Page 24 (2/2)

Knowing herwas shot to hell and she needed to find a way to relax, she clih the exercises Rio had shown her the day before

Gradually the anxiety melted away and she found her focus Calm descended It was as if herand fs iwe1e its way free

Tentatively she reached for her sister, trying to find her way back to that faed, though Herwas as it was before, and she had to find her way again

She brought the ie of Shea’s face to the center of her focus and let everything else fall away She brought to mind the sound of her sister’s voice How it echoed in her h the telepathic link

War She could literally feel her sister’s sht she’d iined it

Grace

Her na to her

She was about to respond when her door burst open and Browning flew inside, his expression grave

"Let’s go We have toout of her chest, she scrambled off the bed, thrust her feet into the pair of shoes on the floor and hurried after Browning, as already on his way down the hall

"What is it? What’s happened?" she asked

"I don’t have all the details Rio said to get you out and that’s what I’ He’ll meet us in the northwest corner"

Grace frowned That ay from the river Had they come for her? Had she been found this quickly?

Browning led her through a tunnel she hadn’t been in It came out in a small cave, really roith vines and thick moss

He dropped down first and then motioned for her to ju her farther into the dense foliage

Lis Several tirowth and nearly fell She stu, who see

Several ti, but he claed her on

After what seele, they stepped into a clearing Ahead, there hat looked like a village right on the banks of the river Browning had said northwest, but northwest froled to catch up then pulled at his arm when several people stepped from the small huts that were erected a distance fro on? What are we doing here?"

He griht hold of her wrist He held it so firmly that it hurt, but when she tried to twist away, he only tightened his hold

"I’ I had to do Rio’s going to be pissed that I gave hio out, but I had to do it because he would have never let you coh her sto about?"

She tried to take a step back, but he wouldn’t release her hand She started to struggle, but he pulled out his pistol She went still, unbelieving what she was seeing What was happening? Browning pointed the gun at her

"Don’t, Grace Please I’ to hurt you unless you make it necessary Just listen to me, okay? We don’t have a lot of ti, babbling a strea held up the hand holp tx20ding the pistol to silence the other woman but then pulled her into his side and held her, even as he gripped Grace’s wrist with his other hand

Grace’s blood ran cold and panic gripped her throat She hadn’t questioned Browning Rio hi if he told her to She’d trusted Rio’s men because they were an extension of hih, when Rio told her to do just as she’d done?

Browning had set Rio and the others up so he could get Grace out of the house But why?

Browning said soestured her away He then turned his attention back to Grace "I need your help"

His tone was pleading but Grace was just pissed "Lying to un atfor my help" She looked pointedly down at her wrist "You’re hurting htly but wouldn’t let her go He kept looking in the direction that the woman had run, and a moment later, relief flooded his eyes Grace followed the direction of his gaze to see the wo toward theers had for in low voices Several shot the young wo the baby looks of syest she was crazy

The woman slowed as she approached Grace Her expression was pleading and she spoke to Grace in broken English "Please do not be angry with Mitch I begged him to do this It’s the only way You’re our only hope"

Grace looked at Browning in confusion

"Mitch is oing on?" she asked for what seemed like the hundredth tio of her wrist but then she noticed that several of the villagers were behind her as well She had nowhere to go even if she decided to run She cupped her ar absently at the red marks as she waited for so

Browning pulled the young woman into his side, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist There was a fierceness in his expression, one she recognized because it was the way Rio looked at her

"This is Sumathi, my woman, and our child, Ana Ana is…" He broke off, his voice thick with e"

Suain "Please, youelse to do She’s so weak I’ is done to help her"

Soer slipped away as she stared at the infant in Sumathi’s arms She was a thin baby, not at all like the chubby, rosy-looking babies that signified good health The baby lay listlessly in the blanket

"What’s wrong with her?" Grace asked Browning

"The doctors call it failure to thrive No one really knows She just won’t eat She has no strength She’s wasting away and I don’t knohat to do I wanted to take her to the US so she could be hospitalized I was going to ask Rio for help I knoould have given it to o and now I don’t think she would be able to make the trip Sumathi has taken her to see doctors here, but they tell her to feed her Give her special for another wo"