Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

Alfonso Ramos' Estate

Present Day

WORLD WAR THREE had broken out on the compound. For what seemed like forever, there'd been automatic weapons fire mixed with occasional pistol shots, and Zo didn't know what to do.

The guard on her balcony had disappeared, and she wanted to see if the man in the corridor had abandoned his post, too, but Finn would be furious if she wandered out of the suite while there was shooting going on. Considering that he'd been pissed off at her for the past couple of days, she wasn't certain she wanted to push it.

She hated that she didn't know what was happening.

The Puerto Jardinese Army might have decided to crack down on drugs in the quest for more US aid. Bianchi, Al's rival, could have chosen to launch an attack against the hacienda. Or there was a chance it was Finn and his team trying to fight their way onto the compound to rescue her and Tia Izel. She hoped like hell the battle wasn't because of option three.

It probably wasn't. Finn's team was small, and this sounded like a hell of a lot more people involved than that. But some of Ramos' men weren't what Finn called the A-Team. They could be shooting wildly, affecting her ability to judge how many troops were involved.

Damn, she wanted to do something. Needed to do something.

As the assault continued, Zo decided she couldn't hide out any longer. If there was a chance to get Tia Izel off the estate, she had to take it, because something was seriously wrong. She didn't want to be a sitting duck should the wrong side win.

How many times had Finn told her to have a plan? To never act without running scenarios first? She took a minute to think things through logically. When she ran out of contingencies, Zo blew out a long breath. In chaos, there was opportunity. Time to take advantage of it.

Creeping as quietly as she could to the door, Zo put her ear next to it and listened, trying to detect if her guard remained on duty.

Between the gunfire and the way her heart pounded, she couldn't tell.

Okay, then. Zo banged the heel of her hand against the wood and called out, "What's happening? Se?or, what's going on?"

No response.

She studied the lock. It should be easy enough to pick. With luck, the men monitoring the security cameras were gone. Pulling a couple of the bobby pins that were helping to hold her braid in place, Zo crouched in front of the door and maneuvered them into the lock. It took about twenty seconds to pop it.

As she straightened, she drew another deep breath and tried to slow her pulse. It didn't help. When she opened the door, she discovered the hall was empty.

Zo stayed close to the wall, trying to move as soundlessly as possible to the stairs. She almost vibrated with tension by the time she reached them. How the hell had Finn done this for years? The stress was incredible.

She began to sweat as she made her way down to the main level. If someone started firing, there was nowhere to hide.

Her breath shuddered when she reached the first floor.

She'd only made it a few feet when the sound of running had her scurrying for the nearest door. Wrenching it open, Zo dashed inside and silently eased it back into place. The room was dark, windowless, and reeked of stale cigar smoke. The footsteps receded, but she counted to sixty before opening it a crack and peeking into the hall. Empty.

Tia Izel must be terrified. Zo needed to reach her, to protect her. She slipped out of the smoking-room and dashed toward the side door that led to the casita.

Zo rounded a corner in a rush and stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened as they focused on the muzzle of an assault rifle. Pointed at her. Terrified, she could only squeak. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God. She raised her gaze to the man holding the weapon.

The air left her in a rush. "Se?or Otero," she said. The words came out as shaky as she felt. "What are you doing here?"

Before he could answer, a voice came from inside Al's office, "Is that Zofia I hear?" Se?or Garcia stuck his head out, spotted her, and smiled. "Luis, we do not need to rescue Zofia. She has saved herself."

The door to the office opened, and Tio Luis, Tia Izel, and Se?or Garcia emerged. "Come, Zofia, we must leave."

"Do you know what's happening?" Her voice remained unsteady.

Tio Luis nodded soberly. "Ramos has been assassinated. His top men are now fighting to be the new leader of evil. We must leave before they realize the hacienda is not secure."

"Assassinated." Zo couldn't breathe. She grabbed Tio Luis' arm, squeezing hard. "Finn! Have you heard anything about Finn?"

"Reports say only Ramos was killed."

With a long sigh, Zo closed her eyes. It didn't mean Finn hadn't been hurt, but if Tio Luis said no one else had been killed, she could believe him.

But Al was dead. The need to cry surprised her.

"We must leave now," Se?or Otero said urgently.

Zo opened her eyes and nodded her head. "I'm right behind you."

Instead of following them, Zo glanced at the door. Al's office. She was standing directly in front of Al's office.

It would only take a minute to look for the artifact. Less than a minute.

Ramos cared enough for his grandfather to protect the Disk of the Gods, but his successor wouldn't. She'd be quick—if she didn't find it in the desk, she'd leave—but she had to try to save it. It was too precious to abandon.

Finn headed straight for the casita. Security was a fucking joke, but it wouldn't last indefinitely. He needed to find Zo and Tia Izel and get them out of here. The guest house was completely abandoned with no sign of either woman.

He called their names, but when he received no response, Finn moved on to option number two. The suite he and Zo shared.

No guards in the house either. Finn was moving quickly toward the stairway when it registered that the door to Ramos' office was ajar. Stopping, he slowly pivoted and retraced his steps, M4 at the ready .

It was probably a group of Ramos' men looking for something that would give them an edge. Probably.

But the damn relic was in there.

Standing off to the side, he used the palm of his hand to ease the door open. He wasn't surprised to see Zo standing by the desk, clutching the artifact. "For fuck's sake, Zofia. What the hell are you doing?" he demanded quietly.

She jumped, so focused on the disk that she hadn't noticed the door open.

Zo grinned. "Finn! You're okay!" Her gaze traveled over him from head to toe and back again. She tried to jam the disk in the front pocket of her jeans, but it didn't fit, so she used a rear pocket instead. She reached back into the open desk drawer and brought out a pistol, checking the clip. "Where's the rest of your team?"

He ignored the question. "Where's Tia Izel?"

Sobering, she said, "Tio Luis and his friends are with her. They were leaving that way." With her empty hand, she pointed the direction Finn had been headed when he'd spotted the office.

"And you should have been with them."

"The disk—"

" Fuck that damn disk already," he growled, furious she believed some lump of gold was more important than her life. "Let's go."

Without hesitating, Zo rounded the desk. "You must be really pissed off. You used my full name and said fuck twice."

"Pissed off doesn't begin to cover it. We need to move."

She nodded, and he worked on corralling his anger. Emotion made people do stupid things that got them killed. He wasn't dying today, and he wasn't letting anything happen to Zo. In the seconds it took her to reach him, Finn managed to calm down. "Stay behind me," he ordered.

Her hand curled around his forearm. "I'm glad you're okay. I was worried about you. "

"But not worried enough about yourself to get your ass off the property."

Zo scowled at him. "I was literally in the office for less than three minutes."

"Three minutes is long enough for things to go to hell. Three minutes is enough to close up an escape route you might have been able to use. Three minutes is enough to get you killed." Finn shook his head and worked harder to contain his emotions. If he couldn't maintain control, neither of them was going to make it out alive. "We can't argue about this now. Stay quiet and follow me."

Another nod.

Getting out of the mansion was easy, but the fighting was much closer to the house now than when he'd entered it. Like he'd told Zo, a few minutes could change a situation drastically.

He kept her near the house as long as possible. There wasn't any damn cover. A smattering of trees and small bushes wouldn't do shit for them. At least the factions were too busy fighting each other to think about Zo escaping. "We're running for the wall."

Zo nodded.

"Now," he ordered. He sprinted, and she stayed on his heels.

There was no cover at the wall either and he fucking hated how exposed Zo was. Finn jogged until they neared a gate to the outside. No guards, but it was closed.

He checked it out. Not locked.

But the barricade bar was heavy, and it required a mechanical device to raise it. "Keep an eye open," he ordered. Without waiting for Zo's nod, he used the crank. The bar slowly lifted. The fighting grew closer.

Close enough that when he glanced over, he saw Zo assume a shooter's stance. She held the pistol with both hands and stood in front of him. Shielding him. Fuck .

Cranking faster, he lifted the bar far enough to get one of the double doors free. He eased it open to make sure the outside was clear.

It was.

"Move, Zo," he ordered quietly. He put himself between her and the shooting. Once she'd slipped out, Finn followed.

Now they had cover.

Finn kept them running until they were far enough away from the hacienda that he thought it unlikely they'd meet any of Ramos' men. Now they had to reach the clearing in the rainforest before the helicopter took off without her.

A sound made him slow. Someone was up ahead. Ramos' men? Bianchi's? Silva's? Giving whoever it was a wide berth wasn't an option. Zo would miss her ride if they had to go that far around, and he wanted her out of Puerto Jardin ASAP.

Pulling Zo to a stop, Finn found a concealed spot and led her there. "Stay put. I'm going to check out who's in front of us."

After a hesitation, she nodded.

Zo couldn't move soundlessly, and Finn didn't want her tipping off the bogeys. She'd be okay for a minute or two. He eased forward, and heard the argument before he saw the group.

"We must go back and find Zofia," Tia Izel said in Spanish. "She might need our help."

"We will after we have you safe," her husband told her.

"That could be too late."

Staying behind a tree in case one of the older men decided to fire, Finn said, "Tia Izel, I have Zo. She's okay."

Se?or Otero raised his weapon, but Tia Izel slapped his hand, and he lowered it.

"Is that you, Rowland?" Alvarez called.

"Sí." Finn poked his head out.

"Where is Zofia?" Tia Izel demanded. "I don't see her with you. "

"I'll get her," Finn said, and the woman nodded.

It only took a moment to bring Zo back. Tia Izel hurried to Zo and hugged her tightly. Zo barely got her pistol out of the way in time. Then the scolding began. "Zofia! I turned to check on you, and you'd disappeared. Where did you go?"

"I found her looting Ramos' office," Finn said, his tone dry.

The older woman stepped away from Zo, eyed the M4 he was carrying, and opted against hugging him. "It's fortunate your husband watches out for you," she admonished. "There are times I wonder if you've lost the sense God gave you."

As Zo protested, Finn moved to talk to Se?or Alvarez. "Where are you headed?" he asked. "Back to town?"

"Sí. With Ramos dead, no one else should have an interest in my Izel or your Zofia."

"Probably," Finn conceded. "I'd stay on guard, though."

"Of course. You're taking Zofia home?"

"I'm getting her home," Finn corrected. "I'm going to have to stay longer to repay a few debts I incurred while Zo was in trouble."

"Sometimes, help is expensive."

"Sí," Finn agreed. "We can't stay here. You need to get Tia Izel to San Isidro, and Zo has a ride to catch to Rio Blanco."

"Does she know she's leaving so quickly?"

"Not yet, Se?or Alvarez."

The old man grinned. "You may call me Tio Luis." Before Finn could think of what to say to the invitation, he continued, "You're going to have a fight on your hands when you tell her of your plans."

"Maybe not."

Alvarez shook his head. "We cannot risk standing here any longer."

Finn nodded. "Sí. "

Tio Luis rounded up his group, ignoring his wife's protest. "Stay safe, Zofia," he told her before they set off.

"Let's go, loquita." Finn resumed walking, and Zo followed him.

Normal wasn't interesting. He'd told Griff that about a century ago, but today made him rethink what he said. A normal person would have gotten their ass out of the hacienda with Alvarez and his team, but not his woman. No, she had to go and pillage a dead man's office for an ancient relic. Was it too much to ask that she fucking consider her safety?

"Where are we going?" she asked quietly.

Scowling, he pulled to a stop and rounded on her. "Why do you think some damn inanimate object is worth more than a human life?"

Zo immediately returned his glower with her own. "That's unfair. I was willing to give up the disk to save Tia Izel. I'd give it up to save you. I don't value it more than someone's life."

"Let me rephrase that. Why is the disk worth more than your life?"

Shaking her head, she said, "It was a calculated risk. I was right there, in front of the office, when I ran into Tia Izel. The men were already getting her to safety and—"

"You should have escaped with them. When we met up, you could have said something to me. I would have gone back to the estate to recover the disk for you, but you don't trust anyone else with one of your precious artifacts."

Her scowl deepened, and she stepped forward, going toe-to-toe with him. "Do you think I was going to ask you to risk your life for the disk? Not a chance."

"But you'd risk your own, just like I said. Damn it, Zofia, I have a lot more experience at this kind of shit than you do. Why the fucking hell can't you ever ask me for help?" He took her hand before she could reply, and tugged her into motion. "Come on. We have to go. "

Anger churned with every step, and Finn didn't make it far before he said, "You don't need anyone, do you? You can do it all yourself."

"I never said that."

"No, but actions speak louder than words. You've never—not once—asked me to help you with a damn thing."

Zo tried to pull her hand free, but he held on, and she relented. "You said you like my strength. It's the most frequent compliment you've given me since we met."

Her voice was choked, and Finn glanced over at her face, but her expression was impassive. He wanted to stop and look at her more closely, but they were pressed for time. "Yeah, I like that you're strong and resourceful and smart, but did you ever stop to think maybe I need you to need me for something?"

"That's unfair!"

"What? What's unfair?"

"Changing the rules on me midstream. You liked me because I was strong, so I was strong for you, but now you're saying you secretly wanted me to need help. You never told me this. If you'd said something, I would have done it for you."

She'd managed to confuse him, and he stopped, turning to face her. "I don't understand. What are you saying? Would have done what for me?"

Zo's lips tightened, and it seemed she was struggling for control. "I was trying to please you, to be who you wanted me to be so you wouldn't leave me. But I failed with you, too. At least my parents' expectations were clearly spelled out."

This time, when she yanked her hand, Finn let her go, too dumbfounded to hang on to her. Zo started walking, continuing in the direction they'd been heading. As he stared after her, his brain spun through the information she'd dropped, pairing it up with conversations they'd had over the time they'd been together, like the fact she'd gone along with her parents' plans as long as she had because she wanted them to love her.

She couldn't have meant—

Finn hurried to catch up before she disappeared from view. She didn't spare him a glance when he pulled beside her. After a moment, he said, "You know how I grew up, loquita. No one ever needed me. No one ever cared if I was around. I never wanted you to be helpless or weak. I only wanted you to need me for something."

She reached over and took his hand. "I need you, Finn."

The words hit him like a punch, driving the air from his lungs. When he had enough oxygen to talk again, he said, "You never had to mold yourself for me. Who you are is enough."

Her side-eyed glance told Finn she didn't believe him. All this time, he'd thought he was the most fucked-up person in their relationship, but he wasn't. Zo was.

He hadn't told her how he felt about her because he'd been waiting for her to say the words. Finn hadn't wanted to risk himself. But Zo couldn't say it first because she didn't believe she was worth loving. She thought she had to make herself be the woman she thought he wanted. Shit, her parents had messed her up.

The crazy thing was how similar they were. Growing up, he'd morphed himself to fit in with his newest family, and she'd molded her behavior to meet expectations. He shook his head. Crazy was putting it mildly.

If he hadn't heard the sound of helicopter rotors, Finn would have drawn her to a halt and hugged her tightly. No one needed to be loved more than Zofia Parker.

"We're headed to the helicopter?" she asked.

"Yes."

"You're shipping me off?"

"We talked about this. I need you safe in the States. You promised me no farther south than Nicaragua, remember? "

"Nicaragua. I swear." Her lips curved slightly. "I can't wait to see what Archer says when I tell him I can't take a job."

Griff and Ski met them before they reached the clearing. "Better move," Griff said. "The copter is about to head out."

"We're moving," Finn said. He hustled Zo just outside of the range of the rotors and wrapped his arms around her. She hung on, lifting her face, and he met her halfway, kissing her as if the world was ending.

Maybe it was.

At least the world as he believed it to be.

A tap on his shoulder ended the embrace. The captain pointed to the copter and scowled, his message clear. Finn nodded.

Crouching, he escorted her to the door of the helicopter and put her on board, buckling her in himself. "Stay safe," she shouted at him to be heard over the sound of the rotors. "And get word to me somehow when you can."

She'd rightly guessed that he wouldn't be texting her to check-in. In fact, it might be months before he got to talk to her again.

He squeezed her hand, and taking a step back, said, "I love you, loquita."