“There is no way to prepare. As soon as I’m able, I’ll keep going. There has to be a place where they can’t find me. I’m hoping they believe I’m dead.”

“If Kim is alive, he’ll know you survived. He’s one of the best trackers around. And he’ll go looking for you because you were in his care. The government is going to be up in arms, having a church group bringing medical supplies taken by bandits. They’ll be looking for the entire group. The countries need the aid and the last thing they want is for it to get out that it’s dangerous to travel along the rivers or near the forest, two major tourist draws. And if you have someone else, an outside source, pushing the government to go after the bandits, they’ll search the river thoroughly.”

“People drown all the time and their bodies are never found. Is Kim Pang a friend of yours? If he comes looking could you persuade him to say I drowned?”

“Kim won’t lie. If he’s still alive, and as soon as possible I’m going to find out, I’ll ask him to disappear so he can’t be questioned. He has a certain reputation, well deserved. He shouldn’t lose it over this.”

Rachael turned her face away from him. “I liked him. I liked him more than I liked the others. I don’t think those bandits were there to kidnap us for ransom. I think they were paid a great deal of money to find me.”

Rio shook his head. “I can’t see anyone hating you so much.”

“I didn’t say he hated me.”

He felt the blow in his gut, the dark spread of jealousy, the dangerous traits of his animal side. He wasn’t going to let passion rule him, it was far too risky. He had a life now, one he enjoyed. One he could live with. Rachael was not going to ruin it for him.

The wind shifted, touching their faces with droplets of water. Rio immediately leaned over her, protecting her from the rain until the wind settled again. “Bandits are common in these parts. All up and down the river. Not just here but nearly all the countries where the forest and river make it easier to disappear. Indochina, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, all of them. This isn’t a unique situation, or even unexpected. Didn’t they warn you there was danger?” He kept his voice low, even. Nothing would betray the smoldering anger stirring in his belly. She didn’t belong to him. And she was never going to belong to him.

“The odds seemed in our favor.”

“I see it all the time. You should have stayed home, Rachael. You should have gone to the police.”

“Not everyone has options, Rio. I did the best I could in the circumstances. I won’t stay here, just long enough to heal my leg.”

“Do you think it’s going to happen overnight?”