Are we going to let him come to us?
Meiling was willing to allow Gedeon to take the lead on this one. She didn’t lie in wait to kill her targets. She knew McGregor had murdered countless men, women and children. She knew he had followed them into the swamp with the intention of killing Laverne and Edge and then finishing off Gedeon and Meiling. It wasn’t that she was opposed to killing him. It was just that she wasn’t certain how she felt about luring him out to the swamp and then essentially murdering him.
It isn’t murder. He’ll have his chance at me, Gedeon objected.
Her heart jumped and then accelerated. What does that mean?
I plan on talking to him. Unlike you, I’m not opposed to walking up behind him, sticking a gun to his head and blowing it off, but you’re with me and you have a moral compass I don’t have.
Now that he said he would put himself at risk, she wasn’t as certain she had a moral compass. McGregor did deserve to die. I could look at it as justice.
The insects, rarely quiet for long, had begun to sound off again. They grew louder and more confident as McGregor remained offshore. Birds once again flitted from tree to tree; squirrels chased one another up the tree trunks while rodents resumed scurrying under the leaves looking for seeds.
Stay here while I go have a talk with him.
Meiling gave him a sharp glance. That wasn’t the plan.
Gedeon sighed. No, Lotus, it wasn’t the plan. But it wasn’t the plan to have Etienne send news that two of your friends were tortured and murdered before we came out here to exact justice for those murdered lovers of Hawkins or to keep him from killing poor Laverne.
I can do this, Meiling hissed at Gedeon.
You think I don’t know that? Mon Dieu, Lotus, you’re the strongest woman I know. Has it ever occurred to you that I want to take care of you? That there are times I need to take care of you?
Gedeon. She moved closer to him and framed his face with her hands. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you. If I lost you now, I couldn’t take it. You can’t be careless the way you have been in the past. You have to know I’m waiting for you.
He didn’t tell her it was easier not to think about someone waiting. In the past he didn’t care if he lived or died. That always gave him an edge. He leaned into her. You’re so beautiful, my beautiful little mate. Let me do this. When she still looked unsure, he brushed another kiss on top of her head. Do what you do best. Back me up.
I can do that.
Of course she could. His woman. Meiling. She could do anything no matter how difficult. He was so damned lucky and so damned undeserving. He was also too intelligent to blow it with her. He kissed her thoroughly and then turned toward the side of the island where he had tied up their boat.
Gedeon stripped, bundled his lightweight pants into a small roll and shoved them into a pack along with a couple of weapons. He strapped the pack around his neck and shifted as he covered ground. Slayer padded carefully through the trees to keep insects and birds from giving away his presence. He was a big leopard and had to choose where to place his paws in order not to sink into the spongy terrain. Most of the island was fairly stable but there were places where the crust was thin. Eventually, as he approached the outer edge of the thick trees, he clawed his way up a tree and used the branches to continue to make his way toward the strip of land where they’d left the boat.
* * *
* * *
MCGREGOR stood on the shore, binoculars up to his eyes, seeking to peer through the trees. He walked closer to the trees, shoving impatiently at the veils of hanging moss. As he did, he dislodged spiders from their webs. Cursing, he slapped at them and took several steps backward. As he did, something moved in the shadows, catching his attention. He had no idea what was in the trees, but his heart began to pound alarmingly.
Both hands were clutched around the binoculars. He needed his gun. He backed up more and felt one of his loafer-clad feet fall into some kind of sinkhole. Deep. Whatever the thing watching him was emerged from the shadows in a slow stalk as he tried to pull his foot from the hole. His entire body froze as a large head came first, and then he saw part of the body.
A leopard. Not just any leopard. This one was enormous. Its golden gaze was fixed on him, wholly focused, as it began to stalk him in a freeze-frame motion that was the most terrifying vision imaginable. McGregor took an involuntary step back with his free foot and buried that one in the sinkhole as well.