Chapter Thirteen
Thebad spiritwas at it again. Groaning, Felix threaded his fingers through his hair as he marched ahead of the group. As much as he wanted to prove that thebad spiritwould not win, it definitely appeared that it would. No matter what, he couldn’t allow that to happen.
Everything had gone wrong, it seemed, and it had started when he first met Miss Katrina Landon. Perhaps she was really thebad spirithis Indian friends had spoken about. After all, she had a way of making his emotions jump from one extreme to the next in just a matter of minutes. She was a viper, plain and simple. She’d slithered into his heart and wrapped her coils around it, squeezing the life right out of him.
Unfortunately, Dado had commented that thebad spiritdidn’t like Katrina. So obviously, it wasn’t her.
All he wanted was to get this trek over with. Of course, then he’d have to return to England. He didn’t want to return, but it was expected of him. It was his duty. There was no way around it.
These past years, he’d been living in the nearest thing to a paradise that he’d ever find. He was able to live as he’d wanted and didn’t have to answer to anyone. He earned money doing what he loved. Now his fun was coming to a close, and of course, he had to let a woman like Katrina Landon bring his last big adventure to a crashing end.
He glanced back at his group and realized he was punishing them all by walking fast. Of course, there was no way his foul mood would allow him to take smaller, slower steps today. Irritation filled him once again.Thank you very much, Miss Landon!However, he still needed to protect them. All of them.
As much as Katrina would like to think he didn’t have a heart, he did. When he’d discovered Paulo was missing, worry grew inside of him, making him restless. Felix had his men go in groups and search for their friend. When there was no sign of where Paulo could have gone, frustration was the emotion taking over Felix. He wanted to scream or hit something. He also wanted to throw his hands in the air and give up, but that was one thing he couldn’t do.
Once again, the words from Mr. Faro echoed in Felix’s ears.“Something magical has taken over the jungle.”
Gnashing his teeth, Felix was determined that thismagicalthing would not take over the jungle, and especially not his crew. Even if he had to put them all in one tent to sleep tonight, he would not lose them.
He led them into another clearing and raised his hand to stop. “We’ll rest here for a spell and have lunch.” He turned to his men, his gaze moving to each one. “Emilio, Pete—you two find us more fruits and nuts. Carlos and Alexio, you two gather firewood. The rest of you set up the things we need to build a fire.”
Katrina stood with her eyes on him, wringing her hands against her middle. Exhaustion was apparent in her drooped limbs. He tried ignoring her sad eyes. He wasn’t in the mood to explain to her how her words had hurt him so much this morning. Perhaps he shouldn’t have pushed her so hard. His men could handle it. She—the pampered daughter of a wealthy plantation owner—could not.
He moved away from her to gather whatever he could that would help set up camp, but she followed.
“Felix? What do you want me to do?” she asked with a squeaky voice.
He briefly peeked at her over his shoulder. “Find something to sit on. You look tired.” Felix refused to study her for too long for fear he’d feel guilty. But he had a right to be upset, and he wouldn’t feel responsible for his actions.
First Felix helped Carlos and Alexio with firewood, and then he hurried to pick some fruit. When he returned, his men had gathered around the small burning fire. Piles of fruits and nuts were placed nearby. Two of his men were busy breaking open the shells to separate the nuts.
Katrina sat on a rock, staring at the fire. Her frown deepened, and the melancholy on her expression tugged at his heart. He shook off the feeling and set the items down that had been stacked in his arms.
As he scanned the area again, something eerie crawled up his spine. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what had bothered him. Once more, he skimmed over their camp, being more cautious this time. His attention stopped on a pile of fruit nearby. They were amongst the ones his men had brought, but he wasn’t sure just what made these appear so different.
Felix’s stomach grumbled. He hadn’t had anything to eat, and the fruit appeared tantalizing. His mouth watered. He knelt by the pile of fruit and picked up a banana. Just as he started to peel it, Katrina shrieked and jumped toward him, knocking the banana out of his hand.
“Miss Landon, what is the meaning of your outburst?” he grumbled.
Her face was white and eyes wide as she shook her head. “I... don’t think you should eat that fruit.”
“Why?”
“Because... um... it’s not the right color.”
He rolled his eyes. She couldn’t possibly bethatfoolish, could she? As he opened up his mouth to snap at her, his gaze landed on the banana. Finally, his mind cleared, and he realized it was the wrong color.
Hesitantly, he lifted it and sniffed it. The fruit didn’t smell right, either. He moved his focus back to Katrina. How could she have possibly known this fruit might have made him sick?
Murmurs from his men circled the group, each nodding in agreement as they looked at the banana.
