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  A vision of the past twenty years flew by in his mind like images in a telescope. Searching the villages in his home country and then gathering up enough funds to relocate to the U.S. He’d lived in six states before he came to Mystery Canyon, Colorado.

  It never occurred to him that he wouldn’t succeed. What he did doubt was his brother’s ability to find the albinos before he did. Once he attained their bones, his amulet would increase in power. He had to protect himself from the spirits.

  His one concern had to do with the age of the albinos. All the others had been from children but these two were mature. Would it affect his amulet’s potency?

  There was only one way to find out.

  “You are going to come to me and you’re not going to involve the police. If you do, I will kill Gretchen.”

  “You’re the one who bought me and Kojo from the elders. You killed Donna!”

  The cigar man pursed his lips. “I did acquire you through the elders but they tricked me and also sold you and your twin to my brother. They are no longer around to be so devious.”

  He let the implications of his words sink in, letting his quarry stew on that for a few minutes. As for Gretchen Ozinga, she was being a very good girl by keeping quiet. He knew she wouldn’t want to get tasered again.

  After a long moment of silence, Kwasi’s voice came through on the phone. “Where do you want me to go?”

  “I don’t want just you. I want both of you. And if by chance, your brother contacts the police, then I will kill Gretchen. Do you understand? I’ve waited too long and my patience is at an end.”

  Victory had a wonderful taste to it. Once the albinos were sacrificed, he’d have the shaman his twin brother procured to perform the appropriate ceremony and then add their essence to the necklace.

  Then, he’d see if his twin brother could top that.

  Gretchen’s body trembled. Terror ate at her heart with minute teeth which devoured her courage piece by piece. She bit her lip in order to keep from screaming.

  As the container jostled, her cramped body ached. The effects of the taser had dissipated but the memory of it lingered long after. She never, ever wanted to experience the taser ever again.

  Why was this happening? She hadn’t much money. Not highly sought after. No ill-gotten gains through illegitimate means. So why had this man kidnapped her? And what did he mean by twin brother?

  The barrier of the container muffled sound but she could make out the man was talking. Who was he speaking with? An accomplice?

  Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. What if she never saw Kwasi again? They’d just found each other, forgiven each other. Would this man, whoever he was, take away her chance for happiness?

  No. Her lips firmed and she swiped at her eyes as best she could. No. She had to find a way to get out of this predicament.

  But she needed help. The kind of help only one person could provide.

  Closing her eyes, she focused all her thoughts on one image. Then she whispered, “I need you.”

  The motion of the container stopped abruptly and her eyes flew open. Heart thrashing in her ribcage, she thought of one thing: would Gertrude answer her cry for help?

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kwasi and Kojo shared a grim look as they parked on the side of the road of the hunting grounds. This was twenty years ago. It may be daylight, and the sun at its zenith. They may not be young, scrawny boys malnourished from the poor diets of living in the village and ostracized because of the lack of color in their skin. But it was still the same as it was twenty years ago.

  They were the hunted.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” Kojo asked as they got out the car.

  “No, I don’t. I’m going with my instincts.”

  Kwasi wondered if this would be his last day on earth. The man on the phone had made it clear: no guns, no knives, or weaponry of any kind. If he saw a pointed pencil, Gretchen’s life would be at stake.

  Cold fingers of fear traipsed his spine. Nothing could happen to Gretchen.

  “What if he’s—?”

  “I doubt he’s done anything to harm her,” Kwasi said before Kojo finished. “He needs to make sure we would come alone. If he killed her….” The words stole his breath away. No, he wasn’t going there.

  They tread through the forest on their way to their destination. Woodland debris crushed under their feet. Scampering animals ran in front of them in search for food. Winds blew and sang among the trees. The sound of the forest, on any other day, would have been welcome.

  Today, it did nothing.

  “Look at the cabin.”

  Kwasi glanced up to see the log cabin almost directly in front of them. It resembled any other log cabin except for one thing. His wife was being held hostage within its wooden grasp.

  Gretchen, please be all right, he prayed.

  When they came close to the door, it opened. The man motioned with his gun. “Get in here and don’t try anything funny.”

  Hands raised, Kwasi stepped into the cabin along with Kojo. Sparse and deserted, it had two occupants. One had a gun and brandished it at he and his brother. The other was Gretchen. She sat on the floor next to a giant metal container with her hands bound and cloth stuck between her teeth.

  Kwasi’s heart dropped to the floor. It was exactly the same way Luke described it many years ago, down to the last detail of seeing Gretchen tied up in the same way Donna had then. It had ended with Donna’s death and the catalyst for Kwasi and Kojo’s escape.

  His blood ran cold and then hot. He had no intention of giving up Gretchen without a fight. No running away

  “Well, aren’t you both a sight for sore eyes,” the man said with a grin. “I’m going to have the luckiest amulet yet when I get your bones from you.”

  “Why did you buy us?” Kwasi asked. He kept his face turned away from his brother. If the plan they’d put together worked, then they would only have one opportunity to get it right. Anything else would be disastrous.

  Kwasi eyed this man who had been hunting him for as long as he’d been alive even though he hadn’t known it.

  “I bought you for your bones. Albino finger bones are the best to use when making an amulet.” He spoke so matter of fact, Kwasi could have almost believed they were having a conversation about the weather.

  The man reached into his shirt and drew the necklace out. It dangled from one of his fingers like strings of Christmas lights. Tiny bones. How many albino children had this man killed in order to create it?

  “My brother will be here shortly. He’ll bring the shaman along. I’ve decided to be generous and give him one of you for his own amulet.” With a flick of the gun in Kojo’s direction, he ordered, “Go over there next to her and get the rope.” He cocked the gun. “And whatever you do, don’t try anything funny.”

  Kojo glanced back at Kwasi, who read him like a book. It was now or never.

  His brother made as if to go over to Gretchen when he suddenly lunged forward and threw his body into their captor. The movement was almost supernaturally fast as the man had no chance to pull the trigger before his brother slammed into him. A shot went off as the gun fell to the floor. Kwasi kicked it away to the other side of the room.

  With the rage and adrenaline pumping through him, he raced over to help his brother. Kojo had locked the man in a headlock and he struggled against the hold. With his fist balled, Kwasi lifted it and sent it crashing into the man’s nose. Bones crunched and blood gushed out like a spring. An inhuman yell erupted from the man’s mouth, but Kwasi hit again, decking him in his eye.

  “Get him,” Kojo said grimly, the man subdued and unable to get out of his hold.

  Fury burned through him and his fists pummeled the man in rapid succession. He thought of the bones on the man’s necklace. He stopped his punishment long enough to hook his hand around it and rip it from his throat.

  “No,” the man gurgled. “My amulet.”

  Thunder reverberated through the cabin as
glass shattered from behind them. Another gunshot. Kwasi whirled around to see a short, fierce-looking woman with black hair and a steady aim with the rifle in her hand kick open the door.

  “Don’t anyone make any moves,” she warned.

  Kwasi held his hands up in surrender. “Please, call the police.”

  “Oh, they’re already on their way. You—”

  Her eyes landed on Gretchen and shock slackened the hard features from her face. “Ms. Ozinga? From the museum?”

  The energy which surged through him siphoned out. “Please. She’s my wife. Let me go to her.”

  “Ashley!” A man’s voice from outside screeched. “Are you insane? What are you thinking? You don’t know—”

  “Tony, did you call the police?”

  “Of course I did,” A man with dark brown hair ran into view. His face was a mask of horrified shock. “Oh no! Oh my—” The man ran out again and Kwasi heard the sound of retching.

  “Please, let me go to her,” Kwasi begged again, aching to hold his woman in his arms.

  Gretchen made noises as if to agree with him. Kojo had already taken care of their would-be killer by tying his limp, unconscious body with rope. The woman, Ashley’s eyes went from one to the other before she relaxed the hold on her gun and nodded.

  He wasted little time in scrambling over to Gretchen and untying her. Then he hauled her into his arms. “Gretchen. Gretchen. Are you okay? Talk to me, baby, are you okay?”

  Her tears burned a hole into his shirt as she hugged him back just as fiercely. Her sobs tore at his heart but he was fine with that.

  At least she was with him to sob.

  “I love you, Kwasi,” Gretchen cried as she leaned back in his arms, her doll-like eyes rimmed with tears but glowing. “I love you.”

  He kissed her, drawing in the sweetness of her words, the saltiness of her tears, and the flavor of her as a woman. It all tunneled through him like a spring of fresh water, cleansing him from every dark thought, from all the dark past, and filling him with wonder.

  “I love you, too.”

  The sound of sirens in the distance were like a lullaby as he clung to her with the full intent of never letting her go.

  He’d had the laugh last after all.

  The wheelchair man chuckled, as he watched from his hiding place, his brother being carted away by the police. He’d actually thought he would bring a shaman to perform a ceremony for him. How stupid could he be?

  But then, he’d always been able to fool his brother. Ever since they were children. The biggest lie he’d told him was that he wanted the albinos for himself. But that had been a lie to string him along.

  It had always been about the girls. The elders knew that when he paid them the money.

  His eyes narrowed on the girl as the older twin wrapped his arms around her. She was tainted now by the albino so he would simply have to refocus his attention on the other one.

  Carefully, he stepped away on his perfectly healthy legs, another deception for his brother’s benefit, and into the car waiting for him. The other one, Gertrude he believed she was called, had left the house of her sister. Once he found out where she was at, he’d be one step closer to his goal.

  JAVA RIFT: SNEAK PEEK

  A year ago

  So, this is what it was like to see the dead come back to life again.

  Like having air breathed back into your lungs. Your skin tingle in awareness. The entire world disappearing from view as your eyes hone in on the one person you least expected to see enter your life again.

  It had been nineteen years since Gertrude Ozinga had last seen Kwasi but no amount of time would ever have her mistake who he was. She’d know him if she were blind.

  Time had been so good to him since they’d been apart. He’d grown into a man with the kind of physique showcased on the cover of magazines. Strong muscles which bunched for dominance as he moved them. Thick, coarse golden hair styled into a mohawk gave a sexy edge of rebellion. His tinted shades shielded his face but drew attention to his firm mouth and solid chin.

  “Kwasi,” she breathed. He was alive. The hunters hadn’t killed him after all.

  She stood up from her seat in the crowded mall. This man had been the love her life for so long. Ever since she was a child. She’d thought no man could ever come close to him.

  Circumstances had prevented her from claiming him back then. Her lips twisted in discord. But not anymore. This was an opportunity she couldn’t give up. Not now.

  Her feet moved before she had too much time to think about. Then she started to run. Run as fast as her legs could carry her.

  She had to get to Kwasi!

  He stopped at the storefront of a men’s clothing store. She skidded to a halt and stared with love-stricken eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, she bent her head down and then made herself walked sedately, and then bumped into him on ‘accident’.

  “Oops, sorry!” she said breathlessly. “Clumsy me—Kwasi?”

  She let the surprise raise her voice while true astonishment rocked her insides.

  Animal magnetism. It was the only way to describe the aura he exuded. As a black albino, his skin’s natural paleness glimmered like alabaster but there was more to it than just that. A magnetic pulsing connection which reached out to her with gossamer threads. A white tiger who intimidated her and made her bristle in reaction to his presence. Though his shades shuttered his eyes, the force of his scrutiny behind those lenses rippled over her like a blatant caress.

  She gulped. “It is you, Kwasi. You’re alive!”

  “Hey.” His white chocolate voice cascaded over her senses.

  “It’s me, Kwasi. It’s me! Your wife, Afia."

  First, she calls me Kwasi. Then she lies to me. I guess some things never change.

  Despite the balmy flush of joy which flowed over him when he set eyes on her, Kojo O’Brien shook his head. He’d know Ayawa anywhere. Nineteen years couldn’t begin to erase her from his mind. Back then, they’d been children. He eleven and she six years old. Playmates and more.

  When she raised her head, his heart came to a standstill.

  “It’s me, Afia!” Ayawa lied again,

  Her midnight dark skin sheathed her like a silk curtain. Braids, oiled and scented with a pleasant fragrance, made his nostrils flare as he greedily inhaled it. The soft imprint of her body when she ‘bumped’ into him curved into his own, gave more than a hint she’d filled out in all the right places. Those eyes of hers, fringed by thick curly lashes, teemed with an adoration meant for his brother.

  Crushing disappointment settled on his shoulders like the arms of an invisible giant. Nineteen years later and she still clung to her infatuation with Kwasi. She hadn’t even known if Kwasi was alive. Here she was holding his twin brother thinking he was him!

  Ever since they were kids, Kojo always stood in his brother’s shadow in her eyes. “Kwasi’s better at this. Kwasi said this.”

  On and on she went about his brother, never seeing the one in front of her.

  He opened his mouth to call her out on her bull crap when she lifted her head and claimed his mouth.

  Kojo had kissed dozens of women in the past but this was one he’d waited a lifetime for. Sweet heaven, her soft mouth had him groaning and wrapping his arms around her. Heat spiraled through his body as the kiss intensified in seconds. Flames scorched his brain, melting all common sense except the instinct to delve into this cavern of sweetness.

  Strong fingers, her strong fingers, dug into his hair and increased the pressure of his mouth on her. Their tongues tangled together, drawing, and suckling on each other. He couldn’t decide if it was a dance or a battle. With each moist pass a long-buried thing pierced through a well-packed down plot of emotional earth. This thing had a voice, barely audible but it’s clarity came through as he thrust both hands into Ayawa’s braids, wound the silky coils around his fingers, and yanked her head back to drink deeper from this wellspring.

  Mine.

 
She was a fountain with a liquid pleasure he voraciously thirsted for. The taste of her lips as purifying as water in a dry desert.

  Long before he wanted to, Ayawa ripped her lips from his and cuddled against his chest. “Oh, Kwasi. It was everything I’d always hoped it would be,” she sighed in a blissful way.

  An unseen fist punched his stomach. What man on earth wanted to hear another man’s name on the lips of the woman he’d just kissed? Not one, especially with the woman who just knocked him out of his socks. His teeth ground against one another. He loved his brother more than anyone in the world but when it came to Ayawa…

  He wished he could send his brother to the other side of the world. Maybe then, she’d see him.

  Why not be Kwasi?

  He stiffened at the thought and Ayawa glanced up. “Kwasi, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to be with your wife again?”

  Lying had always come easy to Ayawa. She never gave much away when she lied. Her cow eyes gazed up into his with their milk-white orbs and sheen of questionable innocence. Even when they were children and lived in the village in Tanzania, she could spin a yarn to rival the storytellers he and Kwasi used to sneak and listen to at night.

  Since lying came to easy so her, why shouldn’t he join her in her game? As a kid, they loved to play games with each other. Competition was part and parcel of their relationship. Ayawa, his only friend and his best rival.

  Why not be his brother? Since she wanted him so much, why not give her him?

  “Yes, Afia. I’m happy we’re back together again.”

  A WORD FROM PARKER

  My twin is the other half of me. She is my cheerleader and my biggest fan. I’m the oldest twin by a whopping one minute but we are very close. As fraternal twins, we do not have the mystical twin bond that exists for identical twins but it’s pretty close. A mere look and I know what she’s thinking. The same for her.

  In 2016, something quite devastating happened to my family. My twin sister was diagnosed with cancer. What followed was an exercise of faith and trial of family togetherness. I stepped into an unchartered territory I’d never been in before. I watched someone I love very much suffer in pain and there was NOTHING I could do about it.