Elijah looked a little uncomfortable. Drake came to his rescue. “You’re a female leopard in the midst of the Han Vol Dan.”

“I stink?”

He laughed. “You smell good, sweetheart. Good enough to . . .”

She showed him her fist and he subsided.

“So you spent the night in the blind and you were lookin’ for what? The killer to come back?”

“Not exactly,” Elijah said. “I took a look at the water route and realized a boat could come in and rendezvous easily with another without being seen, unless someone happened to be spending the night in a blind in the swamp and what were the odds of that happening?”

“I don’ understand. What does that have to do with the killer?”

“Nothing, and maybe everything. I happen to have a very odd expertise,” Elijah admitted. “I inherited one of the most successful drug cartels in the world today. I know a drug running operation when I see one and this one is sweet.”

Saria whipped her head around, staggered and nearly fell. Drake’s hands landed on her hips as she steadied herself. “You’re crazy. No one I know is runnin’ drugs here.”

Elijah shrugged. “I don’t know who happens to be doing the drug running, but it’s definitely going on and that’s what you saw that first time you found a body. You were damned lucky they didn’t see you. This is a huge operation and if you, someone who knows this swamp inside and out, hasn’t figured it out, probably no one has. Probably you saw a killing provoked by a drug deal gone sour. That’s why it looked different to you.”

So he was up to date on everything she’d said about the bodies. Of course he had to be. And he was so certain someone was running drugs. Absolutely certain. He’d inherited a successful drug cartel? What did that mean? What was he doing in the middle of the swamp in a fierce storm at night? What did she really know about any of them?

Drake put a hand on her shoulder. She tried to shrug it off. He would feel her tremble and would know she was suddenly afraid.

“He’s not with the cartel, honey. He’s with us.”

She didn’t know what or who “us” was. She suddenly wished she’d told someone, her brothers or at least Pauline, what she was doing. Of course they deliberately hadn’t told her until they were on the water. Drake’s fingers tightened on her shoulder. He stepped closer, crowding her. She slowed the boat to slide a if you, a bend into the more treacherous water.

“I need to concentrate.”

“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Elijah said. “I wanted you to know I was telling the truth. The minute I saw the setup and took a look at the surrounding land . . .”