Page 20 of Prisoner of War
“So who did you come to see?”
“The one they callel leopardo rojo.”
“The...something leopard?”
“Rojo.Red.”
“The Red Leopard. That’s a strange name for a man.”
“Not his real name. Our name for him. But he has already gone.”
“I see.”
A small silence drifted between them. He was staring at her. He leaned closer. “Forgive me...but you are so beautiful.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
He lifted his hand toward her face, moving slowly so that he would not startle her. “May I?”
In her entire life she had never had a man ask her permission to touch her. She was flummoxed. “Er...sure, yeah,” she said. She felt stupid. Why could she not have said something just as elegant and profound to him? He was making her feel gauche and young. It was a novel feeling.It had been a long while since a man had made her feel anything other than completely sure of herself and her power over him.
He had long fingers. He rested his fingertip against her cheek and drew it slowly down her face—a barely there touch that nevertheless left a trail of tingling skin behind.
“So soft,” he murmured. “I have never seen such beauty before.” He added something in Spanish.Something about keeping her next to him…
Her heart squeezed.
“Minnie?” It was her father’s voice, but he hadn’t sighted her yet.
“My father,” she explained to the soldier.
“Introduce me,” he said at once.
“Really?”
“I would know more about you.”
“Yeah. But I’m going to need your name.”
Surprise skittered across his face. “Ah, yes. Name. Yes. Captain Eduardo Peña y Santos.” He leaned closer.“Please say yes we can meet again.”
An incredible thrill ran through her. He wanted to see her again! “Yes, we can meet again.” Her heart was hammering.
“Minnie, for heaven’s sake. There you are.” It was her cousin Calli who arrived first.
Minnie gave the man a reassuring smile, then looked at Calli. “Just having a chat.” It was a lie. Chatting was the least of what was happening here. Herinsides were swirling and she resented that the moment was about to end. He was standing, his hand dropping away from her.
“Dad said it might take a while,” she told Calli. “So I stayed outside to listen to the music. Calli, this is Eduardo...right?”
He turned to face Calli. “Friends call me Duardo. I insist. Eduardo, I like not.” His voice was low. He held out his hand to Calli.
Duardo.
As Duardo took Calli’s hand and kissed the back of it, flustering her cousin, Minnie shivered.
* * * * *
As she lay on her lumpy mattress, Minnie shivered again, remembering that moment. Although she had not recognized at the time how true her instincts had been, that shiver had marked a barely conscious realization that somehow, this captain with the all-knowing eyes and the easy smile was goingto turn her life inside out.
