Ricardo’s voice came out almost soundless.
“They hurt you too.”
The jaguar blinked.
That was all.
Not understanding, not agreement. Just one slow closing and opening of those impossible eyes.
Still, saying it steadied him.
For the first time since the men had attacked him, he felt something other than helplessness.
Not control.
Never that.
But connection.
Fragile and absurd and probably one-sided, yet real enough to keep panic from swallowing him whole.
The jaguar stepped closer and pressed its shoulder against the rope at Ricardo’s side as it passed.
The fibers scraped and shifted.
Ricardo felt sudden pain shoot through his right wrist as a little slack appeared in the binding around his torso.
Continued on the next page
