Page 14

Bang, bang, bang!

Miri pounded on the door to Rafa’s room, not caring that half the team was still asleep. Nor caring that she was still in her pj’s—a white tank top and shorts combo set with a pink candy print that said “Sweet Dreams” all over it. But after Anissa gave her the news this morning, Miri didn’t have time to change.

If Rafa thought he could scare off her crew, then he had another think coming.

She should have hashed this out with Rafa last night. If she had, maybe none of this would have happened. But since she hadn’t, she needed to confront Rafa now.

A groan came from the other side of the door. Good. She hoped her pounding hurt his hungover brain.

“Just a minute,” Rafa grunted.

Miri crossed her arms and tapped her toe. Just a minute? Well, this minute was taking about a minute too long.

Bang, bang, bang! She beat against the door again.

Something crashed inside, and then he called out again, this time with a little more oomph. “One second!”

She didn’t care. She wouldn’t be kept waiting. Not after what he’d done.

Bang, bang, bang!

“Goddammit, I said hold on,” he grumbled while swinging open the door. Her eyes went wide as they shifted from his bare chest to his barely-there black boxer briefs that left little to the imagination.

Hmm…what was I doing here again?

She stared at him, practically salivating.

“Did you need something?” he asked, rubbing his face. His hair stuck out every which way. He had sleep in the corners of his eyes and what Miri could only surmise was dried saliva below his lip. But damn, he looked good.

She blinked twice, then shot her gaze back up to his. “I…I…” Her cheeks grew rosy, but then she quickly snapped to attention. “What did you do?”

Rafa ticked his head to the side. “What are you talking about?”

“Last night. What did you say to my team when you were all getting hammered?”

Rafa scrunched his face then held his head as if trying to recall the evening before.

“I said lots of things last night, but I don’t know what specifically you’re referring to. Care to help me out?”

“Jerry and Rahim. They said they were taking your advice, and they left this morning.”

Recognition flashed in his eyes, and then he casually scratched his head with one hand while rubbing his rather firm-looking stomach with the other.

“Hmm…are you sure it was me?”

“Oh please, Rafa. Spare me.” She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “They said you started talking about os protetores da lua and how they’re going to find us out here, chop our heads off, and eat our hearts.”

“Okay, I know I didn’t say all that.”

“Really? Because clearly you don’t remember a whole lot about what you did or didn’t say last night. I mean, jeez, Rafa, you reek of booze. How much did you drink?” She waved her hand in front of her nose.

“I don’t know that, either.”

“You know, it’s one thing to try to convince me to leave, but it’s another thing to go behind my back to my crew. I tried to convince them to stay, but they were already packed and had a boat waiting to take them back to Caracaraí.”

“Why didn’t you tell them about the lidar?” he asked, turning the tables on her. “We had a deal. You were going to give the crew all the information so they could make informed decisions on whether to stay.”

“Because I don’t really even know what Vautour’s found, if anything. Besides, they need to believe that we actually have a chance.”

“Don’t you think they deserve to know what we’re up against? We’re not talking about another contestant on The Amazing Race here.” Now he was the one folding his arms, which did wonders for his pecs.

“I know that. But I didn’t want to unnecessarily scare them more than they already were.”

“Scare them? We had a knife pulled on us. I think the bar for scaring the crew had already been set.”

“Right, and I told them about it. Besides, it’s been two weeks and nothing else has happened.”

“Well, you didn’t tell them about os protetores and how dangerous they are.”

“The protectors aren’t dangerous,” she retorted.

“Yes, they are. They’re murderers.”

“Murderers?!” Miri blurted out, then gave a chuckle. “Where the hell did you hear that?”

“Everyone knows it.”

“I think your sources are faulty. There’s no evidence that os protetores pose any danger to the outside world. All they do is try to throw unsuspecting explorers off the trail.”

“Interesting choice of words there,” Rafa said, narrowing his gaze. “ Throw them off the trail.”

Miri rolled her eyes. “It’s a figure of speech. I don’t mean literally. Jeez, Rafa. Sounds like you’ve been watching too many action movies.”

“Movies?” Rafa laughed in disbelief. “This is serious.”

“Well, if you’re too scared to be here, then you can go, too,” she said, turning to the side and waving her hand dismissively.

“I’m not leaving you out here.”

“I don’t need you to protect me.” She snapped her head in his direction.

Rafa pushed away from the door, taking a step closer. “It’s my job to be here.”

“Yeah? And it’s mine, too,” Miri said, squaring up to him.

Without realizing it, they had moved closer to each other. She was now only a foot away from him, challenging him to continue. The last time they’d been in this position, on the boat, she’d ended it by kissing him. This time, kissing wasn’t an option. And frankly, with the way he was talking to her, she didn’t want to kiss him.

Not really.

“You need to call this whole thing off,” he said.

This again ?

“No.” She glared up at him.

“No?” he asked, putting his hands on his hips. “Do you think you actually look menacing right now?”

“Do you think you can intimidate me into leaving? I told you: back off.”

“You’re the one who came to me yesterday.”

Miri had no response. But when they’d found the stone table, her body had naturally reacted to his, pulling him close even when her mind told her to stay away. And at the fire, he’d bewitched her with his eyes and his sexy smile. She’d missed his laughter. Missed his touch.

She needed him to back off, because she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to do it.

“That’s…that’s because…” The right words escaped her. “That’s because I can’t focus when I’m around you. You’re a distraction!” she blurted out.

He laughed again and took another step toward Miri. So close she could smell the scent of his aftershave from the day before, even through the alcohol. So close she could feel the heat from his body.

“And I think it’s funny that you think I’m the distraction,” he said with a devilish look in his eyes.

Miri gaped, her mouth like a fish out of water, unable to formulate her thoughts into words. “I…I…” She bit her lip, hating to reveal her cards before he revealed his, but it didn’t look like there was any way around it. “Yes, a distraction. Look, this expedition is important to me and…and…you’re getting in the way.”

“I’m a distraction?” he repeated. “You look at me with those hungry eyes. Taunt me by biting your lip as you stare at me. Those same lips that you kissed me with, lips I desperately want to kiss again. And now you stand here, challenging me, wearing those cutesy, ridiculously thin pajamas that have the nerve to say ‘Sweet Dreams’ when there was nothing sweet about my dreams last night, and you want to call me a distraction? Pringles, you are the very definition of a distraction.”

She could sense the wetness building between her legs, soaking through that ridiculously thin fabric. She fought to keep from covering herself. From showing any weakness.

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.” She forced the words out, despite not wanting to say them. But she needed to. She took a step back. “I want you to know, I asked Anissa this morning about sending you home,” she continued.

Rafa straightened up. “What? You can’t fire me,” he said.

She scoffed.

“I know. That’s what Anissa told me,” Miri said, looking away. “Some crap about how it could impact whatever story you end up writing. And the fact that technically you were hired by someone else, so I’d have to convince them to convince your boss to pull you off the job. But you being here? You’re interfering with the expedition. You’re supposed to be a casual observer and…and…”

“I’m a distraction.”

She took a gulp, and then her face turned bright red as she turned her head to both sides, checking to make sure no one was watching.

“No one can see us, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said.

“I know. I just…I just don’t want people talking, is all. Last night by the fire…that was…that was embarrassing. People are already wondering if I can hack it, and if they think all I’m doing out here is fucking around with you, then they’ll be even less inclined to view me as a leader.”

“They were only teasing.”

“Teasing or not, it’s not okay. This is my job, Rafa. They are supposed to respect me. But regardless, nothing you can say is going to stop me, even if everyone else bails, yourself included.”

“Nothing? What if I told you os protetores know where we are and are on their way to hurt us?”

“That story is completely made up. There are absolutely no accounts of os protetores harming anyone.”

“What if that’s because they hold on to their secrets?”

Miri rolled her eyes. “Now you’re taking me for a sucker who believes in boogeymen and ghost stories. It’s not going to work, Rafa.”

He crinkled his nose and twisted his mouth. “All right, what if I told you Vautour already made it to the Cidade da Lua?”

“Then I’ll want to find it to assess the damage. Try again.”

His eyes narrowed at her, then, like a light had flickered, he perked up. “What if—”

With a swift movement, Miri stepped forward, placing her index finger on his lips. “Just stop.”

While her shushing quieted him, a cacophony of warnings sounded in her head. His body was close. Almost too close, aside from the fact that her body quite liked it. His gaze homed in on hers as their bodies shifted, placing her between him and the doorframe. She leaned her back against the wood, staring up at him with her palms now on his bare chest, open but giving no resistance. His stance with one arm overhead on the doorjamb and one hand holding her waist was the opposite of cooling things off. Miri was hot. Red hot. But not as warm as his skin upon her hands.

The air between them was thick with tension, making it hard for Miri to breathe. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Questioning. Waiting. Challenging the other to make a move. Miri no longer cared that she could smell the booze seeping from his skin, because beneath it, she could smell him . Raw. Desirous. She wanted to bathe herself in his scent, spend the entire day in his cabin melding her body into his until they became one. Fuck it all and sink into his heavenly abyss, not caring whether it was morning or night, Monday, Thursday, or whatever the hell day it might be.

Which is exactly why she needed to pull away.

“This isn’t quite what I had in mind when I said we needed to cool things off,” Miri said, almost breathless.

“Oh really?” His husky voice titillated her core. She fought to keep her hips from bucking against him. “Because all I was going to say was what if I told you the two point five million species of bugs in the Amazon were all descending upon us at the same time?”

He flashed that killer smile at her, the one that sent a delightful prickling sensation dancing over her skin, and they both burst out laughing. She buried her head in his chest, soaking him in as he brought her closer to his body, holding her tightly in his arms. His touch felt so natural. So familiar. God, why did she have to meet him here? Why now, on the very gig her career depended upon?

Long after their laughter subsided, they still held on to each other. Almost like they knew that letting go would be twofold. She wrapped her hands around to his back as he caressed hers with a soft, soothing motion. Words unspoken. Hearts pounding. His gentle strokes the most sensual thing Miri had ever experienced, making it hard not to want more.

“I wish you were wearing pants,” she said.

“I wish you weren’t,” he responded.

She chuckled and closed her eyes for a moment before finally letting go. “This probably isn’t helping,” she said, backing away and resting against the railing opposite Rafa and the door.

“No, probably not.” He folded his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. God, it was effortlessly sexy, triggering every single one of Miri’s biological buttons.

“Have you done this before? Hooked up with someone on a job?”

“I wouldn’t say we’ve hooked up, but no, I’ve never done this. And we probably shouldn’t.”

“No, probably not,” she said, letting her head drop a fraction of an inch before bringing it back up again. “And why not, exactly?” The uncertainty carried through her voice.

His eyebrow quirked up. “Why not? Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

Me. Definitely me.

“Both of us, I suppose.”

Rafa sighed. “Look, Pringles. I like you. A lot. I think that’s pretty obvious right now…”

Miri couldn’t help but glance at his boxers, and oh boy . It was obvious, all right. So apparent that she had a hard time averting her eyes.

“But is this,” he continued, motioning between their bodies, “going to get in the way of what each of us came out here to do? Because I’m not sure if we can accomplish our individual goals with this…distraction.”

Yep. That’s what she thought. Sigh.

“So then how are we going to make this work? Our working relationship that is,” she asked.

“I don’t know. What do you have in mind?”

“I want you to stop trying to convince me to leave,” she said.

“Nope. I can’t do that. Not when I think you’re in danger by staying here.”

She sighed again. “Fine. But you can’t meddle with my team. I’m responsible for them, not you.”

“Okay, then you need to not put them in danger like you did when you went after Vautour’s guys.”

“I didn’t mean for you, Felix, and Logan to follow me—” She tried to protest, but Rafa cut her off.

“Don’t do that. Don’t pretend like it would have been okay for us to leave you. I may not be one of your crew members, but this is a team. There was no way we were going to watch you sail off with those guys. You putting yourself in danger puts everyone in danger.”

“All right. I won’t put my team in danger.”

“Any other boundaries we need to establish?”

She bit her lip. Focus. Focus.

“Well, I…It bears repeating. We can’t let this…this thing between us go anywhere.”

“Right. Anything else?”

“And you should probably put some pants on because…it’s…it’s distracting,” she said with a slight smile.

Rafa hung his head and laughed, then lifted his hands over his head, grabbing on to the top of the doorframe. Miri’s eyes shot in every direction, grazing over his physique.

“Okay, that isn’t helping,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said, bringing his hands back down to his sides. Though his smirk said otherwise. It was a dirty move. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t like it.

“I should probably get going.”

“Yeah, and I should probably shower. Got to wash the booze off.”

Miri stared at him, not moving. Imagining her hand grazing the band of his boxer briefs along his smooth, taut abs. Picturing Rafa climbing into the shower. And envisioning her naked body pressed against him while he massaged shampoo into her hair from behind.

“Pringles?” he said.

With a quick shake of her head, she broke out of it. “Good. I’m glad we got all this settled,” she said.

“Definitely.”

“Well, I, uh…I need to check on the rest of the crew and make sure no one else has quit overnight.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you at the meetup spot in, how long?”

“In thirty minutes.”

“Right. See you there.”

Miri gave him a smile, then turned to walk away, when Rafa called out one more time.

“Oh, so you know, I’ll probably be taking lots of pictures today, what with finding that stone table and all. Don’t mind me if it looks like I’m staring. Pretend you don’t even see me.”

A tiny laugh escaped her. “Like that will ever be possible.” She smiled at him once more, and he was unable to stop the beaming smile on his own face. “And, Rafa…please put some pants on.”

Three days.

They spent three days at the stone table with absolutely no further progress.

They’d arrived back at the stone table the day after the initial discovery, this time bringing with them some additional tools to start excavating the table and roping off the rest of the area in a grid so they could accurately mark any other finds.

Hour upon hour, they painstakingly removed the moss and grime from the rock, revealing a beautiful almost-blue stone underneath. But it took time and patience. So, day after day, they returned. Another twelve inches uncovered here. Another several pounds of dirt sifted there. And not a single find.

There was no evidence of human existence in the area. No pottery. No jewels. No clothing. No tools. While the slab itself was beautiful, it didn’t make up for the fact that nothing else about the spot gave any indication that this was the mesa de pedra.

Miri studied the gold medallion each night, staring at the piece for hours. Trying to figure out how it could possibly be a clue. But just like the stone table, it gave her nothing.

By the fourth day at the site, Miri finally came to a conclusion: the medallion wasn’t a clue. At least not one that could be used in the present spot. She had that epiphany only after coming to another realization: this wasn’t the mesa de pedra.

“All right, everyone, let’s go ahead and start packing up,” she announced after another grueling four hours in the hot, muggy jungle. It smelled like rain. It was treacherous enough when it was dry. Last thing they needed was to get stuck trekking back to Florestacasa during a downpour.

Anissa glanced at her watch. “It’s still early,” she said. “What time are you thinking we’ll be back tomorrow?”

“We’re not returning tomorrow,” Miri said, garnering confused looks from the entire crew and Rafa, who’d spent the last few days off in the corner of the site, scribbling in his notebook.

And that’s all he’d been doing the last few days—lounging in the Amazon like the rainforest was his sofa, furiously writing in the leatherbound journal. Miri couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him pick up his camera. Not that there was anything to take pictures of anyway.

Rafa closed his notebook and sat up, studying her intently to figure her out.

“What do you mean we’re not returning?” Felix asked.

“Oh! Day off?” Logan followed up.

Good question. She hadn’t quite figured out her next steps. But she’d promised Rafa she wouldn’t withhold things from the team, so she told them the truth.

“I mean, we’re packing up and moving on. This site isn’t proving fruitful, so I think it’s best to start looking elsewhere.”

“Where are we going next?” Brian asked.

“I’m not sure yet. I think…I think I need a couple of days to sort some things out,” she said.

“A couple of days?” Brian said. She couldn’t really blame him, but he was starting to sound like Jerry. “What are we supposed to do in the meantime?”

The group started whispering to each other and talking under their breath. Shit, she was losing them. The forest throbbed in her head, closing in on her with the cacophony of their voices echoing against the rock wall. What was she supposed to say? Where were they supposed to go?

We should have left when Jerry and Rahim bailed.

She has no clue what she’s doing.

What a fucking waste of time.

I can’t believe I signed up for this.

Everyone’s going to laugh at us when we come home empty-handed.

The jungle started spinning around her. Ready to swallow her whole. Her gaze shifted from person to person, all watching her. Waiting for a response.

Sweat started dripping down the side of her face. Did it just get hotter out here? She tugged at the top button of her hiking shirt, pulling at it to waft in some air. Anissa. Felix. Logan. Rafa. They all stared at her. Faces twisting. Concerned.

“Uh…why don’t you all head back for now? I’m going to…uh…I need a walk,” she said before immediately rushing past the rock wall and back into the rainforest.

The group didn’t try to stop her, but their voices followed, clamoring in her head. Demanding answers. She covered her ears, but she couldn’t quiet the clatter. She needed to think. WWCMD? If she could just get some distance between her and the noise. A buffer from the racket.

“Pringles! Wait!” Rafa called from behind.

No. Not now. She didn’t care to explain what was going on. Mostly because she didn’t know how to explain it. So she picked up her pace, pushing through a mess of vines twisting and tangling around her limbs as she tried to meander through. The forest floor and understory were thick. Almost making it impossible to see what was in front of her with the spate of trees, palms, and philodendrons.

“Will you slow down? Where are you even going?” he called out, grunting as he tried to keep up with her.

“I’m fine. You can head back,” she hollered over her shoulder, not slowing down.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone. What if something happens to you?”

“I’m just getting some fresh air for a few minutes.”

“Well, what if you get lost?” he asked.

She growled to herself, her irritation bubbling up. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? Couldn’t he see that she needed some space?

“I’m sure I’ll be able to find the right direction,” she said.

“The right direction? In the Amazon?” he asked with a laugh that was the equivalent of you’ve got to be kidding me . “Come on, Pringles. We literally walked in circles for days before we happened upon the stone table.”

“Happened upon?” Pfft. Now she was aggravated.

“Oh, I’m sorry. How about stumbled upon? Is that better?”

A giant ball of fury soared through Miri’s body.

“I said ,” she exaggerated, her voice angry and loud as she continued walking straight, “I know where I’m go—”

Miri was cut off as she walked face-first into a wall of rock blocking their way, practically hidden by moss and leaves. She quickly brought her hand to her forehead.

Ouch.

And a second later, Rafa came through the brush and ran right into her. She would have been pissed if she hadn’t liked it so much, the feel of his hands bracing himself on her waist, as they stood face-to-face with a wall of rock blocking their way.

“You were saying?” he said into her ear.

She shook free from his annoying hands, ignoring the tingling sensation of his breath on her ear.

“I’m fine. I need to get around this wall is all,” she said as she inspected the barrier firmly planted in their way. In one direction, there was a steep drop-off. In the other, the wall extended as far as the eye could see. Perhaps she could walk around it, but she couldn’t tell if that meant walking a hundred feet or a thousand. The remaining options were climbing up and over, skirting around the drop-off by clinging to the side, or turning around. But turning around meant admitting defeat.

“This is silly. Let’s go back,” Rafa said, clearly hoping she’d agree.

But nothing could stop her.

Without any more hesitation, Miri took option B, grabbing hold of whatever knots or protrusions she could as she climbed around the side of the rock wall.

“Pringles, what are you doing?” Rafa asked with a sigh, his exhaustion palpable.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” she said between grunts.

“Okay, Miri, that’s enough. You’re not proving anything to anyone except that you’re willing to get yourself killed to prove your point—whatever point that might be.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything. This is the way I wanted to go.”

Miri didn’t need to see his face to know that Rafa was rolling his eyes, exactly as she’d be doing if the situation were reversed. But WWCMD? Put a boulder in Corrie Mejía’s way and what is she gonna do? She’s going to tackle it, not let it tackle her.

Miri could do the same.

She moved an inch at a time, ignoring Rafa’s protests. Miri was no expert, but she’d partaken in a few climbing adventures in her day—at the climbing gym. But whatever. It still counted. So what if those involved harnesses, pulleys, and other equipment, all of which were absent in the present situation?

Her heart pounded and her limbs shook. You can do this , she repeated over and over. The only thing Miri had to grab on to now were vines hanging on the rock face. Vines that could snap at any minute.

“Come on, this is dangerous,” Rafa said. “Look. Fine. You know where you’re going. But let’s take another way. How about it?”

“This is nothing,” she grunted. “It’s just like the climbing wall at the gym.”

“You mean one of those walls with the perfectly placed, brightly colored hand- and footholds and thick, giant mats below to cushion the ten-foot fall?”

Miri glanced at the ground below her. Big mistake. The drop was a good fifteen to twenty feet and, as Rafa pointed out, not protected by plush padding. She quickly snapped her head back to the rock face, no longer able to ignore the sweatiness of her palms.

Except she was in it now. She’d have to keep climbing, whether to make it around the boulder or make it back to Rafa.

She carefully twisted her head back toward Rafa. Oh damn. He was farther away than she thought. He had a worried look on his face, though it was no match for the fear swirling in her stomach.

He scooted to the face of the wall, reaching out his hand for her. But he was still much too far. Six, seven feet at least to reach his hand. “Here, take your time,” he said, motioning for her.

Miri repositioned her foot to get more leverage, then reached her hand onto a nubby piece of rock jutting out from the wall.

“That’s it,” he said, coaxing her back toward him. “You’ve got this. Now go real slow.”

He spoke calmly to soothe her nerves.

“Yep, keep going. Deep breaths,” he said.

He smiled at her, his face soft and gentle, and she smiled back.

“See?” he said, holding out his hand. “You can do this. That’s because you’re a badass—”

“Ah!” she screamed out as her foothold gave way.

“Miri!”

Rafa reached out for her, but it was too late. She went sliding down the rock face, trying to grab on to anything that would stop her, but it was no use. This is it. This is how I die. The thought flashed through her head as she tumbled to the ground, pain zapping her from all angles before she landed on her side with a thud.

She groaned, slowly opening her eyes to a blur of greens and browns. Unable to focus, she brought her hand to her head, rubbing the side. My glasses! Her hand shot to the ground, searching for her specs without luck.

“Miri! Miri! Are you okay?! Miri, answer me!” Rafa’s panicked voice called from above, peering over the edge to spot her.

“I’m alive,” she called back, her voice shaky.

But even without being able to see her injuries, she knew she was not okay.

“Stay there. I’m going to find a way down,” he said.

Stay here? A tiny laugh escaped her lips. As if she had any other choice.

She inspected her body as best she could. Thankfully, nothing seemed broken. But her pants were ripped. Her hands, forearms, and knees were bloody. And her confidence was totally and completely shot.

A rustling of leaves sounded above her, directing her attention to the wall of dirt and vines to her side.

“I’m coming,” Rafa called as he slowly descended into the gully or whatever the heck it was that she’d gotten herself into. She watched as he lowered himself with ease on a vine that must have been wrapped around a tree up top.

“Sure, take the easy route,” she joked. At least she still had her sense of humor.

When Rafa was a few feet off the ground, he jumped down, then hurried to Miri’s side.

“Are you okay? Did you break anything?” he said, examining her arm.

“I’m fine,” she said, twisting her arm to check for scrapes and bruises. “Nothing’s broken that I can tell. Just the ole pride.”

He let out a long breath. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I scared it out of myself.” Her eyesight was good enough that she could see his features, although the definition was a little fuzzy so she couldn’t be sure of his reaction, she decided to clarify. “I mean, not literally.”

He laughed and hung his head, setting her at ease. “You really are something,” he said. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Rafa searched through Miri’s backpack for a first aid kit, and then got to work on her wounds. She winced as he applied antiseptic to her raw flesh, but he continued working all the same.

“Here,” he said, handing over her glasses.

The lenses weren’t too scratched up, but it would be annoying hiking back with her vision impaired. Thankfully, she had another pair back at the resort. A little tip she’d learned several digs ago after accidentally dropping them down a dig pit.

“You picked one hell of a place to take a tumble,” he said as he glanced around at their surroundings before getting back to her scrapes. “That rock wall you were trying to scramble around almost looks like a face.”

She didn’t care, though. She didn’t want to take in the surroundings. Really, she wanted to forget about the whole thing and get the heck out of there. She wanted to get away from Rafa, not have him even closer, being nice to her and treating her wounds while she was out there acting like a stubborn child who got their little baby feelings hurt.

They continued in relative silence until he finally broke the ice. “Why do you keep doing things like this?”

“What things?”

“Taking risks. Doing dangerous things. What’s your obsession with being badass ?”

“Why can’t I do those things? Corrie does them all the time.”

“You’re not Corrie.”

His words stung.

“Well, she had to start somewhere. Maybe this is the start of my journey.”

“Or it could be the end of it,” he said pointedly, sucking the remaining ounce of confidence out of Miri. “You’re lucky you came out of this with only a few scrapes and bruises. It could have been much, much worse.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting hard to keep from crying. He was right. Even she thought she might have died as she was falling.

“What is it about this expedition? Why is this so important to you?” he asked, eyeing her curiously.

Miri’s entire body deflated. Guess we’re doing this.

“Do you ever feel like you’re always waiting for your life to start?” she asked. “Like you have all these things that you want to do, but you wonder if you’ll ever be able to do them? There’s always something, or someone, in your way?”

“What are you waiting for?” he asked.

She turned to face him. “I was waiting for an opportunity like this. A chance to prove that I could be a badass. That I could lead an expedition and make some great discovery. I want to do something amazing. I want people to see me and be like, Damn, she’s fucking rad .”

Rafa snickered. Ouch. She wasn’t trying to be funny.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“It’s nothing. I just love when you say things like ‘rad.’?”

She frowned. “Well, I’m not trying to be funny.”

“I know you’re not. That’s why it’s so refreshing being around you.”

“Tell that to the other half of the team who’ve already quit.” She folded her arms and looked away.

“In case you don’t remember, I believe I have, Pringles,” he said.

Miri shot a glance at Rafa, who was staring at her with a knowing look. Oh, she hadn’t forgotten. Dr. Jacobs looks good all the time. She blushed thinking about the night at the campfire. Hearing Rafa talk about her to the others like he’d forgotten she was there.

“Well,” she said, pushing the tingling feelings aside, “it’s what I want. For people to know who I am, like Corrie.”

“It takes time for people to build up a résumé like that.”

“Well, I don’t have time.”

“You’re young. You’ve probably got dozens of adventures left in you.”

“Not if I come home empty-handed. And before you go saying you’re sure this isn’t my last opportunity, let me stop you,” she said, putting her hand up. “My boss essentially told me that if I don’t come back from this expedition with something noteworthy, I probably shouldn’t bother coming back at all.”

Rafa narrowed his brows. “That’s bullshit.”

She picked at some sticks on the ground beside her. “Maybe, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the reality of academia. I haven’t done anything remarkable. I’m about as boring as they come.”

“Pringles, you’re anything but boring.”

She rolled her eyes. “I should have quit after that run-in with Hunter and Kevin. I could have blamed it on the fact that we were in danger. You were right. At least that way I wouldn’t have looked like a failure. Now if we quit it’s going to be because I fucked up. Because I’ve been leading us around in circles for the last few weeks. I’m going to be a laughingstock. In fact, I’ve got a couple of new suggestions for the title of your article. How about ‘Another Moon City Search Down the Amazon Drain’? Or better yet, ‘Rookie Archaeologist Couldn’t Find the Moon City Even if It Was Tattooed on Her Ass’?”

Rafa took her hands. “Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“This isn’t your fault. Stop putting yourself down. You’re better than that.”

“How would you know? This is the first time I’ve ever been assigned to lead a dig of any kind. There is no better when this is the best it’s ever been.” She turned away, not wanting him to see the tears welling in her eyes and twisting her mouth into knots. “Besides, look at you. You’re an accomplished journalist working at one of the world’s top magazines, traveling all over the world, doing so many amazing things. I mean, Mr. Larity requested you by name. I’m here on a pity invite from Corrie.”

“You think my life is so great? Pringles, I quit my job a week before I came out here.”

Miri ticked her head to the side. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re right. GloGeo is a dream gig. And I have done amazing things. But you asked if I’ve ever felt like I’m waiting for my life to start, and never has someone so clearly put into words what’s going on in my head. I have an apartment in DC, but I’m never there. I don’t have any pets because who would feed them? Every plant I’ve ever had has withered away and died from lack of watering. I’ve never had a single streaming subscription because I’d go more than half the year without using it. I can’t remember the last time I went out with friends because I avoid making plans since I never know when I’m going to have to cancel. Frankly, my friends—the few I have left—stopped reaching out years ago. This has been my life for almost a decade. What’s the point of all those adventures if you don’t have anyone to share them with?”

“So you quit?”

He nodded. “Tried to, at least.”

“What do you mean, tried to?”

“My dad. He’s on the board at GloGeo . So after I tried to quit, my boss called my dad and, well, here I am,” he said, holding out his palms.

“Why doesn’t he want you to quit?”

“The prestige. The importance.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. He used his connections to get me this job in the first place. It’s hard to accept that I even earned it. I don’t want his handouts, though. I want to make my own path, you know?”

“Doing what?”

“I want to be an author.”

Miri furrowed her brow. “But you are an author.”

“No, I’m a journalist. It’s different. I document facts. Tell other people’s stories. I want to tell my own.”

“Is that what you’re always doing when you’re scribbling in that notebook of yours?”

He nodded. “Mostly I’m outlining my ideas. I’ve yet to have the opportunity to sit down and draft a full-length novel.”

“And why is that?”

“See my prior answer,” he said. “My dad. He thinks life is too important for frivolity. Not when there are great things to do and important discoveries to document. But I don’t know, sometimes I think a lot of people feel like they need to accomplish big things to be able to say they made it, but for me, everything I’ve accomplished at GloGeo , all the work I’ve done to help my father? Those things have brought me pride, but they haven’t given me happiness.”

“What would bring you happiness?”

He paused as if he wasn’t expecting she’d ask.

“Having what my parents had,” he finally responded. “Even though my mother died when I was young, their love has lasted all these years. My father’s sole goal in life is to protect her memory. To protect that which was important to her.”

Miri’s heart swelled. “That’s really beautiful, Rafa.”

He smiled and took a deep gulp, like he had a lump caught in his throat. He shook his head. “I don’t even know what she looked like. My mother, I mean.”

“No?” she asked. She’d grown up with both of her parents, but their home was full of photos, including of her grandparents who’d passed away before she’d even been born. And she knew what every single one of them looked like.

“She and my father…their relationship was a bit of a whirlwind.”

“How did they meet?”

“They met here. In Brazil. My father was—” Rafa stopped himself. “My father was here on business. My mother was helping him on a project, and they fell in love. She got pregnant. And, well, you know the rest.”

“And not even a picture?”

“Nope. Though my father told me once that I remind him of her.”

“I bet she was beautiful.” The statement slipped out, and Miri bit back her tongue.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that? Because you think I’m beautiful?” he asked, like a fox ready to trap its prey.

“No!” she blurted out as her cheeks reddened. “I was just…I mean…I assumed…you know…”

He smiled as she tried to backpedal. “So then you don’t think I’m beautiful?”

“I mean, I do, or, no. I mean, you’re handsome. But I…I…I mean, yes. If your dad says you look like her, then she must have been incredibly beautiful. Or your dad, I don’t know. Maybe he’s a hunk—”

“A hunk?” Rafa burst out laughing.

“What?” She looked at him, confused.

“Do people still say that? Call men ‘hunks’?”

She stifled a smile and shoved his arm. “Shut up. Quit messing with me. Hot old men are hunks. It’s an apt word in the right situation.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Okay, hardy har.” She pursed her lips, trying her damnedest to keep her smile at bay, but there was no disputing that she found the situation just as entertaining as he did. “Well, thank you for sharing that with me. I’m sure it can’t be easy to talk about it.”

“You’re honestly the only person I’ve ever told about it.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “This may come as a surprise to you, Pringles, but this job doesn’t exactly lend itself to lasting lifelong friendships. Aside from my editor, the only person I talk to on a regular basis is my dad. And we don’t talk about my mom.”

“You should tell him how you feel,” she said.

Rafa shook his head. “I can barely talk to him about wanting to write novels.” He let out a half-hearted laugh.

“Do you not get along?”

“No, we get along great. He’s my biggest supporter. He’ll do anything for me. But…” Rafa paused. “There are certain things we just don’t discuss. My mom is top of the list.”

Miri furrowed her brow. “Do anything for you except support you in the career you choose and talk to you about your mother when it’s clearly important to you?”

Rafa stared at her for a moment as if analyzing what she’d just said, and then threw his head back, closing his eyes.

Oh shit. “I’m sorry,” Miri quickly said. “I…I shouldn’t be butting into your family business.” She jumped up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. “We should probably head back to base camp,” she said, rushing to the vine Rafa had used to climb down and giving it a swift tug. If it could hold Rafa’s sturdy body, then it should certainly be able to handle hers. She wrapped one hand around the thick vine then propped her foot up high in front of her for leverage. “If we hurry, we should make it back before—” she said as she started to lift herself up.

But Rafa stopped her, placing his hand over hers on the vine. His gaze focused on hers with his eyes narrowed. She’d really done it this time. Put her foot in her mouth one time too many.

“Rafa, I’m—”

“Thank you,” he said, cutting her off.

She blinked. Wait? What?

“Thank you?” she asked.

“You’re right. My dad loves me. I shouldn’t be afraid to tell him what I need. Or…what I want.”

The way the word want reverberated in his throat sent a rumble into her core.

“Good,” she said, trying to take the focus away from the nearness of his body. “You should tell him.”

“I will. But first, we need to get the hell out of here. Are you ready to head back?”

Miri nodded. “Thanks for rescuing me from my pity party of one.”

“Oh, I don’t think you can say I’ve rescued you yet. We still have to find our way back.”

Miri smiled and puffed up her chest. “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I know exactly where we’re going.”

“Exactly?” he asked, smiling and raising his eyebrows.

“Okay, maybe not exactly. Come on. Follow me.”