Page 46 of Silk Shadow

His instincts told him so. Every time she provoked him, every time she paraded around in front of him, he sensed the strong woman underneath. There'd been no hint of that pampered princess since they'd rescued her. She may be a social goddess, an influencer and mistress of her domain, but when things got rough, she was just another scared hostage.

They got within twenty meters of her hiding place when Phoenix held up a hand. They both crouched down into the undergrowth. Viper had heard it too. Voices, the crunching of foliage. Then a shout.

Followed closely by a scream.

He went cold.

Fuck.

"They've found her," Viper whispered urgently.

"Who's they?" hissed back Phoenix.

"I don’t know. These aren’t the guys from the ship."

Phoenix shook his head. "This must be a different crew."

That meant locals—and locals meant trouble.

Viper gestured to Phoenix that they move closer. They belly-crawled through the vegetation until they had eyes on Izzy. The rain decreased visibility further, so they had to get closer than they would have liked.

She was surrounded by at least a dozen young men holding a ragtag assortment of weapons. One in particular was shouting at her in Spanish.

"I don't understand?" she sobbed.

He threw his hands up in the air and another man took his place.

"Who are you?" His English was heavily accented but passable.

She was too terrified to answer.

The man gripped her shoulder and shook her. Viper clenched his jaw but remained still.

"I'm a tourist," she blurted out.

Good girl.

"A tourist? Here?" He laughed. "Nobody comes here on vacation."

He had a point.

"I was on a yacht, but we got attacked and came ashore. I'm lost."

He stared at her, then at the first man, who was clearly in charge. The rest stood around gaping at her through the rain that was getting heavier by the minute. It wasn't looking good.

Viper glanced at Phoenix whose expression told him he knew exactly how serious this situation was. There were too many of them to take on, they'd probably end up getting themselves killed.

In these instances, the best thing to do was to let things play out and wait for a better opportunity to rescue her.

Not great for Izzy, though. She was obviously terrified. Her eyes were huge, and she kept peering into the bushes like she expected them to come to her rescue. He wanted to, he really did, but he couldn't.

The leader barked a command and the interpreter said, "Who are you with?"

She hesitated.

Viper grimaced.

"No one. I'm alone."