Chapter 18

Case put an arm around Nyx, pulling her closer, and lowered his head until his mouth was next to her ear. "Stick close to me. I want you on my heels, understand?" His voice was barely a breath of sound.

"On your heels. Understood." Her voice was as soft as his.

With a nod of approval, he released her, and remaining in the shadows near the house, headed toward Gate Three. Oz would have been on duty there when the attack began and he'd hold his position until he received an order to leave.

He kept part of his attention on the gunfire to make sure the fighting didn't surge in their direction and continued moving carefully. When he reached the end of the hacienda, he glanced back at Nyx. She'd followed orders and was right behind him.

Case studied the area carefully, trying to anticipate trouble. From here to the wall, they'd have no cover. He didn't want Nyx caught in the open.

Nothing going on here.

He let his gaze go to the gate. The only person he saw was Oz, but there was a guardhouse there and his partner might be inside. Case waited a few minutes. Watching. No movement.

The gunfire increased.

Turning to Nyx, he inclined his head. When she nodded, he set off for the exit. He could feel her at his back.

They got there without anyone noticing them.

Oz had the gate partially open by the time they reached him. "Here," he said, handing him a helmet with a night vision monocular attached. "It works."

"Thanks." Case donned the helmet and fastened the chin strap to keep it in position.

"Can she handle an assault rifle?"

"Yes," Nyx said at the same time Case said, "No."

Giving Nyx a warning stare, he said, "Just because you can handle a pistol, doesn't mean you can shoot an assault rifle." He turned back to Oz. "Let me have your pistol. I'll let her use that." Oz handed the weapon to Case. "We'll leave your rifle, but I'll take all your ammo."

In seconds, he had it stashed in his pockets.

"You need to knock me out and restrain me." Oz handed him a set of zip cuffs.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Be careful, dude," he said. "Those are Ramirez's men coming over the back wall."

Case nodded. They might have come in on one side, but Ramirez would have dudes stationed around the perimeter. Maybe even be working their way around the flanks to enter on another side since the drug lord's men were concentrated on the initial attack.

Oz turned his back, wrists together, and Case cuffed him. "We're lying low for a while."

"Don't go silent long."

"I know." Case used the butt of the pistol to give Oz a tap to the temple. He went down, landing in a position that didn't look comfortable.

Case turned to Nyx. "Stay with me."

"On your heels," she repeated.

As soon as they were outside, Case kept them close to the wall. They had a couple hundred yards where the trees and undergrowth were cleared, but once they got through that, they'd have cover. The rainforest waited.

There was no sign of any rebels. That didn't mean they weren't in the trees. Watching. There was too much light from the wall to use the NVD.

He picked out where he wanted to enter the rainforest and moved. Fast. Nyx kept up with him and he stopped worrying about her falling behind.

The gunfire was shifting, signaling the rebels had made an incursion inside the compound. That added to the diversion. Vargas's men would be focused on protecting their boss.

They reached the trees. Case kept moving until they were deep enough that the lights on the wall didn't penetrate. Then he stopped to check on Nyx.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded. "Fine. What's the plan?"

"We're going to the inn in San Isidro, getting your things, and then we're going to spend some time in hiding." He waited for an argument. That wasn't what he got.

"There's a path from the Huarona ruins to the town. I drove most of the way, but I could have walked the entire distance."

"I know. I'm hoping to skirt the ruins and pick up that path without entering the clearing."

She nodded, lips pursed, and asked, "So we're staying in the rainforest until we reach San Isidro?"

"What do you think the biggest threat is right now? Walking along a road or hiking through the rainforest?" He kept his tone neutral, curious about what she'd say.

"The rainforest at night and you're the only one with an NVD. Don't forget that part."

NVD? She knew the acronym? He wouldn't have expected a PhD candidate to be familiar with the terminology or to drop it casually. "I didn't forget."

She stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm going to be glued to your back. Don't let me get eaten by a panther."

His lips curved. "Don't worry, Fireball. I'll keep you safe." He hesitated, unsure he wanted her behind him with a weapon, but she was trusting him. He handed her Oz's pistol.

"I could have handled the assault rifle."

"Maybe," he said to keep the peace. "Come on. We've stood here too long."

Speed was slow. Even with the NVD, he had to take his time. He couldn't risk either of them falling or breaking any bones. The animals and other creatures of the rainforest were a secondary concern. Most of those, given the chance, would avoid humans.

At some point, this part of the rainforest had been razed. The trees were tall, but not block-out-the-sky tall and there was other lower foliage. Woody vines snaked through the undergrowth, which meant going around them or ducking. Fallen branches littered the floor of the forest.

They were about twenty minutes in when Nyx spoke quietly. "This isn't the way to the ruins. We should be headed more northeasterly than this."

Case stopped. She recognized that in the dark? All she had to go by was the position of the moon and stars.

"I told you we were going to skirt the ruins and pick up the trail. That road where you parked the Jeep? I want to cross it a long distance from where you left the vehicle. When we're on the other side, we'll start to curve northeast."

"Why? We could hotwire the Jeep and drive away."

"The odds of it being there are next to none. If it is there, Vargas could have men watching it. Or if it's not guarded, it might be rigged with an explosive device. We're not risking it."

"It's unlikely Vargas went to that much trouble." Especially given what had happened to his wife and daughter.

"I promised to keep you safe. That means being extra cautious."

"The bigger danger is at the inn. They'll be expecting us to go there."

Damn, he liked this woman. She thought tactically. "Se?or Alvarez is retired from the presidential brigade. He and several other former brigade members keep San Isidro clean. They won't allow Vargas or his minions to linger. Our risk is when we get near the town."

Nyx hesitated.

"Trust me, Fireball. I'll take care of you."

"I do trust you." Her chin came up. "You're in charge. I follow your orders."

It was stupid. Case knew it. He leaned down and kissed her, anyway. He couldn't help himself.

Nyx didn't like being in the rainforest at night. It held enough risks during daylight hours, but if Case thought they were safest taking this route, she had to believe him. He would have gotten intel briefings on the rebels and Vargas's operation before inserting in Puerto Jardin.

Along with other information.

She'd been thinking, and she was positive he—and his team—had been sent in to deal with the illegal arms trade. It was why he pretended to be a gunrunner. The man with the long hair who gave Case the NVD monocular must be a teammate working undercover for Vargas.

Case stopped, and Nyx held her breath. She didn't release a shaky sigh until he resumed walking.

The more she got to know him, the more she liked him. He was protective, and when he promised to take care of her, she believed him. It was in the deliberate way he led them through the rainforest, in the way he continually glanced back to check on her.

Relying on someone else… Nyx didn't like it. She took care of herself. She took care of others. That was the way it always was. Until now. Until Case.

It was the smart thing to do. She knew it. He was Army Special Forces, and she'd be stupid not to lean on his expertise. She didn't need to like it. She only needed to do what he told her to do when he told her to do it. The same way she'd listen to her dad. The same way she'd listen to Dylan.

But she wanted Case to think she was capable, and not a liability or a burden.

He slowed, stopped, and Nyx held her breath again. This time, they didn't immediately resume moving. She waited, then whispered, "Case?"

His voice was low, but not as soft as she'd heard it in the past. "It's okay. We're near the road. I don't want to pop out of the rainforest and discover someone waiting for us."

How likely was that? Especially given that he'd kept them away from the area where she'd parked her Jeep. But she didn't share her thoughts. He was in charge. He was being careful. Low probability didn't mean zero chance.

They crept forward, stopping short of the road, and waited some more. Case was listening, his gaze moving as he took in their surroundings, and she stayed quiet, not wanting to distract him.

Once he was convinced there was no danger, he looked back at her, gave her that familiar incline of his head, and took off. She hustled after him.

Despite her belief there was no risk, despite Case being confident it was clear and they could move, her heart pounded hard enough to deafen her. Being out in the open, without cover, terrified her.

Re-entering the rainforest on the other side was a relief. Only then did her pulse slow.

Here, the fear was different. It was dark—so dark—and since Case was wearing the NVD, she had to trust him absolutely. She trusted almost no one that much. The longer they walked, the more she realized that she did have that level of faith in him, and it had nothing to do with him being in Special Forces or that he was her brother's best friend.

It had to do with Case.

He didn't give her any reason to doubt him.

This was dangerous. She was already physically attracted to him. Trusting him could lead to a whole lot of trouble. Nyx was determined to finish her PhD before she got seriously involved with anyone. Case could make that difficult.

He was attracted right back. That wasn't ego, it was fact.

It left her on the horns of a dilemma. The smart thing to do about this affinity developing between them was to run, to put as much distance between them as possible, and avoid him going forward. And she couldn't do that.

Her life depended on sticking with him. On letting him deal with men and a situation beyond her abilities.

It really wasn't much of a decision to make. She wasn't willing to risk her life just because the heat between her and Case was getting stronger with every passing second. Nyx would have to call upon all her self-restraint. She could do it.

She'd done it before.

Lost in thought, she nearly walked into Case's back before she realized he'd stopped. Through the trees, she saw lights and realized they'd reached the inn.

They stood there for a while. She was pretty sure she knew why but asked anyway. "We're waiting for the bar to close and everyone to leave?"

He nodded and pushed the NVD off his face.

She shifted her hold on the pistol to ease the muscles in her hand. Case saw that. He reached out. "You can give it to me now," he said, voice a whisper of sound.

Nyx wanted to keep it. Just in case. What if she needed to protect herself and he wasn't around to do it? She passed it to him, anyway.

"You didn't tuck the pistol into a pocket."

"That's dangerous." Nyx moved so she could look at his face. His expression gave nothing away. "You were testing me."

He shrugged. "You know a hell of a lot for an archaeologist. Want to fill me in?"

There was something vaguely suspicious in his tone, but she didn't blame him. Nyx did owe Case some information. It was important to him to get it, too, or he wouldn't be quizzing her now. They were at risk this close to the inn and shouldn't be talking at all.

"My dad trained me with all kinds of pistols and rifles, including assault rifles."

"Your dad?" The question had depth to it beyond the simple two words. It seemed as if Case didn't trust her completely.

"My dad," Nyx affirmed. "He wanted me to be able to take care of myself. He was a chief warrant officer in the US Army before he retired. For most of my childhood, he was Special Forces, a Green Beret."

Case looked down at her. " That explains a lot."

Nyx wasn't certain how to take that.

He didn't give her a chance to form a question before he said, "Now I know why you weren't afraid of me at the market, I guess." He grinned.

It didn't last long. The front door to the inn opened, and Case went hyperalert. Two men came out. They had a brief conversation, then went their separate ways. It was a long moment before he put his mouth to her ear and breathed, "Stay quiet."

Nyx nodded. She could do that. Easily. Because Case's smile knocked all the sense right out of her brain. She was in trouble, and even her strong-willed determination might not be enough to keep her safe.