She aver ted her face, tossed off the towel and reached for a shirt. “Well, he didn’t do a very good job of protecting us. Or himself. His own family isn’t so very hot. Not in the rain forest and not in the States. They’re probably every bit as rigid or worse than your elders. You’re on the wrong track, Rio.”

“Maybe. It’s possible. Didn’t his family accept you and your brother?”

She shrugged casually—too casually. “At first they pretended they did.”

“He came from money,” Rio guessed.

“He had money. A lot of it. At least his family did.”

“What family? Did he own the estate near the forest outright, or did it belong to his family?”

“His brother owned it with him.” Her voice was without any inflection whatsoever, but he felt the distaste. Revulsion even. It was almost tangible in the room between them. “They shared all the homes, even the ones in the States.”

Rio’s radar went off immediately. “So they are very wealthy. They really can afford the million-dollar reward. Rachael, has it occurred to you that the reward is only to be paid if you’re returned alive? The sniper wanted you dead. Could there be two factions at work here?”

She swung her head around to look at him, some emotion flickering in the depths of her eyes. “I didn’t think of that.”

“So it’s possible.”

Rachael nodded reluctantly. “Yes. And both sides have a great deal of money. My brother and I inher ited my stepfather ‘s share of the estates and his part of the businesses.”

“How did your stepfather and your mother die?”

“They were executed. The official police report said they were murdered.”

“Then there were autopsies performed.”

She shook her head. “The bodies disappeared out of the morgue. They were stolen. It was a big scandal. I was still young and it was a terrif ying time.”

“So where did you and your brother go after your parents died?”

Her shoulders were rigid. “To our uncle, my stepfather ‘s brother. He shared the estates and businesses and took us in.”

“So it’s your uncle who is either paying to keep you alive or wants you dead.”

“He would never pay to keep me alive.” She struggled to keep bitterness from stealing into her voice.

“Why are we talking about this, Rio? Just the thought of him makes my skin crawl. I left that place. I left those people. I don’t want them here in this house with us.”

“Your brother is a part of you, Rachael. I can tell you love him. It’s in your voice when you talk about him. Sooner or later this has to be resolved.”

“You obviously care about the elders in your village, but they banished you. I can love my brother and know I’m a liability to him and that it’s better for him if I’m not around. Better for both of us.”

He tapped his finger on the wall. “Why? What have you done that makes him better off without you?”

Her gaze was suddenly cool as it swept over him. “I don’t talk about my brother with anyone, Rio. It isn’t safe for you, for me or for him. If you can’t accept that…”

“Don’t go getting all edgy on me again. I asked a perfectly reasonable question.”

She watched the heat shimmer in his eyes. “I don’t think anyone with a temper like yours should ever call me edgy. I’m hungry, not edgy.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Do you know how to cook?”

She glar ed at him. “I’m a perfectly good cook. I’ve been polite not wanting to get in your way. I’ve noticed you have a tendency to be territorial.”

Before he could reply, the radio crackled again. Rio spun around and rushed across the room to snatch it up. There was a moment of silence. “It’s a go. We’ve got a go.” There was more static and words Rachael couldn’t catch.

“What are they saying?”

“I’m listening to them talking to one another. They’re going in to get out the victims. They’ll have to go in like ghosts. With one, it’s more a grab and get out, but you’re talking several victims. There’s bound to be one that panics and that’s what makes it so dangerous.”

“What happens if someone panics?” She could feel the tension in the room rising. Rio paced back and forth with quick restless steps. She watched him from the safety of the bed. He seemed to flow across the floor, every bit as graceful and fluid as a jungle cat. And just as caged there in the house with her.

Rio paused beside his rifle, slid his hand over the barrel. “This is where it could get bad. Conner better be watching out for them,” he said in a low tone, almost to himself.

“This Conner is doing your job, is that it? What exactly do you usually do?”

“I protect them. I can hit a bird on a wing in a high wind. So I lay up above them where I can sight the entire camp and I keep the bandits off of them. I provide cover fire and lay it down thick when they retr eat. We scatter, each man assigned a job, taking the victims into the forest. Drake usually gets them to the helicopter while the rest of the team goes in every direction. I draw the bandits after me. I provide heavy fire and keep them busy and following me until I hear from each team member they are safe and we can stand down.”

“The bandits chase you through the forest.”

He grinned at her, a small, mischievous little boy grin. “Several forests. There aren’t any such things as borders or rivers or places we can’t go. We do have to be a little careful in their territory. They’r e like rats, they go underground in their maze of tunnels in the fields. That’s why we lead them into the forest.