Chapter 14

Nyx stood in front of Vargas's desk and tried not to think about how uncomfortable her damp clothes were. She had more important worries than a little chafing. Case wanted her to convince the drug lord to allow him to help her in the library today and who knew how the man would react to that?

Then there was the thing with the phone. If the Wi-Fi was monitored, and if they figured out she'd connected on the old mobile, Nyx might find herself in deep shit with no one to help her.

She looked around the office, trying to find something to absorb her attention, but it was the same as yesterday, right down to the two guards who stood on either side of the entrance. This time, she didn't wait long before Vargas strode into the room. He barely spared her a glance as he rounded the desk, unfastened the button at the waist of his suit coat, and took his seat. Only then did his dead eyes settle on her. "Your clothes are wet."

"I washed them last night. They were starting to smell." He spoke in Spanish, so she did as well.

Vargas studied her for a moment and then shrugged. "Enrique," he said, turning to one of the guards at the entrance. "Tell the housekeeper to bring the visitor clothing Se?or Ramos purchased last year to our guests' suite."

With a nod, the man left his position.

"Perhaps there is something there that will work for you and Se?or Case."

"Gracias," Nyx said.

With a wave of his hand, Vargas said, "I do not appreciate a stench."

Uncertain how to respond, Nyx nodded. The drug lord didn't speak for a long moment, studying her intently. Did he know about the phone? Was he hoping she'd implicate herself somehow? She wouldn't. She could remain quiet. Squaring her shoulders, Nyx waited.

"Did you learn anything about the treasure?" he asked.

"No, nothing."

"Nothing?"

Something in the way he said that made Nyx's breath catch. She nearly mentioned she was working on her degree in geoarchaeology, and that while she knew how to research, she wasn't an expert. But she stopped herself. If she said that, she made herself expendable. "Sorry, Se?or Vargas. I found nothing."

"I had someone check the library. You didn't accomplish much research yesterday."

Nyx saw an opportunity, and she took it. "I was uneasy by myself and that made it hard for me to focus. I kept jumping at every noise."

"You don't strike me as a timid woman."

"I'm usually not, but I'd feel safer—and have an easier time concentrating—if I had Charlie by my side."

Those hard eyes made Nyx want to fidget, but she remained still, meeting Vargas's stare. It lasted a while, long enough for the guard to return and resume his post near his compatriot. Long enough for it to become difficult to swallow because of how constricted her throat was.

Vargas leaned back in his chair, the pose indolent. "You believe you'll be able to comb through the documents faster if Se?or Case is in the library with you?"

"Sí," Nyx said while nodding. "Not only will I be able to stop jumping, but Charlie can assist me. We've been together long enough for him to know what's helpful and what isn't." That flat stare combined with the silence made her stomach knot up. Did he realize she was trying to maneuver him? A man like Vargas wouldn't take that well.

"Or he might be a bigger distraction than your nerves."

"I don't believe he will be, Se?or."

More silence. More staring. Why didn't he just give her an answer? Nyx wasn't good at game playing and that's what this was.

Clearing her throat, she decided to take a small risk. "When we spoke of the treasure yesterday, you mentioned you sometimes like to play long shots. Might I ask you why this one, and why now?"

His expression never changed, but Nyx felt as if she were walking on thin ice. She could almost hear it cracking.

Vargas straightened in his chair and leaned forward. "We've had a Norwegian adventurer, you and your Paladin League, Se?or Torres's second in command, and now Se?or Torres's men seeking the Treasure of Trujillo. This many people looking in such a short period?" He shrugged. "Where there's smoke and all that."

Nyx nodded. It made sense when he put it that way. "My boss at the Paladin League believes it's unlikely I'll find the treasure. He merely sent me to check."

"It seems he and I share the same thought on this quest."

Nyx would swear Vargas's lips turned up the slightest amount. Maybe. "It seems so," she agreed. Except that Archer wanted these items in a museum and Vargas would sell them for his own personal gain. "My boss is playing a lottery ticket."

"With a billion-dollar prize."

Nodding, she asked, "Why do you think that pile of papers would have any information about the treasure?" His gaze hardened, and she tacked on, "It might help me narrow down what to watch for as I skim through the records."

"Those historical documents are from the right period and they belonged to my predecessor's late grandfather, Diego Ramos. The man worked as the foreman on the archaeological dig at the Huarona ruins. Until the civil war shut down the excavation, of course."

"Of course," Nyx agreed with him again. "The elder Se?or Ramos had an interest in Puerto Jardinese history?" She asked as if she knew nothing about the man. It wasn't true. She'd heard stories.

"An intense interest, particularly in the legends. The Lost Treasure of Trujillo has definitely reached that status."

"Sí, it has," she said slowly. Nyx was much more curious about those papers sitting in the library now than she'd been five minutes ago. The library. Case wanted her to get him out of the suite and into the library. "Now that I have an idea of what I'm looking at, I'm certain the research will go faster. Will you allow my fiancé to help me?"

There was a long pause, and when Vargas spoke, he didn't answer her question. "You will join me for lunch. Sort through the clothes the housekeeper delivers and see if you can find something to wear. Enrique, return Se?orita Templeton to her room."

Case prowled the library, looking for additional listening devices. He'd already found one mic and a camera. It wouldn't surprise him if there were more. His best guess was the bugs weren't here yesterday but had been added after Nyx asked Vargas to allow him to assist her.

The drug lord had stalled her, sent her back to the suite, and then delayed her further with lunch—a meal he hadn't been invited to. It was plenty of time for Vargas's men to wire the room. Case's gaze went to Nyx. She sat at the table, reading some kind of document. Her hair was still braided, keeping it out of her way, but she was wearing jeans, a black strapless tank top, and over that, an oversized, gauzy white shirt.

The way it fell left her shoulder bare. Case fought the urge to go to her, lean over, and press his lips to her exposed skin. He'd never gotten hot over a woman's shoulder before, but it was Nyx. Everything about her was attractive to him. Even her stubbornness.

Shaking off the desire, he refocused on his search. His number one priority had to be her safety. His op was second. Taking his Fireball to bed wasn't on his to-do list. No matter how much he wanted her.

Sleeping beside her was testing him, especially last night. Somewhere around one a.m., she'd rolled over and ended up with one of her legs on top of his thighs. By the time the early morning sunlight had drifted into the room, waking him, Nyx was snuggled against his side and he had an erection. They were both pretending it hadn't happened.

He found another camera near the window. Case wasn't pulling the spy gear, but he wanted to know where it was and how much they were dealing with.

The patrol passed by the window, matching the timing and pattern Nyx had shared with him yesterday. Case didn't like it. Vargas was too smart not to change things up. If the goal was to lull him into a false sense of security it wasn't going to happen.

Case returned to the table, picking up the bowl sitting in the center, and checking it out. No sign of any electronics. It looked old, and there was a painting of some kind of person on the side. "This is an artifact, isn't it?"

Nyx looked up from the document she was reading. "Yes, I think its late Nazca."

"Late Nazca? When was that?"

She straightened in her chair. "About 550 to 750 AD."

He froze, then slowly, carefully, returned the bowl to the center of the table. "I didn't realize it was that old. It has a small crack."

Nyx's lips curved. "Relax, hon, I saw that yesterday. I know you didn't do it."

He wasn't easy to read. By the time he was in grade school, Case had learned to conceal, to hide, but Nyx had seen right through his mask. It left him edgy, and he resumed his search.

The library wasn't all that large, but it was stuffed with books, artifacts, and knickknacks. He could see why she'd been curious enough to go through the drawers. If she'd had more time, she likely would have searched the shelves and among the books. Case found another camera near the ladder and made the peace sign for whoever was monitoring it before moving on.

He wanted to go through the drawers and see if Nyx missed something, but with all the bugs, that wasn't happening.

There was a large vase in the final corner of the room. "How old is that?" he asked, pointing to it.

"A few centuries older than the bowl." She sounded distracted, and he glanced over. She was rapt over whatever she was reading.

Case returned his attention to the corner, examining it from a distance. He didn't want to know how much a vase that old and that big cost to replace. Besides, pinning down every camera and microphone wasn't needed.

"We have three cameras and five mics in the room," he told her.

Nyx looked up, expression serious. "Where are they?"

He pointed them out, and she turned, studying each one.

Standing, she went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist before pressing close. Reflex had him returning the embrace. Her kiss was slow, tender, and his hands tightened. She kissed her way to near his ear. "Wide-angle lenses?" she asked, voice barely a breath.

"Doesn't look like it." He spoke even softer than she had. "Cheap stuff."

Another kiss, this one at his temple. "Blind spots are near the door, window, and partial on the table, correct?"

For a moment, he paused. She'd nailed it. Maybe a geoarchaeologist would pick up on that. "Correct. Why?"

"Just wait." He got another lingering kiss on his lips before she turned out of his arms.

Case stared after her and then shook his head and went over to join her. Shifting a chair so that he would have a view of both the library door and the window, he took a seat. It put him close enough to Nyx to feel her body heat. "What do you want me to do?"

She picked up a pile of papers a good two inches thick and put it down in front of him. "You can start with this stack. We're looking for references to the treasure, the revolution, the Spanish viceroy, a ship called the Bonny Martha , its crew, La Convento de Madres Fieles, and the first mother superior at that convent, Mother Bonifacia Emilia."

"That's quite a list."

Nyx smiled and Case felt it in his chest. "Tell me about it. Since we don't know what we're looking for, we have to cast a wide net. The time frame we're interested in is 1820 to 1821, although Se?or Vargas said all the papers are from that period."

"Two years?"

"The treasure was stolen in 1820. The crew was hunted down and arrested, but the captain and his first mate escaped and were loose for a while. They were recaptured and executed in 1821. Anything in that window could hold a clue to where they hid their prize."

"Got it."

She knocked over a stack of papers, sending them all over the floor. Dozens of pages. "Oh, no!" Nyx dropped to the floor to start collecting them, half crawling under the table.

Case started to help her.

"It's okay," she said from underneath the table. "I have it. You can stay put."

Then he got it. She'd told him to just wait. Just wait and he'd understand why she was asking about blind spots. Now he knew. Nyx had found something she didn't want Vargas to have. "No," he said, getting to his feet, and using his back to block the camera that would have the best chance at picking something up. "I want to help."

"Really, I'm fine." She made all kinds of noise as she scooped up papers.

Case realized she was trying to conceal her actions from the microphones as well and started talking, making it harder for their eavesdroppers to home in on what she was doing. "Well, if you're sure you don't need any help, I'll stay out of your way. Be careful, though. Don't hit your head on the table, especially when you crawl out. That box apron is longer than usual."

"I'm being careful," Nyx said as she scooted into the open. "I think I have everything." She handed him a pile of papers and he took them before reaching out with his free hand to help her to her feet.

"You're good?" he asked, wanting to know if she had what she wanted.

"Good. Let's get back to work."

Reading historical documents was as bad as Case feared. The ink had faded, the language was flowery, and the writing had a lot of swirls and curlicues. He'd rather deal with numbers than words any day of the week.

Nyx distracted him. What had she taken? Where had she hidden it?

He drifted from the documents to her. Even without makeup, her face was damn near flawless. The one thing keeping her from total perfection was a tiny birthmark on the left side of her chin. After another moment of consideration, Case decided it wasn't a flaw after all. Not when it tempted him to kiss her on that spot.

It would be a quick jump from there to her lips. He dropped his gaze to the papers on the table in front of him. Fantasies about her mouth had gotten him in trouble since they'd met and he didn't need to get hard now.

Case forced himself through a couple of pages, but it didn't take long before he watched Nyx again. This time she caught him.

"Did you need something?"

She legit didn't realize. "Just wondering about this research thing. You love it, huh?"

Her lips curved, and again Case felt it. "No, I don't love it, but it's necessary. Toughen up." Nyx's smile widened. "You'll survive the boredom."

"I don't know. I could fall asleep, tip out of the chair, and hit my head."

"Lucky for you that you're so hardheaded."

It took an instant to realize she was teasing him. Case couldn't remember a woman ever doing that. Sure, the guys on his team gave him shit because he looked young, but women? Some flirted with him or teased him sexually, but they didn't gently rib him like Nyx was doing. Maybe he was weird, but he liked it.

"You'd think a fiancée would offer some sympathy to her betrothed."

"Sorry, hon, you volunteered to help me. No sympathy for you." Nyx pushed her braid behind her shoulder. "Se?or Vargas worried you'd be a distraction. I convinced him that you wouldn't be. Let's not prove him right when he asks me for a progress report, okay?"

She said it with her smile in place, but Nyx wasn't joking any longer. She was concerned about Vargas if they didn't make a dent in these papers.

Case nodded. "Laser focused. I promise." Reaching over, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can do this. We can do this."

He got back to work. This wasn't some school assignment he didn't want to do. This was about keeping his Fireball safe from a drug lord.