"Thank you, but I can manage by myself."

His face clouded. "Maybe you think I'm not strong enough because I couldn't get up the wall?"

"That's not it. I'm sure you're strong enough to do anything you want to do." He was still staring at her with that hurt expression. She could not involve this boy in her struggles, but she felt as if she had kicked a puppy. "Perhaps you could help me by telling me about the men here. That would help a lot."

"I don't know. They don't talk to me much."

"Which ones do you think might hurt me?"

He nodded at once at a heavyset, balding man four bunks down. "Scott. He's pretty mean. He's the one who calls me Dummy."

"Anyone else?"

"Sanchez." He glanced uneasily at a small, wiry Latino who was staring at them with an unpleasant smile, and then nodded at a sandy-haired man in his twenties. "Blumberg. They started to touch me in the shower, but they stopped when Scott came."

"Scott stopped them?"

"No, but they didn't want him to know." He swallowed. "They said ... later."

If they were homosexuals, she might not have to worry about Sanchez and Blumberg. No, rape was a crime of violence, not passion, and they had been willing to victimize a helpless boy. "I think you should leave here, Peter."

He shook his head. "Daddy wouldn't like it. He says I'm too soft. He said I needed to learn to take it."

Take rape and abuse? He must have known what Peter would face in this macho hellhole. She smothered a flare of anger. She could do nothing now to help Peter. She might not even be able to help herself. "Your daddy is wrong. This is no place for you. Go home."

"He'd only send me back." He added simply, "He doesn't want me there."

Dammit. She didn't need this. She didn't want to feel this melting pity. She stared at him in helpless frustration before turning away. "Do you know anything about guns?"

He brightened. "They taught us about the rifle the first day. We have target practice every morning."

"What about the pistol?"

"A little. I know how it's put together and how to load it."

She sat down on the bed beside him. "Show me."

"Have you heard from her?" Tanek asked as soon as Tania picked up the phone.

"Not a word. She's not in Seattle?"

"No, and Phil says she's not in Denver either. We guessed wrong."

"You think she may be in Florida?"

"I don't know." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe she was laying another false trail. She could be anywhere."

"What are you going to do?"

"What else? I'm catching a plane for Florida in thirty minutes. I should be at Obanako by midmorning. I'm sending Phil back to your place in case she shows up there."

"That's not necessary. I'll be here."

"It's necessary," he said grimly. "When she surfaces, she's not going anywhere until I talk to her."

They were coming.

Nell's muscles locked beneath the blanket as she heard the stirring in the darkness. She had been waiting for this moment for hours.

They weren't trying to be quiet about it. Why should they? No one would come to help her.

Except Peter. Stay asleep, Peter. Don't let them hurt you.

They were closer. Four shapes in the darkness. Who was the fourth man? It didn't matter. They were all the enemy.

"Turn on the lights. I want to see her face when I ram it into her."

Light.

Scott. Sanchez. Blumberg. The fourth man was older, with a nondescript face and thinning hair.

"She's awake. Look, boys, she's been waiting for us." Scott stepped closer. "We don't like dykes who show us up, do we?"

"Go away."

"We can't do that. We want to show you how well we can climb. I figure we'll climb off and on you so many times, you'll be bowlegged by morning." He moistened his lips. "Now, be real quiet and do what we tell you. We don't like women dressed up like soldiers. It kind of turns us off. Strip."

"Leave her alone," Peter said.

He was sitting on the edge of his bunk, looking more fragile and gawky than before in his khaki undershirt and shorts.

"Shut up, Dummy," Scott said without looking at him.

"You shouldn't hurt her. She didn't do anything to hurt you."

"It's up to her if she gets hurt. All she has to do is what we tell her and she'll have a real good time," Sanchez said.

"Go away," Nell repeated.

Peter was beside her bed. "Don't hurt her."

He was afraid, she realized. She could see the muscle jerking in his cheek, the slight tremor of his hands. "Go back to bed, Peter."

"Maybe Dummy wants to dip his wick too," Scott said. "Naw, he's not man enough."

"You think it makes you more of a man to rape a woman?" she asked.

"You'll see." He reached down and jerked the blanket off her.

She lifted the pistol she'd been cradling and pointed it at his crotch. "I only see that you'll no longer have a penis if you don't leave me alone."

He took an instinctive step back. "Shit."

"We'll rush her," Sanchez said. "We'll take that gun away from her and stuff it in her cunt."

"Yes, you could rush me," Nell said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Why don't you, Scott? I might not be able to shoot all of you. Of course, the first shot would make a eunuch of you and the second would be for Sanchez. After that I'd be in a hurry and have to aim for a broader target, like a stomach or chest."

"She won't do it," Blumberg said. "It would be murder."

"And murder is so much worse than rape." Nell's hand tightened on the gun. "I don't think so."

"They'd put you away and throw away the key."

"They'd try." She met his gaze and then looked at each man in turn. "But I'd do it. I won't be hurt or stopped. You're getting in my way and I can't allow that to happen. Touch me and I'll blow you away." Oh God, she sounded just like a grade-B movie.

Scott's eyes widened. He whispered, "You're fucking crazy."

"Possibly."

He backed away from her.

"You're going to let her buffalo you?" Sanchez said.

"She's not aiming at your dick," Scott said through his teeth.

"I am now." Nell shifted the barrel.

Sanchez blinked.

"You said it would be easy," the fourth man muttered.

"Shut up, Glaser," Scott said.

"You didn't tell me she was going to be like this." Glaser stalked away from the cot.

"We'll come back later. She can't stay awake all night." Scott smiled malevolently at Nell. "Close your eyes and we'll be on you."

He reached up and turned out the light.

She inhaled sharply. She suddenly felt alone and vulnerable.

Scott's voice came out of the darkness. "Took you off guard, didn't it? You can't keep up your watch forever. What you going to do once we're in the swamp? You think Wilkins is gonna care?"

"I doubt if you're going to be in the mood for rape while we're wading through the bayou."

She heard a muttered curse.

They were moving away, she realized with relief. It was too soon to relax, but the immediate danger was over. She'd been so afraid. She was still afraid, shaking in the darkness.

"I'll watch out for you," Peter said.

She had almost forgotten the boy. "No, go to sleep. Tomorrow will be hard. You'll need your strength."

"I'll watch out for you," he repeated stubbornly. He sat down on the floor beside her cot and crossed his legs.

"Peter, please don't do-" She broke off. She had no intention of going to sleep herself, but it was clear she couldn't convince him. Oh, well, it would only be a few hours until dawn.

"I was scared," Peter said suddenly.

"So was I."

"You didn't show it."

"Neither did you," she lied.

"I didn't?" He sounded pleased. "I thought Scott might know. He's like my daddy. He knows things like that."

"And your father tells you that he knows them?"

"Sure. He says a man has to face his faults. He said he'd never have become mayor of Selena if he hadn't faced his faults and corrected them."

She was beginning to detest Peter's faceless father. "Your father couldn't have been braver than you were just now. He would have been proud of you."

There was a silence. "No, he's never proud of me. I'm not smart."

The bald simplicity of the response caused pity to wrench through her. "Well, I was proud of you."

"You were?" he asked eagerly. "I was proud of you too." He paused. "That means we're friends, doesn't it?"

She wanted to push him away. She didn't want his help or the responsibility he represented. He had allied himself with her for those bullies to see and might suffer for it later. She didn't want to bear that guilt.

It was too late. She couldn't turn him away. "Yes, that's what it means."

"And we really showed them, didn't we?"

She sighed. "We really did."

"Eve Billings? I don't know anyone by that name," Randall said blandly. "And we don't accept women here at Obanako, Mr. Tanek."

Nicholas tossed down on the desk one of the pictures Tania had given him. "She might be using another name."

"Nice-looking woman." Randall pushed the photo away. "But I still haven't seen her."

"I find that very odd. She rented a car at the Panama City airport." He flipped open his notebook. "And the license number of the Ford in the parking lot in back of your office is the same."

Randall's smile disappeared. "We don't like people nosing around our camp."

"I don't like people lying to me," Nicholas said softly. "Where is she, Randall?"