What a ridiculous snafu this was. A goat-fuck of the first order.
Truth hit Zane like a slap in the face.
Pinned like an insect on this ridiculous table, naked as jaybird, he realized doing the job no longer meant anything to him if Keira fell into harm’s way again. The SIA, the Chesterham Museum and the British government could go to hell on a rocket ship. The single precious thing in this room was Keira. Truth burned in his gut, drowning him in a tangle of feelings so intense he almost couldn’t contain them.
He loved her.
Fuck me. I’m one hundred percent, out of my freakin’ mind, crazy in love with her.
Zane vowed then and there he’d do anything for her.
He glared at El Jaguar. “If you take the other half of La Pasion now, you’re putting Makepeace and his granddaughter in jeopardy this time. Haan will come after you.”
“Sí. But we have already surrounded her grandfather with extra protection. We’ve been planning this since the limousine crash when we realized who she was. We contacted Eduardo and he is helping.”
“Eduardo?” she asked, her voice thin with stress. “Wait a minute. He isn’t just a driver, is he?”
Now all the cats had left the bag, Zane didn’t see any reason to hold back. “He also works for the SIA. How did he know to trust you, El Jaguar?”
“We explained to him who we really are. He knows the truth when he hears it. He’s contacted your…what do you call them?…the Special Investigations Agency and updated them on the situation.”
Maybe, just maybe, if Zane didn’t get his ass shot off, he could save Keira and La Pasion. “You’ll have to return this statue and the other one in your city to Britain. Even if you stop me, there will be other SIA agents who come after you.”
The other man shrugged and put his hands on his hips. “I think I will get away with it. Because you see, there are some things I’m willing to sacrifice for my people. The first, Señor, is you. The only reason why I do not leave Keira to the mercy of Haan is that I would not see a woman hurt. And she is Makepeace’s granddaughter. I owe him a great debt.”
“No,” Keira said suddenly, backing away a few steps until Zane couldn’t see her. “I won’t go with you if you leave Zane tied to this table. At least give him a chance to fight Haan when he comes back. Let him dress and you can tie him to a chair.”
A little relief moved through Zane. Maybe she didn’t hate his guts after all.
El Jaguar thought about it way too long. The rebel took his gun from his holster and held in on Zane. “Very well. For you I do this favor, chica. Release him and he may dress.”
Tired of holding onto the butt plug like a lifeline, Zane decided he’d gone way past embarrassment. He released the plug and it hit the floor. Keira must have heard the soft thud on the carpet, for as she worked to free him, she caught his gaze. A twinkle danced in her eyes and a smile twitched over her lips. He couldn’t help responding. This screwy state of affairs would be damned funny if it weren’t so serious. A few moments later she freed him and moved off the table quickly but not fast enough to alarm the other man. After he dressed, El Jaguar required Keira to tie him to a leg of the table with some rope El Jaguar dragged from a cargo pocket on his pants.
“Come,” El Jaguar said to her. “We will gather your possessions and be off.”
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, throwing him an alarmed expression.
El Jaguar lifted the statue in one arm. “We go to La Selva Negra with La Pasion to unite it with its twin.”
As El Jaguar directed her to the door, Zane’s feelings rushed to the fore. “El Jaguar.”
The rebel turned enough to look at Zane but not take his attention off her. “Yes, Señor Spinella?”
Zane took a deep breath and the words came out gruff. “I swear to God, if you hurt her in any way or you allow her to be harmed, I will hunt you down and kill you.”
El Jaguar’s smile held no mirth. “Fair enough, Señor. Fair enough.”
* * * * *
Rough road caused the fancy all-terrain vehicle to bounce over the primitive jungle road. Keira’s body ached from the rattling ride. While she’d enjoyed the luxury of a limo, she’d never seen a vehicle as sophisticated as this one. She took in details, her mind racing as she unobtrusively searched the vehicle for a weapon.
Fat chance. El Jaguar is watching my every move.
They’d left Haan’s complex with no trouble; she saw a couple of Haan’s bodyguards lying dead along the perimeter once El Jaguar drove away from the complex. She wondered why they took the vehicle instead of going into the jungle directly, but she didn’t bother to ask. Before they departed he’d allowed her to change into cargo pants, her hiking boots, and a camp shirt. She even wore a wide brimmed hat and sunscreen. True to his word, he let her to pack her valuables and bring them with her. They’d bumped along this rotten excuse for a road for over an hour, the pace slow and monotonous. El Jaguar drove but no one else accompanied them. She imagined either he’d eliminated the guards at Haan’s by himself, or his fellow thugs disappeared back into the rainforest.
She didn’t relish the idea of going back into La Selva Negra at any time, but night scared her silly. The thought of crawling through the bushes with icky nocturnal animals didn’t appeal. At the same time, she refused to let fear render her useless.
She remembered a more pleasant aspect of her journey.
Zane’s hands touching her breasts, caressing her pussy, bringing her to screaming orgasm. One wonderful memory to take with her in case she never experienced his mind-blowing touch again.
Her mind whirled with the things she’d discovered about her family in such a short time and all the information about La Pasion. Stunned, she couldn’t absorb much more. No matter how much it shocked her, Keira didn’t know if she could be unhappy with her grandfather for being El Jaguar’s source at the museum.
Then again, that would make him an accomplice to a thief, just as the SIA charged. Albeit not the kind of burglar they thought, but a crook nonetheless. Tears burned her eyes for the hundredth time since she left with El Jaguar. More than anything Zane’s last words burned into her mind and gave her a little hope.
I swear to God, if you hurt her in any way or you allow her to be harmed, I will hunt you down and kill you.
She’d seen the fierceness in his eyes, the determination to kick ass and take names. If the raw emotion in his voice had been any indication, he would launch a rescue. She felt almost giddy at the prospect of him coming for her. Keira had made sure she kept his bonds loose enough he could escape. At least she hoped he could escape. Worry burned in her gut as she thought about Haan injuring or killing Zane.
Please, please let Zane be all right. She’d go anywhere with El Jaguar as long as Zane would survive.
“Don’t worry about Señor Spinella, chica.”
She frowned deeply and turned her gaze on the rebel, but said nothing.
“You left the bonds loose enough for him to escape, I take it?” El Jaguar asked, keeping his attention on the road.
“Of course. You’re going to live to regret this, you know. Zane—”
“I know. He would give his life for you. That is obvious.” He smiled.
Her mouth popped open, but she couldn’t think of an immediate retort.
“Why didn’t you let him come with us?” she asked after a significant pause.
“Because he would have resisted our plans and as an agent of the SIA, he is well-trained and dangerous. I think he and I would have to fight to the death.”
“You’d kill him over a statue?” She heard contempt in her voice.
“If it comes to it, I would.”
She didn’t understand this mysterious man. While she hadn’t noticed so much before, in close quarters with him now she acknowledged his virility. He might not be her type, but his tall, muscular body and handsome face probably captivated plenty of chicas.
She decided to talk about something else. �
��Haan didn’t expect you to attack tonight. That’s why he didn’t have more security on his house, right?”
“Correct.”
“Why now? Why didn’t you break into his house before?”
“We tried. Haan’s men killed several of our men at other attempts to infiltrate his property. We tested his defenses until we found a weakness.”
“Why do you want me with you? You could have just taken the statue and left.”
El Jaguar’s right eyebrow twitched and he took his eyes off the road long enough to flick an amused glance her way. “Because with you as a hostage, I know Zane will be cautious.”
He went silent and the all-terrain ate up the miles. Before long the motion lulled her to sleep. It seemed only a few minutes when she felt the big car come to a stop. Her heart racing, she sat up straight and looked around. They’d arrived at a dead end, but past the tree line she saw the camp.
“This isn’t the camp where we were before,” she said as he opened the door.
“Of course not. We move frequently.”
Within seconds men appeared out of the bushes, their olive drab uniforms and painted faces acting as effective camouflage. It didn’t take long for them to unload the vehicle, then one of the men piled inside and drove off.
Once they wandered into the village, she saw a familiar face right away. Christina. The young woman waved to her and smiled. Caught off guard, Keira took a little longer to respond. Genuinely relieved to see a welcoming face, Keira waved back. The girl disappeared into a tent.
They arrived at El Jaguar’s tent and she reluctantly followed him inside. After putting the statue on a table, he turned to her. “We will rest a few minutes, then we will take the ring and be off.”
The ring.
When he’d asked her about it, she’d lied and said she’d put in the backpack she’d taken with her. She’d left the ring back at the house and good riddance.
She glared at the infuriating man. Irritation, sadness and exhaustion nipped at her heels. “Don’t you know where this mythical city is? Is the ring supposed to lead you there?”
“We already know where the city is and have been there many times. But we also could use the ring for protection. More specifically, you need it for protection.”
“I won’t put it on.”
“Why?”
She explained what the ring did to her. “It will knock me out for part of the trip at least, if the last experience I had with it is any indication.”
He nodded. “Very well. We’ll take it along, but you won’t wear it.”
She pushed her hands through her hair and sighed with weariness, determined to finish this fiasco. If it meant going into some damned forbidden city, she’d do it.
She didn’t want to ask the next question. “What are you going to do with me after La Pasion is returned?”
He drew beef jerky out of a container and passed it to her. “There is no need to fear us. You’ll be returned to a safe haven after we have what we want. As Makepeace’s granddaughter you are much revered here.”
She didn’t believe him, although the man hadn’t proved to be dangerous to women so far as she could tell. After all, he’d made the statement about his culture respecting women. Macho country or not, she suspected his people were far more different than she imagined.
Her stomach growled and she ate the jerky without reservation. With the adventure ahead she wondered if it might indeed be her last meal.
* * * * *
Zane wrestled with his bonds like a madman. The skin on his wrists burned. He’d worked at the rope for some time, and at one point thought he might find freedom before El Jaguar took Keira out of the house or Haan returned from his party. It took longer than he expected. By the time he raced through the house he knew El Jaguar had left with Keira. He ran to their bedroom to grab supplies, taking enough time to rip off the useless suit and jump into serviceable clothes for the jungle.
Every motion proficient, he readied for a final showdown. He almost left when he saw the ring lying under the nearby dresser. An oversight? He picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket. It might come in handy later on, if what El Jaguar said turned out to be the truth. He grimaced. He hoped to hell El Jaguar had half the honor he claimed to possess. Maybe if he did, Keira would come out of this mess in one piece.
Right now, that’s all that mattered.
Equipped for action, Zane hurried through the house. He didn’t have much time. Haan couldn’t be far behind. He ran through the conservatory, his personal weapon secured in his shoulder holster. He would have preferred the semiautomatic, but Haan had put that weapon back in the locked arsenal in the basement.
Sweat ran down Zane’s face as he approached the tropical forest, well aware as night drew down on the land he took a terrible risk. A worse risk would be to allow Haan to tag along with him on this journey. If the bastard wanted to travel through the night with his cronies and try and find the ancient city and the second half of La Pasion, let ‘em. Zane refused to wait around for a party.
Not when the woman he loved depended on him.
An ache entered his gut, sharp and staggering. “Be safe, Keira. Please be safe.”
For the first time in years tears burned his eyes and he inhaled sharply. He would temper the fear and use it to fuel his power. He couldn’t allow it to throw him off guard. Haan would follow and at night the land would be far more treacherous than during the day. Nocturnal creatures, some poisonous and some aggressive, prowled the night.
Zane almost made it to the clearing, the backpack he’d used in the jungle earlier hefted onto his back and flashlight in hand.
“Halt! Stop!”
He heard the warning before the shot came, zinging over his head with sharp accuracy.
“Shit,” he muttered as he launched into the bushes, aware he might have to dump the heavy pack.
“Get him!” another voice said, this one clear as a bell. “I want Spinella! Get him!”
Haan.
Great. The jig was up and all votes cast. His ass would be grass and Haan the lawnmower if he didn’t act fast. Zane turned off his flashlight, jammed it into his pocket and crashed through the undergrowth. He couldn’t risk the light drawing their fire.
More shots rang out and he heard men entering the jungle behind him. If they kept up this pursuit he might be chicken droppings before too long.
No.
Keira needed him. He would survive.
He almost tripped over a liana, but kept on motoring. Training prepared him for running with a pack on his back, but he couldn’t go on forever this way. Even with a much lighter load than what he’d taken the other day to locate Keira, the extra weight impeded his speed.
Zane remembered the ring. Drawing it out of his pocket, he decided he didn’t have anything to lose. Perhaps El Jaguar’s supposition about the ring being protective of anyone who wore it might come true.
Just as he slipped it on his pinky finger he heard a shot. Searing pain lacerated his upper right shoulder and he staggered. Darkness edged out his remaining vision and encroached fast. He fell and fell and didn’t remember reaching the bottom of the night that swallowed him whole.
Chapter Sixteen
Keira flinched as a frond slapped her in the face. “Ow! Damn!”
“Shh,” one of the men in the group of six said as they traversed the long path toward San Cristobal Plateau. Here on the rockier side of the plateau, their flashlights managed to stream down the hillside and penetrate thick flora.
Above her head a fluttering sound and a high-pitched squeak caught her attention. Seconds later dozens of fruit-eating bats sailed overhead.
El Jaguar looked back at her, his smile a mere flash of white teeth. The five men who accompanied El Jaguar and Keira into the wilderness remained grim-faced. The jackasses who harassed her and Zane at the limo wreck didn’t accompany this expedition.
Exhaustion dogged her heels as she tried to keep up with El Jaguar’s punishing pace.
While he might respect women, he didn’t appear concerned about her keeping up. She pushed forward, determined not to fall behind. He slashed at the jungle, when needed, with a machete.
Of course, when they discovered she’d dropped the ring at the house somewhere instead of bringing it with her, they might be pissed and decide to leave her out here. The pack they’d given her held marginal supplies. If they decided she was a burden, she could be dead meat in no time.
Worry for Zane also stressed Keira, and not a moment passed when she didn’t think of him.
If I ever see him again…
What?
If she saw him again what would she say? That her feelings transformed from irritation and contempt to something that felt deep and warm and lasting?
Love.
She’d forced the word away earlier as they’d moved through the jungle. If she didn’t admit to loving Zane, then the pain of losing him would be diminished. She could ride through this chaos without feeling the immeasurable pain of being foolish enough to love him.
Sex is not love. Remember that.
Yes, she experienced the most elemental, exquisite lovemaking she could imagine in his arms. It didn’t mean he loved her or she loved him.
Besides, love didn’t happen that quickly. Did it?
No, she wouldn’t think about love…even the ghost of admiration, until this event came to a head, until the strangeness she experienced over this last week dissolved into nothing more than a bad dream.
Tired and thirsty, her head aching, she walked faster until she came almost abreast of El Jaguar. She grabbed onto his sleeve and he frowned down at her. “What is it?”
“How much…longer?” Her strenuous breathing puffed between her lips. “I need water…and rest.”
El Jaguar called a halt and she sank onto a big rock and sighed in relief. If she’d been fresh from sleep and relaxation she might not be so damned tired now. Instead weariness hung around her neck like an anvil, heavier by the hour. She took a healthy sip of water and suppressed a yawn.
Special Investigations Agency: Primordial Page 28