Chapter 5

Ty lay on his cot,listening to Cara's deepening breaths. She had finally fallen asleep after they'd talked for a good hour in the darkness about their experiences in the military and the places they'd been.

He enjoyed listening to her speak. She revealed facets of her personality every time. At times, she was brusque or funny with a dry bite, and very, very smart. That she didn't know she was pretty and didn't use her looks to draw men in appealed as well. It was too bad that she'd be moving on to the next adventure after this site closed.

He would've enjoyed spending more time with her, dating her, seeing where this spark between them might lead. And there were sparks aplenty.

That night, as they'd headed to the shower, they'd pretended not to be aware that their nude bodies were separated by only a few feet and a thin tarp. They'd continued chatting, talking about the things they hoped to accomplish the next day. All the while, he'd been imagining the water sluicing over her curvy, toned frame, wishing his hands were smoothing slick soap over her skin and exploring intimate anatomy.

Perhaps from the heightened color in her cheeks as they walked back to the tent, he thought she might have been thinking about the same things. Trying to deepen their connection, given the already open-air, wall-less environment and too many people roaming the site, made for a seemingly insurmountable divide.

Drawing a breath to clear his lungs and his head, he reached for his laptop, where he'd downloaded the images captured by his cameras before their internet had been cut by the loss of power to the site's modem. Setting it on his chest, he scrolled through the feeds quickly, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, slowing the feed to enjoy the sight of several monkeys sneaking toward the back of the mess tent to steal the food Cookie had left for them. They were bold and timid at the same time, their heads jerking toward unseen sounds, their humanlike hands capturing bits and stuffing them quickly into their mouths before they skittered away, quickly climbing trees to hide once again in the canopy.

On the last feed from the camera watching the northern entrance of their site on the trail leading toward the ruins, he slowed when he saw figures dressed in dark clothing creeping down the trail.

Ty checked the time stamp on the frame. Everyone had been at dinner, all of the university team accounted for, and the workers still serving the crew. Who was this? And what had been their destination?

He went back to the cameras hidden among the tents. He studied the feeds, slowing them down, looking for shadows that might betray a human form.

And there they were, outside the professors' tent. A figure stood in the shadows while another ducked through the canvas flap doorway. He counted the minutes—just five. When the figure reappeared, they both made their way north again, heading out of the camp.

Had they taken anything? He'd have to talk to the professors before they left the site in the morning to let them know they'd had a visitor. No, he'd let Cara know so she could decide. If she let the professors know the site was being surveilled, she'd have to explain how that was happening, and his cover would be blown.

He'd need to update his team back in Yellowstone about the roadblock and the intruders. He wasn't certain anyone was in danger, and the goal of today's intruders hadn't been to take a hostage; otherwise, why sneak into a tent when it was unoccupied?

Ty froze the screen on the feed showing the intruders entering the tent and turned off his laptop. One thing was for sure—he'd be sleeping lightly tonight, keeping his ears tuned to sounds that didn't belong. It was going to be a long night.

The next morning,Cara awoke and quickly looked across the tent. Again, Ty was already gone. It might have been nice to observe his sleeping face in the dawn's light. Last night's chat had been illuminating. The man had served in places she hadn't been aware there was a military presence, but then, she'd never associated with special operatives while on active duty, and the places she'd served had had large footprints—bases and outposts with large contingents of soldiers and support units.

While he hadn't shared details of his many classified missions, he had given her enough information for her to know that he'd participated in some highly dangerous operations. Last night, he'd spoken of the mission that had ended just as it had begun—the one that had ended his career. He'd lost so much, not just a kidney and a spleen, and she could tell from his tightened voice he hadn't fully recovered mentally from his injuries. The way he'd spoken of the teammates he'd lost, his voice growing hoarse, had nearly broken her heart.

She glanced at her watch. It was still half an hour before breakfast started. Plucking her washcloth off the clothesline at the back of the tent, she wet it and washed her face and hands. Then she took a bottle of water and a "loaded" toothbrush outside to freshen her mouth. Once back inside, she quickly pulled off her T-shirt to put on a bra. Just as she was connecting the front hooks, the mesh doorway lifted and in walked Ty, whose eyes widened when he saw her.

Instantly, he turned away. "Sorry, I should've announced myself. I thought you'd still be sleeping."

She finished the hooks, picked up her T-shirt, and pulled it over her head. "I'm decent now."

"You never weren't," he murmured, turning slowly toward her.

Their gazes locked for a moment then fell away. Heat crept across her cheeks.

Lord, what am I? Fifteen?She sucked in a breath. "You were up early. Did you have more cameras to install?"

"I have a couple I want to put up at the worksite when we go there today."

"Do you really think it's necessary?"

He gave her a slow, solemn nod, which told her he had something else to say. "What's happened?"

"We had visitors last evening while everyone was at dinner."

"Visitors?"

"Two men. They came in on foot from the direction of the excavation. They headed straight to the professors' tent. One was inside it for about five minutes before they both quickly left the site."

"Did it look like they were carrying anything away?"

He shook his head. "Not unless it was small enough to conceal in a pocket."

"They didn't hit any other tent?"

"No. Like I said, they headed straight for that tent."

"I need to catch the guys before they leave for breakfast. They should go through their belongings and see if anything is missing."

"And how will you explain how we know someone was in there?"

She raked a hand through her hair, then picked up her hairbrush and quickly finished brushing it before securing it in a ponytail. Then she sat and put on her socks and short hiking boots before replying. "I don't know what to do. If I tell them cameras caught intruders entering their tents, they'll ask—what cameras? Then I'll have to explain that you installed them and what you're really doing here."

"Then, if anyone here on the site is involved in any of the crimes that have been committed here, they'll know they're being watched."

She nodded. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not if we want them to be careless so we can catch them in the act or figure out what their real target is."

"Do you think it's the cartel, and they intend to kidnap another of us for ransom?"

He frowned. "Why come to their tent when it's unoccupied?"

"Unless they're looking for their notes or wanting to steal something they've dug up." She was sure her frown now matched his. "I think…we don't say anything…for now."

He nodded. "We'll keep our eyes peeled."

"You'll get those last cameras up today. Perhaps it's related to their work—not just that they're prominent people who might fetch a nice ransom."

"We should head to breakfast."

She nodded. "You know, if I haven't already said it, I'm glad you're here."

After breakfast,Ty and Cara watched as the GPR was loaded and taken to the site. Ty stood beside Cara, who was speaking with Professor Beacham.

"Why are you taking out the GPR again?" she asked the professor. "If you're working to document what you've already found and to protect your progress, why continue to search the site?"

"We're hoping to map what else might be under there so we have a plan for the next season's dig. I have a hunch that the chamber we found is connected to a larger structure. If we can get some imaging, it will help us build a case for bringing more resources out next time."

"So, it will help with fundraising?"

"Maybe…" The professor smiled at her.

"I'm bringing Ty out today so he can see what you all have been working so hard to uncover."

The professor looked past her to Ty. "Looking at what we've uncovered so far probably won't give you a good perspective of what we think is yet to be found. This site isn't on par with the largest, most impressive Mayan ruins, like Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, but it might be comparable in size to Becán—which would still make it another major find. The structures here aren't as tall, which is how the site was overlooked for so long."

"The jungle consumed it," Cara said. "It was only through aerial photographs that Paulo and Raul studied that they found the outline for the site's outer fortifications."

Ty could tell Cara believed in the work the professors were doing out there. Her expression and hand gestures were more animated as she spoke.

"They made the discovery early in their careers," the professor said. "Locals were aware of ruins in the jungle, but the scale wasn't easily detectable. It was hard to get anyone interested in exploring the site. There are small ruins everywhere."

Cara turned to Ty. "The way Paulo and Raul tell the story, the site might still be hidden if not for the fact they were young and a bit starry-eyed over the possibilities of what might exist here. It's taken a long time to make any progress out here to prove their passion had a real foundation."

"The delay in progress was partially due to a lot of bureaucracy," Professor Beacham said. "The Mexican government doesn't move quickly to approve digs like this one. Then, funds had to be secured. The University of Mexico looked for partners to help bring more money to the project, and that's where the University of California came in. We've been here for nearly eight years now, but progress is slow when you're only allowed to work seasonally, and weather and nature try to reclaim what you've accomplished when you leave."

"Which is why it's important to build some covers over some spots where they've been digging deeper around the site." She shrugged. "You'll see. And I promise not to give you too much of a history lesson. Most of it goes over my head anyway—which eras this place fits into the overall history of the Maya."

Ty scrunched his nose. "I'll be the first to admit the only thing I know about Mayan ruins is what I've seen in travel brochures."

Professor Beacham's mouth pursed, but Ty didn't care if the man thought he was ignorant.

The crew finished loading the GPR and the rest of their equipment. Four vehicles left the motor pool, heading toward the work site.

Ty tugged on Cara's arm. "We'll follow them in a bit. I want to have a look inside their tent before we go to see if we can figure out what the intruders might have been after."

"At breakfast, no one complained about anything being missing," Cara said. "I'd feel funny about sneaking into their tent while they're gone."

"I have a job to do," Ty said.

"Keeping me safe. What does that have to do with investigating why intruders were in the camp yesterday?"

"Maybe it's not related to the kidnapping. Maybe it has nothing to do with the work they're doing. For all we know, it was just someone looking for an ancient pot to sell on the black market. At the very least, I have to see what's in there. Maybe I'm overstepping, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't cover all the possibilities."

They returned to the tents, sweeping past the mess tent where Cookie was still supervising cleanup. Ty counted the workers and determined that everyone was accounted for. They didn't want to be discovered snooping.

The professor's tent was another Army-style tent, but it was larger than even the mess tent. The sides were down and secured, and the doorway was zipped.

While he unzipped the entrance, Cara looked around, her expression filled with guilt.

"We're doing this for their own good," he said softly, then held open the flap for her to enter.

The interior was dark, so he plucked his flashlight from his belt and flicked it on. One end of the tent was the sleeping area. He made his way there first, glancing among the beds but not seeing anything anyone might want to take. Then, the two of them moved to the folding tables on the other side.

A couple of tables held drawings of the site, with areas left in draft and only lightly sketched and others more detailed. Ty paused to look at them. The site appeared to be a large circle, with several buildings spread out in the center.

"They haven't excavated but a small portion of the moat and a bridge that runs over it," Cara said, running her finger around the circle surrounding the site. Another nearby Mayan ruin, Becán, has a moat surrounding a temple and other fortified buildings. They think this site might have the same sort of design—a kind of sister city."

They moved on from the map. A journal was open on one end of the same table.

"Roy's journal," she said. "He brings it to the mess tent sometimes to finish up the day's notes."

Ty carefully thumbed through a few pages, reading notes and looking at the drawings he had made. He stopped on one page that depicted what looked like a cellar with a figure huddled against one side.

"That's the tomb where they found the mummy," Cara said. "She was sitting up against the wall. It was kind of creepy, like she might have still been alive when she was entombed."

Ty returned to the last page of entries and saw another drawing of another cellar-like structure—this time only a roughly sketched outline. He continued to work his way around the tables but couldn't think of anything of value that anyone would have been looking for.

"They take their laptops with them," Cara said. "If they were looking for computers, they left disappointed." She glanced over at him. "Satisfied?"

"Not by a long shot. Guess we better head out to the site."

As they moved toward the motor pool, he looked at the site with fresh eyes. This wasn't a military encampment. There weren't soldiers guarding the perimeter, and there was no command center.

He wondered if that was what bothered him about this place. It was familiar, and yet, oddly not. The differences bothered him.

The people who inhabited this site were vulnerable to the elements and predators, human and animal, and no one seemed concerned they weren't protected.

"What's Duncan like?" Ty asked.

"A good kid. Nerdy. Allergic to everything. Sincere and dedicated. He was so excited to be here. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

"Is there any particular reason they chose him? Did he come from money?"

She shook her head. "No. Not at all. He was going to school on a scholarship and grants. From what Roy said, his parents are depending on the insurance money to be enough to get him back. That or they'll have to ask the public for funds."

"Would there have been a better target?"

"I don't know. Raul comes from a prominent family steeped in the arts."

"His family doesn't worry about him being vulnerable out here?"

"I have no clue. Maybe they pay for that sort of protection."

At the motor pool, Ty pulled back the gate while Cara drove out. He flicked the tin cans hung on what looked like fish hooks that served as their intruder alarm and shook his head.