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Belinda couldn’t help the shiver that passed through her. It looked like they were going to spend the night, in the dark, on the ground, with their enemies right beside them. She wasn’t sure she could do it.
“You can do this, baby,” John whispered, as though he’d read her mind.
She shook her head. She was weary, bruised and emotional. The beauty of the jungle was gone for her now. All she wanted to do was go home.
“Yes, you can.” He was so adamant in his belief that she was almost convinced.
They sat, unmoving and silent, as they listened to the men set about clearing the ground behind the palms that flanked the two fallen trees. They couldn’t be more than ten feet away from John and Belinda’s hiding place, making it impossible for them to sneak past the men’s camp without being caught. Even if they did manage to slip away, it would be dark and they would only get lost, or worse, eaten when they stumbled over something they shouldn’t have. No, it looked like they were stuck for the night. Stuck in their tiny shelter, hoping that nothing deadly crawled over them. At least, with the two tree trunks flanking them, there was no chance of a tapir walking over them.
The men built a fire, and smoke wafted out into the jungle as they settled down around it for the night. John slowly, and silently, inched into a sitting position beside her. He put his mouth to her ear.
“We’re close enough that the fire will keep the predators away from us too.”
He was right. It was a welcome plus in a situation that was perilous. The smell of cooking meat and fish wafted towards them, making Belinda’s stomach rumble loudly. She pressed her hands to it and hoped they wouldn’t hear.
John wrapped an arm around Belinda’s shoulder, and she leaned into him. She closed her eyes and tried not to breathe in the smell of cooking food. So close and yet so far away. It was agony. They sat there, listening to the men, as night fell. The light of the fire close to them meant that they weren’t swallowed by darkness. It also scared away the predators. Apart from the odd insect, they were left alone. Every now and then, John would give her a summary of what the men were saying. They’d moved on from boasting and posturing, to talk of women. She didn’t care. She pressed her cheek to John’s chest and let the sound of his heartbeat drown out everything else. Its steady rhythm soothed her and, against all odds, she fell asleep.
Chapter 26
Beast sat still, leaning against the log and holding Belinda while she slept. He knew that exhaustion, trauma and hunger had made her weak, and sleep was a good healer. Food would be better. And that was exactly what he intended to get for her as soon as the men fell asleep.
He listened as they stoked the fire. Their conversations became increasingly offensive the more they drank. By the time they bedded down for the night, not one of them was sober. Beast gave them plenty of time to fall into a deep sleep. Which they did without problem. The men weren’t worried about danger. The fire was roaring and they were well armed. Beast knew this because they’d spent quite some time boasting about all the things they’d do to a jaguar if it attacked them that night.
Once he was certain everyone was sound asleep, he slowly, carefully lowered Belinda to the sheet beneath them and then crept out of their hiding spot. After nights spent moving around in complete darkness, it was easy to see clearly by the light of the fire. He took his time sneaking up on his prey, although even if he’d crashed through the brush, he doubted they would have heard him. They were out cold. Drunk, well fed and reassured by the flames.
There were four camp beds around the fire, the kind with canvas stretched over a lightweight metal frame. Each held a sleeping man. For a minute, Beast was tempted to take his knife to each of them. They’d were definitely part of the kidnapping gang and showed no compunction about taking Belinda back to their boss. He would have liked to say his conscience stopped him from killing the men in cold blood, but really it was more of a practical decision—he wasn’t sure he’d be able to kill them one at a time without waking the others.
He tiptoed around their camp, noting everything he saw. Two men slept cuddled up to empty bottles of booze. One man was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. And the last had fallen asleep with his hand down the front of his pants. Beast scanned the area, especially around their beds, looking for supplies. There was nothing.
Frustration made his gut clench. There had to be something somewhere. And then he spotted them. Four canvas daypacks hanging in a clump from a nearby tree, wrapped in mosquito netting to keep out the bugs. A tight smile spread over his face as he made his way to the bags.
They weren’t large, so Beast cut the netting and took all four. As he turned to go back to Belinda, one of the men groaned and tossed around on his bed. Beast froze, waiting for him to settle. He didn’t. Instead, he struggled out of bed and staggered towards the nearest tree to empty his bladder. Beast ducked low, using one of the other men for cover. The guy staggered back to his bed and landed on it, face first. He was sound asleep within seconds. Beast didn’t hesitate. He was on his feet and rushing back to Belinda before anyone else could wake up.
She was exactly where he’d left her, curled on her side on the dirty sheet, her blonde hair fanned out around her and that silly silver dress catching the golden light from the fire, even though she’d had the sense to turn it inside out. He’d had to cut one of the legs off her stolen jeans to bandage her knee, and she’d insisted in smothering the exposed skin in mud before they set off into the forest. She told him it would help keep insects off her.
It was hard to believe he was looking at the same woman who walked red carpets in millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds. A woman who wore dresses that cost more than the average person spent on a car. A few days ago, he would have sworn there was nothing more to Belinda Collins than premieres and photo opportunities. Now, he knew better. As he crouched beside her, it occurred to him that she hadn’t complained once during their escape. Not once. She’d kept on going, weathering everything that came at her and staying strong no matter what she had to endure. No one would ever guess that the sunny princess of Hollywood had a spine of steel. But she did. And she was smart, too. They wouldn’t have made it this far if it hadn’t been for her.
Beast’s chest felt strangely tight at the thought. Belinda Collins was pure, solid gold. A treasure. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d even look at him twice once they got out of the jungle. It gave him a shock to think that he would want her to look at him. They were poles apart. Yet he couldn’t imagine meeting a more interesting, strong and capable woman than the one asleep at his feet.
He took a breath and banished his wandering thoughts. If they wanted to put some distance between them and the men, they had to get moving—and he knew she wasn’t going to like travelling at night.
“Belinda,” he whispered, stroking her hair from her face.
Her eyes snapped open and she froze. She blinked twice before she realised who was with her.
“John?”
“Hey, baby, I’ll help you sit up.” He put
his hands under her arms and tugged her into a sitting position.
“What’s going on?” She kept her voice barely above a whisper. Beast held up the bags by way of an answer. Her eyes went wide. “Did you kill them?”
He would have reprimanded her for thinking so little of him if he hadn’t had exactly that thought. “Not this time. I robbed them.”
“Are they still there?” She looked over in the direction of the fire.
“Yeah, they’re out cold.”
