Chapter 12 #2
Leighton choked on a laugh, drawing Mama’s attention, who repeated the gesture over Leighton’s face and head. With thumps of curiosity, the trunk plopped on her arm, up…up…curled over her shoulder as the baby bumped Leighton’s leg. Mama drew Leighton closer.
Giggles wiggled through Leighton, demanding freedom as she ran a hand up the adult’s broad shoulder as she gave it a hug. Heart stirred, soul moved by this incredible experience, she felt like it was a kiss from God. So incredible. So beautiful.
“I think she likes you,” Owen said.
“I have always loved pachyderms,” she said, smiling up at the great animal, feeling tears prick her eyes—and for the first time in many months, they weren’t out of sorrow or fear. “They’re so majestic. Powerful yet docile.”
“Unless you mess with its baby or herd.”
“Did you know when there’s a threat, the adults will circle up around the calves, then turn to face the threat?
” She sighed, a deep ache yawning in her to be protected like that.
To not have to be the one protecting. Running her hand along the trunk and face of the mama, she felt as if her world had finally righted.
She grinned at Apollo and thrilled at the smile he returned. It stirred something deep in her. No, he stirred something deep. An ache she’d long ignored—to be content. To not have to hide her way through life.
“You look happy,” he said.
Leighton held his gaze, realizing that he was much the reason she felt that way. “I am.”
“Goo—”
The rumble of the engine came from the other side of the ridge.
Mama released her and moved past her to catch the calf, who circled back to its mama.
“Aw, shoot,” she whispered in disappointment as mama and calf started away. She did not want to leave.
“If he got it running, we should get back,” Apollo said, holding a hand out.
That…that made leaving this magical moment almost worth it.
Accepting his proffered help, Leighton gave the retreating elephants one last, longing look, but really—her mind was on her hand in his.
How strong and warm it was. “What a dream come true. A core memory,” she whispered, not sure whether she meant the pachyderms or holding his hand as they climbed up the tricky terrain that fought them. “I’m glad I shared it with you.”
Hold up. Had she said that out loud? She looked to Apollo, but he had a deep scowl on his face as he started toward the Cruiser.
Yeah. Great. She actually had a moment with him but—she slipped, her knee connected with a rock. “Ow!”
“No!” Apollo let go and threw himself up the incline without her.
Confused at what he was doing and why he’d left her, she struggled up the last stretch and wrangled herself onto solid ground. “Thanks a lot for just abandoning me back—”
Leighton stopped, finding neither Apollo nor the Cruiser on the road. “What…?” she breathed, looking around, as if she were directionally challenged and had forgotten where the Cruiser had broken down. Reality clobbered her, forcing her brain to catch up. “They…left me?!” she shrieked.
But then she heard shouts and followed the sound up the road to where she spotted Apollo sprinting after…taillights in the far distance.
Frozen, she gaped. No. No no no. This wasn’t happening.
Why was Bakari driving away? She hurried forward as the distance between both her and Apollo—and the Cruiser—increased.
Panic ignited and she started running too.
They couldn’t leave her! She did not have any survival skills other than a stubborn streak.
“Owen!” she shouted, hating herself for using that name. “Apollo! Wait!”
A second later, he gave another shout and threw a fist in the air. His growl echoed across the lonely reservation as he stopped and gripped his knees.
“I will kill him!” Fisting his hands, Owen knew the sickening truth—this was intentional. A driver didn’t accidentally leave two tourists on the reservation at night.
Heaving breaths that seared, he stared after the pluming dust and fading taillights even as he heard Leighton calling and catching up.
All the facts rushed at him—the royals going without him and Leighton. The treatment she had endured—the way Maaz had demanded Rayan leave Leighton at the camp and come with him. Leighton’s conviction the royals were acting strange, too nice. The Cruiser suddenly dying…
Had it even really broken down? Or had Bakari faked that?
Senses on high alert, Owen felt a conviction burrow into his soul—the royals hadn’t been nice because they liked her. They were nice to distract her. So they could bring her out here and leave her to the literal lions?
Frustrated he had no weapons, no way to protect them, he wished he’d thought to snag one off Crow when he’d low-crawled in. Would it be too much to hope that Omen was planning to snatch her now? This would be the perfect time—
Comms device!
He dug in his pocket for the earwig, knowing this was his chance to get her away from these royals. All he had to do was radio Omen and they’d be out of here. The royals would be none the wiser. His hand came up empty.
He checked the other pocket. Not there either. He patted himself down as if it might manifest elsewhere. But no—it wasn’t here. It was gone! “You have got to be kidding me!” He’d lost it? How? When?
“Why did you leave me?” Leighton demanded with a feral glare as she reached him. “Why would you do that?”
Owen eyed her. “I wasn’t—”
“Clear as day—you left.”
Man, he had no time for hysterics. “For the love of— I wasn’t leaving you,” he bit out, raking a hand through his bleached hair, which felt brittle as this night. “When I realized he was leaving us, I sprinted after him, trying to stop him.”
“But you left me!”
A clatter came from his left, jacking his heart into his throat. Leighton stiffened and whirled, eyes wildly searching the tall grass.
Owen scanned, wishing he had some NODs or even the scope of a rifle. They were in a safari reservation. With deadly beasts. “We need to keep moving.”
“You left me!” This time her voice echoed, emphasizing each word. “You didn’t say a word—just took off without me. You weren’t worried about me.”
He eyed her hustling to stay up with him. Something about her words stopped him. He shifted to look at her, hearing past the shrieks. Past the accusations. I scared her. That realization made his heart slow and forced him to dump some of his own frustration at their situation.
“Hey.” Regretting what he’d caused her, he caught her upper arms. “I hear you—it scared you. I scared you. But I swear I would not have left you.”
“But you did!” she ground out, her words strained. “What if a lion was nearby? You didn’t know there wasn’t, and you…just left me.”
His heart twinged at the desperation in her words and expression.
He took her in, pushed down the spiraling attraction as he noticed the way her dark hair seemed to both absorb the light of the moon and refuse it at the same time.
He had the craziest thought that she seemed carved of starlight, its gravity pulling him in closer…
“I’m sorry.” Though her right cheek twitched in anger and her gaze bounced from him, he stepped closer. “You’re right, and I’m sorry I scared you. Truly sorry.”
A shiver rippled through her frame as he held her in place, a move that had been intended to ground her. Help her abandon the panic. That shiver told him it was working, that she was crashing after the adrenaline spike of believing he’d abandoned her.
She looked away again, then back at him. “I…panicked.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe I overreacted. I’m sorry too.”
“Your reaction was justified.” There were not many people who would own their actions like that.
It hiked his respect for her another notch, and good night, he loved having her close.
But this wasn’t the time for romance—not with the wildlife out there.
He made himself release her. “It’s okay.
I get it.” He cocked his head down the road.
“We should get moving. It’s going to take an hour or more on foot to reach camp. ”
Another twig snapped to the left, and in the near distance behind Leighton, Owen noticed a shadow riffle through the brush.
He paused a half step, let Leighton continue, then circled around to her left to put himself between whatever threat lurked in the shadows beyond the reach of his limited sight in the darkness.
She frowned at his repositioning but didn’t ask what he was doing. “Why do you think he left us?” Her nerves were talking now.
Knowing very well she knew that answer, he let the question go—it’d only induce panic, scare her.
She also hadn’t seemed to notice they were being paced, and he was glad—she didn’t need any more fear.
It did strange things to people, and she’d experienced enough in her life.
So for now, he kept their pace smooth and steady—all while keeping his head on a swivel and paying close attention to their surroundings.
“Owen…?” Her voice pitched, insisting on an answer.
“That rise in your voice says you already know…” A soft thump in the field made his heart do the same. Slowly, he slid his gaze alone in that direction and searched the shadows. For a split-second, he thought he saw a rustle of amber—a mane.
God, help us.
Leighton skipped a step to keep up. “Hey, I know you’re used to marches with that big backpack on—”
“Ruck.”
“—but I’m not,” she said pointedly. “Maybe we could slow down before I collapse.”
And here he’d thought he’d been doing that, taking a steady pace so he didn’t make them look like prey running for their lives to the predators.
He just really did not want to be so slow the entire pride caught up with Mufasa, who seemed to be pacing them, in order to take on the two interlopers on their road.
He cursed himself for not nabbing a gun or knife off someone.
But he’d had nowhere to stow it, and the last thing they needed was for him to get caught with a weapon.