Her determination and tenacity were the same qualities in Anna that he admired.
Tory's smile died on her lips as she paused in front of Guerrero.
"Where's the knife?" he asked while pushing himself away from the trunk.
"Mario has it."
"Then I'll speak with Mario."
"About what?"
"Finding a secure place for it."
"Of course. I usually keep the important artifacts in my tent."
"Well, not this one."
"But—"
He arched a brow.
She opened her mouth to speak but instead swallowed the protest. “Okay, do what you think is necessary,” she finally said, releasing a long breath of air.
"Are you sure about that?"
She nodded.
"What artifacts were you carrying while you were in the alley after we met?" Guerrero asked while his gaze swept the surrounding rainforest.
"None.”
"That proves my point. It was you they were after.”
“If you think I’m going to share a tent with you, then rethink that assumption. Not going to happen. You stay in my tent, and Katie Benson and I will share one. She’s my intern from North Central University.” Tory straightened to her full height, which was totally inadequate to intimidate anyone, least of all him.
“Where is your intern’s tent?”
Tory pointed toward the one next to hers, whirled about, and stalked toward the steep stairs that led to the temple's entrance.
Guerrero watched her disappear again into the heart of the temple. Then he took one last scan of the terrain around the dig site before he climbed the steep stone steps. The hairs at his nape tingled. Never a good sign. In his gut, he suspected someone was watching everything, although he hadn’t seen any signs while approaching the dig site.
* * *
The fine mist from the moisture laden air peppered Tory's face as she watched Guerrero talk with Aapo Lucas, the leader of the few Mayans working at the site. The night before when she had formally introduced Guerrero to everyone at dinner, it had been clear that he and Aapo knew each other and that the man admired Guerrero. That realization brought hope. With his presence, maybe the Mayan workers wouldn't desert the project before the rainy season set in. Then maybe they would be able to discover the secrets of the second temple and the reason it wasn't destroyed. But at the moment, she felt like a ticking timebomb was about to go off and shut down all her progress at the site.
When Guerrero sauntered over to her, she became alert, rubbing the chill of the early morning air from her arms. She recalled how he had walked with her toward the tents after dinner the evening before. Her senses had clamored the whole way. She couldn’t deny there was something about Guerrero that drew her to him, even more when she discovered that he’d been married to an archaeologist.
“Aapo and I are leaving now." Guerrero sat next to her, his expression a blank. "I don't like this, but you need more workers because of how the door was blocked to the second temple. Without extra help, clearing the debris will be two or three times longer. With people interested in this site, time is important.”
His words pulled her back to the present. "Do you think you can get some?"
"Yes."
He spoke the word so decisively that Tory believed he could, even though the odds were against him. The Mayans in the area were afraid of the site because of the strange things happening the past few weeks. She had lost over half her workers, but somehow, she thought he would be able to bring back more for her, especially because she’d seen the close relationship Guerrero and Aapo had. "When do you think you'll return?"
"Probably late tonight. Don't wait up for us," he said as he turned away.
"I won't. I think you're a big boy. You can handle being out after dark.” She winked at him and then sauntered toward the temple steps.
She made her way to the opening into the Temple of the Stars. Before entering, she watched Guerrero and Aapo leave the dig site. Part of her wanted to go with them, but she had a lot of work ahead of her. When Guerrero disappeared from view, her gaze fell on Katie and Mario climbing up the steps. Time to go to work.
Later as the sun went down, Tory painstakingly cleared away more debris around the door into the second temple, uncovering pieces of broken jars and a jade plaque. She rued her parting words to Guerrero. Worry edged its way into her mind as the day drew to a