One second later, a blurring light blinked in the waterway, holding to her left. She knew, with a sinking heart, that the boat was traveling into the canal that led to the Tregre-Mercier swamps.

“We’re heading into the reeds,” she whispered to Drake, knowing with their hearing the others would be able to heed her warning. “Stay close, but keep an eye out for gators. They’ll be in the water. We’re goin’ to move fast through here.”

Her heart was pounding. She had a very healthy respect for alligators. She gripped her rifle and took the first step into the reed-choked water. The water went up to her thigh. She took a deep breath and kept moving steadily through the murky water, not fast, not slow, feeling her way with each step. Her night vision allowed her to see the dark loglike shapes lying in wait in the reeds and n the barrel roots from the cypress trees sticking out of the water.

The tension stretched, and the men remained absolutely silent as they moved in unison through the treacherous water. She tasted fear in her mouth, but she refused to show it. These men were her responsibility and she wasn’t about to put them in danger by having a panic attack. She had failed to mention to Drake that stepping at night into murky water known to be filled with hungry, aggressive alligators terrified her. She made a note to herself to have that conversation with him at a later date.

Saria felt a small branch roll under her foot and shifted her weight to catch herself from slipping. Drake steadied her, his fingers curling hard around her upper arm. She licked at her suddenly dry lips. The branch felt, for a moment, like a small alligator and set her pulse going through the roof. They were close to the shore again, which didn’t make her any happier. Alligators liked to hang out under the bank in the reeds.

Swallowing her fear, she forced herself forward. Drake kept his hand on her arm, probably because he could feel her trembling. The moment she was on solid ground, she felt relief flooding her body. Her knees went weak, legs like rubber, but she took a couple of deep breaths and began to pick up the pace. They had an easy run and could make up speed once they got away from the bank.

She set as fast a pace as she dared, running instead of jogging. They had to hit the other side of the swamp nearest the southern bank before the boat got around the land mass. The boat had to travel miles around the land while she and Drake’s team could cut through the swamp. They made up a lot of time. The vegetation was thick, but mostly tangled vines, trees and brush. The ground was solid until she reached the outer banks. She was shorter than the men and had to duck a few times, but they had to constantly avoid low-hanging branches, veils of moss and vines to keep from getting clothes-lined. Not one of them broke stride. She was beginning to realize these were men who saw a lot of action in many different environments and were afraid of very little.

She ran fast in the rain, her footsteps kicking up mud and water as she raced along a narrow deer trail. She’d spent a lot of time in this part of the swamp capturing nests on film. She hadn’t worried about predators here other than an occasional bobcat and they always avoided her. This was the one section where they could make up time before they hit the second reed-choked water hazard where she knew for certain a large bull alligator made his home. He’d been known to kill and eat his own kind. He took bait from hooks and actually bent the largest, strongest hooks most of the hunters used trying to snag him.

They had to make it through the water onto the shore of the next strip of land and race to the tip of land on the other side of the finger of land to catch another glimpse of the boat, to know for certain where it was heading.

She moistened her dry mouth and took the plunge into the reed-choked waters. There were cypress trees kneedeep in the murky water, an entire grove of them, with many rotted trunks pitting the bottom along with the everspreading barrel roots. The alligators had many places to hide. She was tired, her body feeling leaden, with so many miles of running, being so vigilant throughout.

To her horror, halfway to the next bank, she saw a water moccasin bearing down on her fast. She had her rifle cradled in her arms, determined to keep her weapon dry and there was nowhere to run. The creature’s head was inches from her hip n Drake struck with blurring speed. He snagged the snake just behind its head, yanked it from the water and threw it a distance away. She heard it hit a tree off to their right.

Saria opened her mouth to thank him, but nothing came out, so she just kept moving. If the large gator that occupied this territory was near, he didn’t show himself and they made it to the bank and began the next run.

It seemed to take forever to cross the swamp. The smallest distance between the two canals was pitted with holes and under at least an inch of water, making it difficult to find the tiny strip of stable land. Several times they had to leap on small rocks to prevent themselves from sinking into the mire.

As they reached the bank, the boat came into view, slowing as it approached the dock to the Mercier property. A man stood waiting on the wooden deck overlooking the river. The boat definitely was Mercier, but the two men in it were the Tregre brothers.

Saria let out her breath slowly and would have sat if there was a place to do so, but they still had a long way to go.

16

DRAKE wrapped his arm around Saria as

morning light crept through the soft rain, tucking her beneath his shoulder. She was exhausted. They all were. After running through the swamp most of the night and making their way to the Mercier property, they had discovered that all the flowers had been cut back in preparation for winter. If there was evidence, it had been destroyed. The greenhouse was under heavy security, which they bypassed without a problem, but there were no poppies inside, nor evidence of opium. They did find the room where Leopard’s Lover grew, and as Pauline had stated, numerous precautions had been taken to keep the flower’s seeds from leaving the greenhouse.