Chapter Ten

Tyson was in the shower when Jayde heard his phone ringing. It was the fifth time it had rang, so she answered it. “Hello?”

“Who is this?” a man demanded. “Where is Tyson?”

“In the shower. Do you want to hold on for a moment?”

“Young lady, who are you?”

“No one of consequence,” she evaded.

“I disagree.” Jayde turned and saw Tyson standing there with a towel tied around his waist.

Jayde smiled. “I didn’t mean to cause problems, but it kept ringing.” She handed him his phone.

“No problems.” He took a kiss along with the phone. “Yeah?” he said as Jayde walked into the bath-room and took a shower to give him some privacy.

Some minutes later the door opened. “Tyson? Is that you?” she asked over the noise of the showerhead.

“Who else would it be?” he answered. He sounded so distracted to her.

“Not sure.” She stuck her head out and peered at him. “What are you doing in here?”

“We need to talk.”

He looked so serious for a moment that she became scared. “I’ll be done in a moment,” she promised, pulling her head back inside the shower. Jayde finished in record time. Tyson had handed her a towel and robe the moment she stepped out of the tub.

She followed him out into the bedroom. “What is it? What’s happened?”

He turned those eyes on her and she just about cried. There was so much pain in them it hurt her. It scared her.

“Get dressed.” He threw some jeans and a tee shirt at her. “Hurry.”

Gone was the man who had loved her so thoroughly through the night, leaving behind someone she didn’t recognize. “Excuse me?” Jayde asked in total confusion.

“We are leaving. Today. Get dressed.” He walked to the window and peeked out behind the drawn drapery, frowning at something he saw down on the street.

Jayde moved her clothes to the side and sat down on a chair. “My vacation isn’t over till tomorrow.”

Hard eyes turned to her. “It’s over now.” His voice brooked no room for argument.

“Tyson, you’re scaring me.”

“Dammit, woman, get dressed!” he snapped. “We are going back to the preserve. You need to hurry.”

Silently, she did as told. As she tied on her boots, she noticed him with her cell phone. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Is there anything you want from your stuff to take with you?”

“Yes, all of it. What are you doing with my phone?” Jayde asked again.

“You can get another one, once you are back in the States. Let’s go.” He grabbed a bag with her souve-nirs in it. The phone was tossed on the bed in two pieces.

“I’m not leaving my phone or my stuff. Will you just talk to me?” She moved towards the bed and her phone. Who was this man?

“Leave it there.” Tyson grabbed her hand and dragged her to the door.

Jayde began to struggle, a futile effort since he was so much stronger than she. Panic surfaced and a scream began to emerge from her throat. Tyson kissed her, covering the sound of her scream. His touch just as potent as it had been all through the night.

When he moved back from her mouth, he spoke very clearly in a low voice. “Listen to me. We have to go, now. You are in danger staying here; fighting me is only making it harder for me to save you.” The disbelief must have shown in her eyes, for he touched her chin gently. “It’s my fault you are in danger, but now it’s also up to me to protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you, but you have to trust me,” Tyson spoke sincerely.

“Why am I in danger?” Dawning slowly came to her. “Does this have to do with the police that brought you here?”

“Yes, and I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. But let me get you out of it. You have to get back to the States. But we have to go immediately.”

“I’m not going,” she protested automatically, irrationally.

A look entered Tyson’s eyes that told her she was wrong. “Don’t make me force you. You are leaving right now; I’d just hoped it would be of your own volition. I will carry you out if I have to,” he promised.

She knew every word he spoke was the truth. Jayde withdrew into her shell. “Fine.” She opened the door and began to walk out before him.

“Let me go first,” he muttered, shouldering past her. He also had a bag.

Their bags in one hand, Tyson used his other strong hand to grip her arm and lead her down the hallway to the back stairs. Jayde didn’t know this version of Tyson Kincade; and yet she still felt safe with his touch, regardless of what was currently happening between them.

He blended them in a crowd of people going down the stairs and walked with them outside as if they were a part of the group. Once everyone was on the bus, it left for the preserve. Jayde felt him look over to her but she refused to meet his gaze.

****

Upon reaching the preserve, Tyson and Jayde got off in the middle of the crowd and immediately went towards one of the preserve’s trails. Soon it was just the two of them in the rainforest walking, in silence, rapidly along the trails.

They continued walking at that fast pace for about four hours until Jayde ran into his back when he’d abruptly stopped walking at the edge of the clearing and looked over the meadow.

“We wait.” Was all he said as he moved them off the trail and into the jungle, erasing all proof of their existence.

Jayde was confused but she knew from his expression he didn’t want her to talk. He seemed in tune with the sounds that surrounded them. She was scared. Her bag was close to her chest as she tried to breathe slowly. She sensed him watching her intently, and she tried to put up a brave front. However, her husband must have recognized her distress, for he leaned against a tree and gestured for her to come to him.

She did as ordered. Way out of her element here, all she could think of were the poisonous snakes and spiders. Snakes weren’t so bad, but she had a severe case of arachnophobia. Even fake spiders scared her to the point of hyperventilation.

He settled her between his legs, her back resting against his chest. Tyson wrapped his arms around her and absorbed some of her shaking. They sat like that for hours more. Jayde lost track of time as the skies became dark. The rain began to fall, causing her to shiver from the cold, even though covered with the poncho that Tyson had produced. Not only that, she had to pee, but she remained quiet. Jayde had her eyes closed so she couldn’t see the creatures that she believed were closing in on her.

Something about her behavior must have concerned Tyson. He lowered his head, water running from his hair to hers, and whispered into her ear, “It’s going to be all right.” He glanced at his watch and added, “Not much longer now.”

Her body was stiff. She was cold, frightened, drenched, and had a full bladder. Jayde began to rock her body from side to side when he stiffened behind her. She cringed with fear, her body just about giving out on her. Blood mixed with the rain as she bit her lip so hard to make sure she didn’t make a sound.

“Come on,” he said as she felt herself being pulled up. “That’s going to be our ride.” He took her bag from her nerveless fingers and carried it. She still wore the poncho, for all the good it was doing her.

Ride? She didn’t hear anything. Still she forced her eyes open and squinted against the torrential down-pour that had turned the ground into nothing but mud, mud that seemed to suck at more than just her boots, taking with it some of her innocence. Barely making out Tyson’s tall form in front of her, she fol-lowed him back onto the trail and out into the open meadow where he began to run.

Jayde saw a helicopter sitting there in the middle of the tall grass. Five figures holding guns were illu-minated with every flash of lightning. Trepidation froze her feet to the ground; she couldn’t move.

Tyson turned back around to see her stopped in her tracks. She heard the yells over the chopper and rain clearly enough and saw him look at the other end of the meadow where headlights from a Jeep were speeding towards their location. He swore as he yelled, “Jayde, come to me!”

His voice seemed to penetrate her haze. She wiped her eyes and saw his shadow. She began to run, her boots slipping in the mire, the large poncho entangling about her legs, but she never stopped. She continued to run straight to the man with whom she felt safe. As she reached him, Jayde would have sworn she saw pride in his gaze as he locked eyes with her and gestured her on towards the chopper.

This time he paced himself with her, seeming to understand that she needed him there. “Keep your head low,” he shouted as they got up to the vehicle. Jayde barely had time to look at the men or their weapons before a strong arm reached out and lifted her up into the chopper, Tyson jumping in right after her as the shots broke out. The men outside returned fire on the Jeep as they climbed back into the chopper.

Jayde saw flashes of light coming from the muzzles of the guns before she was sandwiched in between Tyson and another person she didn’t know. She felt the helicopter moving and soon they were flying.

There were nine other men in the interior and all of them were looking at her with blatant curiosity. She shrank against Tyson’s wet yet safe body, not noticing the knowing smiles that passed among the crew as his strong arms lifted her to a sitting position, removed her drenched poncho, and maneuvered her back between his legs before covering them both with a dry blanket, effectively hiding her curvaceous body from their gazes. The chopper flew for some time; and as the warmth penetrated her body, pushing the remnants of the adrenaline out, she felt herself beginning to dose off. The last she remembered was a set of lips brushing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.