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She lived in Los Angeles, and graduate programs in geoarchaeology were few and far between. She couldn’t change schools. If Case was operating in South America, she’d bet he was stationed somewhere in Florida. That five-plus hour flight between their homes was brutal, and that was when he was in the country.
Assuming he was interested in more than her V-card, of course.
There was a thought. But she didn’t release her hold on Case until it started to rain. A big drop splatted on her neck, and then the sky opened up.
“Come on, Fireball, let’s go.” He took her hand, tugging her with him.
It didn’t take long before they were soaked, but Case kept them moving. Nyx knew he wanted a defensible position until the rain stopped, because the way it was coming down, he couldn’t hear if someone was nearby. She didn’t know how long they walked before Case released her hand and slowed down.
Way down.
If Case had antennae, they’d be out and twitching. She stuck close to him, but not so close that she’d be in his way. Her step hitched when he drew the pistol. Animal, reptile, or human?
Heavily armed men in camo gear came out of the surrounding trees. The insignia on their quasi-uniforms identified who they were.
Rebels.
Chapter 24
They were in a shabbily built hut on stilts. Case had checked out the situation through the gaps in the bamboo walls and they had guards on all sides. Not a surprise, considering he’d escaped from them before.
Nyx was scared. She could maintain an incredibly serene expression on her face, and she’d fooled him at first. Now that he knew what to watch for, the signs were obvious—the tension in her neck, shoulders, and jaw, how her gaze would sweep the area, looking for a threat, and the biggest giveaway: the way she wouldn’t allow him out of her sight.
“Case?” Her voice was soft.
Crossing to her, he crouched down. “What, Fireball?”
“Why are there rebels so far south? The fighting is north of the capital. I researched before I flew down.”
He pulled the other wooden chair over to her and sat on the edge. Keeping his voice low, he said, “These aren’t rebels. A couple years ago, the leaders of the rebellion expelled a group. Hector Ramirez’s outlaws. Ramirez and friends decided that the civil war was a great time to earn a profit and they were willing to kill to make themselves rich. Word is their actions angered the rebel leadership.”
Her smile was more of a grimace. “Great. A group so bad that the rebels wanted them out.”
There was more he could tell her, but it would only add to her fear, and Case switched topics. “This unit has been after me for a while. They’ve kidnapped me twice. The first time, I escaped. They drugged me the second time, and some friends had to get me out.” He knew what was coming next. “I don’t know what they want with me.”
“They’re not interested in the same thing Vargas wants? The M4 replacement?”
He shrugged. “It’s the most likely reason, but they never asked about them. Hell, they never even talked to me. Just kept me confined in a hut like this with guards around me.”
Nyx bit her lower lip, distracting him, and then she nodded. “Everyone wants the new rifle, right? Vargas, that arms dealer he’s trying to buy them from, and there’s some Russian man in the hotel that was talking about weapons until he realized we could hear him on the phone.”
“You understand Russian?”
“No, he was speaking Spanish. Maybe he was on the phone with the arms dealer. I don’t know. But Case, think about it. The rifles are precision-guided and capable of great accuracy even if the shooter and target are both moving. No one else has anything like them.”
“Yet.”
“Yet,” she echoed with a faint frown. “If they’re interested in money, how much would they profit if they could sell the rifle?”
He ran his hands over his face. “There’d be a huge markup, but unless they sold them to Torres, the arms dealer, he’d be on their ass. He’s one dangerous man.”
“They could sell them to Torres. Isn’t that your plan?”
Something in the way she said that made Case study her closely. He couldn’t tell if her tone was meaningful or not because all he could read was her fear. “Torres isn’t going to pay anything close to the open market. He has his own profit margins to maintain. They’d make more money in narcotics.”
“Maybe Torres doesn’t scare them,” Nyx suggested.
For a moment, he stared at her, then her words resonated. “Fuck.” Case got to his feet and began pacing.