Carlos stood and faced Felix. “What are you thinking, Knightly?”
“I don’t know,” Felix shrugged. “Maybe somethingiswrong with this fruit just as Miss Landon suggested.”
“Mr. Knightly,” Pete said in broken English as he rose to his feet. “I think food is fine.”
Felix switched his gaze from Emilio to Pete. “Which one of you brought this fruit?”
Emilio shrugged. “We both brought it in.”
“Then why isn’t the color as bright as the other bananas?” Felix questioned.
“I not know.” Pete shook his head.
Felix wanted to believe that the fruit was good, but there were too many things happening that didn’t make sense. “Please indulge me, my friends.” He swept his gaze around the group. “I don’t think we should eat the darkened bananas.” He knelt beside the fruit and put the browner bananas in a pile, moving them away from the fresher-looking food.
He moved to Emilio who held a variety of fruits in his large arms. Felix took a papaya and handed it to Katrina. “Here, eat this.”
Sadness still coated her face. “Thank you, Mr. Knightly.” She turned and sat back on the rock.
Within a few minutes, the fire was hot enough for Carlos to cook another batch of the Bacaba fruit drink. He also mixed in some of the herbs they’d picked when their quinine had disappeared. Felix said a silent prayer of thanks that none of them were sick with jungle fever.
Not yet, anyway.
Katrina sat in silence as she chewed her fruit, keeping her gaze on the ground. Perhaps he had been a little too harsh with her, but that was what she deserved for lying to him. However, he never really discovered what she was lying about. The longer he pondered on it, the more curious he became. Could it just be a small matter and he was making it bigger than it should be? Then again, this wasn’t the first time a woman had done this—and he was quite certain it wouldn’t be the last time, either.
There wasn’t much talk amongst the men as they ate, but soon their laughter grew. Felix glanced toward the source of entertainment. A squirrel monkey had wandered into the camp. He had to admit these monkeys were great entertainment since they were not afraid of interacting with humans. Their long tails, yellow legs and grayish coats, certainly brought smiles to anyone’s face.
The animal darted toward the darkened fruit and grabbed the banana that Felix almost ate. The men who sat nearby tried to take it away from the monkey, but the little primate was too quick and scurried up the nearest tree.
Felix watched as the monkey bit into the end as he gradually took off the peeling. Felix held his breath, hoping the banana was safe to eat. But within seconds, the animal stopped. The half-eaten fruit fell from the primate’s hands before the animal dove out of the tree, landing on the ground in a dead heap.
Gasps ricocheted around the group. In unison, the men jumped to their feet. Katrina let out a cry and covered her mouth, turning away from the dead animal.
Groaning, Felix rubbed his forehead. His fears had been correct. The fruit had somehow been poisoned.
But how had Katrina known this? The look of terror on her face when she’d smacked the fruit out of his hands earlier was unmistakable. Sheknewsomething.
He moved to her and knelt beside her, running his hand up and down her arm. She cried softly in her hands and shook her head. Really, he didn’t know what to say to soothe her fears, only because he had the same worries.
Lowering her hands, she looked into his eyes. “You could have... eaten that fruit.” Her voice shook.”
“I know.” He swept his thumb across her cheek, removing the tears. “Tell me, how didyouknow it was poisoned?”
Shaking her head, she dropped her gaze to the ground. “I-I-don’t know.”
He knew she was lying. Her expression and her actions were very clear. “Yes, you did. I want you to tell me,” he encouraged with a gentle voice.
She peeked back over to the dead monkey and quickly looked back at him. “Who could be doing this? Why is someone trying to kill us?” she whispered.
He shrugged and lowered his attention to her quivering mouth. “If I knew that, I would put a stop to it immediately.”
“I know,” she mouthed, but no sound came out.
“But I promised to protect you and deliver you safely to your father, and I will not let anything happen to you.”
“Thank you,” she said softly and wiped her eyes. “I have tried so hard to be strong for you, but I fear I’m not. I know you want me to quit, but I can’t.”
He cupped the side of her face. “Being out here in the jungle is very difficult for women native to this part of the world, but for pampered women such as yourself—”
