“Saria knew no other way of life. I tried to get her father to let me take her—and he agreed—but she refused to go. Every night she went out the window and went back to her house. I gave up. Maybe it was wrong of me, but there is no arguin’ with Saria. She doesn’t argue, she’s stays quiet, says no once, and then does what she wants. She was determined to take care of her father and she did.”

“Saria deserved a childhood.”

“She had one, Drake, just not one the world would approve of. She went everywhere with her father as a toddler, and young child. She learned to shoot so she could help him hunt alligators. She knows how to track game, trap, fish and hunt. She can take care of herself and for all his failin’s, LeRoy gave her that. She’s a strong woman and when the boys came back and actually noticed they had a younger siblin’, it was too late to take control of her. She did what she always did, she goes her own way quietly. There’s no drama with Saria and she’s as honest as day. The only thing I can take credit for is convincin’ her that school was important.”

Drake smiled at her. “I doubt that was the only thing you did for her. It’s obvious you’re her mother, Pauline. She loves you with everything in her.”

Pauline’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Why would this killer single her out?”

“I have no idea. Maybe because she figured it out that he was leopard and she sent for help. Sometimes, a very sick person can fixate on someone. She’s entering the Han Vol Dan. She’s very close and every male leopard in the lair is well aware of it. It’s possible he believed he would claim her and then she betrayed him by choosing me. There’s no way of saying what triggers a sick mind to do terrible things, but clearly, he’s angry with her.”

“She won’t let you protect her.”

Drake looked her straight in the eye. “I’ll take care of her, Pauline. Nothing will happen to her, I give you my word. She can do whatever she wants, and I’ll be right beside her. Where I go, my men will go and they won’t make the mistake again of letting him get close. The killer pissed them off royally.”

Pauline started down the stairs and then stopped again, resting her hand on his wrist. “You won’ take her too far from me will you?”

“I don’t think Saria will ever go far from you for long, Pauline,” he said. “I want to show her the rain forest, but I know this is her home. This is the place she loves, and she is not going to be happy if she’s away from you or the swamp.”

Pauline beamed at him. “I knew you’d understand.” “I’ve lived my life all over the world,” he said. “I’ve never had a home until I found Saria. She is home to me. It won’t matter to me where I live, as long as I have her with me. I travel for work and will have to continue to do that for a while, but this will be our home base.” He sighed. “After all, that man of yours tricked me into challenging for leadership.”

“It was a win-win situation for him. If you hadn’t challenged, Remy would have, or one of Saria’s other brothers.”

“He talked it over with you first. That old wily coot.”

“Of course he did. We both wanted to ensure Saria’s best interests. If you hadn’t challenged, you weren’t in love with her and she shouldn’t be with you.”

“I can’t believe that old man skunked me.”

Pauline laughed. “That old man has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.”

Drake shook his head. Now that he’d had a brief glimpse at Amos Jeanmard, he could understand how he had achieved a leadership role. Now it was up to Drake to find out how much damage Charisse Mercier’s hybrid flower, bad decisions and poor bloodlines had done to the lair and who among them was a serial killer.

15

ELIJAH Losposto

s was a steely-eyed, extremely handsome man in a tough, scary way. He had a wealth of gleaming black hair spilling down into eyes the color of mercury one moment and as dark as night the next. Saria stood at the helm of her boat, winding her way through the choppy water, trying not to think about how dangerous he looked or why he would take orders from Drake Donovan. Elijah and his partner, Jeremiah Wheating, two more members of Drake’s team, had spent the night in the swamp and they waited for nightfall for the entire team to return.

The rain poured down in thick silvery bands, making it difficult to see as she tried to keep the boat in open water as much as possible on the way to the strip of land facing Fenton’s Marsh. She had five men in her boat, all silent, all grim-faced and all knowing something she didn’t. On the other hand, Drake hadn’t hesitated in asking her to take them into the swamp. She had the feeling none of them needed her as much as she thought they did.

She sent another quick look at the five men who took orders from Drake. They were all dangerous men. The lair had no idea how very dangerous these men were, and yet—they all took orders from Drake. A small frisson of fear slid down her spine. She didn’t know Drake quite as well as she thought she did, not if he commanded men like these.

She turned her face up to the skies. Dark clouds rolled and churned, driven by a vicious wind. Her legs absorbed the pounding of the boat as it skimmed over the rough water. She noted none of the men seemed adversely affected by either the foul weather or the bumpy ride. She wasn’t certain why they were going out on such a night, but they were all armed. Whatever Elijah had told Drake earlier in the day, he had emerged from the meeting grim-faced, his eyes, usually s warm, were flat and cold and frankly quite scary.