October 30, 2013
posted by Adam Scull
The
next morning, Haley and Daniel took turns using the shower. Thankfully, he left the room, allowing her
the privacy she needed. After she was
dressed in shorts and a camp shirt, with a bandanna loosely tied around her
neck for the heat, along with hiking boots, she repacked her bags. Daniel had taken his bags with him to check
out. Haley grabbed her bags and left the
room. She went straight to the Jeep,
where she threw one bag in the back and kept her satchel with her in the front.
There was no music this morning, but the
Isiolo market was still just as lively.
Nearby, she heard raucous laughter and chains rattling. She turned to see a group of men surrounding
a truck.
Two
of them seemed to be showing off. The
others did not seem to fit in, possibly stragglers. One man lifted an object from the truck bed
and began laughing. She sucked in a
breath as she saw that it was ivory. A
horn, most likely from an elephant. And
it must have been procured recently because there was still blood on it. She shuddered.
“Poachers,” a voice said behind her.
Haley jumped and spun to see him. “Daniel!”
“I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She nodded, but her gaze was drawn back
to the poachers. So was Daniel’s. “Why aren’t they arrested? It’s a crime, right?”
“Indeed.
But, these people are not dealt with lightly. They are dangerous, Haley, and you must stay
away from them. You should not provoke
them.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked
dryly. Then, she got into the passenger
side of the Jeep, closed the door and waited on him. Time seemed to tick by slowly. Haley looked over to see Daniel staring at
the group of men. One had separated from
the group and started toward the Jeep.
He laughed and shook the chains he held, and said something to Daniel.
Daniel looked grim when he replied.
The man suddenly looked angry, but did
nothing about it. He glanced at Haley,
blew her a kiss and turned back to his buddies.
She only shuddered again.
Daniel got back in the Jeep. He and Haley sat in silence for awhile. The raucous laughter continued, and then the two
men, one of them was the one who’d provoked Daniel, got into the poachers’ truck
and drove away.
Haley sighed. “Maybe you should take your own advice.”
He nodded, his face still grim. “You may be right.” He started the ignition to the Jeep, and
pulled away from the curb. They left
Isiolo and continued north.
Haley’s stomach was full from the
breakfast Daniel had brought into the room that morning. It was a plate of what he’d called nyama choma, a mix of grilled lamb with
tomatoes and onions, along with chupatis
on the side. It reminded her of fajitas,
which was just fine. It was palatable.
She sat back against the seat and risked
a glance at her guide. He still looked
grim as if he was concentrating or mulling over something. He was a private man, for the most part. She had learned that much about him. He was mysterious, which, she had to admit,
was highly appealing for some reason.
Haley remembered how difficult it had
been to sleep beside a strange man all night.
No matter how much she’d tried to stay still, she had woken up several
times curled around his hard form. He
was warm, that must be the only reason she was drawn to him in the night. Humiliated, she had been afraid he would
notice. Typical of a man not to notice
though, wasn’t it?
She sighed, closed her eyes and tried to
make up for some of that lost time.
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