Page 69 of No Questions Asked

Vicente relayed his words to the chief, and there was murmuring among the villagers. The chief looked at the shaman, while I exchanged a glance with Amana. Her expression was sympathetic. She understood what it meant to want to be with the one you loved. Lucky for her, she’d got her wish. Now it was my turn, I hoped.

The chief said something and several women stepped forward shyly. The chief motioned to Slash and then to the women.

“He’s offering you a different woman,” Vicente said. “Or multiple women. I’m not sure. Anyway, it’s clearly your choice.”

Slash bowed his head to the chief. “Tell him I am honored by his offer, but there’s only one woman for me, and I’m not leaving here without her.”

Slash pulled his shirt off over his head and dropped it to the ground. His father’s crucifix gleamed against his bare chest in the firelight.

“Slash, what are you doing?” I asked, alarmed.

“Disrobing. I’m going to fight for you.”

“What?”

“You’re coming home with me one way or the other.”

The chief and the shaman had started a deep discussion. Vicente was listening, but I had no idea what they were saying. My anxiety skyrocketed. How would this play out? Would they let me go even if Slash won? What if Slash didn’t win? Would they lethimgo? Or would they kill him and Vicente on the spot?

Knowing Slash, he wouldn’t go down easy, if at all. I assumed he had a backup plan. But that backup plan probably involved guns, and I didn’t want any of the villagers to get hurt. While I wasn’t happy I’d been kidnapped and had no desire to stay, these were good people.

I let out a breath, pressing a hand to my forehead where an anxiety headache had started. “Slash, if you fight the chief, you can’t hurt him.”

“Why not?”

“Because he has to lead these people. They need him.”

By this time, Slash was down to his boxers and his physique was showing. He was taller and heavier than the chief and he held himself with a grace that signaled he was a man used to fighting. I almost felt sorry for the chief. Vicente returned, lowering his voice but speaking loud enough so I could hear it.

“The shaman told the chief he doesn’t have to fight you. After all, it’s the shaman’s right to declare a victor even if a match is not fought. But the chief doesn’t like that scenario. He says it’s only proper that a warrior as powerful as Lexi have a mate who is also strong and willing to fight for her. He says Lexi must be very special if you followed her all the way from the river to reclaim her. How could he not challenge you for such a woman? And if he didn’t, what would the Gods of the River think of him?”

I closed my eyes. That sealed it. The two men were going to fight. No matter what I said or demanded, it wouldn’t be settled by me.

I didn’t move, so the shaman took my arm, moving me out of the ring and into the spot where all the unmarried women had to watch their match.

The chief threw off his cape and stepped into the ring. Slash stepped in as well. It surprised me that Slash’s sudden appearance and willingness to fight for me did not send the village into a panic. It seemed ridiculous that they thought I was any kind of warrior, and if I wasn’t standing here in a loincloth about to watch a wrestling match for my hand, I might have laughed. I didn’t want to be part of a rainforest legend, but it looked like I wasn’t going to have any say in it.

Slash and the chief started slowly circling each other, trying to gauge each other’s abilities.

“Are there any rules?” Slash asked me.

“From what I saw, you can’t leave or step foot outside the stone circle. In earlier matches, it looked like they were wrestling to me. No punching or hitting, but be careful because I’m not entirely sure about that part. To win, you have to push your opponent out of the circle or make him step out. And remember, you can’t hurt him.”

“That’s all?” Slash said. “Win, but don’t win. Get him, but don’t hurt him.”

“You need to make it look like a heroic fight, Slash. I mean it. The chief needs to look like a hero in the villagers’ eyes.”

Just as I said that, the chief made the first move. He’d crouched down low and was making a wide swooping motion with his hand across the dirt. I wondered what the heck he was doing, as I hadn’t seen that movement in any other fight. Suddenly, the chief put his hands behind his back and leaned forward. Without warning, he threw a handful of the dirt at Slash’s face and lunged forward in an attempt to drive a blinded Slash from the circle.

Slash managed to get his arms in front of his face to avoid most of the dirt. Apparently he’d expected the subsequent rush, because he dropped to one knee, anchoring himself in the ground and lowering his center of gravity. When the chief lunged forward, he jammed his shoulder into the chief’s stomach and used a modified judo throw to lay out the chief behind him.

Slash wiped the remaining dirt from his eyes as the chief rose to his feet and laughed. He said something and Vicente translated. “He says he’s fighting a warrior worthy of having anAmazonasdescendant. He says this will be a fight for the entire village to remember and pass down through the generations.”

The two men circled each other twice more. I couldn’t contain my nervousness or shut up. “Go get him, Slash. You’ve got this!”

I gave him a few more encouragements and then stopped, turning around. Everyone in the village, including the shaman, was staring at me. That’s when I remembered the entire village had stayed quiet during the match.

Oops! Me and my big mouth.

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