He laughed. “You have no faith, woman. I put in a plug to keep the creatures out. I unfastened the locks and opened the door, that’s why we were in the tube so long.”
“You didn’t close the door.”
“I’m taking you to high ground first. That’s the gentleman
in me.”
She nuzzled his neck. “I do appreciate it, Rio, I really do, but in this one instance, I’ll be happy to sort of stand here while you go back and secure the tube. I’m not ready for visitors yet, especially reptilian ones.”
Rio caught the little tremor in her voice. “I’ll do that immediately, Rachael. We’re already in the cavern. Fortunately we’re back far enough and the cave opens up into a wide chamber here so we can light a lamp. I brought several with me over a period of time.” He set her down on a flat surface.
Rachael waited anxiously while he lit one of the lamps and hooked it above their heads for maximum coverage. She looked around her. The chamber was fairly large. Roots protruded and water dripped continually from several walls. There was no sign of alligators. Rio had quite a supply of items in the cave.
There was a large plastic container she assumed was waterproof inside a cage of roots. She could see there were several blankets and one of his many medical kits inside. She was sitting on a flat slab of stone. It was the only rock she could see in the entire cave. The floor around the walls was damp, but most of the water ran back toward the river. Rio had hollowed out a ditch to keep the water from dampening the floor of the cave.
“So what do you think?” Rio returned, soaking wet, sweeping his hair back with careless fingers. “Not too bad.”
“I think it’s wonderful,” Rachael said. She was soaked and uncomfortable. She looked down at the shirt and realized it didn’t do her much good. As wet as her shirt was, it
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was nearly transparent. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of these clothes. You should too, Rio.”
“I’ve got a few things packed in waterproof bags for us,” he said. He opened the container and rummaged through the supplies until he found a towel.
Rio knelt beside her and unbuttoned the shut, dragging it off her wet skin and tossing it aside. “Come on, sestrilla, stand up so I can get rid of these jeans.”
His voice was gentle, tender even. Rachael allowed him to help her up, leaning into his body as he peeled the material from her hips. He wrapped the towel around her and began rubbing the drops of water from her skin. She swayed with weariness and it embarrassed her. He was the one who had jogged through miles of forest with her in his arms. He had been the one to use his strength to keep them from being swept apart in the river. And he was as soaked as she was.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” Rachael said. “Sometimes I’m not certain you’re real.”
Rio wrapped her in a dry shirt. “I have my good side,” he teased. “Unfortunately, it just doesn’t come jout that often.” He laid a mat on the slab of rock and covered it with a thick sleeping bag before helping her to sit down. Rubbing the thick mass of curls, he studied her leg. “The green gunk held up. We want to get that off the puncture wounds in case they still need to drain.”
“It does feel better,” Rachael said. “I’ll have to remember to tell Tama he’s a miracle worker.”
Rio made certain she was comfortable before he peeled off his own clothes and rubbed the towel over his body,
“How long do you think we’ll have to stay here?” Rachael asked.
“I’m going to use the rest of the night to hunt the shooter. He’s leaving his own trail and he was injured. It will be easier for me to find him. I’ll know you’re safe and won’t worry about him circling back and finding you alone in the house. Franz is already scouting for me. He’ll pick up the trail, and he knows how to stay out of sight.”