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as I was about to catch her. It knocked me on my ass. She is fast, Ristèard. I swear I have never seen a woman run as fast as she can.”
    “Are you sure she is there?” Ristèard asked, looking into the small clump of trees.
    Sadao nodded. “I could see all the way through them. There is no way I could have missed her. She went in, but never came out.”
    Ristèard studied the wooded area carefully before he nodded to the other two men. With a wave of his hand, they split up. He took the center, while Andras took the left and Sadao took the right.
    Stepping onto the dark path that cut through the thin grouping of trees, he listened intently as he scanned the path. He paused when he caught a glimpse of pale yellow under a bush. Bending, he picked up a slender shoe. Looking around, he tried to see if he could find any other clues as to where she could have gone.
    He paused when he saw another piece of yellow. This time it was her sweater caught on a branch. He glanced around, puzzled, before his gaze rose upwards. He would have missed her hiding among the branches if not for the light breeze that suddenly blew her dress outward.
    A grin curved his lips before he pressed them together and emitted a low whistle. It didn’t take long for Sadao and Andras to join him. With a nod, he pointed her out to the other two men. She was hiding about ten feet off the ground on a low branch. He could tell she was trying to remain as still and quiet as possible.
    Pushing through the bushes, he stepped up under the tree. “I see you, golden hair,” he called up to her in a quiet, husky voice. “Come down.”
    For a moment, she remained frozen, pretending she hadn’t heard him before she slowly turned her head and glared down at him. Even from this distance, he could see the stubborn thrust of her jaw. He reached up and rubbed at his chest when a strange tightness pressed against it. She looked so damn beautiful with her bright yellow dress blowing around her. She gripped the tree with one arm while she reached up with the other to impatiently push her long, tangled hair away from her face.
    “No,” she hissed, wrapping her arm back around the thin trunk of the tree. “Go away! I swear I'm going to scream so loud if you don't… that... that every member of the circus will be able to hear me from here.”
    “Don’t,” Ristèard warned sharply. “I mean you no harm. Come down and I will explain.”
    He released a low growl of frustration when she shook her head again. Holding out her shoe, he muttered for Andras and Sadao to find the other one. He needn't have bothered because the moment he gripped the lower branch of the tree, it hit him on the top of his head with a loud thump.
    Stumbling backwards, he would have fallen again if Andras hadn’t reached out and grabbed him. He glared up at her, rubbing his now aching head. His heated gaze quickly turned to both Andras and Sadao when they chuckled. He turned back in time to see why. Ricki was now sticking her tongue out at him in defiance.
    Andras shrugged when Ristèard glanced back at him with a pained expression. “You’ve got to admit, she has a good arm,” he said, completely unashamed of his amusement.
    “And great legs,” Sadao added, grinning up at her.
    Ristèard punched Sadao in the jaw, knocking him backwards a few steps. “Quit trying to look up her dress,” he snapped.
    Andras chuckled and stepped back with his hands in the air. “I didn’t say anything about her long legs, or about the pretty yellow lace under it.”
    Ristèard turned when he heard Ricki’s outraged gasp. His heart skipped a beat when she let go of the tree and frantically tried to catch her dress that was blowing in the breeze. She wobbled for a moment and almost fell before her left arm caught the trunk again and she pressed herself against it.
    “Come down before you fall,” he ordered, staring up at her.
    She shook her head and pressed her cheek against the smooth bark. Making a