“I never heard a thing. I saw her working with Jaycee, Paula, and Annie. Would they have noticed if the piece was missing?” He didn’t like the fact no one but Isabella knew something had disappeared.
“I don’t know. One of them would have cleaned it up, but as to knowing if it was with the rest of the items collected, I doubt it.” She set her fork down and stared into space. “I didn’t really pay that much attention to it. I’m not sure I could conclusively identify the vase.”
Tino put a hand over hers. “Do not worry. There has to be an explanation. Maybe Eunice took the urn to her tent to catalog and photograph it. That could be why she has not said it is missing.”
Her face brightened and she picked up her fork. “That could be. If it had intricate drawings, she may have wanted to try different angles and light to get the best picture.”
He hoped that was the truth, but he’d find out for sure when he lay in wait for their jungle voyeur tonight.
Chapter 14
Isabella sat in front of the stone in the artifact tent, making sure the notations she took from Virgil’s books were indeed the same glyphs on the stone. Tino promised to come for her later, just like during the last couple of nights. She brushed at a glob of dry dirt and stopped. The rain had ceased, but the constant drip of water down the sides of the tent tapped a monotonous cadence. Beyond the drip another sound registered. Someone outside moved cautiously along the length of the tent. The puddles didn’t slosh like that of someone who didn’t care if his presence was known. The steps were a muffled splat of someone moving with stealth.
Was their thief returning? She stared at the lantern. He had to know she was in here.
Her heart raced. Adrenaline shocked her system into full awareness and defensive maneuvers. She shifted into the shadows, crouching low, and crept toward the back opening of the tent.
Once outside, she used the meager light of the moon to search for the person. Isabella pushed her glasses tighter on her nose and peered into the night. There. A shadow moved away from the artifact tent and toward the tell. Did the thief plan to steal something from the dig site?
Isabella moved into the shadows, mimicking the person, and followed. Where was Tino when she needed him? The person peered over a shoulder before descending the steps into the dig. The furtive glance could only mean one thing, it was the thief.
She hurried to the opening, listened, and plunged into the darkness of the structure. Three strides into the passage, her toe connected with something hard and heavy. She tripped, catapulting her head first through the darkness. Her body met solid dirt seconds before her chin stabbed the hard packed floor.
*~*
Tino set off at a run when he saw Isabella follow his suspect into the dig. He’d held his position near the thief’s lookout as the man crossed the compound, but when the curious doctor followed, he knew trouble wasn’t far behind.
“Ezzabella!” he called, entering the dark site. He had a vague idea of the layout after a quick reconnaissance of the area he’d made after the workers left for the day. Scurrying sounds too heavy for rodents vibrated in the darkness. “Who’s here?”
The sound ceased.
Not good. He couldn’t find the person in the darkness if they didn’t create noise. He stood in the entry. Cautious of the need for silence, he crouched. If they swung or shot at him, they would expect a man standing.
A small beam of light flit along the passage wall and landed on the face of one of the local workers. Tino used the element of surprise and lunged, tackling the man around the legs. The force knocked the thief to the ground. Tino jumped on top of him. The light flashed in his eyes, blinding him, but he held onto the man squirming beneath him.
“Thank God!”
Isabella’s heartfelt exclamation relieved the tightness in his chest. Her face was illuminated with the backlight of the small beam she held in her mouth as she dug around in her vest pockets. The sound of ripping followed.
“Here. Tie his hands with this.” She held a strip of duct tape out to him.
He didn’t have a clue where the tape came from, but he was happy to use it. He wrapped the thief’s wrists together and stood him up.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Tino reached out to Isabella. She took his hand.
“I’m shook up. I followed him and tripped.” She swung the flashlight toward the entrance. A rock sat near the right hand wall.
“We should get out of here and have a chat with our thief.” Tino shoved the worker ahead of him out the entrance, using Isabella’s beam of light to navigate around the rock and up the steps.
Outside, he marched the man to the mess tent. “See if you can find a lantern.” He wasn’t about to let the man loose.
A flame sputtered and gained in brightness. Isabella faced Tino, and his heart slammed into his throat.
“You are bleeding!” He reached out hesitantly to inspect the blood and dirt on her chin.
“I’m fine. I hit my chin when I fell.” Her eyes glistened with moisture.
“Are you sure this is the only place you are injured?” He slid his gaze down the front of her. Dark patches seeped at her knees. “Your knees are bleeding.” He captured a wrist and stared at the scrapes and blood on her palms. “Mi pichón, you are tougher than you appear.” He kissed her forehead.
“¡Caramba! It is too early to eat, no?” Pedro emerged from the back of the cook tent in wrinkled clothes, his hair sticking out in all directions.
“Pedro, get a first aid kit and then Doctor Martin, por favor.” Tino searched the area for something to tie up the thief who was struggling to get free.
Isabella sliced through one of the tent ropes with a small blade. He stared at her. What else did she carry in all those pockets of her vest? She held the rope out to him with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Gracias.” He shoved the thief into a chair and tied his ankles to the chair legs. Isabella arrived with another length of rope. He tied it around the man’s chest, securing him to his seat.
Pedro jogged up to them with the first aid kit. “¡Caramba, seño! Sit. You need attention.”
“Pedro. I will tend to Ezzabella. You get Doctor Martin.” Tino snatched the first aid kit from the cook and motioned for Isabella to sit. The cook was only trying to help, but he would be the one who doctored and touched the woman.
She sat, grimacing when the knees of her pants pressed against her bent joints.
“I will take care of your knees later, in the privacy of your tent,” he said in a whisper for her only.
Her eyes widened and a smile curved her lips. “I like how you protect my privacy.”
“This is going to sting.” He applied peroxide to a gauze and wiped at the dirt on her chin.
She sucked in air and tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.
“I am sorry but it needs to be cleaned.” He hated bringing her pain, but she would thank him later when her chin healed without scars from infection.
“I know. Your gentle touch helps.” Her lopsided smile caught his attention. He leaned in to kiss her when he heard Martin’s angry voice. “Later,” he whispered and worked on one of her hands.
“What is the meaning of sending Pedro for me?” Martin stopped inside the tent. The minute his gaze landed on Isabella, he rushed forward.
“What happened?” He put a hand under her chin, raising her face to the light.
Tino wanted to slap the man’s hand away, but Isabella only smiled.
“I tripped and scuffed up my chin and hands. Nothing drastic.” She focused her gaze on the man squirming in the chair. “I was following this man.”
Isabella stood, drawing Tino up with her. “Tino and I discovered a missing urn last night, and he then discovered a spot where someone had stood watching the compound. Tonight, this man,” she pointed to the local worker in the chair, “crept by the artifact tent when he realized I wasn’t leaving and slipped into the dig. I think he was going to steal something in there. Only I trippe
d, and then Tino showed up and captured him.”
Tino watched Martin. The news didn’t shock him.
The exasperated huff and glare Martin tossed at the thief showed irritation, not shock or anger.
“Raul, are you stealing for the narcos?” Martin asked the thief. “Is this how they’re receiving payment?”
Isabella’s hand clutched Tino’s arm. He patted it. If this was an infiltration of the narcos, he had to be more careful. If his cover were blown, it would also jeopardize Isabella. They might think she was an agent, too.
Raul stared straight ahead, his lips firmly locked together. Would his punishment for talking be worse than what the government dealt for stealing national treasures?
“I see. You’re not going to talk. As of right now you no longer work for me, and I want you and your things removed from this dig.” Martin faced Tino. “Please escort Raul to his tent, and then out of the compound. I’ll not have thieves taking the artifacts we dig up.”
“What about the authorities?” Tino couldn’t believe Martin was letting the man off that easy.
Martin ran a hand over his face and stared at Tino. “Do you really think he’ll remain locked up anywhere long enough for the authorities to deal with him?” He shook his head. “He’d never get to the village or down the river. Whoever took him would be dead too. The narcos aren’t going to let him get to authorities and give away any information.”
This was true, but Tino couldn’t believe Martin gave up so easily on extracting information from the man. If he pushed Martin to interrogate the man further, it would only throw suspicion on him. He shrugged. “If that is how you want to handle it. It is your business.”
“You’re not going to force him to tell us what he did with the items he took?” Isabella grabbed Martin’s shirt sleeve. “What if he isn’t the only one?” She stared at Tino.
Since meeting the woman he’d dropped the word fragile from any description of her, but right now, with her injuries and eyes beseeching him to make things right, she appeared as fragile as the orchids gracing the rain forest, and just as beautiful.
“I’ll know if there are more.” That was the best he could do to allay her fears until they were in private. He still didn’t trust Martin and he didn’t want Raul, once he was free, to tell the others how he planned to learn the truth.
She nodded.
Tino untied the man but left his hands taped. He entered the worker’s tent with Raul. One empty cot had the covers thrown back. Tino nudged the man toward it and picked up items around the area, tossing them in the middle of the bedding. He tied the whole mess into a bundle and nudged Raul out. He didn’t want him conversing with the few who had awaken and stared with wide eyes.
At the edge of the compound, Tino stripped the tape from the man’s wrists, none to gently, and shoved his belongings in his gut. “Do not come back.”
His training said to follow the man; he would meet up with the narcos. But he already knew where they hid, and he had promised Isabella he would tend to her knees. Tomorrow night he would slip into the cave and see what might lie hidden in there besides missing artifacts.
The gray light of morning hung over the top of the trees as he returned to the compound. A light shone in the cook tent revealing Pedro preparing the morning meal. Instinct told him Isabella waited in her tent. He hastened across the camp and stopped with his hand on the tent flap. The howler monkeys’ roar echoed through the trees. Soon the others would be waking. Did he dare chance getting caught leaving her tent in the morning hours?
The flap moved, and Isabella’s face peered out at him. Her eyes sparkled and a smile curved her lips. “I wondered when you’d show up.” She held the flap back, allowing him entrance.
“I can only stay a minute. The others will be up soon. I do not want them to see me leaving—”
She pressed a finger against his lips. “Don’t worry about the others. You promised to take care of my knees.” She stepped back, and his gaze drifted down to take in a body-hugging tank top and denim shorts revealing her long muscled legs. The only thing marring the sight—her bloody knees.
He swallowed a couple times to wet his dry mouth.
Isabella walked to an upside-down crate next to her bedding. She bent, retrieving items from the box. His heart raced at the sight of her shirt sliding up, exposing the lower part of her back and her denim-clad bottom thrust toward him. His control shattered at that innocent—she glanced at him over her shoulder—or not so innocent act.
“¡Carajo! You are going to be my ruin.” He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, tucking her enticing bottom against his growing length.
She slowly unbent, pressing her back to his front and leaning her head on his shoulder. “I don’t want to ruin you. But your heroics and gentle touch have cracked my resolve.”
Her acceptance of their attraction was as much an aphrodisiac as her body. He kissed her cheek and neck. His hand, pressed to her lower abdomen, held her bottom firmly against his groin. She fit him perfectly. His other hand snuck under her shirt and played with her pert nubs.
Isabella remained pressed against Tino’s hard length. Waiting for him to return she’d decided to stop fighting and enjoy what he offered. She was a big girl and knew he would be moving on soon, so why not learn the art of loving from someone she trusted and knew would never hurt her on purpose.
His hard body, caressing hands, and moist kisses made her dizzy. Her limited experience brought on the realization she wanted intimacy with Tino. No other man up to now had drawn her attention from her academics to think only of him. She spun, sliding her arms about his neck and kissing him with the pent-up passion only Tino could unleash.
Tino returned the kiss until she had to pull back and catch her breath.
“Mi pichón, your body sings for me like a musical instrument.” His melodic voice whispered across her cheek moments before he recaptured her lips and tangled his tongue with hers, seducing both with his kiss and his hands.
When her legs and body sagged against him, Tino gently placed her on her bedding. Her thundering heart slowed, lessening the pounding in her ears, and she realized he cleaned her knees.
Raising her head, she watched hands, that moments before turned her body into fire and lightning, now gently cleanse and rub ointment on her knees.
“I’m sorry.” Since meeting this man it seemed all he did was fulfill her needs. Never once had she done a thing for him.
His dark blue eyes peered at her. “¿Por que? You did not fall down on purpose.”
She sat up and placed a hand on his thigh. “For being so patient with me.” His muscles tightened under her palm.
“You are worth the wait.” He picked up her hand and tenderly kissed her scraped palm. “Your kiss just now proved it.” He leaned forward, pulling her to him. His lips touched hers and she dove into the heady sensation with every molecule of her being.
The call of the howler monkey and movement around the tent slowly registered as Tino released her. His hair stood out from her hands running through it. Isabella giggled.
Tino put a finger to her lips, but she couldn’t control the giggles. Lack of sleep and the high she felt from being in this man’s arms only added to the giddiness.
“Mi pichón, you must not bring someone to see what tickles you.” The admonishment in Tino’s eyes made her swallow her giggles.
“I’m sorry. The lightness I feel...” She took his hand and kissed his palm. “I’ve never had anyone who made me feel so wonderful or want to reciprocate the feelings.”
“Querida.” Tino’s eyes brightened as he lowered his lips to hers.
The soft, tender kiss was nearly as exhilarating as the tongue tangling ones they’d shared.
“I cannot believe the pendejos who have hurt you so. When I meet them—”
She placed a finger on his wonderful lips. “You will never meet them.”
Her stomach growled and Tino chuckled.
�
��Your stomach knows what it wants. I will leave and you can get dressed. I will wait for you outside.” He kissed the tip of her nose and rose.
Tino stepped out of her tent.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Chapter 15
Tino cursed under his breath as Martin stormed across the distance between his tent and Isabella’s.
“What are you doing sneaking out of Dr. Mumphrey’s tent?” Martin’s eyes were wide and bulging. The vein in his forehead protruded. His anger was more than was warranted.
Before he could answer, Isabella stepped out. She’d pulled on long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Her hair looked like she’d been thoroughly ravaged.
“What’s the matter?” She stepped up beside him, and Martin’s eyes narrowed before he grabbed her roughly by the arm. Isabella emitted a sharp cry of pain.
Tino grabbed the doctor’s wrist, pushed his thumb on a pressure point, and forced Martin to release Isabella.
“Keep your hands off her.” Tino didn’t care that the tone held menace. He wouldn’t allow the doctor to hurt or manhandle Isabella.
Martin jerked his arm free of Tino’s grasp and glared. “Get out of this compound. You are no longer welcome here.”
Tino stood his ground as he searched Isabella’s face. “Did he hurt you?”
“It scared me more than hurt.” She rubbed her arm not convincing him.
He faced the doctor. “I will go, but if you hurt her, I will be back and you are not going to like what I do to you.”
Dr. Martin’s eyes were focused on Isabella. What was his probing gaze trying to discern?
“Tino, you need breakfast before you leave.” Isabella hooked her arm through his and stared at Martin. “You can’t kick him out without feeding him first. He did after all catch a thief last night.”
Martin nodded, but the hatred in his eyes and tick in the vein on his forehead proved the man didn’t like Isabella taking his side.
Tino pivoted and headed to the mess tent with Isabella holding his arm. The grip she had on him was telling. She feared being left alone in the compound. He couldn’t blame her. The rage on Martin’s face when he grabbed her was possessed.
9 Ways to Fall in Love Page 97