“That’s handy,” she said, wondering what else he had hidden in there.
“Better to be safe than sorry. Who knows if any of the staff have ties to
Ramos indirectly?
”
“I was actually wondering if you’d smuggled anything interesting into your suitcase,”
she said, giving him a cheeky grin. “You know, maybe something you might not have
wanted to go on the expense reports for my brother.”
He arched a brow, and he took a minute to look her over—from where her ni
pples were plainly visible beneath her shirt to the smooth expanse of stomach that
wasn’t quite covered. And then over the tiny shorts that barely covered more than
some bathing suit bottoms. She was going to have to thank Jade in person
,
because as much as Brant might hate the thought of others seeing her so scantily
clad, it was obvious he was enjoying it for himself.
His lips twitched once before his eyes came back to hers.
“I might have a trick or two up my sleeve. Maybe if you can stay out of trouble I’ll
let you look in my secret compartment.”
She laughed and gave her hips a little extra swing as she walked out the door. “Been
there done that, sugar. Looks like you’ll have to step up your game.”
An hour later, Brant started to get
a
tingle in his gut that maybe things weren’t going to go according to plan.
Their driver and bodyguard were the two
agents
who’d accompanied
them on the flight into Mexico—named Smith and
Huxley
—
and they were both armed to the teeth
.
Brant was starting to wish he’d brought along some more artillery himself.
By the way that
Smith
was gripping the wheel in a white-knuckled grasp, Brant thought maybe his gut might
be tingling too.
He’d worked with Huxley before, and he knew that he and Declan were actually really
good friends. In fact, Declan had been best man at Huxley’s wedding. But Brant had
never seen Smith before, and working with someone new was a crapshoot. He had
to trust
that Declan wouldn’t have sent anything but his best to protect his sister.
Darcy sat calmly beside him on the way into
Chiapas
, reading over her notes from the glyphs they’d discovered and re-examining the pictures.
The drive had been
straightforward
—the highway turning into
a one-lane dirt road
the
closer
they got to the ruins where
the glyphs had been discovered—but the place felt abandon
ed when there should have been
tourists roaming the shops along the road or hiking their way up to the ruins. Granted,
it was October, and high season was long past, but there still
should have been someone.
“I don’t like this,” he said as they pulled past a sign that said the ruins were closed
to the public because of crumbling rock. A couple of temporary wooden barriers had
been erected, but nothing that looked permanent.
“That’s odd,” Darcy commented. “I’ve been to these ruins hundreds of times, and this
is the first time I’ve seen them closed.”
“The sign was placed there by
the
local police
two days ago
,” Smith said. “
They didn’t give a reason other than safety issues, but they said it would reopen
by the end of the week.
”
“Has the site been cleared by our guys?” Brant asked.
“
Shane’s SEAL Team
was called away to the latest kidnapping site
before they could do more than
slip in and out to
photograph the glyphs and send them to Dr.
MacKenzie
.
Max wasn’t able to get any of his agents in either
without rousing suspicion
, so they’ve held back
.”
“So we’re on our own?” Brant asked.
“
We have a satellite shot, and there’s been no suspicious activity in the last two
days.
There are two undercover DEA agents in the village, but we’re only to signal them
in case of emergency so their covers are
n’t
blown. Declan said to give him and Max about half an hour to come around from the
opposite dir
ection. They’ll be your cover from the back
.”
“Half an hour,” he said, blowing out a breath. “I hope we don’t need them sooner.”
“
Huxley
and I will guard the front side, so you can protect Darcy while she’s studying the
glyphs. Boss man says she’s your priority.”
“I know what the hell my priorities are,” he growled. “But you’ll excuse me for being
paranoid, especially since my neck’s been itching for the last forty-five minutes.”
Brant
tried reaching Declan on the satellite
phone, but there was no answer, so he pulled his weapon and
made sure a bullet was in the chamber.
Darcy’s hand touched his knee and squeezed reassuringly, and he realized that she
was more than just a priority. If anything happened to her he didn’t think he’d survive
it.
“
I don’t even know h
ow
this all started,
” Darcy
said
. “
Declan just showed up on my doorstep with a picture one day and asked me what it said.
S
ome of these ruins are in bad shape, and there are markings all around the area that
date back centuries. It wouldn’t be an easy thing to discover for the untrained eye.
I asked him where he got them from, but he never would give me a straight answer.
”
“
It was safer that way,” Brant said. “
Max had an agent who’d worked his way up in Ramos’s organization, and he fed
us
the information about the glyphs.”
“What happened to the agent?” Darcy asked, more perceptive than he was comfortable
with.
Brant sighed and looked out the window for threats as he answered. “Donovan
Jax
was tortured and killed by Ramos.
Someone sold the information to Ramos and blew his cover. We know it was internal,
but we don’t know from what agency.”
“
Jax
?” Darcy asked. “Isn’t that Jade’s last name?”
“Donovan was her husband. There was hardly enough body left for her to bury by the
time Ramos finished with him, but they didn’t break him. He was a good agent. A good
friend.”
“It has to be hard on her to keep working in the same field.”
Brant turned to look at her, and he didn’t know if he was trying to scare her away
or give her a warning, but she paled at his words. “We all know the risks of this
job
.
Life is finite no matter how you live it.
You can either move forward or you can let the terrible things you see bury you.
Donovan
Jax
knew the chances he was taking, and he knew there’d be a possibility he’d leave his
wife a widow. And she knew them too.
Jade has more reason than anyone
to want to capture Ramos
.
”
“Too bad that won’t bring her husband back.”
“Sometimes justice is all there is,” he said.
The road past the police barriers was deeply rutted, and dust flew up and coated the
sides of the Jeep. The jungle speared up all around them, completely circling the
ruins on all sides.
“Bonampak is much smaller than the site of
Yaxchilan
just down the road,” Darcy said. “But the site itself is just as important. The Temple
of Murals is here.” She shivered next to him. “It’s like a ghost town. I’ve never
seen it deserted before.”
Smith drove the Jeep through the trees and finally parked about a half a mile from
the site so no one would see their vehicle if the police were doing drive-
bys
.
“Let’
s make this quick,” Brant said as they got out of the car.
Smith and
Huxley
split in opposite directions, and Brant pushed Darcy towards the site, his weapon
up just in case. The quiet was unnerving—just the occasional chatter of birds.
“Shane said they drew the glyphs at the top of the Temple of Murals on the outside
wall facing east. Bastards,” she muttered. “They obviously have no care for preserving
their heritage.”
Brant looked at her incredulously as he kept her in the cover of the trees. “
Darlin
’, these men would kill their own mothers if they were paid enough. I think their
heritage is the last thing they care about preserving.”
“Well,” she said primly, making his mouth twitch, “They should.”
They stood in the trees about twenty feet from the base
of the Temple of Murals—a long structure with a pyramid base where crumbling steps
on all four
sides
led
to the temples on top.
Brant knew as soon as t
hey started climbing the stairs
they’d be sitting ducks for anyone wanting to take a shot at them until they reached
the enclosed rooms at the top.
Work was being done on
some of the lower structures, and support poles and tents were set around them.
“Are we going to the very top?” he asked, assessing the situation and then catching
Smith’s all clear signal from the corner of his eye.
“The very top,” she affirmed. “You can see for miles from up there. It’s very beautiful.”
He grunted and grabbed her elbow, his steps quick as he ushered her to the base of
the structure. “We’ll use the tented areas for cover if you can’t make it to the top
without a break.”
“I beg your pardon,” Darcy said, clearly offended. “I’m in excellent shape.”
“Lead the way, sugar. I’m right behind you.” Which might have been the worst mistake
he’d ever made, come to think of it, because keeping his eyes off Darcy’s ass and
on the surrounding areas was a lot harder than it should have been. But she’d been
right about one thing—she was in excellent shape—and by the time they reached the
top
of the temple
and ducked into the first room
,
he was so hard
he could barely walk. The combination of
adrenaline and the thought of cupping those round globes in his hand
s
and sliding into her from behind was enough to make him insane with lust.
“Here we go,” she said, moving through the room with familiarity.
There was another door in the opposite wall from the one they’d come in, and she slipped
out and knelt down near the area Shane had marked on the map for her. Brant knelt
beside
her, so they were smaller targets,
but kept watch
across the jungle. It wouldn’t be long before Max and Declan were into position, but
he wouldn’t be able to find them in the dense trees.
He just trusted that they’d be where they said.
The glyphs were small, and drawn in what looked like charcoal. Darcy dug through her
bag and put her glasses on, and he felt the slow burn of desire roll through his stomach
and to his loins.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing.” The reply came out terser than he’d meant.
“Do you see someone?” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “
Why’d you get so still?”
“For God’s sake, Darcy. Just stay focused on the glyphs. You’d argue with the Pope.”
“I have a right to know if we’re in danger.”
“If you must know, I get hard as a rock every time you put those glasses on, and if
you don’t hurry up so we can get out of here I’m going to bend you over that altar
in the middle of your precious temple.”
Her mouth opened in a silent O, and her pupils dilated so only a thin rim of blue
showed.
Color flushed her cheeks and she lowered her gaze back to the glyphs while he tried
to find a comfortable position without strangling his cock.
“
The jaguar runs to the north,” Darcy murmured under her breath, tracing the glyph.
“The
hawk
flies from
the west. And the deer
is sacrificed at the temple of our brethren.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Brant asked.
“They’re making it a game.
Like a scavenger hunt.
The jaguar and the hawk are the dealer and the buyer. The deer is the victim. And
the temple is where she was found.
They laid her o
ut right on the front
steps of Santo Domingo. These glyphs here,” she said pointing to the last four, “are
coordinates. In case they can’t decipher the riddle. We’ve missed some.”