Wade pushed the man with his booted foot. The guy was dead, damn it to hell and back.
“Where’s the bullet wound?” David asked, peering down at the man.
Wade pushed the man over with his boot, saw no sign of blood, and reached down to feel for a pulse. None. Wade let out his breath in a huff. “Hell, there isn’t any bullet wound. He must have had a heart attack.”
David gave an exasperated sigh. “Don’t tell me you didn’t learn who the buyer was.”
“I didn’t. Nor did I get a name from him as to who Lion Mane is. Let’s drop him off at the river and get out of here. Are we checked out?”
“Yeah.” David helped carry Smith through the bathroom, and the two of them shoved the body through the window into the jungle out back where it was less likely to be seen. “We need to dump him and get back to Maya’s resort. Any sign of the shifter?”
“No. That’s what has me worried. I’m thinking that this guy was left behind to take care of us when we returned, while the shifter might have gone after Maya.”
“The shifter’s smart. He probably thinks Maya is easy pickings compared to the two of us,” David said. “What if he has a gun like this guy did?”
“They’ll think of something.” Wade didn’t want to second-guess the situation. He just wanted to dispose of the body and get back to Maya and the others quickly.
“Take it easy on Lion Mane if we get hold of him, will you?” David asked in a teasing manner. “I really want to get on Martin’s good side this time.”
Wade shook his head as the two carried Smith to the river. He knew David didn’t care about getting on Martin’s “good” side. In a situation like this, all he cared about was that Wade and he came out on top—alive and uninjured.
And right now, all they were concerned about was getting rid of the evidence and getting back to the Andersons in time.
Chapter 18
Francisco, their guide, and the group were ready to hike to the cave tubing site and anxiously waiting on Maya, her brother, and her sister-in-law.
Maya was staring out her window at the jungle, hoping that the plan to draw Lion Mane out would work, but she thought Wade and his brother had already taken too long to return to the treetop cottages.
She was wearing a bathing suit under her jeans and T-shirt and had a couple of water bottles, a waterproof camera, and a hand towel in her backpack sitting on the table. Connor and Kat would arrive any minute. It was now or never.
A knock at the door gave her a start, and she rushed to ensure it was her brother and Kat. It was. She opened the door. They looked as anxious as she did. Connor had one backpack between them.
“They’re not here,” Connor said, glancing at Maya’s living room and stating the obvious. “We’ve got to go.”
“But shouldn’t we wait for Wade and David?” Maya asked.
“We’ll miss the excursion if we wait. But I had another idea in case David and Wade didn’t arrive on time. You go with the guide, and we’ll join you at the site. At least that’s how I’ve explained it to the guide. Kat and I will go in jaguar form, hidden in the jungle as your personal escort. Stay near the back of the group. We’ll watch for any signs of a jaguar. At the caving site, we’ll shift and join you. I have a change of clothes in my backpack. You can add whatever you had in yours to ours and carry it.”
“The guide won’t like that you’re going to join us at the caves, will he?” she asked, transferring her stuff to Connor’s bag.
“I explained that Kat and I have taken the trip many times, but that I wanted you to have the guided tour. A little extra money convinced him to allow us to join you later.”
“I’d rather it be me hunting down Lion Mane than Kat.”
“If that’s his game, he’d be after you, not Kat. If he thinks you’re not with us and more vulnerable, he might take a chance to tangle with you. Kat can handle the hike better in her jaguar form. And she’s a good fighter. Either that, or we return home and risk having him come after you when we’re least expecting it. He could get reinforcements back home, too. Of course, this is just speculation. He might not be interested in dealing with you at all.”
“What about Wade and David?”
“They know where we’re going. They can join us if they’re able to.”
She hated the dark tone of Connor’s voice.
Kat said, “I think Connor’s right. We can give this a shot and see if it works. Just write Wade a note that you’re going on the tour by yourself. That I’m not feeling well and Connor’s staying at the cottage with me. That you’ll meet him for dinner. That way, when he gets here, he’ll know we left on the tour. He’ll know Connor and I wouldn’t have let you go alone. And if someone else reads the note, they won’t realize that Wade and David intended to watch our backs. Or that we won’t be with you.”
Unsure about the whole plan, Maya hastily wrote a note for Wade and left it on the coffee table.
“Go. The group and guide are ready to hike. We’ll join you in a minute,” Connor said, lifting his backpack to Maya’s shoulders.
Maya kissed him on the cheek, gave Kat a hug, and then Kat said, “Be careful, okay?”
Heading outside, Maya hurried to join the excursion group.
She greeted the guide and the twelve other cave tubers, and then they began their hike through the jungle. The guide, Francisco, had near-black hair and eyes and a big white-toothed smile. The other cave tubers were of various shapes and sizes.
The men and women were quiet as Francisco walked ahead of the party, talking about the jungle, pointing out the importance of the plants, and identifying birds, insects, and reptiles. He guided them along the semi-worn path—as worn as any jungle path could be where the vegetation grew wild and couldn’t be tamed, even by man.
Maya soaked up the feel of the hot, muggy rainforest as she tuned the guide out and watched for any sign of Lion Mane. Her brother and Kat would also be in the rainforest, but they would be elusive, trying to keep out of another jaguar’s sight, if Lion Mane was following her. She would have been comforted to know that they were close by, but she couldn’t stop worrying about Kat.
The tourists in front of them eyed the trees as the tour guide pointed out a bright green, poisonous tree frog, a boa constrictor coiled nearby, and colorful parrots high above. The tourists immediately began plying him with questions, but the chatter died down quickly because the men and women had to save their breath for the rigorous hike.
Maya thought she spied a jaguar’s movement. She stopped, staring into the jungle, but it was too late. Whatever movement had caught her eye was now well hidden in the foliage.
By the time they reached the cave nearly an hour later, everyone was sweaty and breathing hard, except for the guide and Maya. No one had attempted to attack her, and she hadn’t heard any fighting in the jungle.
She left the backpack hidden off the trail for her brother and Kat to find and rejoined the others.
The guide said they had reached the spot, and they could see through the blue-green water clear to the rocky bottom where fish were diving for food. Maya took a deep breath and stared at the pristine beauty.
“For over two thousand years, the Mayans used these caves for ceremonies,” Connor said, taking in the wondrous site.
She whipped around to see him and Kat together, hands entwined and Connor now wearing the backpack. He gave her a small smile.
Maya was so glad to see them safe that she immediately embraced them both. “What did you see?”
“Trees,” Connor said. “Nothing else.”
Then the movement Maya had seen must have been Kat or Connor. She was glad Kat and her brother hadn’t encountered any trouble.