There was the sound of running feet as Santiago and Pietro came to investigate, but Kara caught the sound of someone retreating out in the bush, crashing through the foliage in a bid to make a hasty escape.
'You stay here and make sure no one jumps us, eh?' Santiago said to his wife as he and his father armed themselves. Then, giving her a quick kiss and touching her cheek briefly with the back of his hand, Santiago and his father, guns at the ready, moved off to investigate.
'He is a good tracker,' Anana said to Kara, her voice thick with emotion. 'Gets it from his father. And,' she admitted, 'he knows that I have nerves of steel . . . up to a point.'
It was some time before the two men returned, both of them looking worried. Santiago handed Kara something with a hole in it that made her chest tight with fear.
'I can see that you know what this is,' Santiago said, seeing her reaction.
Kara nodded, dumbly. 'It's a Greek fisherman's cap, the sort worn by my countrymen.'
'Well, there were two of them,' Santiago said, mainly to his wife. 'One tall and slim but strong and athletic, the other short, stocky and heavy . . . not in very good shape, judging by the way he walks. They ran for a time, then took to a pair of horses that were tied up in the bush near to the road. One of them dropped these-' he held up a pair of objects for Anana's inspection. 'Unusual bullets, si? They are marksman's bullets, of an unusual caliber. Which makes no sense. A professional assassin would not have missed. Unless, perhaps, he had an inept assistant.'
'So, what are we going to do?' Anana asked.
'First,' Santiago said with a small smile, taking the rifle from her, 'You are going to take Kara to our room for a while. Then, we wait until Roman arrives to collect Kara, and see what he has to say.'
They would have gone straight to Anana's and Santiago's bedroom, except that Kara turned deathly white and made a dash for the outhouse where she heaved the contents of her stomach. When she was somewhat recovered, though in a cold sweat, Anana said, 'You are fine provisonalmente, I think. Santiago was right- you will lay down for a while and sooth your nerves a bit.'
This prompted a lopsided smile from Kara. 'Aren't you the cool one! If it had been me doing the shooting, I'd have killed an innocent tree or two and broken my own collarbone from forgetting to brace for the recoil in the bargain.'