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Her naentle and quiet that she almost didn’t hear it But she felt it Like a war away so the wild, chaotic buzzing in her head

She barely ed to lift her head and saw Rio crouched on the floor in front of her, concern creasing his brow

"What is it? What happened?" he asked

She lowered her forehead to her knees oncebreaths "I can’t do it I tried so hard but it’s just not there Oh God, Rio, ill I do?"

"What’s not there?" he asked quietly

"The link," she said in frustration She raised her head and stared fully into his eyes, despair overwhelone All of it’s gone I can’t focus I can’t reach out to anyone It’s like there’s this yawning black hole inanything further, Rio rose and then reached down to pry her hand away froave in and let him pull her to her feet

"You need shoes," he said as he pulled her back toward thearea

She stared after hi?"

He reh the kitchen and then to a closet off the living rooe around a moment and then came out with a pair of shoes that looked like they’d fit her

He dropped them on the floor beside her feet "Put the what she’d hed and did as he said When she was done, he went to the gun rack just inside the back entrance and pulled a pistol off the shelf He shoved in a clip, pocketed two others and then reached for yet another gun After giving it equal treatment, he donned a shoulder holster and tucked away both pistols

He glanced her way and then crossed the room, took her hand and started toward another section of the house

She shook her head to rid herself of the cobwebs that seeine what on earth had spawned this reaction "Rio, where are we going?"

"You’ll see"

They took a short flight of stairs down into what appeared to be the basement To her surprise, he stopped and pushed a button and elevator doors opened Her aped as Rio ushered her inside He hit another button and the elevator started down

She tried not to think of down, because doas below the ground Like way below She had the sudden hysterical thought that he was taking her somewhere to execute her

When they stepped off, they were surrounded by complete darkness As her eyes adjusted, she could uided her toward the distant glow

It took adown fro of a tunnel

It was cool and kind of damp, like a cave, and she supposed that was indeed what they were in Man-h she wasn’t at all cold, and Rio automatically pulled her in close to his side as if to share his wars for a woht? What would he care if she was cold? If she were dead, she’d be plenty cold She coughed to cover the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble out She’d well and truly lost herto kill her He’d had ample opportunity Moreover, it was uncharitable of her to think it, given how good he’d been to her Hell, he’d risked his life His tea a co her down soround

They continued a ways down until she was certain they were away froradually working up in elevation

In the distance a faint noise made her brorinkle in concentration She couldn’t quite ot a little louder with every step they took

Then she saw a sht from behind a boulder There was a marked difference in the air Mist The sound ater A lot of water

Rio pulled her toward the light, and she realized it was an opening in the rock, well hidden fro out behind a waterfall

Transfixed, she followed Rio, her stare riveted to the beautiful water cascading fro to the pool below They were standing in a large hollow behind the falls, and there was a se and away fro water

"Wow," she breathed

Rio smiled and then directed her toward the path She put her back to the rock and inched her way out so she didn’t get soaked by the spray Once outside, she gazed around at the tranquil paradise that surrounded the!"

"It is, isn’t it? It’s etaway I coether"

Pull hiether? This was a ether He wasn’t someone who had so much as a crack, certainly not any she’d seen He was solid Dependable Calculating and…confident That was the word escaping her He was confident but not in an arrogant asshole kind of way He clearly kneas competent--no, not competent That made him seem merely adequate He was certainly beyond siaze stroked over hith and his co about hier on what uns at his sides and then she frowned as she turned in a circle, surveying the jungle canopy that seemed a barrier to the rest of the world A world that suddenly didn’t seem so idyllic Not when she knew that evil was out there Stalking her

"Are we safe here?"

Rio tugged her farther down the path, spiraling down to the ground level, where the pool rippled and then led out to a sh the terrain

"I like to be prepared The tunnel leads to the back of the waterfall I’ that the falls and the pool aren’t accessible, but it would be dale is thick here, never touched It’s overgrown and surrounds the rock face where the water coe It’s not even visible from the air because the canopy is so thick in this area So are we one hundred percent safe? I’m never that naïve But I’d say we’re pretty c19;conflose to ninety-nine"

She cut a glance at hi His eyes twinkled and then his smile broadened She was transfixed by the transfor the terrain to the sudden teasing, lighthearted exchange

He gestured for her "Come on I have the perfect place to sit and enjoy the falls"

She followed hie and saw that he had a bench fashioned from a tree trunk It utterly charmed her She sank down onto the s in the beauty and peace around her

He took the seat beside her, their legs nearly touching For a long ht of the water pouring down into the pool

"I want you to do solanced over to see hi at her with those intense, dark eyes, al back every layer of her soul