Chapter 6

She stared at him intently. Case wasn't sure he'd had an inspection this thorough since boot camp. He didn't say anything. If she needed to reassure herself, he could withstand the scrutiny. Expecting her to trust him when she knew nothing about him and when she believed he was a mercenary was a big ask.

Case took the opportunity to study her again. She was holding up remarkably well considering the situation. Too well?

Could she be working with Vargas?

He was aware that women lied easily, and he didn't know shit about her. The fact she'd joined him for lunch at the market and then turned up at the pyramid at the same time he was at the site was pretty fucking coincidental.

After a moment of thought, he dismissed it. If she were a plant, she'd be pretending to be upset—pretending to be terrified—not taking things in stride. Besides, Vargas didn't have a history of complicated schemes. He was more like see ‘em, shoot ‘em. Case couldn't figure out anything the drug lord had to gain from using her.

Satisfied she probably was who and what she claimed, Case drank in her appearance. She was as beautiful as he recalled. No makeup, but her skin was smooth and even, and slightly shiny, probably from sunscreen. Her face was oval, her chin tapering to a bit of a point, and her full lips tempted him to lean in for a kiss. He fought the need. Her long, dark hair was braided, the plait pulled through the opening in the back of her baseball cap, and while her brown eyes remained glued to him, her focus seemed inward.

She was about half a foot shorter than he was and fine-boned, but she wasn't fragile. If she was, Nyx never would have managed the hike from the Jeep or been able to climb to the top of the pyramid. He'd parked behind her. He was certain that rental was her vehicle, and Case knew how rough the terrain was from the road to the ruins.

If she were fragile, she'd be curled up on the bed in tears, not squaring her shoulders and meeting the situation head-on. He liked her strength.

When her attention returned to him, her wariness was gone. "Why don't I call you hon and only use Charlie when I absolutely need to do so? Does that work for you?"

He had to clear his throat. "Yeah, that works." Case had questions of his own. "You're working on your PhD?" She nodded. "That makes you what? Twenty-five?"

"Twenty-six. You joined the Army right out of high school?"

It was his turn to nod. "Is your background Polynesian or Asian?"

"My paternal grandmother was Filipina. You look Scandinavian."

"Swedish. You're from Los Angeles?"

"I live there now. We moved around when I was a kid."

"I grew up in Minneapolis."

"You look like a dude I'd see on one of the surfer beaches in California, not out on some frozen lake."

His lips quirked up. "I've heard that before. I've never tried surfing. I'm more into swimming and running."

The water sputtered, reminding him they didn't have all day to share information. "You were buying presents for your nieces and nephews on Wednesday. Do you have brothers? Sisters?"

"Two older sisters and one older brother. You?"

"Only child. How many nieces and nephews?"

"Five. Three girls and two boys. They belong to my sisters. My brother isn't married. Where did we meet? Where did we go on our first date? Where did you propose?"

The water sputtered again, and it took longer this time for the flow to return. "We'll stick as close to the truth as we can. How about we were both out at a pier near Los Angeles and you sat down on the bench where I was eating egg rolls. We started talking. Things went from there."

"Makes sense. And you proposed on the pier because that's where we met."

"Sure. As for our first date…coffee?"

She shook her head. "You took me to the Natural History Museum in LA."

"We were only going to spend a few hours there, but we hit it off." Case took a minute to think. "Yeah, we hit it off, so we ended up going out for dinner afterward. Pizza?"

"Pizza," Nyx agreed.

"I was out of the Army, but not working as a mercenary yet."

"It would be better if you were already a merc when we met. I would have wielded my influence to talk you out of working as a soldier for hire, and if we had something serious…"

Her voice trailed off and Case finished her sentence. "If we had something serious, and you were opposed, I would have bowed to your wishes or our relationship probably wouldn't have survived the arguments."

"If you were already a merc, I would either need to accept it or end things and since you didn't tell me what you did until I was already in love with you, I had no choice. I still hope to convince you to find a real job and don't get me started about the gunrunning."

Her tone and expression had Case fighting a smile. "Since you were at the ruins to make sure I was okay and not for your job, we'll leave the Paladin League out of our story, okay?"

Nyx nodded. "We'll just say I work temp jobs while I'm earning my PhD."

The water spit, hissed, and the flow slowed to a trickle. Time was up. Reaching in, Case turned the shower off. He'd probably gotten all the surveillance equipment, but he wished he'd had a few more minutes to warn her they needed to be cautious. They had to act on the assumption that he missed something. Their lives might depend on it.

There was one more thing he wished they'd covered. Demonstrations of affection. Nothing overt. He wasn't thinking about kissing her in front of Vargas, but he did need to be able to touch her without Nyx flinching. Just reaching for her hand was iffy. When he'd done that to lead her into the bathroom, she'd gone rigid. If she reacted like that in front of Vargas, they were cooked.

Slowly, carefully, Case raised his hand and ran his thumb across her cheek. He'd surprised her, but Nyx didn't jerk away or display her shock in any way. He smiled and nodded, trying wordlessly to tell her she'd done well.

And then she stunned him. Nyx reached up and ran her fingers along his jaw. "The beard would look better trimmed." Without another word, she turned and left the bathroom.

One of them needed to get used to touching, and it seemed it was him.

Case flipped through the TV stations, not settling on any channel for long. He'd expected Vargas to summon him for a meeting, but it hadn't happened. Yet. It was a tactic, one meant to make him sweat. If it were only him, he wouldn't be too concerned, but his co-captive changed the equation.

As if on cue, Nyx wandered into the sitting room from the bedroom and dropped down onto the couch beside him, but not too close. "Are you okay?" he asked, switching off the TV and putting the remote on the coffee table.

She nodded. "Bored. There's nothing to do."

"You're not scared?" She should be and suspicion reared up. Either she was lying about being bored or she was lying about working for the Paladin League.

"I was, but fear only lasts for so long."

True, but it was a little quick for her to be over her trepidation and into boredom. He wished he could question her some more. Maybe there was a way to get more intel without tipping off Vargas and company. "Hiking into the rainforest alone was reckless."

Her eyes narrowed, but the reaction was slight enough to be unnoticeable unless someone was watching her closely. Like he was. He waited for her to argue with him, but she surprised him.

"I know. I considered it a calculated risk. I couldn't let you go in without backup, hon."

There was a saccharine note in her last sentence. Case ignored it and parsed what she'd shared. She'd considered it a calculated risk. For her job?

Stony, the teammate who used to have the role Case was in now, worked for the Paladin League and Archer. How hard would it have been for her to learn this and use it to ingratiate herself with him? She might even be a pawn, sent in by someone who wanted to infiltrate their op. Maybe she was working for someone other than Vargas. The rebels?

He hated having these suspicions. He wished he could trust Nyx to be who and what she said she was. He didn't want to worry that his attraction to her was blinding him to truths he should be able to see.

But Case couldn't ignore the questions.

She had the skill and toughness to hike alone into the rainforest and climb the pyramid. That didn't mean training like some super spy or covert agent, but it suggested Nyx did more than go to the gym four days a week and doom scroll while she half-assed it on the elliptical.

If she hadn't shown up at the open-air market three days ago while he'd been there. If she hadn't shared his table. If she hadn't left him practically drooling over her, he would be less suspicious. But he didn't like the fact that she arrived at the food trailer while he was waiting for a teammate, and he definitely didn't like her being at the ruins at the same time as his meeting.

Yeah.

He noticed one of the guards looking at them through the window. As Case turned his head, the man glanced away.

She'd been carrying when Vargas's men found her. Not some peashooter either, but a Walther PDP F-Series pistol. That suggested some firearms knowledge. The weapon was accurate, reliable, and the F-Series was designed for people with smaller hands, like Nyx. She was dressed appropriately for the rainforest, and from what he'd seen, she brought the right supplies with her.

But someone who had training would know better than to go into the rainforest alone. Wouldn't they?

"You're frowning, honey bear."

Case's attention jerked back to Nyx. "I'm frowning because you never should have gone by yourself, no matter the circumstances. You know better than that."

"Sometimes there are no better options."

Before he could think about that statement, Case noticed the guard was watching them through the window again. He had a guess as to why the man was so interested. Engaged couples usually didn't sit with the width of the sofa between them. Patting the empty cushion beside him, he said, "Come here, Fireball."

Her hesitation was nearly imperceptible before she slid over. Nyx stiffened momentarily when he slung an arm across her shoulders and tugged her closer to his side. As he pressed his lips into her hair, he whispered softer than soft, "Balcony guards watching."

Nyx put her hand on his thigh, just above his knee, and squeezed her acknowledgment.

There was nothing sexual about the touch, but Case almost spontaneously combusted. A fantasy invaded his mind of her running her fingers lightly up the inseam of his pants until she could cup him. Stroke him. Blood started to leave his brain and head for his cock. He struggled to rein himself in. She was already leery that he'd ask for her body as payment for his protection, and he didn't want her to believe there were any strings attached.

"How much longer do you think Se?or Vargas is going to make you wait before he talks with you?"

Case struggled to focus. He was saved from sounding like an idiot when she moved her hand from his leg and linked her fingers in her lap. "I don't know. I didn't expect it to take this long, but we're on his schedule, not ours."

"I'm aware of that," Nyx said. Her voice was serene, but there was a note of irritation beneath the calm. "I'm not sure you realize this, but I checked in at the inn in San Isidro. My things are there, and the innkeeper, Se?or Alvarez, is aware that I went to the ruins. I didn't tell him why," she added.

Fucking great. Case knew Alvarez from the shit that had gone down last year. The man was retired from the presidential brigade, Puerto Jardin's Special Forces. When Nyx didn't return to the inn, the innkeeper would round up a search party to look for her, and it would no doubt include two other older gentlemen who'd retired from the brigade.

Alvarez and his friends had even breached this hacienda last year, although all hell had been breaking loose at the time. Case couldn't be sure he wouldn't try to get in here again to rescue Nyx. That could be a problem.

"When I meet with Se?or Vargas, I'll ask him to send someone to get your things."

"If he makes you wait until tomorrow to talk with you?—"

"I know." Case cut her off. "Alvarez will send out search and rescue for you at first light, but I can't do anything about it at the moment."

She rested her head on his shoulder and Case felt his thoughts blur. Her hand was back on his knee. Her fingers tapped lightly. Then one pointed toward the windows. Once again, a guard was monitoring them.

The last time he'd felt this fucking helpless was when he was a child. He was locked in a room that had been bugged and might still have a stray mic or camera that he didn't find. He had peeping tom guards on the balcony, and he was protecting a woman who might be completely innocent or might have an agenda of her own. On top of that, he needed to worry about three old men launching a mission to rescue Nyx.

What had Stony called this? Juggling hand grenades?

Yeah, Case was juggling hand grenades.