Page 16

Miri had been wrong. Wrong about needing to find the Moon City. Wrong about what would happen if she didn’t succeed.

What did any of it matter? So maybe she made an important discovery. Maybe she got her name in some prestigious archaeological digest. Sure, it would be pretty rad. But would it prove to everyone she was enough? Would it make her happy?

Possibly.

But was it worth dragging her team along on this wild goose chase? No.

She only wished she’d come to that realization earlier.

WWCMD?

She never would have been in this situation in the first place, that’s what. Corrie would have recognized their failure weeks ago. And she’d have admitted when she was wrong.

So at breakfast the next morning, Miri made an announcement.

“I spent some time thinking last night, and it’s time for us to head home,” she said.

Felix and Logan dropped their forks, the loud clacking on their plates immediately causing Anissa to put her hands on her head as she nursed a hangover. They clearly weren’t worried about the noise, however, while they bombarded Miri with questions.

When?

Why?

But what about the Moon City?

What about Pierre Vautour?

She wished she could give them quick, easy answers, but how was she supposed to explain the epiphany she’d had the night before? It wouldn’t make sense to them. How Rafa had helped her see her worth. She didn’t need awards and accolades to prove herself. Even without any actual discovery in the Amazon, she’d already proved to herself that she was a badass. She’d finally given herself permission to let all her tension, all her insecurities, go, and damn, was it liberating.

When she glanced over at Rafa, however, she was surprised to see that he wasn’t elated. Instead, he hung his head, staring at her with apologetic eyes. Like he’d done something wrong. After trying to convince her to leave for the last three weeks, why did he suddenly look…disappointed?

Was it last night? Regret? She tried to read behind his eyes, but he gave her nothing.

“With everything that’s happened, I think it’s time we cut our losses. Like Dr. Mejía said in the recording—there was a very real chance that we’d never find the Cidade da Lua, but no one can say it’s because we didn’t try. So I want to pack up and head to the airport in Boa Vista tomorrow. Anissa, can you book us plane tickets?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Anissa said with her head face down on the table and waving her hand in the air.

“What should we do today?” Felix asked.

Miri shrugged. “Do whatever you want. Just don’t get bitten by a poisonous spider or get crunched by a boa constrictor.”

“I’ll be in my room,” Anissa said, standing up and shuffling toward her cabin. “Do not knock on my door.”

“So that’s it?” Rafa asked once the others left the dining cabana. There was an edginess in his tone that Miri couldn’t quite place.

“It is. I thought you’d be pleased that I was finally giving up?” She said it like it was a question.

“I mean, I am, I suppose.” Hmm…that didn’t sound very convincing. “You’re not doing it because of me, are you? Because of last night?”

She eyed him. “Not because of you. I’m doing this for myself. Despite what Berkeley may think, I don’t need this. Even if it means I’ll never go on another archaeological dig again, I’m not going to be bullied by people like my boss or Dr. Quinn into thinking that I need their approval to be happy.”

“And you’re sure this is what you want?”

“Rafa? I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Now come on,” she said, pulling him up by the arm. “I want to go out in the Amazon once more, just with you.”

“And do what?”

“I want to take it in. We’ve been here for over three weeks, and I haven’t seen anything.”

He chuckled. “What are you talking about?”

“Each day, we’ve walked through this forest looking for clues, but I never opened my eyes. I want to experience the Amazon. And what were you saying? What’s the point if you don’t have someone to experience life with?”

He smiled, gave her a quick kiss, and they went to their cabins to grab their things before hiking into the Amazon for the last time. Likely Miri’s last time ever.

Miri led the way, with Rafa hot on her trail. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach as she thought about what might happen after this, especially now that she was effectively unemployed—or at least would be once she got back to the States. But she didn’t care. She was free.

Free from worrying about trying to impress others. Free from pretending to be someone she was not. Her whole life she had tried to conform. People tolerated her, but few truly understood her. Corrie. Anissa.

And now Rafa. He understood her and seemed to appreciate all of her quirks.

They traveled along a familiar path—the last thing they needed was to get lost on their final day—stopping to take pictures of the bromeliads and forest mushrooms. Rafa managed to snap a shot of a falcon swooping through the dense understory and capturing a coral snake. They spotted a sloth slowly traversing from one tree to another. They took a snack break beside a shallow stream, taking in the sounds of the water babbling across the smooth stones lining the streambed along with the twittering birds chirping in the trees.

“Before we go back, can we stop by that dumb hunk of rock?” she asked.

“What hunk of rock? The mesa de pedra?”

She nodded. “I know it’s not the mesa de pedra, but it was beautiful. I’d like to see it once more.”

He took her hand and smiled, leading her back along the trail they’d traversed over a dozen times by that point. By now, they knew the way. They could probably find it with their eyes closed.

As they reached the ravine, rather than take the long way, they each grabbed a vine, swinging across the understory and through the wall of vines. Miri landed on the stone with perfection, and Rafa landed on the ground next to her. At least she could go home having mastered one thing on this trip.

Miri ran her hand along the smooth rock, noticing all its imperfections and impurities. All the things that made it unique and magnificent.

“Come on, I want to get some photos of you with the stone,” Rafa said, stealing her attention.

Miri’s body stiffened. “Me?”

Rafa looked from side to side, front to back. “Yeah, you. You don’t see anyone else over here, do you?”

“But…but why do you want pictures of me now? It’s just a rock. And the expedition is dead.”

“Because I still have a story to write. And you discovered this hulking thing,” he said, patting it with his hand. “It’ll be great for the article.”

Miri thought about the spread Archaeological Digest had featured Corrie in several years back. It had catapulted her into archaeological stardom. Helped her land her job at UC Berkeley. She’d looked so cool in the photos and effortlessly sexy. This article that Rafa was writing for Global Geography , maybe it could do the same for Miri. Even without finding the Moon City.

“Okay,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

He motioned for her to move closer to the stone. “Stand over there and change up your pose every couple of snaps. I take a lot of photos, so keep trying different things and I’ll find one that works.”

Miri walked over to the stone and rested the edge of her butt on the corner, then arched her back and cocked her head to the side with her arms crossed in front of her, mimicking a photo she recalled from Corrie’s article. “Like this?” she said.

Rafa lifted his brow. “Um, okay. Sure. Just keep moving, though.”

Snap!

She then climbed on top of the stone, sitting with one leg bent and the other stretched out like her sister’s high school cheerleading squad photos. Snap! Then she rested on her side and propped her head up using her arm. Snap! She then sat up again, and gave him Kardashian duck lips—they were always on magazine covers, right?—waiting for the next snap to change position. And waited. What was taking so long?

“What are you doing?” Rafa said, finally ripping her from her thoughts.

She turned her head toward him, and he stood facing her with the camera in front of his waist.

“We’re taking pictures.”

“Right, but what are you doing?”

“I’m posing, like you said.”

“What exactly would you call those poses?” He furrowed his brow at her.

“I’m trying to look sexy.”

His lips turned up. “This is not working the way you think it is.”

Miri threw her arms at her side as if giving up. “You don’t think I’m sexy?”

Now it was a full grin. “No, I think you’re very sexy. But that?” he said, motioning toward her with his camera.

“This is how models pose in magazines,” Miri pointed out, still kneeling on the stone.

“And what magazines are those? GQ ? Sports Illustrated ? Playboy ? Because you know where you won’t find models—or anyone , for that matter—posing like that? GloGeo .”

“Not on brand?” Miri asked, wrinkling her nose.

Rafa laughed. “No, definitely not the GloGeo brand. Why are you trying to look sexy anyway?”

“I mean, I was actually going for sexy badass .”

“Well, then. Come here,” he said, motioning her toward him with his hand.

Miri crawled to the edge of the stone and stepped off, standing in front of him. He set the camera on the stone then squared up with her.

“Okay, first, shake it off.” He shimmied his body and she followed suit. “All right, now, show me badass.”

Miri popped her hip, pushed out her chest, and puckered her lips. Rafa shook his head. “No. Look, this isn’t a pinup ad. You’re not selling a product. Sexy and badass aren’t the same thing. You can be both, but they aren’t identical. Being sexy is all about desire. Lust. Being badass is about confidence. A give-no-fucks attitude. And having the résumé to back it up.”

“But I don’t have the résumé to back it up, remember?” Miri said, scrunching her face.

“Then fake it ’til you make it.”

“Show me.”

“Show you what? How to fake it?”

“Show me some poses,” she said, motioning to this body.

“You want me to show you how to look like a badass?”

“And sexy. You’re a photographer. Show me how it’s done.”

“I’m not that kind of photographer. And frankly, I’m not really a photographer at all. I’m a journalist who happens to be able to take decent enough photos that sometimes I get assigned to do both.”

“Well, clearly I’m doing it all wrong, so I want you to show me how to do it right.”

He eyed her for a second, sighed, and then said, “All right. Here, switch places with me.”

They spun around so Miri was facing Rafa at the stone. He rested his behind on the stone, then said, “This is badass,” as he leaned forward into a half crouch, resting his forearms on his thighs, and looking straight on at her.

Damn. He looked like a boss.

“And this is sexy.” He sat up and leaned back, spread his legs wider—highlighting the unmistakable bulge in his pants—and lifted his shirt to reveal his rippled abs while turning his head to the side.

Holy guacamole, sweet baby Jesus.

If Rafa was going for lust and desire, he’d certainly accomplished that—and then some. Miri pressed her legs together as her mind cycled through dirty thoughts.

Of her licking those smooth abs.

Nestling in between those thick thighs.

Rafa taking her on that giant stone. Making love to her.

“Your turn,” he said, moving away from the rock and jerking her back to real life.

They switched places again and Miri mimicked the same “badass” pose that Rafa had just demonstrated.

“No, that’s the way I would do it. Show me that Dr. Miriam Jacobs is a badass.”

Miri thought to herself for a moment. Dr. Miriam Jacobs is a badass , she repeated over and over in her head. WWCMD?

She climbed on top of the slab and took a wide-leg stance, folded her arms, and tilted her chin up ever so slightly.

“Yes! Yes! Hold that pose,” he said, rushing to grab his camera and taking a few snaps. “Now try something else.”

She considered her options, then crouched down with one knee touching the stone top and one bent up, resting her forearm on the bent leg. “Perfect,” he said, taking another snap. “Try another.”

She scanned the area, then hopped down from the table and walked around to the backside. She bent over the table, placed her palms on the surface like a boss in a boardroom, and stared straight on at Rafa.

“Fucking incredible. You’re a natural.” Snap! Snap!

“Oh yeah? Second career in modeling?” she joked. “So long as no one ever sees my test shots, that is.”

“The test shots were fine. You were just trying too hard.”

“You think? Well, how about this?” she asked, climbing again onto the stone table and slowly crawling across it toward Rafa. Time to see if she could master sexy after Rafa’s instruction.

Snap!

“Relax your face a little. You almost look angry.”

“How about this?” Miri laid on the boulder, curling her legs to the side yet arching her back, and tilted her head to look back at Rafa with sweet, innocent eyes.

“Here, wait,” he said, climbing atop the stone and standing straight above her. He pointed the camera down at her face as he hovered. Miri turned her head and stared into the camera, searching through the lens for Rafa. Wanting him. Wanting him to want her.

Miri bit her lip as she lowered her eyelids yet never allowed her eyes to leave the camera.

Snap!

He lowered himself to her level, kneeling in front of her. “Let’s try a few more natural photos,” he said, his voice now soft and quiet. “Here, sit up.”

Taking his hand, she raised herself up and sat in front of him. “Am I still not getting sexy right?”

He gave a slight chuckle, then snapped another photo, this time without her posed. “No, Pringles. That’s not it.”

She looked straight into the lens as if staring through the glass was looking through a window to his soul. “Then what is it?”

“These pictures…they’re for me.” Snap!

Miri lifted her hand and placed it on his arm. He took the camera away from his face, lowering it in front of his chest and watching her. Waiting for her to speak.

“Rafa?” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“What’s going to happen after this?” Her chest heaved, scared to put herself out there. “After we leave here, I mean. Between me and you. Will I ever see you again?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“We’re not just caught up in the moment again, are we?”

He pulled her closer so their bodies were flush against each other. His dark brown eyes searched her own as his thumb swept over her lips, pulling her bottom lip open and seemingly sucking all the air from her body.

“Pringles, I was never caught up in the moment,” he said. “You’ve had me captivated from the second you opened your mouth and fanned out your goods.” He winked.

“Oh yeah? Well,” she said, waving her hands in display, “how about now?”

Rafa dove toward her mouth, taking her body fully in his hands. Their kiss was raw. Full of emotions begging to be let go. Their tongues tangled together, continuing what they’d started the night before.

She could sink into his warmth. Let his tenderness envelop her. Lie in his arms until the sun came up, talking and laughing all night as she fell deeper into her infatuation.

Miri’s hand trailed down his pants, making its way to his dick, his erection threatening to burst through his cargos. She applied pressure as she massaged him from the outside of his pants. Tight and firm, with a combination of long, slow strokes and gentle squeezes. All while she rubbed her own crotch against his thigh.

“Fuck, Miri…” he moaned, wetting his lips as he kept his eyes closed and tilted his head back.

She twisted the button on his pants, unzipped the fly, and slid her hand beneath the waistband of his boxers. Squeezing his erection. Pumping it in her grasp. She then guided his hand, palm against her stomach, and slowly he let his hand skim against her skin, down to the wetness between her legs. She moaned as he massaged her slippery clit with his fingers. The pressure increasing in her core as both of their hands moved faster.

He leaned in to kiss her. Miri tilted her head up to him as she closed the gap between them, when something caught her eye behind him.

“Wait! What’s that?” she asked, swiftly moving from his grasp and letting his lips hang in midair. He swallowed his groan as she climbed off the stone table toward the rock wall surrounding them. There was something notched into the wall. Something she hadn’t seen all those days out in the field.

“What is it?” he asked, eventually sidling up next to her with his hands in his pockets.

He let his gaze follow hers, looking up and down at the rock face. He couldn’t see it.

But Miri saw something. She carefully brushed away the dirt from the stone in front of her at chest level near the end of the wall, uncovering a circular indentation in the stone with an unusual pattern of half-inch-long pieces of stone sticking out. The pattern was too perfect. Too rigid. This wasn’t the work of nature.

This was the work of humans.

“Do you see this?” she asked. Her fingers glided delicately over the indentations. Feeling the pattern. Studying the angles. “I need my bag!” She jumped up and ran to the other side of the table for her things before rushing back.

She kneeled on the ground, then pulled out an excavation brush and the medallion, still wrapped in fabric. Carefully, she brushed out the dirt from the marking in the wall, taking her time as Rafa stood behind her watching. After every couple of swipes, she blew onto the spot to get rid of any loose dirt. Once it was free of remaining grime and without taking her eyes off the wall, she unwrapped the cloth, revealing the medallion.

“Where did you get that?” Rafa asked, unable to take his eyes off the medallion.

“Corrie sent it to me.”

“When? How?”

But Miri didn’t answer, too fixated on the wall. She lifted the medallion, holding it near the spot she’d excavated in the stone. Holding the piece as if it was the holy grail, Miri took a few steps forward then cautiously placed the medallion into the stone, turning the pendant until it fit into the rock like the perfect piece of a puzzle.

“Oh. My. God,” Miri said, standing frozen in front of the rock. “You know what this means, don’t you?” she asked, pointing at the medallion.

He stared at the medallion stuck in the rock. With the pattern on the back and how it fit into the rock, the carvings of the temple and moon weren’t facing upward. Instead, they were turned to the right.

“No, I don’t know what this means,” he said, lifting his hand to rub the back of his head.

“It means this is the mesa de pedra. This proves we were right all along!”

Her smile beamed.

“How did we not see this before?” Rafa asked.

“I guess we were so focused on what was on the ground that we didn’t think about what might be up higher.”

“So now what?” he asked, looking around as if waiting for something to happen.

It wasn’t like placing the medallion into the rock opened up some secret passageway or illuminated a path. It fit in place, but nothing else made sense.

Miri’s wide smile fell. “I…don’t know exactly.” She turned back to the wall and stared at the necklace with one hand on her hip and the other massaging her chin. “I need to think.”

They stood there for what seemed like hours, pacing, inspecting the medallion, trying to insert it in another orientation, attempting to turn it, but only one positioning worked. They hypothesized about the missing piece of the medallion and whether it may have included an inscription or some other clue. But seeing as they didn’t have that piece, it didn’t really matter.

As she stared at it over and over, however, the carving came into focus in her mind.

It wasn’t a temple with a moon. It was an arrow.

“I think I’ve got it!” she called out. Without hesitation, she grabbed the necklace and took off jogging into the jungle.

“Pringles! Wait!” he called out, scurrying to pack up his things and follow her.

But she didn’t wait. She ran. Ran as fast as she could, eager to determine whether she was right. She pulled out a compass, following it in the exact direction pointing from the stone table, climbing and ducking, weaving and swinging. With a boat coming to get them in the morning, they had no time to waste.

She turned to check on where Rafa was behind her. Thankfully, he’d caught up and was only a few feet back. “Come on!” she said, smiling at him.

She reached out for his hand, giddy and high on life, when a voice called out to them in the distance, stopping them in their tracks.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” the voice said, startling Miri and Rafa.

They spun in all directions to find the source of the voice, when a figure emerged from behind the trees.

Hunter.

Her heart went haywire, like a pinball about to break a record.

“I was wondering when we’d see each other again,” Hunter said, ambling toward them like he was entering a saloon.

“Stay the fuck back,” Rafa said, putting himself in front of Miri.

“You owe me a boat, and one of these,” Hunter said, pointing toward his crotch at a knife poking out from the waistband of his pants.

“Sorry, Hunter, we’re fresh out of dicks,” Miri said from behind the safety of Rafa’s frame.

Hunter laughed. “Feisty. Now I know what you see in her. Hey, boss,” he called out over his shoulder, “we’ve got visitors.”

Hunter turned back to face Miri and Rafa, tossing them a smarmy smile that sickened Miri to her core. “By boss , I assume you’re referring to Pierre Vautour?” she asked.

“Bin-go,” he said, pointing the knife at her for emphasis on the go . “He was really hoping you would have gotten the message by now and given up on your quest, but guess we weren’t persuasive enough when we last saw you.”

“Yeah, that’s because we kicked your asses,” Miri said.

Rafa turned slightly and whispered, “You probably shouldn’t piss him off.”

“Whatever. If I’m going down, I’m at least going down not having taken his shit,” she said quietly, mustering a smile with every ounce of courage left in her body.

“Real-life badass, Pringles,” he said, smiling back and planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

“How sweet,” another voice called out. “Looks like I’m not the only one to have found love out in the Amazon.”

Miri turned her head toward the new voice. This one with a French accent and coming from a middle-aged man who Miri could only assume was Vautour, staring at them with his gang of henchmen behind him.

He wasn’t at all the beady-eyed Indiana Jones villain she’d imagined. He was quite handsome if she was being honest. The term silver fox finally clicked for her. Totally the type of man she’d refer to as a hunk.

But there was something else. Something familiar about him. Maybe she had seen him before, though she couldn’t picture where. Miri wasn’t exactly hanging out in illegal market trading forums or on the dark web.

She looked over at Rafa to see his reaction. To see if he was also surprised that this was the man that they’d feared over the last several weeks. The look on Rafa’s face, however, was quite different than hers. All the color had drained from his face. And his breathing had picked up.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

She opened her mouth to ask if he was okay, but Rafa’s mouth opened first as he stared directly at the man.

“Dad?”