Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

25: and I ran

"Don't worry, I'm fine." He took in a deep breath and tried to mute the screeching thoughts in his head. Léon raised his hand, forcing a smile. "Will you help me up?"

She gave him a tiny curl of lips that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Com'ere."

Following her instructions, Léon went to the boulder at his side. He supported a foot against the rock face and held Rafa's hand.

"One, two..."

On three, Rafa pulled, helping Léon to climb the small distance between them. He reached his free hand to the edge of the rock platform, but lost his footing. The sole of his sneakers slid down the rock face, and Léon's knee came down for a hard jab on the edge of the platform.

"Ugh... shit," he growled.

When Rafa was sure Léon had enough balance, she let him go. "You okay?" She chuckled. "You definitely need to exercise more, Léon—and to buy better shoes." She pointed at her leather boots. "You're in OC now, city-boy. You need to be prepared for everything."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "I didn't have the time to go shopping after surviving a plane crash."

Rafaela smiled and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You're pardoned this time."

Léon huffed and patted his jeans to clean the dirt. He bent down to tie his shoelaces again, and something slid off his chest pocket. That something clinked on the rock platform and jumped a few times before stopping at Pipo's feet.

"That's it!" he said. Pipo caught the glimmering something from the floor and raised it above his head. Sun poured through the triangular shape and cast a purplish light on his face.

"It's an amethyst," Rafa said with a low voice. "And the cut... may I?" Pipo smiled and placed the gem on Rafa's palm. She thanked him and asked Léon, "Where did you find this?"

Something uncomfortable swept Léon's stomach and gurgled upward, rolling to the back of his neck like a cold wave. "Rob gave it to me."

"When?"

"Uh." Léon scratched his head. "I'm not sure. When I was still in NC, so... around one week ago?"

A crease formed between her eyebrows. Finally, something shone in her eyes, and her jaw tensed. Rafa clicked her tongue. "Right. Through your hot-wired connection. Beto mentioned he tried to contact you and couldn't. That's how he knew you needed help." She showed him the amethyst. "I'm keeping this."

Léon let out an ugly sneer that, to his ears, sounded very much like Phillip. "Uh. No, you're not. It's mine." He stepped forward. "And I want it back."

"Well, I'm not giving it back, sorry. This is evidence." She made a show of pocketing the purple gem. "Around two weeks ago, Beto and I finally closed an illegal mining operation in Cidade Santa that has been boxing and sending this shite"—she patted her pocket—"to NC for the past two years. We have boxes filled with the stuff back in the precinct. The head of the operation drilled the earth, not giving a rat's arse about what lay above the mines, and the result was a bunch of landslides so severe, they left thousands of families without a roof over their heads."

"But... Rob gave it to me," he repeated. "It's.... How do you even know if that gem wasn't just a gift he bought or—"

"Please. Beto couldn't buy one of those; not with his paycheck. I can only think he was trying to help you find him." She took the gem and showed it to him. "This cut was Connie Travone's signature. Triangular—something about stability and power—smooth on one side, natural on the other. Any jeweler could tell you where to find them, although none told the police who was behind it." Her last sentence had a bitter quality to it, low and distant like a distasteful memory. "I mean, I understand why people don't really trust us—centuries of police brutality and all that." She kicked a pebble. "Now I get why The Mayor created the Heroic League instead of taking control of the Police Force in NC."