Nila

“THIS WON’T WORK.”

Jethro shushed me, inching through the wonky panel hidden in the toilet block. The wretched air almost made me gag.

The moment Jethro had come, he’d made me dress, and hoisted Daniel’s carcass over his shoulder.

His eyes blackened with nerves and resolution as he ignored me. “It will.” Under his breath, he added, “It has to.”

Another shiver darted down my spine. The millionth shiver since I’d arrived in Africa.

It felt like an eternity had passed since I’d claimed a life, pierced my needle and taken someone’s last breath, last gasp, last thought. It felt like eons since I’d finally succumbed to the raging lust in my bloodstream and forced Jethro to take me.

But in reality, only forty minutes had ticked past.

How long would Cut give Daniel to rape me? An hour? Two? Or would he wait until Daniel tired and went to tag him for his turn? Either way, time was finally on our side—for now.

Every step, I couldn’t stop the remembrance of Daniel’s heart giving way to my needle point. Every breath, I couldn’t stop reliving the final moments of victory, followed by a canyon of regret.

I’d killed someone.

I’ve murdered.

I no longer had the right to heaven or angels or eternal paradise. In order to win against the devils, I’d had to become one. Before, I was willing to make that sacrifice, but now...now I knew what a weight it was to value my life above another’s. And I wasn’t so sure. Did I have the right? Did anyone—regardless of circumstance?

I kept seeing the trickle of blood, oozing and pooling on the floor—unwilling to leave its host, copper and crimson...slowly turning to unwanted rust.

Dirt to dirt.

Ashes to ashes.

Daniel had been raised with diamond spoons and diamond toys. Would his body eventually fuse with the earth, transforming from bone and becoming the sparkling gemstones his family coveted?

Reborn.

Into the one thing his family treasured the most.

Was that karma?

Or serendipitous endings?

Stop it.

You heard what Daniel said. He would’ve raped me until death.

If I had died, he wouldn’t be moping about mourning my loss or regretting his decision.

Straightening my shoulders, I stopped thinking about the murder and dealt with the aftermath.

Jethro moved silently and stealthily. I refused to look at Daniel’s sheet-wrapped body. A bloom of blood was the only sign that beneath the burden existed something sinister.

“Jethro...” I whispered, cursing the remnants of the drug-liquor still hammering my heartbeat. My orgasm had been blistering and explosive, but it hadn’t nullified the urge entirely.

He looked up, stepping through the fence opening, leaving the encampment for the free world. “What?”

“I—I—” I didn’t know what I wanted to say. I’d apologised for killing his brother. I’d let him console me when really I should console him for losing yet another member of his family.

He hasn’t lost Kes...not yet.

I felt responsible. I should be the one to destroy the evidence, not him.

“I want you to go. If Cut—”

His teeth bared. “Don’t bring that up again. I’m. Not. Leaving. I don’t fucking care if he sees me. I’m here for good. I’m with you for good. Got it?”

His gaze entrapped me; I sucked in a breath. The magical question he’d asked filled my mind.

Marry me.

Marry me.

Marry him?

I’d said yes, but nerves tap-danced on my ribcage. I wanted him as mine more than anything, but there was so much we had to defeat before we were free.

Looking over my shoulder, fear tiptoed through my shadow, terrified Cut would find us.

Repositioning Daniel on his shoulder, Jethro held the panel wider. “Come on.” Perspiration and strain etched his forehead. “We have to hurry.”

I didn’t hesitate again.

Ducking through the fence, I stayed by his side, crunching through long grass, keeping my eyes wide and wary. We were no longer in the den of Hawks but entered a much larger one of lions and hyenas. I’d never been to a place where humans weren’t on the top of the food chain. It made me very aware of how vulnerable and edible we were.

A few hours ago, the plains had been shrouded in darkness so thick, my eyes were completely blinded. Now, the black turned pinky-grey, slowly yawning as daybreak appeared.

We had to hurry.

Hurry.

Jethro had to hide.

We have to run.

Trailing in his wake, I didn’t ask about his plan. I trusted him. However, being so exposed out here—visible to both man and beast—I didn’t like it.

I had to pinch myself to believe he was truly here. When he’d run into the tent, I thought I’d finally snapped. That whatever drugs Cut had given me had consumed me whole.

But then he’d touched me and the repellent desire in my blood became an incinerating demand. His arrival was a miracle. And I’d appreciated that miracle by making him fuck me.

He’d helped me forget for just a tiny moment.

The further we travelled, the more numb I became.

Shock was a weird thing.

It had the power to anesthetize even the most horrifying situation. It could dull the most excruciating pain and make it liveable. But it could also abolish instinct and make a bad idea seem good.

Was this a good idea? Or terrible?

Jethro stumbled beneath his dead brother’s weight.

Dashing forward, I reached out unthinkingly. My hand touched cooling flesh. I swallowed the urge to retch. “Let me help.”

Jethro shook his head, pain scrunching his face. “I can manage. Just stay close.” Blood trickled down his side where his gunshot wound had torn. The heat in his eyes wasn’t just from rage but fever. As much as he would deny it, he wasn’t fully healed and should be resting.

Instead, he’s out here...saving me.

We were both in pain. The kick from Daniel throbbed and the hits and scratches didn’t appreciate being ignored. Even the slice on my palm from the ceremony still stung. We both needed to be held together with stitches and bandages.

“Jethro, please, you’re not well. Let me help. We’re in this together. Don’t carry this burden on your own.” By burden, I didn’t just mean Daniel’s death, but the entire situation.

He smiled softly. “Nila, I can feel your urge to help. I feel your love, your fear, your uncertainty.” He sighed. “I even feel your confliction about saying yes to marrying me.”

I sucked in a gasp. His condition gave me no room to hide. No secrets.

“I’m sorry. I can’t—”

He moved forward again, his knees kissing the long grass. “I know you can’t help it. But don’t ask me to lean on you when there is so much I made you survive on your own.” His jaw clenched. “I need to do this. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t interfere.”

“Interfere?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Jethro—”

“No!” He slammed to a halt. “Nila. Stop. Just stop. Be quiet in both voice and thoughts and let’s get rid of him.”

I looked down, rubbing my fingers together, hating the sticky residue of Daniel’s blood. I hadn’t even washed my hands after stealing a life. A life he didn’t deserve but still a life.

The terrible crime would shade me forever.

Who am I? Who have I become?

“Please, Needle,” Jethro murmured when I didn’t respond. “Be quiet. Just...focus on happier things. It will help me immensely.”

Forcing a door closed on my thoughts, I nodded. “Okay.” If blocking my feelings was the only way I could help him, I would do it.

“Thank you.” Jethro’s back bunched as he slowly moved ahead with his slain sibling.

A rustling sound shot my head up. Every thought dispersed like the wind while fear squatted heavily on my spine. “Jethro...”

“Shit.” He froze.

“Shit?” I couldn’t breathe. “What—what is it?” My ears strained for more noise while my eyes frantically searched the thigh-high yellow grass.

Jethro took a determined step forward. “Don’t look. Just keep moving. We need to get a little further.”

I disobeyed, locked into a statue.

A chilly morning breeze rustled the grass, making it dance and weave. But there was something else...something other than plant life...something very much alive.

Stalking us.

Hunting us.

“It’s watching us...” My voice barely escaped. 

“Do as I say. Don’t run. Don’t panic. Just stay calm.”

Something glided, hunting closer and closer.

Jethro slowly turned to face me, his eyes narrowing on a spot to the side. Daniel’s arm escaped the sheet, hanging loosely over his shoulder, his frame morbidly sprawled.

Jethro tensed. “Fuck.”

My heart rate exploded. Instincts ordered me to run. But I couldn’t unlock my knees.

Never tearing his eyes from the speck in the grass, Jethro very gently, very methodically slid Daniel off his shoulder. His legs, hips, torso, arms, until finally Daniel lay on the ground. The moment he was down, obscured partly by foliage, Jethro tore off the sheet, threw it away, and paced toward me.

Stupidity made me speak. “People will find him. It’s too close to the camp.”

Jethro shook his head. “Believe me when I say, they won’t.” He backed up, splaying his hands as if showing no threat to whatever hunted us.

I knew why.

Don’t ask why.

“Why?”

Ignoring me, his voice dropped to a whisper as his face skittered between fear and fight. “Nila...back away. Return to the camp. I need you to run, understand?”

My mouth fell open. I gulped terrified breaths.

Jethro came close enough to touch me, swivelling my shoulders until I faced the fence. His voice burned my ear as he growled, “Run. Now!” He shoved me hard. “Run!”

His command was a gun and I became a blur of motion. My knees shot high, bouncing over the tall grass; my hair flying in all directions.

Movement immediately exploded beside us, disrupting the peace of the plain.

Shit!

Run.

Run.

Run, run, run.

I wanted it to be explainable—grass stroked by the breeze. But it wasn’t. There was no wind anymore.

Prickles on the back of my neck had nothing to do with the cold morning. Basic instinct knew what this was—why I ran for my life.

I was prey in the middle of a hunt.

My legs sprinted harder.

My lungs burst as we covered the distance back to the base in seconds compared to minutes.

We collided with the fence, Jethro grunted as he wrenched open the panel. “Get inside. Quick.” Shoving me through, he was rough and aggressive, before tearing inside behind me and slamming it shut.

I buckled over, planting my hands on my knees as I inhaled air and life. The whiff of ammonia and excrement hung thick in the space, but I didn’t care.

I’m alive.

I’m alive.

We made it.

Jethro didn’t move. He pressed his face against the crudely made fence and stared.

That was when I heard it.

Not a howl or grunt or purr. But a loud crunch.

“Oh, my God.” I sidled up beside him, staring through the slats to the plains beyond. Daniel had disappeared in the grass, the sheet caught on the stems, fluttering in the breeze. But he wasn’t alone.

Two lionesses had found him. Their tails flicking in greed, tan coats camouflaging them perfectly, and muzzles covered in Hawk blood.

“Oh...” My stomach roiled as the larger feline ducked and grabbed Daniel’s throat, hauling his carcass into view. I slapped a hand over my mouth as she tore through his jugular, ensuring I’d done the job correctly and he was dead.

The other lioness swatted her companion, taking a bite of Daniel’s shoulder.

Jethro vibrated beside me, silent but merciless.

We didn’t say a word as the cats gnawed a snack from the man I’d lived with, a brother Jethro grew up with. They ate a few large mouthfuls before grunting with triumph at the dawn sky.

With tan fur rippling, the head huntress snarled over Daniel’s gashing throat and with powerful muscles, carted her trophy away. The black tuft on her tail bounced back and forth as the evidence of my murder slowly disappeared.

His death to give life.

His evilness to feed purity.

We watched until there was nothing to see. No lions. No Daniel. Nothing.

Finally, Jethro pushed away, swiping a hand across his face. His shoulders rolled as he battled and segmented whatever emotions had risen. His voice was gruff as he said, “That’s why.”

I blinked, ignoring the stench of toilets and smarting realness of what had just happened.  “What?”

He smiled sadly. “Out there, you asked me why he wouldn’t be found.”

A shudder stole my nervous system. “They’ll eat him?”

He nodded. “I doubt there’ll be any remains. And if there is...it’s the perfect alibi. Daniel got drunk after raping you and stupidly went for a walk to clear his head.” He grabbed my shoulders, holding me tight. “Promise me you’ll only remember that part, Nila. You didn’t kill him. He didn’t touch you. He didn’t rape you. And you didn’t have to defend yourself. Wipe it from your mind. It will help you live easier. He had it coming—even nature agreed with you.”

I cupped his cheek. “Is that what you’re worried about?”

His face tensed. “It’s what I feel from you.”

“Really?”

Dammit.

He was too in-tune, too perceptive.

He sighed, nudging my forehead with his. “I sense what you’re not saying. I know he went further than you want to tell me. I know you’re in pain—most likely from the slap to your face and kick to your stomach—and I know the drugs in your system from the ceremony made fighting that much worse.”

How—? He’d picked up on not just emotional but physical woes, too.

“I’ll never get used to you doing that.”

His arms wrapped around me. “Well, you agreed to marry me—unless you’re having second thoughts—so I guess you’re going to have to get used to it.”

My body suddenly burst into a blistering sunrise. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Did what?”

“Agree to marry you.”

Jethro shuddered. “Fuck, I love hearing that.”

“That I’ll marry you?”

He smiled. “No, that you’ll be my wife.”

I did my best to squash the pessimism that we might never be granted something so precious. That the Final Debt might still come to pass, no matter he wouldn’t leave me again.

I used to be such an optimist...now...it was hard after the past six months. I smiled and kissed his lips. “You’ll be my husband. How did I ever get so lucky?” I did my best to project confidence and joy. However, I couldn’t hide anything from him.

Pulling back, he ran a hand through my hair. “We’ll win in the end, Nila. You’ll see.”

I sighed. “I know.”

I hope.

“We will. I promise.” Taking my wrist, he pulled me toward the panel. “Come on. Let’s go. I’ve got a driver waiting a kilometre away. We can leave.”

My heart galloped. “Wait. Through there? No. No way.” I tugged on his hold. “That fence is the only thing stopping us from being breakfast to the pride that’s already taken Daniel.”

Jethro frowned. “They have food. I doubt they’ll come after us.”

Food being his brother.

Knowing Jethro could see into the souls of others made a smidgen of relief settle. He didn’t care Daniel was gone. In fact, he seemed more than okay with it.

That said something.

I looped my fingers through his. “I’m not willing to take that chance. We’re together now. No lion or Hawk will take you from me.”

Pacing away, he looked like a wild animal trapped against this will. “I could run ahead. Get the driver and come back for you.”

Slamming my hands on my hips, I shook my head. “There is no way you’re leaving without me again. No way. You promised. Will you renege on that so soon?”

He exhaled heavily. “Agreed. I was wrong to leave you at Hawksridge. If I’d listened to you, none of this would’ve happened.”

I softened. “If you’d listened to me, then your sister and Kes might have been hurt.” I snuggled into him. “You did the only thing you could.”

He groaned, gathering me close and kissing the top of my head. “I don’t deserve you. Not after what Daniel—”

I kissed him. “Shut up. I won’t let you think that way.”

I would never verbally tell him I let Daniel enter me—just a little—to ensure my trap was sprung before killing him. He didn’t need to carry such knowledge. It was a price I willingly paid. Jethro didn’t need to know how repulsive those few inches had been, or how much I loathed myself for letting it happen. I couldn’t stop him from sensing what I refused to say. But they were my thoughts and I wanted them to remain unspoken.

His lips grazed over mine. “You’re right. Let’s get out of this hell hole.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Stay quiet and follow me.” He twisted to leave, a painful hiss escaping his lips.

I yanked him to a stop, inspecting his side. “Are you okay? You need a doctor.” Pressing the back of my hand on his forehead, I whispered, “You’re burning up, Kite. You need medicine.”

He scowled. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just focus on getting out of here. Then we can both heal and relax once we’ve won.”

I didn’t ask how we would do that. But I did ask, “Are we going to the driver a kilometre away?”

“No. You’re right. It’s too dangerous.” His eyebrows furrowed, thinking of a new plan. “The Jeeps that the workers take to the mine aren’t far away. I know where the keys are stored. If we stay hidden, we can get there in time to leave when the employees do.”

“What about Cut?”

“What about him?”

“Will he have come looking for me by now?”

A harsh look filled his gaze. “Cut will leave you to Daniel. Call it training. Like a lion leaves its cub to maul its dinner before stepping in and killing it. He wants Daniel to use you. He won’t interfere with that.”

I wasn’t so sure. The way Cut had looked at me spoke of rage that his youngest son got me first. He’d hated Daniel had won the coin toss.

Stepping away from the smelly latrines and into fresh, morning air, I squeezed Jethro’s hand. “I trust you.”

His golden eyes glowed with their own daybreak. “I’ll make sure to finally deserve your trust, Nila.”

Tugging me forward, he smiled. “Now, let’s go home.”