Chapter Sixteen #2
“Nothing to say, boss lady?” He sniffed, smelling Teodoro’s mosquito goop that they’d lathered on before heading out for the mound. “Fine. When you feel like talking about why you continue to lie to me while I’m standing here neck deep in sweat and ticks and monkeys—”
“There are no monkeys inside the walls.”
He glared down at her. “You know what, Angélica, it’s too hot for this shit.” He stepped past her and strode over to grab his pack.
She followed. “Where are you going?”
“Does it matter?” He hefted the pack. “You just told me I could trade places with Fernando for all you care.”
“That’s not what I said.” She stole his pack from him, hiding it behind her back. “I said that if you didn’t want to swing the machete anymore, you could take a break and switch with Fernando.”
“No, that’s not how it went.” He held out his hand. “Give me my bag.”
“No.” She jogged away, heading toward the cleared trail.
He chased after her, catching up with her on the path. “Angélica,” he said, grabbing her arm. “I’m going to stay and help. All right? Now give me my pack. You’re banging it around like there isn’t an expensive camera in there.”
“Not until you give me a chance to explain.” She tugged him along the path.
“Where are you going?” He glanced behind him. “We need to let the others know where we are. This is a big, mean jungle, you know, full of voracious mosquitoes.”
She stopped suddenly and turned, drawing him in closer. “I have something to tell you,” she whispered. “And I don’t want anyone to hear this but you.”
“If you’re going to tell me that you lied about cancelling the incredibly romantic vacation I’d planned for us because you are completely over the moon for me and didn’t want to hurt my feelings, then—”
“Shut up, Parker.”
“Wow. Okay. I mean, my feathers have been ruffled about this since your boss dropped that truth bomb on me. After all, I was planning to whisk you away and turn you into my sex slave.”
“You’re my sex slave, remember?”
“But then you lied to me,” he continued.
She growled. “Quit beating that dead horse.”
“It’s not fully dead yet.” When she just scowled up at him, he added, “You could at least say you’re sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hmm. That didn’t feel very genuine.”
“Dammit, Quint.” She palmed the sides of his face and pulled him down to her level, kissing him silent.
What started out as a no-nonsense lip-smacker softened into a tender caress.
He groaned and kissed her back, enamored with her soft, full lips, same as always.
When she pulled away, she held his gaze, her expression earnest. “I’m sorry, Quint. I’ll make it up to you later.”
He raised one eyebrow. “How do I know you’re not lying about that?”
“Was my shoulder twitching?”
He focused on her shoulder. “Say it again.”
“I’ll make it up to you later, Prince Charming.”
“No twitch.” He hit her with a mock glare. “I’m going to hold you to that, woman.”
“Please do. In the meantime, I need to tell you what happened last night.”
“You’d better give me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
She held up her right hand. “I swear.”
“I know you do, in several languages, and your vulgar vocabulary is quite sexy.” He caught her hand and squeezed it. “Now lay it on me.”
She started her story with Daisy standing too close to the fire last evening and ended with her mom’s ghost sounding alarms. Evidently, there was something else haunting this site besides Marianne. Something even more hair-raising than the deadly, venomous jumping snakes and large, hungry cats.
Quint let her tale of flames and forewarnings sink in for a moment.
Fuck!
But on a high note … “So, you talked to your mom again. That had to feel somewhat good in spite of her playing a harbinger of doom.”
“Yeah,” she said, cringing.
“Why are you making that face?”
“She said that she wasn’t channeling through Daisy the other day with you.”
He thought back to the way Daisy 8-Ball had been talking while in her trance-like state. “That’s unsettling.”
His gaze darted around at the thick trees, watching for any sign of movement. Any shadows.
If not Marianne, then who had it been? A friend or a foe stopping by to give him a warning? Was it a so-called ancestor? One who kept fluttering around him day after day?
“Mom also mentioned something about Daisy and Dad, wondering if she could channel through Daisy during any sort of intimacy that might develop between them.”
He did a double-take. “Like during sex?”
“Shhh.” She cringed even more, glancing behind them.
He tried not to smile at her obvious discomfort.
“Then Mom talked about Dad’s skills as a lover.”
Quint started laughing.
She nailed him with a one-eyed squint. “It’s not funny.”
“It kind of is.”
“It’s not. It’s weird and awkward.” She swatted at a fly trying to join their conversation. “It’s kind of sad, too. Mom really misses us. She said she’s been here with us for a while, keeping an eye on everyone.”
“Like a guardian angel. That’s nice.”
“Uhhh, mostly.”
“Why mostly? It’s your mom.”
“Yeah, but she can also see us kissing.”
“Oh.” He took a step back. “What else has she seen?”
“Not much.” She shrugged. Well, her right shoulder did.
“Your shoulder twitched.”
She waved that off. “Listen, Quint, I’m sorry about ruining the vacation you planned for us.”
“I’ll accept your apology in the form of many kisses, a few well-placed touches, and maybe a quick peep show later when we’re alone—even if your mom is watching.”
“Deal.”
“For now,” he continued, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers.
“How about you tell me what’s going on in that big brain of yours when it comes to this dig site?
And don’t tell me ‘nothing,’ because it was clear that your wheels were grinding all last evening during supper.
And probably this morning, too, but I couldn’t find you. ”
“Okay.” She glanced back along the path.
So did he. There was still no sign of the others.
“But I’m going to make this quick.”
He waved for her to continue.
“As I told you, Mom said she was wrong and that this place was not some sacred religious site, but she didn’t say what it was.
After a night of staring at the map and considering what we’ve found so far, I think the prison theory has legs.
If I can come up with some sort of evidence that pushes it more firmly in that direction, I could take that back to INAH and ask for more time at a later date to explore further.
That should keep others away for a while. ”
“But what if this place is bad, like your mom hinted at? Shouldn’t we be leaving? Like before shit gets any spookier?”
“Yes, and that’s why we’re actually heading to the temple now, not the other ruins. According to the map, we need to branch to the northwest near the dead vegetation.”
“Does your father know about this plan?”
“No, but he will shortly, and I predict he and Dr. Fernel will be happy with that news. They both seemed to have a strong urge to find the temple in spite of our normal procedure. Pedro, on the other hand, may squawk some and lose a few feathers.”
Quint grinned. “Can’t say I blame him. Old temples are creepy, especially when the ceiling is crumbling down all around you.”
“I just hope we find something at the temple that will give us an answer to what this place was. I want to close up camp soon and get the hell out of here before something goes south.”
“So, you’re willing to take the risk of sticking around a bit longer, even though your mom warned you?”
She sighed. “I had to make a choice—either I stop the dig, possibly losing my position at INAH to a Mexico-born archaeologist, and thereby having another crew come here to finish the job.”
“Which means they might have to face whatever trouble might be awaiting us.”
“Exactly.” She stared toward the mess of jungle in front of them. “Or we continue with the dig for a few days longer and stomach a little risk. But I keep my job and control of the site for the time being.”
“Little risk?” He thought back to what they’d faced at the previous site. “I hope it’s baby-sized.”
“Me, too.”
Pedro’s laughter rang out from somewhere behind them.
“They’re coming.” Angélica licked her lips, and came in close enough again to keep things at a whisper level.
“After a lot of hemming and hawing last night, I decided to rush the dig timeline and go straight to the temple at the center of all this. If we can find something that better explains the purpose behind this place, we can be out of here soon. Then I can research in detail back at the lab so that you and I can figure out what we are dealing with at this site.”
“From a safe distance,” he added, waving at the three others as they came within sight.
“In air-conditioning.”
“All right.” He turned back to her. “I’m in.”
“Thank you.”
“But you have to stop keeping secrets from me.”
“Okay.”
“And no more lies, no matter how much the truth makes you squirm.”
She sucked air between her teeth. “Okay, but …”
“What?”
“There was something else Mom said.”
“Let’s have it.”
Her corners of her lips twitched. “She says you look sexy when you’re prancing around in your underwear.”
He grimaced. “She saw me prancing?”
Angélica grinned. “Actually, ‘prancing’ was my word. But she did see you and admired the view.”
Well, there went any chance of him having naked fun with Angélica in the camp shower like he’d fantasized about a time or two.
“Damn,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “This could get awkward.”
She smiled, closing the gap between them. “Maybe I could take off the locket when you’re roleplaying Tarzan and looking for a place to hide your banana.”
“That’s not funny, Angélica.”
Her smile turned into a husky giggle as she scratched her nails down his shirt. “Yes, it is.”
“Is there such a thing as ghost repellent? Like some salt sprinkled across the tent threshold?”
Still laughing, she went up on her toes and kissed him.
A shrill whistle sounded from the motley crew coming their way, followed by, “There’s no time for smooching!” Pedro called out. “We have ruins to see.”
Quint leaned back. “Is there anything else you need to tell me before we go see this temple?”
She made a partially squinched face.
“Shit, now what?”
“Nothing much, just that KuTu thinks the increased number of vultures overhead means we’re in even more danger than before, especially you.”
Last time he counted, there were thirteen gliding around and around today. “Swell. Does that guy ever deliver any happy-skippy news?”
“He thinks that reincarnation may be on the table as part of the vultures’ purpose for being here.”
“Reincarnation?”
She nodded, vertical lines forming at the bridge of her nose.
“Like someone dying and coming back to life in another form?”
“Or you dying and something from the Underworld coming back in your place. The Maya are sort of vague on some of those details, depending on which region they come from and what era we’re talking about—Pre-Classic versus Classic and Post-Classic.”
“Fuck me.” He stared up at the sky through the trees, catching sight of several of the birds circling on the air currents. “I sure hope he’s wrong.”