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stop herself.
Fuck! Sam shouted.
He pushed her down to the ground. Her knees and hands sank into the damp earth
and she flattened herself, facedown, terror careening through her. Would she be safe
down here? She turned her head to look at Sam. He remained standing, his hands
bunched into fists, a tic flickering beneath his eye.
Sam! Get down! Lucia tugged the leg of his jeans, frantic to keep him safe.
He s gone. I saw him running away. It was just a warning.
Lucia stood, rubbing her hands down her coat front then flicking off stubborn
clumps of mud. A warning? Shit, what the fuck will the real thing be like? One of us
wounded? Dead?
No. He drew her close, arm about her back, fingers curled into her waist. I won t
allow that to happen. I ll find him before he comes back.
I can t expect you to put your life in danger for me. Much as I want to find the
bastard who killed my father, that little episode there has me changing my mind. I
should go. With me gone, he ll come and find me in the city. I ll have police protection.
And it means he won t be here looking for the cougar. If I go, this will get cleared up
quickly. I can tell the police about Jacob. About everything.
He smiled, but he didn t seem to find anything amusing. These people won t stop.
Not until they have what they want. And I want to help. Need to help.
But why? This is nothing to do with you!
Sam cupped her face. Lucia, this has everything to do with me.
This isn t your fight. He was my father and I won t let you get killed trying to help
me.
53
Tess MacKall & Natalie Dae
This is my home.
She pulled away. Home or not, it s not worth your life!
Their bond was growing. Sam felt it and he knew she did too. And that s why the
need to protect him was so strong within her. Only she didn t have the advantage of
understanding exactly what was going on.
It s more than that, Lucia.
Then explain it to me, she said.
We need to get back to the cabin. Keep moving. He brought her close against him
once more.
All right, she groaned. But you can talk while we walk.
He trudged forward, continuing to scan the forest, sensing the man wasn t far. The
shot had definitely been a warning. Whoever he was, he d become so desperate he
hadn t even tried to hide the fact he was there. A picture of the cougar might be
valuable to some, but valuable enough to murder her father for, risk coming back to the
scene, and now possibly kill them as well? But he hadn t shot them, had he? There was
more to all this than just a picture of a legendary cat.
One thing was for certain, though. Whatever it was he wanted, the killer wasn t
sure where it was buried, or in Lucia s possession. Otherwise, he wouldn t be digging,
and he wouldn t have missed when he aimed that gun. He thought Lucia had whatever
it was he was after.
Sam was almost dragging Lucia along and slowed his pace to accommodate her
much smaller steps. I m a part of this place. The spirits talk to me here.
Spirits?
The disbelief in her voice made him smile. The spirits of my ancestors.
Oh, but you don t really mean they talk to you, do you?
It s not as simple as that. They come to me in visions and put me on the right path.
They are here with us now.
Lucia s head bobbed back and forth as if she were looking for the spirits.
Chuckling softly, Sam shook his head. You won t see them.
A covey of quail flew into the air up ahead. Sam s gaze followed their short flight.
The blue sky stretched, its endless palette dotted with wispy white clouds. A crisp
autumn breeze blew and rustled the tree leaves.
I m not sure I understand. Is this your religion, Sam?
Sam halted his steps. Turning his head to the east, he breathed deeply. The man
was moving farther away. At least Lucia was safe for the time being.
Sort of. But it s more of a way of life, he said. It s in my blood. Who I am. The
cougar is a part of me. Just like these mountains.
54
Black Cougar Curse
Moving in front of him, she asked, And you would die for the cougar, for these
mountains?
Yes. Yes, I would. And&
Her beautiful brown eyes stared at him, searching. And?
And he would die for her a realization that momentarily paralyzed him. He
couldn t tell her. They d only met last night. Yet it seemed as though his soul had
known hers forever.
I m the caretaker of the Shaconaque.
The what?
The place of blue smoke . The Great Smoky Mountains. This place is sacred to my
people. The Cherokee have lived here for over a thousand years. Our blood is in this
soil. The spirits of our ancestors are here.
I m sorry. I don t understand. Who made you caretaker ?
Staying as close to the truth as possible, he said, I was born with this
responsibility. Marked by it.
But how?
Sam looked deeply into eyes that shone with questions, trying to convey his belief.
I feel it. Just know it.
Her voice tinged with sadness, she looked down at her feet and said softly, I wish I
believed in something like that.
He crooked his finger beneath her chin and tilted her head so her gaze met his. It s
there inside you. When the time comes, you ll do the right thing.
You make it sound as though something is about to happen.
Are you telling me you don t already know this?
She had said to him earlier that she believed something was going on between them
but she wasn t ready to talk about it. Her eyes said she still wasn t ready. Unable to look
at him, to answer him, she turned away. Sam dropped his hand. He would take her to
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