Page 15

“I don’t understand what’s taking so long,” Rafa’s father said on the phone. “It’s been over three weeks. Why hasn’t she quit yet?”

Rafa sat alone in his cabin using the satellite phone he’d borrowed from Anissa. He’d just finished telling his dad that two more people had quit since they’d last spoken, but it didn’t seem to faze him. His dad was focused on one thing and one thing only: getting Miri to leave. The rest of them, he couldn’t care less about.

“I told you. She’s tenacious,” Rafa said, smiling as he scrolled through photos of Miri on his camera.

“Are you even trying to get her to leave?”

Rafa’s smile fell, and he quickly turned off the camera as if his father could see. “Of course I am.”

Right?

“We’re down to half a crew,” Rafa continued. Maybe his dad would take that as a positive, at least. “And we’ve gone practically every direction possible from this resort. Honestly, Dad, I’m even beginning to doubt the Cidade da Lua is out here.”

“Then I guess it’s too bad you’re not the one who needs convincing.” There was an air of annoyance in his father’s voice. Which Rafa understood given his promise to Rafa’s mother and all, but he really was trying.

Or at least he had been.

Truth be told, Rafa hadn’t taken any active steps to interfere with the expedition in over ten days.

But how could he sabotage Miri when this was so important to her? At this point, Rafa’s best bet was to pray the rest of the crew would grow too weary to continue.

“Have you gotten any word about where Vautour’s team might be?” Rafa asked, deflecting from his own ineptitude. “I think Dr. Jacobs is especially focused on getting to the Cidade da Lua before he does.”

“Mmm, yes,” his dad said, clearing his throat. “There’ve been rumblings that they’ve given up.”

“Given up? Are you sure? I thought he commissioned some fancy lidar tech to pinpoint the location.”

“Lidar is very expensive…and very difficult to obtain. If anyone could get their hands on lidar imagery, then there wouldn’t be any such thing as a lost city. If respectable archaeologists like Drs. Mejía and Matthews aren’t able to get it, what makes them think a criminal like Pierre Vautour could? And even then, you’d have to know where to look.”

Rafa furrowed his brow. “Then why did they leave?”

“One of the team members got bitten by a lancehead snake, and they evacuated the entire crew. So if Vautour’s what’s keeping Dr. Jacobs on this mission, he shouldn’t be a concern any longer. Now she’s all that’s left. Please, Rafa. You have to finish this.”

Vautour or not, abandoning this expedition would crush Miri. Miri’s voice popped into his head. If I don’t come back from this expedition with something noteworthy, I probably shouldn’t bother coming back at all. If only his dad could get to know her. Then he’d see she wasn’t the treasure hunter he made her out to be.

“Dad, what if you’re wrong about this?”

“Wrong about what? About Vautour leaving?”

“No. About Dr. Jacobs. And Mom. And os pro—”

“Rafael,” his dad said with his commanding voice, “we’ve already talked about this.”

“No, you’ve talked. I just listen and take your direction. And we don’t talk about things. Why won’t you ever talk about Mom?”

“Rafael,” he warned again, “that’s enough.”

“Why? Because you said it’s enough?”

“What’s gotten into you? Is this because of Dr. Jacobs?”

“No, Dad. I want to talk to you.”

“We can talk when you get home. After you’ve stopped the expedition.”

“And if I don’t? If I tell you that I won’t continue lying to her? If I call my editor to follow through on my resignation?”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t bother coming back at all. Don’t test me.”

Click.

Rafa stared at the phone, silent in his hand. Never in all his thirty-two years had his father hung up on him. What was that? Who was that? His dad wasn’t exactly the warm-and-fuzzy type, but this? Rafa didn’t know what to make of it.

But this update on Vautour’s crew changed everything. He had to let Miri know.

Almost in a daze, he walked back to Anissa’s cabin to return the phone only to find her sitting outside with Miri, passing a bottle back and forth. Anissa sat on a chair and Miri on the edge of the raised walkway. Miri’s feet dangled over the side as her arms hung over the lower rung of the split railing, protecting her from falling.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Snap Snack,” Anissa slurred. “We were just talking about you.”

Rafa’s eyes widened.

“What about me?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Miri said, narrowing her eyes at Anissa. “Anissa’s enjoying the booze a little too much, is all.”

Anissa tsked and rolled her eyes at Miri. “Want some?” she asked, then held up the bottle to Rafa.

He took a tentative step forward, noticing the bottle. That same crap that had gotten him drunk a week ago.

A gurgling bubbled in his stomach, and not the pleasant kind that accompanied being near Miri. “I think I’m good,” he said, waving his hand at Anissa.

“Suit yourself,” she said, taking another swig.

“I came over to return this,” he said, resting the satellite phone atop the railing and then taking a few steps back and sheepishly tucking his hands in his pockets. He’d clearly interrupted something. With the way Miri avoided eye contact, he wasn’t sure he was welcome. “I guess I’ll leave you to it,” he followed up before turning to head back to his cabin.

“You don’t have to go.” Miri’s voice was quiet.

And hopeful.

He spun back around. Both women were looking at him. Anissa, the Cheshire cat. Miri, a timid mouse. Everything inside him screamed to retreat. To go back to his room and figure out how to get out of this mess. With Miri. With his dad. With GloGeo . But his body floated toward her, and he sat down only a few inches from her on the edge of the raised walkway.

It wasn’t exactly the safest place to sit. For many reasons.

A loud splash came from the river nearby and they froze to listen. An animal made a high-pitched squeal as the thrashing continued, eventually subsiding. Likely a caiman capturing its prey.

Miri shifted to take a closer look at the river, and her shoulder brushed against his. He looked back at her, his eyes grazing over her silhouette, accentuated by the moonlight. With the way the moon illuminated her lips, they glistened under its glow, causing a lump to catch in his throat. Slowly, her head ticked to the side, and she brought her gaze to meet his. They stared at each other like they were the only things in this vast rainforest.

“Eh-hem,” Anissa said, finally snapping them out of it.

Miri snatched her gaze away.

“So,” Rafa said, trying to take his focus off Miri’s lips, “what’s going on?”

“What’s going on? We’re drowning away our sorrows. Licking our wounds. Tying one on—” Anissa said, until Miri cut her off.

“Brian just quit,” Miri said.

“The other field tech?” Rafa asked.

Miri simply nodded. “He’s leaving in the morning.” They stayed silent for a moment before Miri screamed with frustration into the Amazonian abyss.

“It will be okay,” Anissa said, leaning forward and placing her hand on Miri’s back.

“No, everything will not be okay,” Miri snapped. “I’ve lost more than half the crew. How are we supposed to continue with only five people? And you two aren’t even field crew.”

She reclined, resting her back flush against the wooden walkway, and folded her forearms over her eyes. “This is it,” she mumbled. “Say goodbye to my career.”

Rafa’s heart sank. Damn.

He reached into the side pocket of his cargo pants.

“Want some?” he asked, offering her the peanut M&M’s she had given him that first day at the airport in Manaus.

She twisted her head, peeking at him from under her arms with tears in her eyes, then quickly wiped them away. “You still have them?” she asked with a sniffle.

“I’ve been saving them for the right moment. This seems as good a time as any,” he said with a smile he hoped would make her feel better. “Here,” he said, tearing the corner off the wrapper and taking her hand to dump a few candies in.

A faint smile broke across her lips. She took the candy, then sat up before popping an M&M in her mouth. He raised the bag to Anissa to offer some, but she waved him away and pointed at the bottle of booze with a smile and a nod. Good. He really wanted Miri to have them anyway.

“Thank you,” Miri said.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

She sighed, tossed her head back, and looked out into the dense canopy above. The buzzing and whistling of the forest were a nice distraction from the thoughts swirling in Rafa’s head. They sat for what felt like hours, passing the bag back and forth, slowly savoring the chocolate-covered peanuts like they needed to be rationed over the whole night. Eventually, Anissa fell asleep, but Miri and Rafa didn’t make any effort to move.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Miri finally said.

“About what?” he asked.

“About finding the Moon City. I don’t know why I thought I could actually be the one to find it.”

“Seems you had as good a chance as anyone else.”

“Yeah, but you were right. We should have quit days ago.” She picked at the wooden railing, tossing a tiny piece to the ground below them. “It’s probably only a matter of time before Logan and Felix throw in the towel, too. I can’t do this on my own. I can barely even do it now.”

She laughed, but it was hollow. “What am I even saying? I haven’t done ,” she said, using her fingers for air quotes, “anything out here. God, I’m such a joke.”

She folded her arms over the railing and rested her cheek upon them, turning her head away from Rafa. Her words created a pit in his stomach.

“No one is going to think you’re a joke for not finding a city that’s been lost for hundreds of years,” he said, hoping it would make her feel better. “The only thing that’s funny about this is that explorers keep trying.”

“And if Vautour finds it first?”

“He gave up.”

Miri propped herself up on her forearm and faced him. “What do you mean he gave up? Where did you hear that?”

“My boss told me. That’s who I was on the phone with,” he said. He didn’t want to lie, but he couldn’t exactly tell her that his dad had a network into the archaeological happenings in Brazil. “He’d heard they were evacuated after a snake bite got one of them.”

Miri sighed. But the news didn’t seem to faze her.

“What does it matter?” she said, lying back down.

Rafa’s head cocked to the side, eying her as she stared at the thatched roof covering them. That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected from this news.

“I guess it means we don’t need to worry about what Vautour might have done to the city if he were to find it.” Rafa then paused, struggling to say the next words. “And that you shouldn’t feel bad if you decide to give up.”

He had to look away when he said it. The words tasted vile on his lips. Like a betrayal.

But Miri remained silent, her gaze unflinching. Time stopped. Everything stopped. Including her.

“Did you hear what I said?” he asked.

She let out a long breath. “I heard you. It just…it’s too late. It doesn’t matter anymore because this isn’t about Vautour,” Miri said. “I mean, it is—or, it was—but this is about me. I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier. About finding whatever it is that will bring you happiness,” she said.

He’d been thinking a lot about that conversation, too.

“Oh yeah? What about it?” he asked.

Miri sat up and brushed her hand just under her eye. “Well, you talked about how all of your accomplishments have made you proud, but not necessarily happy.”

“Those things aren’t mutually exclusive. You can find happiness in things that make you proud.”

“I thought about that, too. But then I really thought about why I’m here and tried to figure out whether succeeding on this expedition would make me proud or happy, and at this point, I think the answer is that it won’t make me either of those things.”

He tipped his head to the side, wondering what she was getting at. “I thought this was what you wanted?”

“So did I. I want to be a leader, but I want to earn that respect, not have it handed to me. I want the success of the expedition to be because I made a brilliant discovery, not because someone gave me a piece of paper with a list. I want people to want to be here, not just sucking it up because it’s their job. If we succeed now, it won’t be because of anything I did. And how can I be proud of my accomplishment if my entire team gave up on me?”

“If finding the Moon City won’t bring you happiness, what will ?” he asked.

She stared him straight in the eye, then spoke. “Being content with not being some extraordinary, larger-than-life badass and, instead, loving being me. Sometimes talking too much. Often daydreaming about nothing. Being a good archaeologist, even if it means never being a great one. Telling corny jokes. Being known for always bringing the best snacks. And wearing fanny packs like they’re going out of style.”

She smiled, and it warmed Rafa’s heart. Did she really not see how amazing she was? He brushed her hair from her face with the pad of his thumb, wiping away a dried tear stain on her cheek.

“Pringles, everything you just said highlights why you’re the baddest badass of them all.”

“You think I’m badass?” she said with a smile.

“I think you’re everything.”

She sucked in a breath and bit her lip. The forest stilled around them, fading into the background as they inched closer to each other. He scanned her face, searching for unspoken permission, before leaning forward—

TH-CRACK!

A roll of thunder boomed through the sky, immediately followed by downpouring rain. The ruckus startled Anissa awake and she practically jumped out of her chair, which forced Miri and Rafa apart.

“Holy shit!” Anissa yelled as Miri and Rafa pulled their legs up from the walkway and huddled under the overhanging thatched roof of Anissa’s cabin.

Rafa’s heart pounded, but he wasn’t sure whether it was because of the thunder or how close he and Miri had come to breaking that invisible barrier they’d built between the two of them. That was close. Too close.

“I’m going to make a run for it,” Miri said, motioning toward her cabin.

The walkways between cabins weren’t covered, but with the rainfalls lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, they definitely weren’t going to spend the night all tucked in Anissa’s bed waiting it out. Luckily, Miri only had to run a few cabins down. Rafa, on the other hand, had to travel several cabins away and would most certainly get drenched.

“Good night, Anissa,” Miri said, pulling her in for a hug. Then she turned toward Rafa. “Ready?”

Rafa nodded, and then they booked it with their arms above their heads to cover them—as if that did anything. They weaved along the passageway, laughing as he guided her by the hand, careful to keep them from slipping. But as he started to let go of her hand and continue past her cabin toward his own, a hand pulled back on him. He spun around, and there was Miri. Sopping wet and staring up at him with her hair plastered against her face and her clothes soaked through. The rain poured over them as he pulled her into his arms. She clutched his biceps, like she’d fall if she let go. He could barely see with the rain streaming down his face, but he didn’t need to see to know what she looked like. The face that haunted his dreams. That consumed him. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, his heartbeat a stampede of horses over an open plain.

Her hands reached up to his neck. Holding him but restraining from pulling him closer.

“I hope you find your happiness, Rafa,” she whispered, almost inaudible above the riotous raindrops.

His lips crashed onto hers as he pulled her firmly against his chest. He wanted her. No, he needed her. Not only for himself. He needed her to see how remarkable she was.

Their mouths feverishly feasted upon each other, unable to get close enough. His hands twisted in her hair as her hands wrapped behind his back, pulling down on his shoulders. He no longer held back, wanting to touch her, hold her, and never let go.

He hoisted her up by her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist, and pressed her back into the side of her cabin. The rain was unable to douse the fire between them—the inferno that had been building over the last few weeks.

With her back pinned against the cabin, he rocked his hips into her center. Her moans coupled with the friction of his cock pressed against her sent a surge of euphoria over his skin. More, he needed more. Without breaking their embrace he walked to her cabin, thrusting the door open, swooping inside, and closing it again in one fluid movement. His mouth continued to devour hers as he lowered her feet to the floor then brought his hands to the button of her pants.

“Is this okay?” he asked, breaking their kiss for a moment.

She nodded with a whimper while licking her lips. He then twisted the button and rolled down the zipper before diving his hand into her panties. Upon feeling her slippery wetness, he pressed his forehead against the door.

“Fuck, Pringles,” he said with his eyes closed. His fingers glided effortlessly along her slick folds before plunging inside her, sending her hips bucking against his hand.

With his thumb on her clit, he sank his index finger inside her, feeling her clench around him, before he brought his lips back to hers. She lowered her hand to his waist, gliding down toward his cock and cupping it in her palm and gripping his length. But no. He wasn’t finished with her yet.

He lowered his knees to the floor, peeling her pants off one leg at a time, then grazed her thighs with his fingers stretched wide. Her panties were at eye level in front of him and he could see her sweet nectar soaking through the thin fabric. He spread her legs with his hand, then ran his fingers along the crotch of her panties.

“Do you like when I touch you like this?” he asked.

She nodded, her breath quickening.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted this?” he asked. She shook her head. “Do you know how badly I want to taste you?” She shook her head again.

He spun her around so she faced the door, pulled her panties all the way to the floor, then pulled back on her hips so her ass stuck out. His fingers danced around her slick opening before he dove in with his mouth.

“Oh God!” she cried out in pleasure.

His tongue lapped at her opening while his fingers reached around front to rub her clit. Miri grabbed the wall to steady herself as if her knees were about to buckle.

But he held her up and flipped her around. She looked down at him, admiring her from the floor. His eyes spoke for him as he dove back between her legs. Eating her. Tasting her.

Worshipping her.

“Rafa!” she called out his name as she released, bracing herself against the wall and tossing her head back.

As soon as her body stopped convulsing, he stood and crashed his mouth to hers, allowing her to taste herself.

But Miri had other ideas. She pushed him backward until he fell to the edge of her bed, then she kneeled in front of him and pulled his pants and boxers to the floor.

“Holy moly,” she said, taking him in.

She glided her hands over his length, causing him to suck in a breath, and then kept her eyes on him while putting him in her mouth.

He moaned, gripping the bed to steady himself.

“Fuck, Pringles.”

She used her hand to cover more ground, increasing her speed in sync with the increased volume of his moans.

“Oh God,” he said, running his fingers through her hair. “You’re gonna make me come.”

He pulled her from him seconds before coming on his stomach. Miri stayed kneeling in front of him as he relaxed his breathing, his hand still in her hair, and then he pulled her up beside him.

“Come here,” he said, bringing her mouth to his.

They sank deep into their kiss, not worrying about the expedition or Vautour. Or anything other than each other.