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Once she regained her sense of stability, Grace crawled through the cave War her inside and out Following flashes of light, she soon eed from the rocky exit Familiar sounds of the Amazon welcomed her: the screech of howler monkeys, the incessant drone of insects, the hurried rush of a river Utterly relieved, she jackknifed to her feet Her knees alave out, but she forced herself to move forward, to put distance between this world and the other

As she ran, the backdrop of sounds tapered to quiet Sunlight faded, leaving a horrendous darkness Then, rain burst froht of the water and darkness, she was forced to seek shelter beneath a nearby bush Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up

Finally the rain ended and she popped up, once again dashing through the forest Gnarled tree li at her ar raindrops into her eyes She wiped the stride

Shards of sunlight gradually returned, winking in and out between clouds and foliage, illus snapped beneath her boots Every few steps she tossed a fearful glance over her shoulder Looking, always looking, fearing the worst

I&039;ll come after you , Darius had said I&039;ll not rest until I find you

She shot another look over her shoulder and sla on her back with a thump The man she hit was barely taller than she was and flew backward, as well, re She&039;d escaped a horde of warriors, and she wasn&039;t going to be captured or assaulted now

"Whoa, there," anotherup his dirt-sed, empty palms Droplets of water sprinkled frolish He was speaking English Like the ht with brown hair, brown eyes and tanned skin He was thin, not corded with o was stitched over the left breast, an ancient ship with two spears erected on either side The naonauts, she thought with a huonauts She rolled the na if Alex had ever spoken of him, but she found no reference It didn&039;t h

The cavalry is here

"Thank God," she breathed

"Get up, Mitch," Jason said to the fallen man "The woman isn&039;t hurt, and it doesn&039;t speak well of you if you are" To her he offered a canteen of water "Take a drink Slowly"

She grabbed the canteen eagerly and gulped down all that her sto had ever tasted so good Except for Darius, herhim was an experience with no equal

"Slon," Jason said, reaching for the flask "You&039;ll make yourself sick"

She wanted to snarl and snap at him, but allowed him to reclaim his property Water dribbled down her chin, and she wiped it aith the back of her hand "Thank you," she panted "Now let&039;s get the hell out of here"

"Wait a rasped her wrist and placed two fingers over her pulse "First we need to knoho you are and what you&039;re doing here"

"Later Let&039;s get out of here" She hadn&039;t seen Darius exit theany chances He could kill both of these ht her desperation, because she watched idening eyes as he withdrew a 9mm Glock Alex always carried a weapon when he went on expeditions, so the sight of it shouldn&039;t have bothered her, but it did

"Is there solance He was too busy scanning the wooded area behind her

"I don&039;t know," she answered, gaze darting through the trees What she wouldn&039;t do for her oeapon right now "I don&039;t know"

"How can you not know?" he demanded Then he softened his tone, and added, "If you were being followed, how far back would your pursuer be?"

"Fifty feet, maybe" Her voice barely rose above whisper "Is there anyone out there?"

"Not that I can see Robert," he shouted, gaze boring into the trees

"Yeah," cah voice She couldn&039;t see the one who had uttered the response and figured he was hidden in the thick stuuards," Jason explained to her To Robert he called, "See anyone out there?"

"No, sir"

"You sure?"

"One hundred percent"

After Jason put on the gun&039;s safety, he anchored the weapon in the waist of his jeans "No one&039;s after you," he told Grace "You can relax"

"But-"

"Even if there were soot scouts all around us and they&039;d never make it anywhere near you"

So Darius hadn&039;t followed her Why hadn&039;t Darius followed her? The question echoed through herher "You&039;re sure there&039;s not a large, half-dressed man out there?" she asked "With a sword?"

"A sword?" Dark intensity filled Jason&039;s eyes, and he studied her His body seeht "Ayou?"

"I meant a spear," she lied, not sure why she did so

Jason relaxed "No one&039;s out there but my men," he said confidently "The tribes out here won&039;t bother us"

This didn&039;ther Why hadn&039;t he followed her? She was torn between fear and-surely not-disappointhts scattered as a wave of dizziness swept through her She swayed and scrubbed a hand across her forehead

"How long have you been out here?" Jason asked He wrapped a parka around her shoulders "You ht have been bitten by ato bet you&039;ve got a fever"

Malaria? He thought she hadher stomach She was tired and weak, but she knew she didn&039;t haveinto Brazil, she&039;d taken medication to prevent the disease

"I&039;m not sick," she said

"Then why-You&039;re scared of us," he said He grinned "You don&039;t have anything to fear froerous"

Another wave of dizziness overtook her She clutched the parka closer to her chest, drawing on its waronauts, right?" she asked weakly

"That&039;s right," he said, losing his smile "How did you know?"

"My brother works there, too Alex Carlyle Is he here with you?"

"Alex?" came another male voice "Alex Carlyle?"

Grace turned her attention to as his name? Mitch, she recalled "Yes"

"You&039;re Alex&039;s sister?" Mitch asked

"That&039;s right Where is he?"

Mitch was older than Jason, with salt and pepper hair and slightly weathered features Lines of tension branched from his eyes "Why are you here?" he asked

"Answer ed a glance, and Mitch shifted uncomfortably on his feet When she returned her attention to Jason, he arched one of his brows He appeared calleam in his eyes