in the jungle not far from Aapo when the men came. The lead guy shot Aapo from the edge of the rainforest to the left of me. I saw el agresor lift his gun and fire, but the sound wasn’t loud. Aapo fell. A flood of men poured from the trees. As I fled to warn others, I saw Senor Ramon kill Fabio. I didn’t know who to trust. Instead, I ran from the site.”
Ramon? Was he the mastermind behind this? Or had someone paid him off for information?
“Are you sure Ramon killed Fabio?” Tory asked, her voice quavering.
The guard nodded.
Guerrero gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. Tory’s dig site was comprised by an insider. He most likely put the fer-de-lance in Tory’s tent. Was Mario also involved? “Did you see anything else? Do you know where Katie went?”
Aidan shook his head. “I warned who I could. They had more men and weapons than we had. Sorry I couldn’t do more.”
“You did what you could. I’m glad you all made it back here safely.” Tory looked at Guerrero. “We have to find Katie.”
“I will. We’ll leave at first light. Did all the guards besides Aapo and Fabio make it back to the village?”
Gabor looked at Aidan who shrugged. “We don’t know for sure. There was one unaccounted for when we had to leave to come here. We’ll look for him tomorrow.”
Guerrero couldn’t wait until he confronted Ramon. He worked with Anna on her last project. Had he been involved in her murder? Or had he been the one who’d called for her death?
Lord, I can’t forgive this man. If I could, I would be leaving right now for the camp. Ramon won’t get away.
No! Remember vengeance is Mine.
Anger flooded Guerrero. Aapo saved his life once. He fisted his hand, the urge to pound it against the stone wall behind him besieged him. You’re wrong, God. He killed my friend and possibly my wife. You can’t stop me.
Chapter Ten
As Tory rappelled down the nearly ninety-degree façade, she couldn’t believe she really enjoyed herself after Guerrero showed her what to do. He waited for her at the bottom, not far from the village. When she set her feet on the ground, he was there to help her out of the ropes.
She laughed. “I never thought I would enjoy mountain climbing, especially after going up the slope last night in the dark, but I’d loved to do more one day.”
Guerrero’s grin and a twinkle in his dark eyes made her pause and put her hands on his upper arms. “I get the feeling you knew I would like it.”
“Yes. You’re an adventurous woman. With all that has been going on in the past weeks, you have been there fighting and doing what you think is right. I’ve known that from the first day I met you. You struggled with those two thugs in the alley. You weren’t going to go down without a fight. Your handling of the snake in your cot was another example. I could go on, but we need to get back to the dig site. Ramon needs to be arrested.”
A warmth that had nothing to do with the sun rising in the east encompassed her with her growing feelings toward Guerrero. She wouldn’t be here without his help. He came into that alley and took those two men out. He was the one that safely got her out of the pool as a man shot at her.
“I agree. Katie’s missing, and we need to get help to find her. I feel responsible for her. I won’t stop looking until we know where she is and what happened to her.” Tory let her hands slip from his arms while struggling not to embrace him. It wasn’t the right time.
“We need to get the two mules and then leave. I can’t wait until I get my hands on Ramon.”
Tory walked beside Guerrero toward the Mayans’ homes. “I’ll be right there with you. Two men dead and possibly three others.” She hoped Mario recovered from his injuries and Katie would be found as well as the missing Mayan.
As they entered the village, a woman called out to her. She swung toward the direction of the sound to find Katie standing in a doorway of a house. Next to her was a man she recognized as a worker at the site. He must be the one they had not been able to locate.
Tory ran toward her intern and gave her a