Master of the Game (Rush Series Book 3) (10 page)

“What a
day,” Roman said with a lopsided grin.

“That
it is.”

“I’m
looking forward to see how Devon adjusts to camp life,” Roman said with a
laugh.

In a
casual tone, Alex said, “Oh, I didn’t realize this was her first dig as well.”

“Yeah,
she’s not much of an outdoors type of girl. Let’s hope no snakes invite
themselves into our tent. But I’m sure you’ll hear about it if it happens,”
Roman replied with another laugh.

“Isn’t
this a strange profession for her to be in if she doesn’t like the outdoors?”

“Oh, she’s
not with the team, she’s only here with me,” Roman replied.

Alex
wondered how she’d come to be added on to the trip. It must have been last
minute as she wasn’t in the advanced materials supplied by Jacob Roundtree. A
thought stopped him cold. Could the arms dealer be a woman? “How long have you
been together?” he finally asked the other man.

Alex
watched a strange look pass over Roman’s features. “Oh… well, it seems like
forever,” he replied a little stiltedly.

Something
was indeed off with these two. Alex couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it
had all his senses on alert.

“Do you
know any of the others in the group?” Alex asked in a way to change the
subject.

“A couple.
Tag recruited me right out of
college. I was a student of Professor Childers and had classes with his intern,
Sara.
How about you?”

“I’m
not with the dig, per se. I’m here with Lennox Oil Refinery. I was sent to take
some soil samples and see about possible drilling in the jungle,” Alex said,
giving him the cover story.

Roman
nodded, but his eyebrows drew together. “No offense, but I’m surprised Tag
would allow you on his dig. I’ve heard he’s a big activist against drilling
close to historical sites.”

Alex
laughed. “Oh, he definitely wasn’t thrilled. But when enough money greases palms,
things happen.”

Roman
grinned. “That’s how it is with most things.” After a few minutes of silence,
he asked, “So, are you married?”

“Nope,
never married,” Alex said, sticking to his cover story. “Why’d you decide to go
to college in the States?”

“I have
dual citizenship. And the US has a better education system than Mexico… at
least in this field.”

“How’d
you get interested in Archeology?” Alex asked him.

“My
grandfather used to bring me to this very site when I was a kid. He’d lived on
an Indian reservation when he was very young and taught me to respect the old
ways.”

Alex
studied Roman Alcazar closely. Could this be his man? His background made him a
good candidate, but Alex wasn’t getting the right vibe from him. But who could
really tell about a person?

They
continued to chit chat back and forth and Alex found he liked the man, which
made him feel even worse. Anger at Devon grew and burned when he thought about
it, so he decided not to think about it. He decided to put what happened behind
him. He had more important things to do than worry about a female.

The
next morning, the camp was stirring at the break of dawn. Alex waited patiently
by, helping retrieve water, stoking the fire, doing whatever tasks were
necessary in order to get the group out and on their way. He waited a half-hour
after they left to begin setting up his security cameras. He wanted to monitor
his equipment and the compound so in the event any unknowns entered, he’d have
it on film… or disk as was the case.

Once
he’d secured the compound, Alex began going through each tent, seeking anything
that would point him in a direction as to who would have information about the
missiles. As he’d expected, he found nothing useful. It wasn’t like he expected
to find a lighted neon sign pointing him to the person. But criminals always
make mistakes. Not finding anything useful in the campsite, he set off with a
pack strapped to his back and a metal detector tucked under his arm. He scoured
the area surrounding the perimeter of the dig site. The
intel
had said the missiles were being hidden close
to the ancient site. His initial viewing didn’t flag anything out of the
ordinary.

Devon
was exhausted. Her inability to sleep, added to the stress of her situation,
was beginning to take its toll on her. Her nerves were stretched to their
breaking point. She didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to endure having
to live on the edge day in and day out. At every turn, she expected to see the
police or the
Federallies
show up and slap her into
handcuffs. Having to see the derision on Ben’s face wasn’t helping. She’d made
a point of staying out of his way and not being anywhere close to him, but it
was hard when all she wanted to do was have him take command of her body once
again… help her forget if only for a moment.

They’d
been in the camp for two days… two stress-filled days. Days where Devon had
frantically tried to reach her mother, but had failed each time. She’d gone to
the dig-site everyday with Roman and tried to place her mind on anything but
the circumstances of her life, but the weight of her situation weighed heavily
upon her. She got up early, helped cook breakfast, gathered water for coffee,
and then helped in the humid jungle in whatever capacity she could. She got
along fine with everyone, but tried to keep to their fringes. She couldn’t
afford to get involved with these people.

She was
glad Ben didn’t join them but always went off doing his own thing. She was only
forced to deal with him in the evening. Even then, he kept himself well away
from her. He treated her as if she had leprosy or something… she guessed he
wasn’t far wrong. She didn’t blame him for his attitude with her, she deserved
it… was almost happy to feel the burn of shame she felt every time she saw him.
He seemed to make a point of sitting with a different member of the team every
evening. She watched as he seamlessly integrated himself into the group so much
so that before they were even aware of it, they were each telling him their
life’s story.

It was
day three in the jungle… day three of the seven since she’d run from the
trouble in her life. If she’d thought she was tired before, it was nothing
compared to now. Sleep had remained elusive… much like her appetite. She felt
weak, rundown, and her emotions frayed.

She’d
gone with the team to the dig and while she found the whole procedure of
unearthing something ancient fascinating, the work was tedious. As she wasn’t
trained, she did what she could to help by carrying away the buckets of dirt
once it had been carefully and methodically examined. By the end of the day she
was tired and dirty. When the day finally drew to a close and they returned to
camp, she gathered soap, shampoo, a towel, and a change of clothes before
heading off to a small waterfall they’d spotted close to the dig site.

“Wait
until after we eat and I’ll go with you,” Roman told her.

“No,
you eat. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry… unless I’m not back in an hour,” she added
with a faint grin.

“I
don’t know…,” he said, hesitantly.

“I… need
some alone time,” she replied.

“Well,
if you’re sure.”

“I am.
Save me a plate,” she said, before stealing away unobtrusively.

The
feel of the cool water pounding down over her aching shoulders did wonders for
the pent up tension stored there. She allowed the water to rain down over her
head and body to rinse away the dirt and grime. Methodically, she washed her
hair and scrubbed her skin until she finally felt clean.

She
remained under the spray of water for a long while. The thunderous noise the
waterfall made as it crashed into the pond and the rocks beneath it, made her
feel isolated and insulated in a way. She concentrated only on the sound of the
falling water and it soothed her.

She
didn’t know how long she’d been in the water, but long enough that her skin was
beginning to prune. With a deep sigh, she pulled herself away from the falls
and swam to the bank where her towel and clothes were. As she rose from the
water, black-spots swam in front of her eyes momentarily. She shook them away.
She really needed to eat something. She’d just emerged from the water and had
bent to pick up her towel, when a male voice behind her had her scrambling to
wrap her towel around her nakedness.

“Well,
this is a pleasant surprise,” Professor Nate Childers said with a near leering
grin. “I thought I was the only one who wanted a shower more than food.”

“How
long have you been standing there?” she demanded.

“Long
enough to enjoy the show,” he replied.

“If
you’ll just turn around, I’ll dress and leave you to it,” Devon replied
tersely.

The
Professor’s blue eyes raked over her near nakedness. “I don’t know… I could
wash your back and you could wash mine,” he said suggestively.

“I’m
clean enough, thanks,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Come
now. You knew I was here the entire time. I think you enjoyed giving me the
show,” he said as he moved closer to her, close enough to run a finger down her
arm. A small fission of fear began to curl its way up her spine. “You’d be
mistaken,” she said, as she bent to scoop up her clothes.

Because
of where she was positioned, she had to slip by him in order to step from the
flat boulder on which she stood onto the ground beyond. As she passed, he
reached out a hand and tugged on the edge of the towel causing it to fall and
her to become unbalanced. Instinctively, she reached out her hands to grab at
him to right herself, the clothes she’d clutched in her hand went flying into
the air to fall scattered on the ground. He caught her wrist with his firm
grasp and yanked her into his body.

The
instant she regained her footing, she tried to twist her wrist from his grip,
but he just tightened his hold. “You know what we call girls like you in the
states? We’d call you a tease. I don’t appreciate that in a woman. I think you
like it when a man takes charge.”

 
With a hard twist, the Professor shoved her
arm behind her back, bringing her naked body directly up against his. She
lifted her other hand up and attempted to slap him, but he grabbed that hand
just as effortlessly. Devon was surprised at the strength the man possessed.

When
she’d been a young girl, her father had attempted to teach her a few
self-defense methods. She wished now she’d paid more attention. As panic began
to take over, she thought of the only thing she remembered from her short
self-defense lessons and jacked up a knee and caught him squarely in the groin.
Before doubling over in pain, he release one of her hands and landed a hard
blow to her jaw. His fist skidded across her face to her nose. Blood
immediately began to pour down her face. She howled in pain as he cursed a blue
streak.

She
stopped long enough to scoop up her clothes before taking off barefooted into
the jungle. She ran as tears of fear and frustration mingled with the blood
flowing from her nose. With her chest heaving, she stopped long enough to put
her clothes on with hands that trembled. Anger burned in her belly and her only
thought was getting back to camp and… what? What was she going to do? Tell
Roman? What would that accomplish? He’d already stepped out on a limb for her
by talking Tag into letting her come along when she brought nothing to the
group. Also, Professor Childers was the reason Roman had been asked to join the
expedition.

She
slowed her steps and stifled her sobs. No, she needed to deal with this on her
own. From now on, she’d just have to be more careful and not go off anywhere by
herself. She’d gotten almost halfway back to the camp, being careful to keep an
ear open for the Professor, when she encountered the only person who could make
her life even more unbearable. She slowed her steps to come to a complete stop
when she saw that person coming in her direction… Ben Allred.

She saw
his jaw clench when he saw her and he hesitated before giving a small shake of
his head and continuing forward. He slowed when he reached her. He opened his
mouth to say something when he stopped suddenly and took in her face.

“What
happened to you?” he asked.

She
swallowed. “Nothing… I… I tripped while I was out at the falls,” she stammered,
lifting a hand self-consciously to her face.

His
lips thinned. “Did he hit you?” he snarled.

“Who?” she asked, her heart pounding thinking he somehow
knew what had happened at the falls.
Color infused her face at the
thought he’d seen what Childers had done.

“Your
husband,” he barked.

“Roman?”
she asked incredulously.

“Yes,”
he snapped.

“No, of course not.”

“Then
who was it?” he demanded.

She
blinked rapidly. “I told you…” she began.

“I know
what you said. But falling doesn’t leave marks like that… a fist, on the other hand,
does.”

She
gave a shake of her head and moved to go around him. She flinched when he
snaked
out a hand and grasped her already tender wrist. He
glanced down and saw the marks surrounding her wrist and swore.