Diego traveled fast, but rather than use the sight of the leopard as he approached the tree Dean was in, he switched to the eagle’s vision. Instantly, he could see the man behind the cloaking device. Dean was on the branch overlooking the gorge, shouting to Billy to forget trying to see what killed the men. He was circling the branch with one arm as he leaned over to call out instructions.
Diego landed in the tree directly behind him just as Dean was straightening up, pulling himself into a less precarious position. He struck, catching Dean with one hand on the side of his face and jaw and the other around the back of his head. With no hesitation, he snapped Dean’s head up and around. He used lethal force, breaking the neck and then, in one move, leaping to the ground, holding Dean’s body in front of his.
Simultaneously, Billy transported from the gorge to the same exact location he’d started from. Again, his head and shoulders appeared and one leg partially. He slumped to the ground, clearly weak, not paying attention to his surroundings. Dean’s body was only a few feet from him, but he was so disoriented Billy didn’t spot him.
Cognizant of time passing, knowing soldiers had parachuted above Leila’s location, Diego attacked Billy, rising up from the forest floor to shove a knife into his skull, severing the spinal cord. It didn’t matter, with Russ and Bobby ahead on the trail, that Diego had left evidence that someone had been responsible for Billy’s death. Dean might have fallen from the tree and broken his neck. Jim looked as if his own talent had killed him. Not that Diego minded if Whitney knew he was responsible.
He took to the trees again, traveling the arboreal highway, using the cat’s speed and agility to leap from tree to tree to catch up to Russ and Bobby as quickly as possible. The two men were still hovering over Jim’s body, discussing what had killed him and waiting impatiently for Dean and Billy to show up.
Russ moved restlessly from spot to spot, leaving behind blackened needles and vegetation, revealing to Diego that the more the soldier became agitated, the hotter his internal fire became. He was uncomfortable and paced, turning continually into the wind in an effort to cool his body temperature.
From the tree overlooking the two men, he called the hawk and the owl. He summoned the bobcat and two families of raccoons. Bobby smelled overwhelmingly like a snake, and once he took to the ground, writhing and undulating, he appeared to be one. He hissed continually, his long-forked tongue darting out of the notch in his lip to test the air for chemicals. The owl launched herself from the tree stump she’d been observing the “snake” from. Her talons raked over the face of the snake, one hooking in the tongue and yanking viciously.
The red-tailed hawk ripped at the throat of the “snake,” tearing through flesh while six adult raccoons attacked the legs and feet. A bobcat snarled and clawed at one of the arms, crushing down with its bite. Bobby howled and thrashed, attempting to get to his feet, but the weight of the raccoons held him down. The raccoons paid particular attention to his feet, biting through his boots and tearing at his scaly skin.
Russ turned toward his downed companion, hurling small fireballs around the man in an effort to scare off the animals and raptors. That only seemed to incite them more, particularly the birds. Another owl arrived, the gray’s mate, ripping open Bobby’s face and tearing out one eye.
Russ yelled and threw more fireballs, this time attempting to hit the bobcat. The fiery sphere landed in the middle of Bobby’s stomach, and instantly, flames began to lick over his clothing.
Diego took advantage of the chaos, using his favorite throwing knife to end Russ. The soldier never saw it coming. Never realized he was in danger. He was staring in horror at his companion, trying to find a way to help him, when the knife penetrated his chest, the blade embedding in his heart. The second knife took him in the throat, and the third severed an artery in his thigh.
Diego retrieved the knives and put Bobby out of his misery before he once more took to the trees to get back to Leila.
10
Leila heard them coming a good ten minutes before the intruders reached her location. She was lying prone, her belly stretched across the ground, allowing her to not only hear Whitney’s soldiers coming but to feel them as they jogged along the trail. The path they took wasn’t a common one. It was located on the Campos property and wasn’t a proper road but a game trail used regularly by animals.
She counted five of them and she rechecked her weapons. A calm descended, the way it always did when she went into battle. She was used to fighting alone and relying only on herself. She wasn’t counting on Diego to return, although she knew he would. She trusted him. He would never leave her alone unless it couldn’t be helped. He was that kind of man.
A part of her was grateful Diego wasn’t with her. She knew if he was, her attention would be divided, and that was always a risk. With just herself to look after, she felt more confident. She did wish she was a strong telepath. She knew Diego was, but shecouldn’t reach him. He had to initiate. She wanted to warn him so when he made his way back to her, he wouldn’t run into an ambush. The thought made her more determined than ever to hunt and kill the approaching enemy.
She heard them when they were a mile out. They had stopped on the trail, presumably looking for tracks.
“Alex, you need to pick up the trail,” one said. He had the voice of someone used to issuing orders.
“Devin is the sniffer, Cooper, not me,” Alex protested.
She knew a sniffer had bear in him, and bears were the best at finding food, even miles away. Their sense of smell was up to three thousand times better than a human’s. She knew he would find her. How could he not? She was a human being, and no matter how many times she showered, she would still smell like a human being.
“You’re our tracker,” Cooper snapped, impatience coming through. “You can’t always leave everything up to Devin. You’re so lazy, Alex. Pull it together.”
“It’s not my fault that my DNA causes me to tire easily. You try having sloth, lion and owl monkey in you. All of them need to sleep sixteen or seventeen hours a day.” Alex sounded whiny.
Leila rolled her eyes. What had Whitney been thinking to put together a concoction like that? It was ridiculous.
“You were lazy before Whitney ever offered to have you in the program. They were going to toss your ass out because you couldn’t complete the requirements no matter how many chances they gave you.” Cooper’s voice was filled with contempt. “Did you think I wouldn’t read the evals on any soldier under me? I take my job seriously. You start looking for tracks, and you’d better find something that points us in the direction we need to go.”
“Come on, Alex,” another voice said. “We don’t want Russ’s team to find the girl before we do. They’ll get all the rewards if they bring her in.”
“All you think about is fucking some bitch,” Alex said. “Sheesh, Dillan, you can’t keep it in your pants for five minutes.”
“At least he’s thinking, not sleeping,” Cooper said. “Get moving, Alex. And don’t follow Devin. He wants to have access to those women as well.”
“More than one,” Dillan said. “Devin’s like me.”
“Lying, saying whatever you think the bitch wants to hear so you can fuck her,” Alex said. “Yeah, you two are a real winning pair.”
“Just because you can’t get it up doesn’t mean the rest of us aren’t men,” Dillan snapped.
