Chapter 27

Case's stomach churned. Nyx's expression as she stood in the doorway, watching him leave, haunted him. Her brave face. It got to him. Made him want to keep her safe and secure so that she never had to wear it again. And it made him wonder how she learned to adopt that look.

There were six men on the boat with him, but no one was talking. The motor was loud, making a sputtering noise that suggested it needed maintenance, and they'd have to yell to be heard over the noise. Case didn't want to have a conversation, anyway.

His Fireball said her dad was Special Forces. Maybe she put on her brave face whenever he left to keep him from worrying about her while he was out on an op. He could see that. Nyx took things on herself. She didn't like to rely on others, that was clear from the beginning, but she had looked to him for help. Case liked being the exception to her usual behavior.

That brought up thoughts of being her first lover, and he forcibly pushed them away. There wasn't time now to fantasize. There was only getting to the captain, arranging a rescue for Nyx, and executing it.

Reaching the safe house wasn't going to be easy. The rebels weren't about to allow him to roam free. He'd have to lose them. The evasive maneuvers he would need to perform were going to border on the ridiculous, but he couldn't risk his team by half-assing the precautions. It might get him to the captain sooner, but it would ultimately slow down the rescue if they had to move positions.

If he had his phone, he could message for a check-in somewhere.

The boat engine choked, stopped, and then resumed. Case scowled. Couldn't Ramirez spare some funds to upgrade or maintain his engines? If they ended up floating on the river, it would cut into the time he had to get Nyx to safety.

It seemed to take forever before they neared Trujillo. The port was a mix of modern and rundown. The ships moving supplies and produce were allowed to dock in the newer section. A small boat like theirs got the old part. The area where the dockside buildings were wooden posts with rusting metal roofs.

As soon as they were tied off, Case started to move and got a pistol pointed at him. He froze and raised his hands. "Your colonel wants the weapons, and he gave me three days. I need to talk to people. I need to get a new phone. I need to avoid the Russians, Vargas's men, Torres's men, and a slew of others. I don't have time to waste."

"Three days is plenty of time."

"Easy for you to say. That's not your woman imprisoned in a hut." The man was in his forties, old enough to have a family. "How would you react if it were your wife?"

He lowered the pistol and Case clambered onto the dock. Trujillo might not be the size of Rio Blanco, the nation's capital, but it was the largest city in the south part of Puerto Jardin and the river was the major thoroughfare from many of the small villages. The docks were teeming. As soon as he was on the pier, he used the crowd to his advantage, disappearing into the throng and making tracks away from his captors.

There was shouting, but Case ignored it. The men weren't going to fire at him, no matter how much they might want to. Bribery might be rampant in Puerto Jardin, but innocent people being shot near the docks was not something even Ramirez could buy his men out of.

As Case began his roundabout route through the city, he considered alternatives. Showing up at the usual places was out. Ramirez's men would know about the merc bar, and since they'd been tailing him for weeks, they knew about the open-air market, as well as the other usual check-in locations.

He shoplifted a baseball cap. It brought back memories. When his mom had been high, he'd stolen food to eat. Case wasn't that kid anymore, though, and guilt had him memorizing the name and location of the vendor so he could come back later and pay for it.

He kept his eyes open, not only for the assholes after him but for one of his teammates. It would speed everything up if he could run into someone. No such luck, of course.

It was hours— hours —later when Case felt completely confident no one was on his ass, and he headed for the safe house.

The urge to rush was strong, but he needed to take his time. He needed to keep his guard up and continue to watch his surroundings. No mistakes. He wasn't letting Nyx get hurt because he made a stupid error.

Case let himself in the kitchen, tapping in the code on the electronic keypad. The house was silent. He went room by room, but it was empty.

Fucking son of a bitch.

He was headed for the door, prepared to go out and look for his team when it registered how stupid that was. He had to avoid the usual locations, and finding a teammate by wandering around a city the size of Trujillo was idiotic. The smartest course of action was to wait.

Scowling, he searched for paper and a pen and settled at the dining room table. He might be forced to sit here, but that didn't mean he had to twiddle his thumbs. Case sketched out the encampment—the huts, the river, the location of the guards, the topography, and everything else he could remember. On a separate sheet of paper, he jotted down notes about the site.

They'd move Nyx around the camp because it made a rescue more difficult, but he still marked the hut they'd been imprisoned in.

He was sketching out some minor details when the dining-room door opened.

"What are you doing here?" Captain Nguyen asked. "Where's the Paladin League woman? Upstairs?"

"BD, I've got a problem and I need help."

Half a day and Nyx was bored. Okay, scared, too. But at this moment, mostly bored. She had nothing to do, and with Case gone, she had no one to talk to. At least the raiders had left her alone. She'd rather grapple with the tedium than deal with them.

She'd remeasured the entire hut, making sure she had every inch of the place memorized. The chances were good that Case and his team would be coming in at night and her familiarity with the layout could only help.

Besides, it was something to do.

The sound of boots on the ladder to her hut had Nyx jumping to her feet, heart pounding. A man opened the door and stuck his head in. "You, come with me."

Nyx hesitated, and he pointed a pistol at her. Scowling, he gestured with the weapon.

Reluctantly, dread in every step, she complied. When she reached the ground, two men escorted her across the camp and inside a large hut. One knocked on a bamboo door and went inside another room. Quiet murmuring reached her, but she couldn't make out the words.

When he reappeared, he gestured for her to join him. Nyx was a beat too late responding, and the dude standing beside her gave her a shove. She flailed, regained her balance, and entered the room. The door closed. She looked behind her, but the two guards stayed on the other side. She turned her attention to the man sitting behind a quasi-desk, wearing camouflage fatigues.

It must be Ramirez. He was younger than she expected. He appeared to only be in his thirties and he was handsome. Not just a little handsome, but good looking enough that he'd turn heads wherever he went. But if Julián Vargas's eyes were as flat as a shark's, Nyx didn't know how to describe this man's. They were deader, flatter, soulless. Now she understood why Case preferred Vargas to Ramirez. Julián still had some humanity.

"You must be Se?or Ramirez," she said in Spanish, and Nyx was proud that her voice remained even. She'd been afraid it might crack.

"Colonel Ramirez," he corrected her. "And your name?"

She didn't know what Case had told him, so she didn't dare lie. "Nyx Templeton."

"Nyx? The Greek goddess of the night."

"Sí." She meant to leave it there, but his stare unnerved her. "I was born just after midnight, with lots of dark hair. My parents decided Nyx fit me better than Madison, the name they originally chose for me."

He ignored her rambling. "Do you believe your fiancé cares enough for you to do what it takes to free you?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"You have no hesitation?"

"None."

Ramirez studied her dispassionately, but she suspected he'd long ago lost the ability to feel real emotion. At last, he said, "Se?or Case ran off when they reached Trujillo. My men can't find him."

Nyx swallowed hard. "He wouldn't want to expose his contacts. It's easier for him to work without an audience."

"You don't believe he's going to disappear into Trujillo and leave you behind?"

"No, Colonel Ramirez. He would never forget about me." Nyx was able to say that with complete conviction.

There was a long silence, and Nyx nearly began to ramble again, but she pressed her lips tightly together and waited. This hut had screened windows and there were no gaps in the walls. Large ceiling fans spun lazily, offering a breeze her hut lacked. She suspected Ramirez lived here, in another room, as well as conducting business.

When he finally spoke, it was on a different topic. "Why are you in Puerto Jardin?"

How did she answer this question? What did he know? What was he guessing? How much trouble would she be in if she miscalculated? Soulless. Nyx decided to stick close to what Vargas knew. "My fiancé is down here, and I missed him, so when the Paladin League contacted me about a contract job, I jumped at the opportunity."

"The Paladin League?"

Nyx nodded. "It's a small nonprofit that gives grants to archaeologists to conduct excavations."

Ramirez waved an impatient hand. "What is the Paladin League's interest in Trujillo?"

Her heart stopped before it jumped into her throat. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what he knew. People were looking for the treasure like the dead Norwegian dude who would have killed Frankie, Se?or Vargas, and the arms dealer that Case was after. Then there was the fact a brooch from the cache had been auctioned. Ramirez might very well know, or at least suspect, why she was here.

Telling the truth this time, though, could get her imprisoned longer, make her the prize and not the weapon. That couldn't be a good thing. "I was sent to do some research," she said, keeping her answer vague. "I'm working on my degree in geoarchaeology."

"What were you sent to research?" The question was flat, giving her no hint which direction to go with her answer.

"I was out at the Huarona ruins, near Se?or Vargas's hacienda. There were years' worth of excavation done there before the civil war began. Many archaeologists believe it would be worthwhile to return to the location. There are only two known sites of these people, and?—"

He straightened in his chair, his flat gaze pinning her in place. She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Nyx struggled to remain composed. Struggled to hide her terror.

"Really, Se?orita? You're here for the ruins?" Ramirez turned to the credenza behind him. When he faced her again, he had a sheaf of papers in his hand.

The documents she'd hidden in the lining of her backpack. She could feel the blood drain from her face.

Ramirez laid the pages out on the desk and tapped them once with his hand. "While the notes are rather opaque, anyone familiar with the topic would recognize it. You're here for the Treasure of Trujillo. I want it. And you're going to help me find it."