Drawing a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment. It would have to be quick. She’d have to be able to take in everything inside the small room instantly, not panic, and be ready to shoot if she needed to. And not shoot either Shane or Gideon.

She took two steps, peering around the corner of the building. The path was empty. Back to the wall, she moved next to the open door, the pistol held in both hands, pointed into the air.

Lainey turned her body, placing herself in the open doorway. She brought the gun down, holding it in the shooter’s stance she’d been taught. Her eyes scanned the room, trying to take in everything at once.

Gideon had shifted into his panther form and was fighting off a monstrous man in dirty green pants who was yielding a large hunters knife, the blade closing in on Gideon’s throat. On the other side of the room was another man, taller and thinner, making a move toward the pair. And in the dark corner furthest from the door was her brother, tied to a chair. He was dirty and his face was bloody, a rag tied around his eyes.

For a moment, all Lainey could see was Shane. The gun wavered in her hands. But from the floor she heard the panther roar.

Bracing her feet, she swung the gun toward the large man, a deep inarticulate noise coming from her mouth. The man turned, a look of shock on his face, the jagged blade of his knife still too close to the panther’s face.

Gideon swung his paw at the man, catching him on the side of his head, knocking him to the side. The man rolled and staggered to his feet, crouching in front of her brother. His face covered in blood, but it didn’t slow him down. In horror, Lainey watched him move back, sliding to the side of Shane’s chair. She knew he was going to kill him.

She held the gun steady, sighted down the barrel, let out a breath, then squeezed the trigger. The sound was deafening in the small space. Lainey staggered back, the recoil of the gun taking her by surprise.

The man grunted, a deep red stain blossoming on his pant leg just above his knee. He fell to the floor, dropping his knife, as his knee gave out. Lainey turned, the gun pointed at the other man as Gideon, now human and naked, rose, ducking behind her.

“Give me the gun.” His voice was a low growl; one she’d heard before. His hand covered hers and she let go of the gun.

The man on the floor screamed and the other man was frozen, eyes jerking between Lainey and Gideon. Gideon held the gun on him, speaking a rapid stream of Spanish. The man dropped to the floor, face down, hands behind his head.

“Go untie Shane.”

Lainey stepped over the man on the floor, kneeling behind Shane. She fumbled with the rope, finally getting the knots untied. As the ropes fell, Shane reached up, pulling the blindfold from his face. He turned, looking up at her.

“Lainey! What the hell are you doing here?”

Shane stood, reaching for Lainey, pulling her hard against him in a bear hug.

“I came with…” she pointed. Gideon had donned his shredded clothes and was crouched on the floor, tying the man’s hands behind his back. As she watched, he moved to the man she’d shot, looking closely at the wound. He spoke a soft stream of Spanish, with the man on the floor responding through gritted teeth. Seeming satisfied with the answer, Gideon pulled a bandana from his pocket, wrapping it around the man’s leg.

“We need to leave. If I can believe him…” He jerked his head at the man on the floor. “…someone should be coming soon with provisions. And there’s a good chance someone heard the shot.”

Gideon stood, turning to Shane. “Can you walk? Are you injured?”

Shane touched his cheek. “No, I’m okay.”

Lainey winced, looking at the bruise on the side of her brother’s face. It was bloody, but she saw the blood had already dried. Beneath the blood, the skin was stretched tight, mottled purple showing through the blood and dirt, evidence of the torture and beatings he’d suffered.

“Then we need to move out. Come on.” Gideon moved to the door, carefully looking out into the jungle. He motioned to her and Shane and they left the hut, disappearing into the jungle.

They moved quickly, pushing through the thick foliage, almost at a run. Shane followed Gideon, with Lainey bringing up the rear. She watched Shane closely; he seemed to be moving okay, not limping. But she wanted to see his face and find out how badly he was really hurt.

The sound of running water reached her and Lainey realized they were back at the stream. Gideon led them through the water, stopping at the waterfall.

“Wait here. I’ll get the duffel. I’ve got water; don’t drink any here.” He pointed to the stream and then disappeared up the slope.

“Shane…what the hell happened?” Lainey sat next to him on the rocks, peering at his face. There was a long gash covered with dried blood along his cheekbone. Lainey didn’t think it looked deep, but the edges were ragged. His eye was black, the white bloodshot. The swelling along his cheek made him look like a prizefighter on the losing end of a ten-round match.

“I was sloppy. Or really unlucky. Or both.” Shane gave her a rueful smile. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I’m going to get a great story out of this.”

“But where did they get you?”

“Not long after the border crossing. I was on the way to meet my contacts and drove down a road I shouldn’t have. Mistake number one. Then I stopped. Mistake number two. The only lucky thing was these guys weren’t drug traffickers or guerillas. They’re just impoverished guys who thought they could ransom me off. You know, famous journalist and all.”

His smile dimmed. “When they discovered who I was…basically a nobody from a little magazine, they got really angry. That’s when they hit me. And then they got really confused.” He passed a shaky hand across his face, his bravado fading.

“Yesterday they were trying to decide what to do with me, to let me go or get rid of me. I knew too much and knew where they were, but they’re not killers. But they were also getting desperate.”

Gideon came back down the rocks from the cave. “Here.” He tossed a bottle of water to Shane. “You were a liability. And they’re not set up for keeping hostages long-term.”

They both looked up at Gideon. “And you…” He pointed at Lainey. “You’re a loose cannon. What you did back there…”

“What I did back there was save your ass, Gideon.”

“What you did was dangerous. You could have hit Shane, or me, or killed the guy. What you did was leave him wounded. And alerted anyone within hearing range that something was going on. There could have been seven or eight guys just down the path…”

“But there weren’t.”

“But you didn’t know that for sure. In this jungle, you can’t see more than ten feet.”

“I saved your life!”

Gideon held up his hands. “Enough. We need to move.” Gideon slung the duffel over his shoulder and started walking downstream.

Shane watched Gideon’s retreat for a moment then reached a hand down to pull Lainey up off the rock. “We should keep up with him unless you know your way out of this place.”

Lainey shook her head. “No. Let’s go.”