Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(38)

Instead of saying anything further, Rio rose and then reached down to pry her hand away from her legs. He tugged upward until she gave in and let him pull her to her feet.

“You need shoes,” he said as he pulled her back toward the main living area.

She stared after him, utterly baffled. “Where are we going?”

He remained silent as he walked through the kitchen and then to a closet off the living room. He let go of her hand to rummage around a moment and then came out with a pair of shoes that looked like they’d fit her.

He dropped them on the floor beside her feet. “Put them on.”

She stood there a long moment wondering what she’d missed, but seeing his determined look, she sighed and did as he said. When she was done, he went to the gun rack just inside the back entrance and pulled a pistol off the shelf. He shoved in a clip, pocketed two others and then reached for yet another gun. After giving it equal treatment, he donned a shoulder holster and tucked away both pistols.

He glanced her way and then crossed the room, took her hand and started toward another section of the house.

She shook her head to rid herself of the cobwebs that seemed to cling to her brain. She couldn’t imagine what on earth had spawned this reaction. “Rio, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

They took a short flight of stairs down into what appeared to be the basement. To her surprise, he stopped and pushed a button and elevator doors opened. Her mouth gaped as Rio ushered her inside. He hit another button and the elevator started down.

She tried not to think of down, because down was below the ground. Like way below. She had the sudden hysterical thought that he was taking her somewhere to execute her.

When they stepped off, they were surrounded by complete darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out dim lighting ahead. Rio tucked her hand in his and guided her toward the distant glow.

It took a moment for her to figure out that the light was coming down from a long tubelike opening in the ceiling of a tunnel.

It was cool and kind of damp, like a cave, and she supposed that was indeed what they were in. Man-made but a cave nonetheless. She shivered, though she wasn’t at all cold, and Rio automatically pulled her in close to his side as if to share his warmth with her.

Men who did those kinds of things for a woman didn’t turn around and shoot them, right? What would he care if she was cold? If she were dead, she’d be plenty cold. She coughed to cover the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble out. She’d well and truly lost her mind.

Rio wasn’t going to kill her. He’d had ample opportunity. Moreover, it was uncharitable of her to think it, given how good he’d been to her. Hell, he’d risked his life. His team had risked their lives. And here she was being a complete wuss because he was taking her down some dark tunnel God knows how many feet underground.

They continued a ways down until she was certain they were away from the house. She also honed in on the fact that they were gradually working up in elevation.

In the distance a faint noise made her brow wrinkle in concentration. She couldn’t quite make out what it was. It was a dull roar that got a little louder with every step they took.

Then she saw a small sliver of light from behind a boulder. There was a marked difference in the air. Mist. The sound was water. A lot of water.

Rio pulled her toward the light, and she realized it was an opening in the rock, well hidden from view. As she looked out, she saw that they were coming out behind a waterfall.

Transfixed, she followed Rio, her stare riveted to the beautiful water cascading from the rock above and plummeting to the pool below. They were standing in a large hollow behind the falls, and there was a small footpath leading around the edge and away from the falling water.

“Wow,” she breathed.

Rio smiled and then directed her toward the path. She put her back to the rock and inched her way out so she didn’t get soaked by the spray. Once outside, she gazed around at the tranquil paradise that surrounded them.

“This is amazing!”

“It is, isn’t it? It’s my own private getaway. I come here often when I need to pull myself back together.”

Pull himself together? This was a man who looked permanently cemented together. He wasn’t someone who had so much as a crack, certainly not any she’d seen. He was solid. Dependable. Calculating and…confident. That was the word escaping her. He was confident but not in an arrogant ass**le kind of way. He clearly knew he was competent—no, not competent. That made him seem merely adequate. He was certainly beyond simple competency and adequacy. He was…

Her gaze stroked over him, taking in every detail. His demeanor, his silent strength and his composure. There was something magnetizing about him and she couldn’t even put her finger on what made it so.

Her gaze fell to the guns at his sides and then she frowned as she turned in a circle, surveying the jungle canopy that seemed a barrier to the rest of the world. A world that suddenly didn’t seem so idyllic. Not when she knew that evil was out there. Stalking her.

“Are we safe here?”

Rio tugged her farther down the path, spiraling down to the ground level, where the pool rippled and then led out to a small river cutting through the terrain.

“I like to be prepared. The tunnel leads to the back of the waterfall. I’m not saying that the falls and the pool aren’t accessible, but it would be damn hard and I’d certainly know if anyone was near. The jungle is thick here, never touched. It’s overgrown and surrounds the rock face where the water comes over the edge. It’s not even visible from the air because the canopy is so thick in this area. So are we one hundred percent safe? I’m never that naïve. But I’d say we’re pretty c19;conflose to ninety-nine.”