"Feehan, Christine - Leopard 02 - Wild Rain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feehan Christine)

annoyance in her voice. Her expression was serene, innocent. It was impossible
for him to see the smoldering anger at the way he took every opportunity to
touch her. She glanced at Kim Pang. He saw everything, bis expression every bit
as tranquil as hers, but he had noted the position of Simon's roving hands. "Why
is the river becoming so wild and choppy, Kim?"

"Rain upriver, there is much flooding. I warned you, but

WILD RAIN 3
Don consulted with another and was told the river was passable. As we get
farther upriver, we shall see."
"I thought a series of storms was coming," Don defended. "I checked the weather
this morning."
"Yes, the wind smells of rain."
"At least with the wind blowing so hard, the bugs leave us alone," Amy said. "I
am waiting for the day I don't have fifty bites on me."
There was a long silence while the wind tugged at their Х clothing and whipped
through their hair. Rachael kept her gaze on the shore and the trees with their
branches raised to the rolling clouds. Once she saw a snake coiled around a low-
lying branch and another time she spotted flying fox hanging in the trees. The
world seemed a rich and wonderful place. A place far from people. Far from
deceit and treachery. A place in which one might be able to vanish without a
trace. It was a dream she meant to make a reality.
"The storm is coming. We have to take shelter fast. If we're caught on the
river, we could all drown." Kim Pang delivered the ominous warning, startling
her. She'd been so absorbed in the forest she hadn't been paying attention to
the darkening sky and spinning clouds.
A collective gasp of alarm went up from the small group and instinctively they
huddled closer together in the power launch, hoping Kim could get them upriver
before the storm broke.
A surge of adrenaline rushed through Rachael's bloodstream, triggering a rush of
hope. This was the chance she'd been waiting for. She lifted her face to the
sky, smelled the storm in the wild wind and felt droplets on her skin.
"Be careful, Rachael," Simon advised, tugging at her arm, wanting her to hang on
to the edges of the boat as they whipped through the choppy water toward the
encampment upriver. He had to shout the words to be heard above the roar of the
water.
Rachael smiled at him and obediently caught at the
4 Christine Feehan

boat, not wanting to appear different in any way. Someone was trying to kill
her. Maybe even Simon. She wasn't about to trust anyone. She'd learned that
lesson the hard way, more than once before it sank in, and she wasn't about to
make the same mistakes again. A smile and a word of warning didn't mean
friendship.

"I wish we'd waited. I don't know why we listened to that old man saying today
was the best day for travel," Simon continued, yelling the words in her ear.
"First we wait through two nearly clear days because the omens were bad and then
on the word of some man with no teeth we just all climb in the launch like