Page 1 of Love in the Wild

Prologue

Uganda—present day

“Get on your knees,” a cold voice commanded.

Eden Matthews sank to her knees. Half a dozen men and women next to her did the same. One woman was sobbing, and a man was begging for his life. But Eden saw no mercy in the eyes of the man who stood in front of her holding a gun to her head.

All around them the jungle was quiet. Even the animals and insects seemed to have sensed the danger and elected to stay still. She stared at the barrel of the gun, her gaze fixed on the circular black hole, then forced herself to look her soon-to-be-murderer in the eyes. The man was unshaven, mid-forties, his clothing splattered with blood and mud. Behind him were four other men with stony, empty black eyes, all armed. They were a mix of white and black men, and the heavy weapons they carried meant they were most likely rebels. Or worse—poachers.

“We were supposed to be safe,” one woman whispered to herself. “This is a national park. We have permits ...”

Permits didn’t matter to men like these—these were the true monsters of the jungle.

“Keep your mouths shut,” the leader snapped. She didn’t dare take her eyes away from him. His gun swung a few inches to Eden’s left at the older woman who’d spoken.

Eden’s heart was beating so fast she was amazed she hadn’t had a heart attack. These men wouldn’t let them go. They were going to kill them and leave their bodies in the Ugandan jungle, never to be found. The gorillas she had come to photograph had fled before these men had arrived, as if they had sensed the danger. If they were poachers, and the gorillas had been their intended target, Eden at least hoped the majestic creatures were far away and safe.

“Cash, what we gonna do with them, eh?” one of the men asked their leader.

“Shut up—I’m thinking,” he growled. His eyes swept over the group of visitors and their two Ugandan guides.

“The boss wouldn’t like witnesses,” the other man added.

“True.” The one called Cash stroked his beard, and then, with terrifying slowness, he swept the gun to the forehead of the man at the far end of the tourist group and fired. Eden jerked as his body fell face-first onto the leaf-covered ground.

Several more bangs echoed in the small clearing, and more bodies fell.

Eden wasn’t able to close her eyes. Fear had so immobilized her that she simply couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. She could only watch.

“Maybe we keep one alive?” Cash volunteered to his men with a cruel laugh. “These other bitches were old. But this one, she’s fresh and young. We can have our fun with her first. The boss would never need to know.”

Lungs burning, Eden sucked in a breath, her back aching from being stiff on her knees.

“Yes, I think we’ll keep her.” Cash lowered his gun, but Eden didn’t relax. Whatever hell was about to come next for her would be far, far worse than a quick death.

Blood roared in her ears, so loud that the trees actually seemed to tremble and the ground to vibrate.

Wait, no.That sound wasn’t in her head. It was coming from somewhere else, somewhere distant, but near enough to frighten the men closest to her.

“What the fuck was that?” Cash demanded.

“Mnyama,” one of the men murmured in Swahili. “MnyamaAnakuja!”

Eden didn’t speak much Swahili, but it sounded like he said,The beast is coming.

“A silverback?” Cash asked.

The man shook his head. “No. The pale ghost.”

“Pale ghost? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Two of the men exchanged glances and just ran. They vanished into the moss-covered hagenia trees that formed the canopies high above them.

Cash spun around, firing shots in their direction before he turned back toward Eden. The roar echoed again, sending birds into flight and small monkeys in the trees scampering away.

“We should go!”

The other men clambered away at once, but Cash shouted at them. “Not until I kill this one.” He pointed his gun at her again.

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