I moved up beside Ryland, using my forearms to drag myself along the ground without getting up, a neat trick I’d learned at boot camp -- a get in shape kind of deal I’d attended once.Diego kept pace with me, and when I realized he looked like he was mimicking my elbow crawl I had to stifle a burst of laughter.
“Can you see what it is?”I made sure to keep my voice a soft whisper.
Ryland shook his head, not taking his eyes off the patch of grass.“Not yet.”
Common sense told me I should feel terrified, laying on the dirt in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger at my side, and the fact that I didn’t scared me all over again.I still wasn’t entirely sure he was one of the good guys.
A flash of color caught my attention.Someone emerged from the bushes across the way, quickly followed by another.One of them had a crossbow dangling carelessly from his hand, a quiver of arrows strung across his back.Based on that, I guessed those were two of the guys who’d been trying to find me earlier.
My eyes widened in terror, and Diego let out a barely audible growl.
Ryland stiffened, his good hand grasping tight around a tuft of grass.“Those the guys who shot at you?”
I nodded.“By the looks of that crossbow, I think they must be, but there were at least four of them chasing me after they missed the first shot.”
He narrowed his eyes, raking the clearing from side to side with a hard gaze.“I don’t see anyone else.There’s five of them altogether.They probably split up.These guys must have circled back after they lost sight of you.They never got eyes on me, so they don’t know there’s two of us.”
“So what do we do now?”I wrapped my fingers around Diego’s collar to make sure the dog didn’t decide to get up and take a run at the poachers.I had no doubt they’d shoot the dog without hesitation.
“We wait.”His mouth set in a grim line.“I’m in no condition to fight and we’re outnumbered.”
I reached back and pulled my phone out of my pocket.Even without cell service it had its uses.Holding it in front of me, I managed to snap a half dozen pictures before the two made their way to the far side of the clearing and disappeared back into the forest.
“Good idea.If the pictures aren’t too blurry, we might be able to get a positive ID on them, and the GPS and time stamps will place them right here.”Ryland sounded impressed, and somehow that made my insides feel warm.
This was not good.I didn’t do people, and I certainly didn’t do men.They were too unpredictable and definitely too likely to turn on me just when I started to trust them.
Diego let out a low whine, and I realized I was gripping his collar too tight.
“Sorry, buddy.”I loosened my grip and patted the patient dog on his head.
“You okay?”Ryland gave me a quizzical look.
“Fine.I’m fine.”Just so long as he didn’t try to charm me.Or smile at me.Or maybe breathe the air within half a mile of me.Yup, just fine.
“Okay then.Let’s move out but keep as quiet as you can.We don’t want them to know we’re here.”
“Right.”Quiet I could do.
We made our way along the edge of the clearing, the going slow.Diego stayed close to my side, picking his way through the thick underbrush.He seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation.Now he was a male I could depend on.
After we got through the opening, it was smooth sailing.We could still hear the two poachers up ahead of us, crashing along the trail and making little attempt to disguise their passage.The noise they were making masked any sound Ryland or I might make.
Ryland found a deer trail heading in the general direction of the beach and motioned me to follow him.Other than the occasional root or fallen limb, the way was clear of any obstacles.
I stayed a few paces behind Ryland, letting him set the pace.It gave me a chance to observe him without his being aware of it.If I were honest with myself, I’d admit I found the view of his butt more than a little pleasing.
He covered the distance with a long easy stride that was almost mesmerizing.His arms dangled at his sides, the wound not seeming to hinder him all that much.He moved with the effortless grace of a man comfortable with his own body.No excess movement, no awkward motions.
I glanced down at Diego.Just like the mutt, Ryland didn’t seem to stop and wonder if it was possible to do something.He just did it.
* * *
“We should be able to see what’s going on from here.”Ryland motioned me to his side.He lay on his belly at the edge of a cliff overlooking the beach.A slash of underbrush rose from a narrow ledge about two feet down from the top, screening us from anyone below who looked up.
I peered through the thick foliage and spotted my kayak right where I’d left it.That alone was enough to make me happy.I’d fully expected the expensive watercraft to be in pieces.“You’re wrong.They haven’t touched my kayak.”
The Zodiac was still on the beach, and three rough looking men stood around it, casually chatting and smoking.Farther out in the ocean, past a series of rocks sticking up in the water, a larger ship swayed at anchor.It must have sailed in after I’d beached the kayak, or I would have seen it when I first arrived.With a ship that size, the poachers could make their way anywhere up or down the coast before making landfall.
