Commando Read Online Free PDF Page B

and—”

    “Hernandez, I didn’t hire him!” Shah protested, straightening her shirt and collar. Who was he? Too much was at stake, and she wasn’t about to get away from the point of Hernandez’s unexpected visit. “And even if I did, I would still go onto that parcel of land where you’re going to cut down the rain forest trees. It’s my right to film anything I want. You can’t stop me.”

    Jake saw Shah’s cheeks flush. Her skin was glistening from the humidity, and she was simply breathtaking. Her body was ramrod-straight, her shoulders were thrown back proudly, and he wanted to applaud her courage. Still, under the circumstances, it obviously was a foolhardy stance to take. This character Hernandez clearly hated everything Shah stood for. In Brazil, he knew women were frequently considered second-class citizens. Too many Brazilian men viewed women merely in terms of how many children they could bear, proof of a man’s macho ability.

    “Let’s call an end to this discussion,” Jake suggested amiably. He opened his hands and gestured toward Hernandez and his henchmen. “What do you say, gentlemen?”

    Intimidated by the hardware Jake was carrying and by his size, Hernandez snarled, “Come!” at his goons, and they moved back into a dugout canoe with a small motor attached to the rear.

    Shah remained tensely beside Pai Jose, breathing hard. She was still shaking inwardly from the man grabbing her by the collar.

    “Thank God,” Pai Jose whispered. He clasped his hands in a prayerful gesture and nodded to Jake. “I don’t know who you are, senhor, but you have surely saved Shah.”

    Shah watched as Hernandez’s canoe sputtered noisily away from the dock, heading across the wide river. Then she turned to the American. “Who are you?”

    Jake held up his hands. “Easy, I’m a friend. Your father sent me down here to—”

    A gasp broke from Shah. “My father! Oh, brother, this is too much!” She leaped from the wharf. Once on the bank, she shouted, “Stay away from me! Just leave!” and hurried up the slope.

    Nonplussed, Jake watched Shah head for the mission. He turned to the priest.

    “Did I say something wrong?”

    “My son,” Pai Jose said in a sorrowful voice, “you just broke open a festering wound in her heart.” He mustered a sad smile and offered his thin hand. “I am Pai Jose. And you?”

    Disgruntled, Jake introduced himself. He noticed that the priest’s hand was not only thin, but frail, as well. Pai Jose was probably close to seventy years old. His hair was silvered, and his small gold-rimmed glasses slid down on his hawklike nose. There was a kindness to the man, and Jake was glad he wasn’t angry with him, too.

    “Mr. Randolph, may I ask the nature of your visit?” the priest asked as he walked slowly off the dock with him.

    “I’m here to take Shah home. Her father doesn’t want her down in the Amazon. He’s afraid she’ll be hurt.”

    With a soft chuckle, the priest shook his head. “My son, Shah Travers is committed to saving our precious rain forest. God help her, but she isn’t about to go home with you. And certainly not because her father sent you.”

    His mouth quirking, Jake followed the unhurried priest up the path toward the mission. “What do you mean, Father?”

    “It’s not really my place to speak of Shah or her personal problems.” At the top of the knoll, huffing slightly, Pai Jose pointed to a small white adobe house that sat on the other side of the mission. “Shah is working with me on cataloging many of the medicinal plants used by the Tucanos shamans of the village. She has a hut down there, but it’s my guess that she went back to the lab to work on some more plant specimens. Why don’t you speak to her? I’m sure Shah can answer all of your questions.”

    But would she? Jake had his doubts. He nodded to the old priest. “Any chance of paying you to put me up here at the mission?”

    “Of course, my son. You may