The Perfect Witness (28 page)

So do it now.

Concentrate.

She shut her eyes.

The closeness, the bonding, the feeling of being one …

Mandak!

She couldn’t see him. He was on the other side of the tent. But she could feel him. He was sliding forward, moving toward the tent, a knife in his hand. He was going to slit the canvas and slide inside.

But did Kobu know he was there?

Could he hear him?

She could feel her heart beat harder at the thought.

Try to find out.

She started crawling forward.

Sean was crawling frantically after her. “No,” he mouthed.

She ignored him. Thirty feet. She had to be at least within thirty feet.

She stopped and drew a deep breath.

Mandak was very close to the tent now.

Kobu.

She focused. If he was thinking and alert, it might mean he was aware of Mandak’s presence. She wouldn’t be able to read him, but she’d know that there—

He wasn’t thinking.

The tunnel was dark and smooth, whisking her inside.

Tiger.

He was thinking about a tiger, remembering how he’d felt when Praland had been taunting him.

Son of a bitch Praland.

He’d throw me to that tiger and laugh.

Throw me with that little whore and let him eat both of us.

Have to get Mandak and the woman.

Throw them to the tiger instead.

All Mandak’s fault, like the time he’d taken the children and made Kobu look foolish in front of Praland.

Kill the bastard. He should have done it then, and—

Tunnel closed. Tunnel closed.

Fear. Death.

Mandak!

Allie’s body stiffened, her spine arching with shock. She couldn’t breathe.

Mandak was in that tent with Kobu.

And Kobu was afraid for his life.

*   *   *

“BE VERY STILL.” MANDAK’S
knife pressed deep enough to bring blood to Kobu’s throat. “I get nervous when I’m surrounded by scum, and you wouldn’t want my hand to shake.”

“Bastard.” Kobu was breathing hard. “I’ll kill you.”

“You’re not in a position to hurl threats around. I’m very angry about what you did at Talboa. You need to be quiet and let me try to save your life.”

“Save my life? Do you think I’m a fool?”

“No. Well, maybe. I’d have to think about it. But I do know you have a certain natural cunning that might save your life. But I have to make sure that you’ll be trustworthy.” He said, “Now, we’re going to sit here, and I’m going to find out.”

“Filthy freak. Don’t you touch me.”

Mandak made a clucking noise. “Don’t be rude.” He drew a little more blood. “And I’ve no desire to touch you, particularly in that sewer of a brain. But I’ve no choice.”

He dove deep and clean. That was the only thing clean, he thought as he sorted out Kobu’s thinking processes. He reacted to the usual stimulus. No particular ogre of whom he was afraid. Praland came close, but Kobu was so arrogant he thought he could find a way to beat Praland and grow in his army.

That was something he’d have to change. He spent a few minutes altering that arrogance and creating a terrifying conviction that Praland would destroy him if he didn’t run.

He also had a hatred of Mandak because of past humiliations. Leave the dislike, eliminate the hatred. Add the belief that Mandak was often right.

Kobu’s ambitions were aimed solely on a local level and gaining favor with Praland. Give him a desire to spread his wings and maybe join up with a terrorist group in Iran.

Anything else?

He had a basic hatred of women.

That was dangerous for Allie. He couldn’t change a deep-seated prejudice without more time, but he could temper it. He could make Kobu have a contempt that would make him wish to demonstrate his superiority. Allie could play on that characteristic.

Enough?

Enough.

In this short time, Mandak wouldn’t be able to do a permanent fix. But it should last a week, possibly a month, and that should give them time to use Kobu to the fullest extent.

Now to bring him back around and start the manipulation.

Kobu opened his eyes. “You son of a bitch. What did you do to me?”

Dislike. Not hatred. Good.

He smiled. “I just did a little exploratory investigation. I told you, I have to make sure I can trust you. You don’t feel any different, do you?”

He frowned. “No.”

“Of course, you don’t. Now listen to me. I’m here to do us both a favor.”

“That’s crap.”

“No. I could have sliced your throat. I still could do that.” He took the knife away from Kobu’s throat. “But you have a better chance with me than you do with Praland. He doesn’t like failures. Has he been a little threatening?”

Stark fear. Panic.

Kobu moistened his lips. “Maybe.”

“I thought so. Bruker wants you out. You’re a dead man, Kobu.”

“Not if I bring Praland your head,” Kobu said viciously.

“But you won’t be able to do that. You’ve tried before.” He smiled. “And what if you somehow managed to kill me? You’re still walking a tightrope. The next time you fail Praland would be your last.” He paused. “Think about another scenario. The Devanez family deposits a hefty sum in your bank account, and you go off to some other organization that will appreciate you.”

A flicker of interest crossed his face. “Money?”

“Iran has use for men of your experience. I’m sure you’ve thought about it.”

“Yes,” he said slowly.

The implants were working with slick precision, Mandak thought.

“You could rise to the top in a place where you weren’t being smothered by Bruker. In a year, you might have a palace like Praland’s.”

“This is all lies and bullshit.”

But that wasn’t what he was thinking. Kobu was seeing himself with the power and the riches.

Yes.

It would take a considerable time to seal the deal, but he was on his way. Persuasion, bribery, a minimum of threats, making the desirable seem absolutely possible.

Go another step.

“You know a lot about Praland’s operation, and with the right backing, you might be able to walk in and take over. Have you thought of that?” He watched the excitement begin to stir. “You want the world, Kobu?” he asked softly. “I can give it to you. Let me tell you how I’m going to do it…”

*   *   *

“WHY HASN’T HE COME OUT
of there?” Allie’s hands clenched so hard, her nails bit into her palms. “It’s been over an hour. Maybe I should—”

“No,” Sean whispered. “Do nothing, Allie. Or so help me, I’ll knock you out and carry you back to the jeep. You said you weren’t going to take any action unless necessary.”

But that was before she’d had to lie here in the grass for over an hour with her nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Easy. There hadn’t been any noise. Surely, that was a good sign.

How the hell did she know what was a good sign? Kobu could have stabbed Mandak and was watching him bleed to death.

Not likely. Calm down. Mandak was smart, and he thought he knew what he was doing. She was praying he was right.

Dammit, she should have forced him to let her go with him. This was tearing her apart, and she couldn’t bear it one more—

The bonding.

He was moving!

He was out of the tent and moving into the forest.

“Out.” She nudged Sean, then started wriggling backward until they reached the thicker trees. Then she jumped to her feet and started running the direction where they’d left the jeep. They moved at top speed until they were almost halfway to the road.

She stopped. “Wait.”

She listened.

No sound from the camp behind them. No alert from Kobu from his tent.

Good? Bad?

She didn’t care what Mandak had left behind him in that tent. He was out of there. He was alive. That was all that mattered. “Mandak’s supposed to call you, Sean. But he probably won’t do it until he’s away from the camp.”

“Why should I call him?” Mandak was suddenly beside them, and his voice had a distinct edge. “When the two of you were practically on top of me. I was too busy with Kobu to sense Allie was close while I was in the tent, but it hit me in the face when I left him. I may break your neck, Sean.”

“Go ahead.” He sighed. “I expected it. But I might point out that she’s not very malleable, and since you’re the one who had control of her for all these years, it’s more your fault than mine.”

“Let’s get out of here before you start arguing,” Allie said. She glanced back over her shoulder. Just the glare of the campfire. Still no movement. “It’s very quiet. Either what you did worked, or you killed him or tied him up.”

“I didn’t kill him. I didn’t tie him up. We’ll see if it worked. He could still turn his men loose to hunt us down. If he doesn’t, we have a chance that I managed to pull it off.” He grabbed Allie’s wrist and was running toward the jeep. “There’s always a possibility of a backlash. Though I do believe I got him.” He nudged Allie toward the backseat. “Keep low.” He jumped in the passenger seat. “Get us out of here, Sean.”

“Where am I supposed to go?”

“Where you should have gone to begin with,” he said grimly. “That cave in the mountains. I gave Kobu his options. Now I have to keep an eye on what Kobu is going to do in the next day or so.”

*   *   *

THE CAVE WAS ONLY SEVEN TO
eight miles up the winding road of the mountain, and they reached it within an hour.

Allie got out of the jeep and walked to the edge of the cliff to look down at the jungle below. “Still no sign of activity in the camp. This was a good spot to spy on Kobu’s men. I can see Kobu’s campfire from here.”

“You could see it a lot closer from where you decided to perch next to Kobu’s tent,” Mandak said curtly. He took her duffel out of the jeep. “You were almost on his lap.”

“Uh-oh.” Sean looked from Mandak to Allie, then moved toward the cave. “I think I’ll get out of the line of fire and build a fire of our own inside.”

“By all means,” Mandak said. “Maybe you’ll do that right.”

He was still angry. He hadn’t spoken more than the bare minimum since they’d left Kobu’s camp. She turned to look at him. Even in the dim moonlight, she could see the tautness of his jaw. Too bad. She was angry, too. “I wasn’t as close to Kobu as you were,” she said defiantly. “And then you blame me for not going meekly up the mountain and letting you do whatever you wanted to do.”

“Yes, I do.” His eyes were glittering. “Because it’s important you stay alive. I set it up so that you wouldn’t be at risk.”

“Because Renata and your precious family say that I have to be protected, so I’m able to give my all for your ledger? That’s hogwash.”

He was suddenly next to her, gripping her shoulders. “Renata and the family have nothing to do with it. I won’t let you—” His lips were covering hers, hard, hot. He lifted them, then his lips were on the side of her throat. “This is what it’s all about. Maybe it should be because of the family, but it’s not.” His tongue was in the hollow of her throat. “It’s you, dammit. I think it’s always been you.”

She couldn’t breathe. The muscles of her stomach were tightening, her breasts hardening. What was happening to her? She wanted to flow into him, melt into him. She was panting as she looked up at him. “No.” It was more of a gasp than a word. “Not true…”

“The hell it’s not.” His hands were tangled in her hair. “Everything else may be screwed up and crazy, but that’s clear as crystal to me.”

“Well, it’s not clear to me.” She tried to back away but immediately wanted to go back to him. “Nothing about the way we are together is clear. It’s probably about that damn bonding or the way you—”

“I’ve never wanted to go to bed with anyone I’ve bonded with before. Okay, so we’ve been intimate in ways that couples seldom reach. But that doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with it.”

“It doesn’t mean there’s anything right.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” His tongue moved delicately across her lips. “You wouldn’t be sorry, Allie. I’d make it good for you.”

Her lips were tingling, throbbing at that touch of his tongue. Her hair held taut in his fingers was strangely erotic. Everything about him was erotic, she thought dazedly. His touch, the musk-lemon smell of him, the heat, the hardness. All so familiar and yet dizzyingly exotic and different. She could feel her breasts firm, swell, push against him. She wanted to tear open her shirt, put his hands on them, let his mouth and tongue bite and toy and suck.

Then his hands fell away from her hair, and he started to unbutton her shirt. “Say yes,” his voice was thick. His hands dropped and went behind her to cup her bottom and draw her closer to him. “You want it. I can feel how much you want it. How much
I
want it. It’s always been there burning in the background for us.”

“That’s not all that’s been between us,” she said unsteadily. “But right now, I’m so confused that I can’t tell what’s right or wrong for me.”

“I’m right for you. Let me show you how right.” His voice was soft, persuasive, sensual. His blue eyes glittered with intensity. “I’ll come inside you, and I’ll make your body—” He stopped, his eyes shutting tight. “Son of a bitch.” His eyes flicked open. “Dammit to hell.” His hands dropped away from her, and said roughly, “Button up your shirt.”

She stood there, unmoving, staring at him in bewilderment.

He muttered a curse. His fingers were buttoning her shirt himself.

Her nipples were still stinging, exquisitely sensitive, as they brushed against the cotton of the shirt. “Mandak?”

“Give me a minute.” He took a step back. His chest was moving back and forth with the harshness of his breathing. “I can’t believe I’m being this idiotic. It’s not as if I’d hurt you. You’d like it, dammit. No, you’d love it. I could make you go crazy. There are the things I can do to you that would make you never want to stop.” He paused. “And I would use them. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you. And I just realized I was going to do anything and everything to get what I wanted. I could see that you were uncertain. Good God, why shouldn’t you be?” His lips tightened. “I wanted you too much to care.”