Chapter 26

 

Beast sat still, leaning against the log and holding Belinda while she slept. He knew that exhaustion, trauma and hunger had made her weak, and sleep was a good healer. Food would be better. And that was exactly what he intended to get for her as soon as the men fell asleep.

He listened as they stoked the fire. Their conversations became increasingly offensive the more they drank. By the time they bedded down for the night, not one of them was sober. Beast gave them plenty of time to fall into a deep sleep. Which they did without problem. The men weren’t worried about danger. The fire was roaring and they were well armed. Beast knew this because they’d spent quite some time boasting about all the things they’d do to a jaguar if it attacked them that night.

Once he was certain everyone was sound asleep, he slowly, carefully lowered Belinda to the sheet beneath them and then crept out of their hiding spot. After nights spent moving around in complete darkness, it was easy to see clearly by the light of the fire. He took his time sneaking up on his prey, although even if he’d crashed through the brush, he doubted they would have heard him. They were out cold. Drunk, well fed and reassured by the flames.

There were four camp beds around the fire, the kind with canvas stretched over a lightweight metal frame. Each held a sleeping man. For a minute, Beast was tempted to take his knife to each of them. They’d were definitely part of the kidnapping gang and showed no compunction about taking Belinda back to their boss. He would have liked to say his conscience stopped him from killing the men in cold blood, but really it was more of a practical decision—he wasn’t sure he’d be able to kill them one at a time without waking the others.

He tiptoed around their camp, noting everything he saw. Two men slept cuddled up to empty bottles of booze. One man was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. And the last had fallen asleep with his hand down the front of his pants. Beast scanned the area, especially around their beds, looking for supplies. There was nothing.

Frustration made his gut clench. There had to be something somewhere. And then he spotted them. Four canvas daypacks hanging in a clump from a nearby tree, wrapped in mosquito netting to keep out the bugs. A tight smile spread over his face as he made his way to the bags.

They weren’t large, so Beast cut the netting and took all four. As he turned to go back to Belinda, one of the men groaned and tossed around on his bed. Beast froze, waiting for him to settle. He didn’t. Instead, he struggled out of bed and staggered towards the nearest tree to empty his bladder. Beast ducked low, using one of the other men for cover. The guy staggered back to his bed and landed on it, face first. He was sound asleep within seconds. Beast didn’t hesitate. He was on his feet and rushing back to Belinda before anyone else could wake up.

She was exactly where he’d left her, curled on her side on the dirty sheet, her blonde hair fanned out around her and that silly silver dress catching the golden light from the fire, even though she’d had the sense to turn it inside out. He’d had to cut one of the legs off her stolen jeans to bandage her knee, and she’d insisted in smothering the exposed skin in mud before they set off into the forest. She told him it would help keep insects off her.

It was hard to believe he was looking at the same woman who walked red carpets in millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds. A woman who wore dresses that cost more than the average person spent on a car. A few days ago, he would have sworn there was nothing more to Belinda Collins than premieres and photo opportunities. Now, he knew better. As he crouched beside her, it occurred to him that she hadn’t complained once during their escape. Not once. She’d kept on going, weathering everything that came at her and staying strong no matter what she had to endure. No one would ever guess that the sunny princess of Hollywood had a spine of steel. But she did. And she was smart, too. They wouldn’t have made it this far if it hadn’t been for her.

Beast’s chest felt strangely tight at the thought. Belinda Collins was pure, solid gold. A treasure. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d even look at him twice once they got out of the jungle. It gave him a shock to think that he would want her to look at him. They were poles apart. Yet he couldn’t imagine meeting a more interesting, strong and capable woman than the one asleep at his feet.

He took a breath and banished his wandering thoughts. If they wanted to put some distance between them and the men, they had to get moving—and he knew she wasn’t going to like travelling at night.

“Belinda,” he whispered, stroking her hair from her face.

Her eyes snapped open and she froze. She blinked twice before she realised who was with her.

“John?”

“Hey, baby, I’ll help you sit up.” He put his hands under her arms and tugged her into a sitting position.

“What’s going on?” She kept her voice barely above a whisper. Beast held up the bags by way of an answer. Her eyes went wide. “Did you kill them?”

He would have reprimanded her for thinking so little of him if he hadn’t had exactly that thought. “Not this time. I robbed them.”

“Are they still there?” She looked over in the direction of the fire.

“Yeah, they’re out cold.”

She nodded and looked back at the bags. “Is there anything to eat in there?” The hope in her voice almost broke his heart.

As quietly as he could, he opened the first bag and rummaged inside. It was difficult to see anything but shadows inside, so he pulled out each item to look at it. There was a Bible, which made him arch an eyebrow at Belinda. Guess having faith meant something different down in the jungle. Where he came from, it meant you didn’t align yourself with someone who was pure evil. Next out was a roll of toilet paper, which Belinda hugged to her as though it were precious. Then came some spare ammo for the rifle. Matches. A flashlight, which made Beast grin. And two nut bars.

He held up the bars as if he’d struck gold. Belinda grinned, snatched one, ripped the paper off and devoured it. Beast wasn’t far behind. They were finishing up when one of the men started coughing. Beast and Belinda stilled, staring at each other, their ears straining to hear what was happening. Beast peeked over the tree trunk and saw one of the men roll out of his narrow bed, only to groan and go back to sleep on the ground.

He turned to Belinda. “We need to get out of here.”

She immediately started shaking her head. “We’ll die. Something will eat us. Or we’ll get lost.”

Beast held up the flashlight. “I can still see my compass. We don’t need to go far. We do have to put some distance between us and those guys. When they wake and find their packs gone, they’ll go hunting. We need to be somewhere more secure.”

She bit her bottom lip as she thought about it. It was plain to see that logic was warring with fear.

He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “It will be okay,” he told her. “I won’t let anything happen to you. We have to do this, baby. You know that.”

She stared into his eyes as though searching for reassurance. She must have found it, because she gave him a terse nod. “Okay. Tell me what to do.”

“That’s my girl.” He couldn’t resist kissing her again. “Let’s get out from between these trees.”

He backed out of their tiny clearing, dumped the bags at his side, then leaned back in to help Belinda get out. She handed him her walking stick first, which he put beside the bags. Then he supported her as she got to her feet.

“We don’t need the flashlight yet,” Beast said. “The fire gives off enough light to make out where we’re going. Just take it slow. Make as little noise as possible and watch where you’re stepping.”

She nodded.

Beast kept one eye out for the men on the other side of the bushes as Belinda wedged her walking stick under her arm.

“How’s the knee?” he said.

“It’s stiff. I can do this, though.”

It was also painful, if the tight lines around her mouth were any indication. She gave him a determined look that made pride swell within him. This woman was stealing his heart, and up until he met her, Beast wasn’t even sure he had a heart to steal.

“You go first,” he said. “I’ll bring up the rear. Once we’re clear of the fire, use the flashlight to lead us out of here.” He flashed the light on his watch, long enough to get a direction from his compass. “That way.” He pointed.

Now that she’d committed to going, Belinda didn’t hesitate. She made her way straight in the direction he’d indicated, taking her time to get over obstacles with her walking stick.

It was slow going. Once they were far enough away from the fire that they couldn’t even see shadows anymore, she switched on the flashlight and they carried on. Eyes of every size reflected back at them from the shadows of the forest. Overhead, an owl screeched. The noise was followed by scurrying all around them as small animals ran from the predator. The flashlight made a large spider’s web glitter and sparkle. It was nestled in the V of a tree, and sitting in the middle of it was a hairy tarantula. Beast couldn’t help but shudder, and was glad Belinda had her back to him. He was fairly sure he’d lose some man points for his developing arachnophobia.

There was a flurry of activity above them, and Beast ducked just in time as a cloud of bats spiralled towards them at dizzying speed. Belinda looked back at him once the bats were gone. She waggled her eyebrows and grinned widely. Even with her bruised and swollen eye, there was no hiding the delight she took in the sight.

Beast shook his head at her, but his lips twitched with the need to smile back. Instead, he urged her forward.

Almost an hour later, he decided they were far enough away from the cartel’s men to set up camp for the rest of the night.

“Do you think you can climb a tree?” Beast asked Belinda as she finished off the last of her water.

“I can try.”

He was beginning to realise that sentence summed Belinda up. She would try damn hard at anything that came her way.

“Okay, let me scout around and see what I can find.”

Without a word, she handed him the flashlight. “Don’t go too far.” She looked at the stolen bags. “Maybe there’s another flashlight in there.” Her voice was still hoarse, but she didn’t wince every time she spoke anymore. Beast took that as a sign she was healing.

He crouched down and opened the first bag. “Medical kit,” he told her. “Two bags of Brazil nuts.”

“Gimme!” Belinda waggled her fingers at him, and he put a bag in her hand.

She fell on the nuts like they were the finest cuisine, even though it was clear that swallowing caused her pain.

Beast clenched his teeth at the sight. His anger at her suffering wouldn’t help her any.

“You were right,” he said as he rummaged in the bag. “Another flashlight.” He handed it to her. “A shitload of condoms.” He looked up at her. “What the hell did he think he was going to do out here?”

“Jaguars beware,” Belinda said through a mouthful of nuts.

Beast smiled as he shook his head. Crazy woman.

He pulled the next bag over. “Bingo.” He grinned up at her. “A hammock.” He pulled out the string hammock and handed it to her.

“You think it will hold both of us? It looks like one of those shopping bags from the seventies. The kind that stretched out of shape as soon as you put something in it. I’ve seen the photos. My mum loved those things.” She stilled and looked at him. “Do you think she’s okay? She’s probably out of her mind with worry. Mum doesn’t deal well with stress. And Dad, Dad thinks he can order the situation to fix itself. Lake Benson won’t like dealing with my bossy father.” She bit her bottom lip. “They are looking for us, aren’t they?”

Beast stood and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him, wanting her to see exactly how serious he was. “Damn straight they’re looking for us. Your family wouldn’t allow anything less, and my boys will rip this jungle apart until they get to us.”

She relaxed beneath his touch. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. We just have to make it to the river, and then we’ll be easier to find.”

What she didn’t say was that neither of them knew if they were heading in the right direction to find the river.

Beast crouched back down and raked through the half-empty bag. “You’re going to love this. Catch.” He tossed his find to her.

“Chocolate,” she whispered with genuine awe before looking at him. “I’ll save it for when we’re in the hammock. It can be our reward.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she could be his reward, but thankfully, he realised how corny that would sound and stopped himself.

The last bag held another bottle of booze, some snack food, a mosquito net that was in much better condition than the first one they’d stolen, and insect repellent. Better late than never, Beast thought as he looked at the can. It was obvious from the things these guys had packed that they hadn’t expected to be in the rainforest long. Which made Beast think they were closer to the river, and civilisation, than either of them had thought.

“I’ll string up the hammock.” Beast took it from her.

“I’ll stand here and eat,” Belinda said solemnly. He arched an eyebrow, and she flashed her killer smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll save you some.”

He chuckled as he looked for two decent trees, close together, that would suit his purpose. It wasn’t hard to find what he wanted—they were surrounded by trees. He was so busy working on putting the hammock up that he didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on around him. It was a dumb mistake.

“Uh, John,” Belinda called softly. “Don’t move.”

A chill ran straight through him, and his first thought was another damn killer insect. Instead, he felt something large brush against his leg. Slowly, he looked down and saw a long, hairy creature lumbering beside him. The animal scraped at the ground, sniffing around with its long, tapering nose, before its tongue darted out to chase the insects scurrying on the rainforest floor. Anteater. Beast slowly studied its body, noting the thick neck, long hair and massive bushy tail. It had to be six feet long, and it was eating the very thing Beast detested—insects. They could have used this guy the night before.

When he looked over at Belinda, she was grinning again. Beast couldn’t help but grin back. Nothing kept the woman down, and nothing stopped her from finding joy even in the worst of situations.

The anteater shuffled around Beast, completely uninterested in his presence. Once the creature had cleared the area of as many ants as possible, it disappeared through the bushes.

“It was so cuddly,” Belinda said when she came over to him.

“Hollywood,” he said, letting out a sigh, “you need a keeper.”

He finished tying up the hammock and stung a liana between the trees above it, the way Belinda had taught him, then threw the new mosquito net over the line, making sure it covered the hammock completely. Belinda silently handed him each of the packs, as well as their last water-filled condom.

“Get into bed,” Beast said gruffly, when they’d finished securing everything under the mosquito net.

She looked worried for a second before her face flushed. “I think I’ll sleep in my clothes tonight.”

Beast understood immediately. He cupped her cheek and looked her in the eye. “You do whatever makes you feel safe, Hollywood.”

“It isn’t you.” Her cheeks had to be burning now.

“No, you want to be prepared in case someone else stumbles on us.” He got it. He’d spent years sleeping on the street and always felt safer with as many clothes on as possible.

Her eyes welled up. “Yes. That’s exactly it.”

Beast stroked her cheek and tipped her chin gently up to him, so that she would look him in the eye. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll sleep in my clothes too.”

Her eyes became glassy with tears, and she blinked them back. “Maybe there’s some antiseptic cream in the medical kit. We can dress my cuts.”

“Good thinking.” He pulled the small bag out of the pack.

They took a few minutes to slather the cream over every wound on her body. There was a compression bandage in the kit, and Beast used it to bind her knee. Antihistamine cream was next, and they took turns dabbing the insect bites on each other’s bodies.

“We’re a matching pair. Both of us a mess,” Belinda said with a mixture of amusement and tears.

“Couple of days and this will all be gone.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

She was losing hope; he heard it in her voice. The jungle was taking its toll on her, and the trauma of that morning’s attack was far too fresh.

“Done,” she said, handing the cream to him. “You get into bed first and I’ll climb on top of you.” He moved to do exactly that, and she put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Maybe we could get undressed. It would be more comfortable. But keep our underwear on?”

“We can do that if you want, baby. There’s no pressure either way.”

“Yeah, I want to. Everything rubs at me. It might help me feel better. But…” She looked around. Their surroundings were swallowed in shadow. The flashlight only illuminated the tiny pocket of space they occupied.

“I’ll keep the gun close. We’ll hear anything that comes at us, long before it gets here. You’ll be safe.”

She nodded. “Can you help me to get my clothes off? My knee won’t hold my weight.”

“Anything for you, Hollywood.” He was beginning to think he meant every word of that literally.

He slid the dress over her head and hung it over the line above their bed, under the mosquito net. She’d long ago discarded her bra, and the marks on her breast from where she’d been held and cut were stark on her pale skin.

Beast clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together tightly to stop from saying something about the marks. She didn’t need to hear it. Not now. He crouched in front of her and gently removed her shoes, taking care not to jar her swollen knee or the hip with the knife wound. He hated seeing the damage that had been done to her and couldn’t wait until it had healed and the physical reminders of her attack were gone. Gently, he pressed a kiss to the dressing covering the knife wound.

“I don’t feel it,” Belinda said softly.

“I still hate him for it.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

“Ready?” he said as he stood.

She nodded, and Beast quickly kicked off his shoes and took off his shirt and pants. She eyed his underpants.

“You don’t have to keep them on because I’m keeping mine on,” she said.

“Yeah, baby, I do. I don’t trust those monkeys with low-hanging fruit.”

She seemed surprised when she laughed, and Beast couldn’t help but grin at her.

“Get your ass in bed,” he said gruffly. “We’ve got four hours until daylight, and we need some sleep.”

“You first. I don’t want to be crushed.”

Beast climbed into the hammock, then steadied Belinda as she climbed in beside him. She didn’t hesitate in sprawling on top of him and snuggling close. Her legs straddled him, her arms tucked in at his sides, her breasts flattened against his chest, and she nuzzled against the crook of his neck until she found a spot she liked. Once settled, she let out a contented little sigh that melted his heart.

“Can I sleep on top of you?” she said.

He smiled, noting that she’d asked once she was settled. “You can sleep wherever you like, baby.”

With his arms wrapped tight around her, he closed his eyes and hoped for a miracle. Because he suspected they’d need one to get out of the rainforest alive.