Lisa Harris - Deadly Safari

“Yes, Kate, he’ll be picking up the slack for Jared.”

Her grin had yet to diminish. “Sounds good to me.”

“I am glad the two of you are safe, but what about your vehicle?” Samuel didn’t seem to notice Kate’s gawking stare. “I am assuming that since you are out on foot in the middle of the bush at dusk that something happened to it.”

“The brakes on the Jeep gave out,” Meghan told him.

“Is that when you hurt your leg?” Kate asked.

“Yes, I smashed it against the dash, but it’s nothing. Really.”

“I’m not sure about that.” Kate studied the bruise in what little light remained. “It’s already turning purple.”

“It’s nothing that a bag of ice and a couple pain pills can’t fix.”

“And the vehicle?” Samuel asked. “What is the damage there?”

“The front end’s banged up pretty badly. It’s wrapped around the base of a tree trunk.”

Samuel’s gaze narrowed. “You know Ian is not going to be happy about another big expense, but at least both of you are okay. That is what really matters.”

Meghan caught the concern in Samuel’s eyes.

“Meghan tends to be a bit accident-prone,” Kate began.

“What kind of accidents?” Alex asked.

“In case you didn’t notice, I can hear you both.” Meghan frowned as she set her camera down and climbed into the front passenger seat.

Kate slid into the backseat beside Alex. “It is true, Meghan. Either you’re accident-prone or maybe you’ve just had a string of bad luck lately—”

“It was nothing,” Meghan countered.

“What kinds of accidents?” Alex repeated.

“For one,” Kate began, “two days ago, the side of a hide collapsed while Meghan was inside studying our lion family. All joking aside, it actually could have been very dangerous.”

“It collapsed?”

Meghan caught the concern in Alex’s voice. “Kate. You shouldn’t have brought that up.”

“Why not?”

“Because our new assistant has a tendency to worry. He even implied that the brakes on the Jeep went out due to sabotage.” The guy was clearly a worrywart. She’d only added to the mess by mentioning the poachers to him. The idea that the poachers might come after her seemed stupid now. The man who’d been killed had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The chances of it happening again were pretty much zilch.

“Sabotage?” Samuel headed back toward the lodge. “That does not seem very likely. It is far more probable that the owners are cutting back on costs and missed the vehicle’s last scheduled maintenance.”

“The owner’s facing financial issues?” Alex asked.

“No more than any other lodge when the world economy is down.”

“It’s one of the reasons he agreed to help with the documentary we’re working on,” Meghan added. “He’s hoping the added exposure will bring in more tourists. Kate and I blog, and post on Facebook and Twitter, everything we do, complete with videos and photos. People love it.”

“Have there been any other accidents?” Alex clearly wasn’t ready to drop the subject.

“Kate, I’m warning you. Say nothing. Because, Mr. Lone Star, as much as you seem to want there to be, there is no conspiracy going on here. In fact, our days are far less glamorous than most people think, and certainly not dangerous unless you count an occasional encounter with a pack of wild dogs or—like today—a run-in with a rhino. Most of our time is spent out in the bush waiting. No saboteurs, no encounters with poachers, no bad guys waiting in the wings.”

A moment later, the lights of the lodge came into view, hopefully putting an end to the conversation for good. Because all Meghan wanted now was a hot shower and a good night’s sleep.

She stood up and slid out of the Jeep before Alex or the others could react. “Thanks for the ride, Samuel. I appreciate your coming back for us.”

“Where are you going?” Kate asked.

“Back to my chalet. Once I get ahold of a bag of ice and some pain medicine, I plan on crashing. It’s been a long day.”

“I will talk to Ian about the vehicle and make sure it is brought in.”

“Thank you, Samuel.”

“And I’ll walk you to your cabin.”

Meghan took a step forward, then turned back to Alex. “I appreciate your help, really I do, but I’m fine. My knee’s feeling better already, and I’m sure you want to get settled.”

Alex Markham had managed to wreak havoc with her emotions, and she needed distance to help her regain some perspective.

“Okay, but I think you should get your leg checked out by a professional.” He caught her gaze, causing her stomach to flip. “Isn’t there a doctor or clinic nearby?”

“He’s right, Meghan,” Kate added. “You should see a doctor. Just to make sure nothing is broken or torn.”

Meghan shook her head. “I’ll be fine. It’s been a long day, and tomorrow will be just as long. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

Before anyone could say another word, Meghan started down the paved walkway that ran beside a row of chalets, determined not to limp. Everything she’d said had been true. All she needed was some pain medicine and an ice pack, and she’d be as good as new by morning.

Alex—and Kate, for that matter—was making far too big a deal about nothing.

Something rustled behind the purple flowering bougainvillea hedge to her right. Meghan squinted at the thick climbing vine. There were intermittent spotlights along the path, but clouds had covered up the stars and moon, leaving it too dark to see anything.

Meghan sped up, trying to put as little weight as possible on her bad leg as she hobbled down the path. She was beginning to see a poacher behind every bush. She shook her head. This was crazy. Alex and his paranoia were rubbing off on her. It was probably nothing more than a bush baby or a monkey looking for a free handout.

Meghan repositioned the strap of her camera bag over her shoulder. She’d been foolish to venture out without her flashlight, but Alex had her completely rattled. How could a man she knew nothing about leave her so flustered? Clearly she’d been out in the bush too long. For the most part, the men who stayed at the lodge were either over sixty or had wives or girlfriends. None of them had garnered a second look from her.

She started down the row of chalets where the staff stayed. Tonight was quiet, as most people were up at the lodge eating dinner.

Meghan stopped. This time she was sure she’d heard something, and whatever it was sounded too big to be a monkey.

“Hello?”

No answer.

She continued down the path, past her chalet, ready to prove to Alex that there was no bogeyman or saboteur—

Meghan froze as the main power switched off, leaving her in total darkness. Without a flashlight, it was almost impossible to see what was ahead of her. She’d wandered too far down the path to be able to find her chalet, but neither did she want to stay where she was. She knew from experience that power outages could potentially last for hours.

She turned back toward the chalets and took an uneasy step forward. Her knee buckled, and she hit the ground full force. Meghan screamed at the impact, felt her head hit something hard, then gave way to the blackness surrounding her.

* * *

“Is she always so...?” Alex searched for the right word as Meghan disappeared down the path toward her chalet.

“Bullheaded?” Kate suggested.

“I was thinking more independent, but bullheaded works.”

“Yes, but she’s fantastic to work with. She’s creative, funny, focused...”

He followed Kate toward the reception area of the lodge that was decorated with woven baskets and life-size wooden carvings of monkeys, turtles and warthogs. A group of tourists were climbing into one of the vehicles, cameras and extra lenses in hand, for a night safari in the bush. There were more people around than he’d expected. And any one of them could be responsible for their crash earlier.