to place her feet. She snatched her boots sitting by her cot, turned them over, and shook them. When nothing fell out, she put them on and stood next to her bed. “I can’t stay in here.” She hurried out of the tent.
Tory dragged her gaze away from her intern, discovering that Guerrero was staring at her. Warmth suffused her cheeks. “Is this an accident or deliberate?”
“I don’t know, but to be on the safe side, we have to act as though it was placed in your bed. You’re the main person driving this dig site.”
“You’re right. I need to be cautious in everything I do.”
He chuckled. “You’re admitting I’m right. I like that.” In the light from the lantern, his smile quickly vanished. “So, remember that. You need to be protected at all times. I will either move into here…”
She opened her mouth to protest.
He waved his hand to dismiss her. “It’s that or you and Katie will come and stay in your original tent. It’s a little bigger for the three of us.”
Her first reaction to his “suggestion” was to tell him no way, but if she hadn’t had the night vision goggles, she wouldn’t have seen the snake in her sleeping bag, nor would she have known it might be the deadly poisonous fer-de-lance. With the goggles and her gun, she’d managed to protect herself. And yet, the wisdom in his words couldn’t be denied. “We’ll move to the bigger tent. It’ll give us a chance to check everything and come up with a way not to make it easy for any snake to get into our possessions.” For a few seconds, she glimpsed a shocked expression on his face, his eyebrows hiked up. In the midst of a near death experience, she laughed. “I’m a rational person who can change her mind and see I need help here.”
“Good. I’m going to my tent and make sure there are no surprises for me.” He stepped toward the exit.
“I’ll walk with you. I want to let Katie know about the move.” When Tory left the tent, she zipped it closed. It could have been left open while she’d been outside looking for a possible intruder. In the drama and urgency of the situation in the rainforest, she couldn’t remember if she had totally zipped it or not. She usually did, but now she realized she needed to keep the “door” always closed. A mistake like that couldn’t happen in the future.
Thank You, Lord, for protecting Katie and me.
“Are you okay?” Guerrero asked, concern filling his voice.
“No. I’m worried I left the tent with the door not zipped all the way.”
“You had a traumatic experience. The good news is you won’t forget that lesson. Were you informed about the dangers in the rainforest like a fer-de-lance?”
“Yes, when I first came three months ago to organize and begin hiring people. Believe me, I’ll learn from my mistake.”
At her old shelter, Guerrero paused and smiled at her. “I’m glad you know how to handle a gun. Your quick reaction saved your life, not to mention your correct aim.” He turned toward the entrance into his tent and gripped the zipper. “Leave most of your things where they are. It would be better to move them in the full daylight. I’ll take care of your cots for tonight.”
“I’ll get Katie. See you in a little while.”
She continued her trek to the campfire pit, and he ducked inside while she continued toward the dying fire in the middle of the common area of the campsite, near the looming dark jungle yards away. She sat next to Katie, staring at the last log turning into ashes. Tory quickly grabbed another piece of wood that should last for hours. Usually a night guard made sure the fire had enough fire to burn until the morning.
“Ramon and Mario came down here wanting to know what else happened. I told them about the snake.”
“Good. Tomorrow we need to alert everyone about the snake. We’re going to stay with Guerrero in my old tent. He’s taking our cots there. We’ll get our belongings tomorrow when it’s light.”
“I was sleeping three feet away from you. I could have been killed tonight if it had slithered into my sleeping bag instead. How did it get into our tent?”
“Through the door. When I came to bed after all the commotion settled down, it was partially open. The rest of the area around the perimeter of our tent was sealed, so that