“Wow,” she breathed.
Rio smiled and then directed her toward the path. She put her back to the rock and inched her way out so she didn’t get soaked by the spray. Once outside, she gazed around at the tranquil paradise that surrounded them.
“This is amazing!”
“It is, isn’t it? It’s my own private getaway. I come here often when I need to pull myself back together.”
Pull himself together? This was a man who looked permanently cemented together. He wasn’t someone who had so much as a crack, certainly not any she’d seen. He was solid. Dependable. Calculating and…confident. That was the word escaping her. He was confident but not in an arrogant ass**le kind of way. He clearly knew he was competent—no, not competent. That made him seem merely adequate. He was certainly beyond simple competency and adequacy. He was…
Her gaze stroked over him, taking in every detail. His demeanor, his silent strength and his composure. There was something magnetizing about him and she couldn’t even put her finger on what made it so.
Her gaze fell to the guns at his sides and then she frowned as she turned in a circle, surveying the jungle canopy that seemed a barrier to the rest of the world. A world that suddenly didn’t seem so idyllic. Not when she knew that evil was out there. Stalking her.
“Are we safe here?”
Rio tugged her farther down the path, spiraling down to the ground level, where the pool rippled and then led out to a small river cutting through the terrain.
“I like to be prepared. The tunnel leads to the back of the waterfall. I’m not saying that the falls and the pool aren’t accessible, but it would be damn hard and I’d certainly know if anyone was near. The jungle is thick here, never touched. It’s overgrown and surrounds the rock face where the water comes over the edge. It’s not even visible from the air because the canopy is so thick in this area. So are we one hundred percent safe? I’m never that naïve. But I’d say we’re pretty c19;conflose to ninety-nine.”
She cut a glance at him to see the corner of his mouth twitching. His eyes twinkled and then his smile broadened. She was transfixed by the transformation from the serious, hard-as-nails guy surveying the terrain to the sudden teasing, lighthearted exchange.
He gestured for her. “Come on. I have the perfect place to sit and enjoy the falls.”
She followed him down to the water’s edge and saw that he had a bench fashioned from a tree trunk. It utterly charmed her. She sank down onto the smooth wood and inhaled deeply, soaking in the beauty and peace around her.
He took the seat beside her, their legs nearly touching. For a long moment he stared, as did she, at the spellbinding sight of the water pouring down into the pool.
“I want you to do something for me,” he said.
She glanced over to see him looking at her with those intense, dark eyes, almost like he was peeling back every layer of her soul.
“Close your eyes and focus inwardly. Picture where you’re at. Take a good look but then close your eyes and reach out with your senses. Smell the air. Listen to not only the water but the other sounds around you. Feel the mist on your skin and the warmth of the air.
“Push the pain and the fear and the anxiety out of your mind. Focus on your sister and on that path that you’ve used for so many years. It’s still there, Grace. You just have to find it again.”
Her eyes became gritty and hot. She was tempted to rub them but didn’t want to express more emotion than she already had.
Rio touched her face as if he understood. “I don’t claim to know much about telepathy. Hell, I didn’t even know it existed outside of movies until I met Shea. But I do understand mind over matter. I understand that to be strong, your mind has to be strong and focused. It has to heal just like your body had to heal. The mind is a very peculiar thing. Your brain has a way of protecting itself and you from complete devastation. You were at your limit, so it shut down as a protective measure. Now you just have to give it time to heal and for those pathways to your sister to reopen.”
“Do you really think it will work?” she whispered, afraid to hope, but already feeling the stirring deep in her heart. That little burst of excitement that she couldn’t control.
Hope was such a gift and a curse all rolled into one.
“There are many who would sneer at things like meditation. But the strongest warrior knows that his body is only as strong as his mind. A physically weaker person can defeat a much stronger opponent if he’s stronger mentally.”
She reached up to tentatively touch his cheek as he’d done with her. “How do you know so much? It makes so much sense when you explain it. I don’t feel so…crazy.”
He smiled. “You aren’t crazy, Grace. You’re just damaged. But you’re a survivor and you’ll get through this.”
She turned to face the falls again, feeling more…confident. A little lighter and, yes, optimistic. When was the last time she’d felt hope?
She gazed around, memorizing every detail of the little slice of heaven, and then she did as Rio had told her and she closed her eyes, channeling all of her focus inward.
“Control your breathing,” he murmured. “In, out, deep. Hold it. Relax and let it out. Focus on each part of your body relaxing and then make it happen.”
His voice dimmed and became distant. She held on to the image of her beautiful surroundings and then she inhaled, sucking in the scentg ik? of the water, the plants, even the dirt and then a faint sweet smell, like an exotic flower.