is that’s on your mind,” Rio said grimly.

Terrence looked back. “There’s no doubt what he did was wrong. I’ve gotten attached to this little lady. She’s strong. She’s a fighter. I like her style. Part of me wanted to stomp Browning’s miserable ass into a paste and feed him to the crocs.”

“And the other part?”

“Understood why he did what he did.”

Rio nodded. “That’s fair. If it were only that, I could overlook it. But he betrayed the team. He went against us. He chose dishonor over unity. That I can’t forgive.”

“Yeah, I don’t disagree. I guess I just get why he did it.”

“I let him live,” Rio said simply. “He’s free to make his life with his woman and child. But he’ll never work for me again.”

“That’s fair,” Terrence said. “Some wouldn’t have been as understanding as you.”

Rio’s lip curled into a snarl. “I wanted to kill him for daring to touch her. For frightening her and for one minute making her doubt me. Because he led her away on my order. I told her to go with him if he told her to. I told her to do it. And now she has to believe I fed her to the wolves. He’s lucky that my concern for Grace overshadowed my rage because I wanted to shed his blood.”

“She wouldn’t have believed that,” Terrence said in a quiet voice. “No matter what line of bullshit he fed her, once she was there, she knew you would have never sent her to do that.”

Rio returned his gaze to Grace and then leaned down to press his lips to her forehead. “I hope you’re right, T.”

As soon as the boat neared the dock in the alcove off the river that led to Rio’s compound, the old man leaned forward, waited until the boat got close enough and then jumped onto the aged wood and held the boat against the dock with his pole so the others could get off.

Terrence went first and reached down to collect Grace from Rio. Rio then hauled himself out of the boat and stopped beside the old man.

“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

The old man nodded formally. “Ana is my granddaughter. This woman gave her back to me. My debt is still great. May the Great One be with her on her journey.”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Rio snarled.

The old man studied him for a long moment and then flashed a toothless smile. “No, I don’t suppose she will.”

He hopped down into the boat, and he and the boy maneuvered back into the main river channel to return to the village upriver.

Rio strode toward Terrence, who waited on the dock on the bank of the alcove, Grace still in his arms. Rio took her carefully from Terrence and cradled her close. He tucked his chin over her dark hair and began the climb up the stone walkway leading to the first security gate.

Fifteen minutes later, Rio stepped inside his house, some of the anxiety evaporating away. He was home. This was where he felt the safest. He had Grace back where she belonged. Now he had to make sure she got well again.

He laid Grace down in the bed where he’d made love to her just a day ago and tucked the covers around her chilled skin. He had no idea what to do for her. He had no idea to what extent she’d be ill.

Judging by what she’d said of the other illnesses and injuries she’d healed, she’d taken the baby’s ailment and made it her own. If the baby had been failing to thrive, for the next while, Grace would also struggle to thrive and survive. He just had to hope to hell she had the strength to fight long enough not to succumb to a losing battle.