“It was a scorpion,” he conceded grimly. “They don’t usually like to be so close to water. It must have crawled out from under one of those rocks.”
“They’re very poisonous, aren’t they?” she asked, moistening her lips. “Am I going to die, Daniel?”
“No! God, no, sweetheart. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“Don’t look now, but I think it’s already happened.” She felt light-headed, floating on waves of pain. “He was ugly.”
“What?”
“The scorpion. He was so ugly.”
“Shut up, Zilah,” he said huskily. “You’re going to be fine. Don’t think about it.” He set her down with her back to the wall of the cliff and knelt beside her. He rolled up the cuff of the jeans on her right leg and inhaled sharply. Her ankle was already swollen to almost twice its normal size. He quickly pulled off her tennis shoe and stripped off her white sock.
“Where is that handkerchief?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he spied it still clenched in her hand and took it from her. “I’m going to have to make a tourniquet to keep the poison from spreading. Not very tight, just enough to slow the circulation a little. We’ll keep a close watch on it and loosen it every so often.” He was wrapping and tying the handkerchief directly above her ankle as he spoke. “The important thing is to keep the venom from spreading before we can get you to a doctor. The initial pain will ebb soon, but sometimes a fever follows. Don’t be frightened if it does.”
“You seem to know quite a bit about scorpion stings,” Zilah said faintly. “Is that required instruction for Clancy’s agents?”
“I learned this particular knowledge on my own,” Daniel said as he rolled down the cuff of her jeans. “One of the favorite amusements of those bastards who held me in that shack was to throw a scorpion or snake into the room with me and watch me scramble to cope with it. After I got out I made it my business to know everything there was to know about poisonous vermin of all types. I never wanted to be that helpless again.”
Poor Daniel. How horrible that experience must have been for him. And how many other experiences had he gone through that were equally hair-raising and potentially tragic? He had led a hard life and he was a hard man, yet there was kindness in him and humor and sensitivity… She was finding it hard to concentrate through the haze of pain surrounding her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
He glanced up in surprise. “Why?”
He actually didn’t know, she realized. When he went through a hellish experience he just tried to make himself better prepared for the next one. It was a way of life to him. “The pain and the sadness and…” She shook her head helplessly. “I’m just sorry.”
Daniel’s throat tightened. She was the one who was hurting and still she was worrying about him. He touched her cheek with one gentle finger. “Are you?” he asked softly. “Don’t be. I survived it.” His finger moved down to trace her upper lip. “Did I ever tell you I love to see you smile? It reminds me of warmth and summer and all the good things of life. I haven’t seen you laugh yet, but I’m looking forward to it.” He bent forward to brush her temple with his lips. “I survived and you’re going to survive too, Zilah. Count on it.”
“What are you doing?” she asked as he slung the canteen and the M-1 on one shoulder and reached down to gather her in his arms.
“It’s generally called a fireman’s carry,” he said as he slung her facedown over his shoulder. “I want to move fast and this is the easiest way for me to carry you over the kind of terrain we’ll be crossing. I’ll have to leave the backpack behind. Once we’re out of the foothills I’ll try to switch your position so that you’ll be more comfortable.”
“But you can’t carry me all that distance,” she protested. “Let me try to walk.”
He gave her derriere a little slap. “Hush! I can do anything I damn well want to do. It’s my decision, and we’ve already agreed that I’m not a team player. If I let you walk, that poison is going to pour into your bloodstream. Now, be quiet and think good thoughts. That’s as far as you’re going to be allowed to participate in this little project.”
“I think we’re going to need all the good thoughts we can beg, borrow, or steal,” Zilah murmured hazily. “And even that may not be enough.”
“It will be enough.” Daniel’s voice was grim. “I’ll make damn sure it’s enough.”
“I hope that you…” Whatever she had been about to say drifted away as consciousness fled.
Turquoise eyes. They shone cool and glittering in the dark hard face of the stranger. Cool. Zilah’s gaze clung to them with desperation. The world was on fire but here was coolness. His voice was cool as well and tinged with dry amusement. “Really, Daniel, I realize the woman is ill but did you have to react so violently? My overseer objected most volubly to being shot at.”
“I wasn’t shooting at him,” Daniel said grimly. She was being carried down an interminably long hall of mosaic tile, passing white-fretted windows whose intermittent glare hurt her eyes. “He wouldn’t have been able to object at all if I had been. I just shattered the exterior mirror on his jeep. The stupid bastard wasn’t going to stop when I hailed him down.”
“Well, you must admit you do look a bit of a wild man at the moment. Abdul isn’t the most courageous man under the best of circumstances. He probably thought you were a bandit.”
“Bandits aren’t usually wandering around the countryside burdened with an unconscious woman,” Daniel growled. “The man is a fool.”
“Perhaps,” the man with the turquoise eyes drawled. “But he’s an excellent overseer. One can’t have everything.”
“Don’t try to give me that bull, Philip,” Daniel said. “You know damn well that you’ll have everything your own way or blow up the whole world trying.”
“I do find life far more convenient that way.” Zilah saw again the flint of those turquoise eyes as he glanced down at her dispassionately. “Your Miss Dabala seems quite ill. Was she shot in the escape?”
“Scorpion sting,” Daniel said tersely. “She’s been in intense pain and drifting in and out of consciousness for the last few hours. She’s burning up with fever. As soon as I can get her to bed I want a doctor to see her.”
“I’ve already sent for him. I told Raoul to phone for Dr. Madchen when he informed me that you’d roared into my courtyard with an unconscious woman in the jeep. He should be here shortly.”
“She’ll need antivenom.”
“We keep some here in the first aid room. I’ll have Raoul check to be sure it’s still fresh. If not, I’ll send a courier to pick up some at Dr. Madchen’s dispensary.”
“Good.” She was being placed on a bed whose cool, silken sheets felt like a blessed balm to her hot flesh. Daniel’s eyes were narrowed in concern on her face. “Hold on, Zilah, we’ve almost got it made.”
Zilah tried to smile but it hurt too much. Everything hurt too much. She closed her eyes wearily to block out the light that was burning her eyes. She heard Daniel mutter something violent beneath his breath. She paid no attention to it. She had gotten accustomed to that fierce murmur beneath her ear in the last few hours. Now it brought only a feeling of comfort and protection like the growl of a grizzly to her cub.
“You called her Miss Dabala and mentioned the escape,” Daniel was saying somewhere above her head in the darkness. “Who told you about Zilah?”
“Your old friend Clancy Donahue became concerned when you failed to contact him last night as arranged. He flew in to be on the spot in case you needed him. He filled me in on the details of your little adventure. It sounded quite entertaining. Just the sort of thing that would amuse you.”
“Oh, yes, very amusing,” Daniel said caustically. “Next time I must remember to invite you along for the ride.” She felt Daniel’s hands unbuttoning the collar of her shirt. Strange that she recognized that touch even with her eyes closed. “Where the hell is that doctor?”