“That we do, my friend. Come join us in my quarters,” Ford said, his voice bellowing with pride and excitement.
“Quarters? Well, this must be good if we’ve upgraded from tents to quarters,” Ethan said, walking toward them.
They neared Ford’s tent, and Jon and Memo started to walk away, but Ford stopped them. “Where are you going? We need a celebratory drink,” he told them.
Jon and Memo perked up as if they were not only surprised . . . but . . . happy. Ford wasn’t dismissing them like a couple of peon workers. They were one of the team. Adventurers. Explorers. Friends.
They all ditched their bags on the ground and took a load off on the platform outside Ford’s tent while Ford went inside to grab the bottle. “Can someone grab some cups?” he called out.
Corrie ran to the mess tent and back, returning just in time to witness Ford emerging from his tent mid–shirt change. They were both filthy and hadn’t showered, yet Corrie would still drag her tongue across his abs right now if she had the opportunity. Why was the Lord tempting her this way? Dangling Ford and all his forbidden fruits in front of her.
Now that was an adventure novel that Corrie was in for: Ford and the Search for His Forbidden Fruits. No, no. Better yet: Badass AF Mejía and Her Search for Ford’s Forbidden Fruits. Had a nice ring to it. As far as Choose Your Own Adventures went, Corrie knew exactly which direction she’d be taking. Turn to page 42 if Dr. Mejía wants to research and look at boring, dusty maps. Or turn to page 69 if Dr. Mejía wants to explore Dr. Matthews.
“Earth to Corrie,” Ethan called out, snapping her out of her novel planning.
Her gaze shot to Ford’s. He was watching her as he buttoned the final button of his shirt. Stealing his abs from her view. But the glint in his eye told her, I saw you watching me.
And Corrie didn’t care. She wanted him to see. Wanted him to get the hint. Because she couldn’t go on like this forever. Couldn’t go on with this itch nagging at her.
She set the glasses down, and Ford poured a shot of rye into each glass before they all took one. “To all of us and the true first day in the quest for Chimalli,” Ford said, raising his glass.
Their glasses clinked and they tossed back the brown liquid before Ford recapped the trip for Ethan. He went over all the important details, and the ones he missed, Jon, Memo, and Corrie were quick to fill in. Such as the rapids. And the snake. And Jon and Memo not so subtly brought up the sleeping situation, garnering an interested look from Ethan.
Ethan and the rest of the crew had finished at the old site, so they plotted their plan for the rest of the week: head out in the morning with all the equipment and set up, spend the remainder of the day taking photos and mapping the grid of the site, do some preliminary digging on Friday, rest over the weekend, then hit the ground running the following week by starting to uncover the structure in the bowl with one team while another team took to the cave. Ford’s schedule was aggressive but doable. In order to spend more time at the dig site, he contemplated adding more tents to their supply drop the following week so they could camp at the site during the week rather than do the two-plus-hour hike each day. But it would have required a whole new plan as far as food and other supplies were concerned, only eating further into their budget.
Ford planned to make some announcements and unveil his plan to the entire group after dinner, which, judging by the delicious aroma wafting from the mess tent, looked to be in less than an hour. So he set everyone on their way to clean up and take much-needed showers before the evening’s events.
The interns all clamored for information during dinner, but Ford kept telling them to be patient. Corrie could see his excitement to reveal the news. After dinner, he got up in front of the group and gave the update, which was met with cheers from the group and a celebratory hug from Lance. Once the excitement settled down, Ford went over the plan for the next few days. Ethan took the stage next, discussing specific techniques for uncovering the structure. When he mentioned watching for snakes, Ford glanced over at Corrie, heating her core. But the longer Ethan talked, the more Corrie realized she wouldn’t ever be alone with Chimalli’s home again. There would be more than a dozen of them swarmed over the structure by tomorrow morning. Picking at it. Touching it. Ruining it. She would no longer be the only person to have touched it in hundreds of years.
It would no longer be hers.
One more time. She needed to be there alone one more time, feeling Chimalli in her soul.
Drawing as little attention as she could, Corrie crept away from the mess tent, casually strolling over toward the bathrooms as if that were all she was doing. Eventually they’d disperse, and no one would even realize she’d been gone for a while. And by the time she got back, they’d all be asleep.
After a quick stop at her tent for a flashlight, she set out into the forest, careful not to shine the light until she could no longer hear or see the camp. Actions like this were typically forbidden. Going to a site alone could lead to injuries with no one to help or it could lead to damage to the site. Going alone was also a great cover for people with more nefarious intentions, such as theft.
Corrie marched through the forest with a knife drawn at her waist. Sure, walking an hour each way through a jungle in the pitch black with nothing but a flashlight and a knife was dangerous, but Corrie didn’t shy away from danger.
And, frankly, she could die a happy woman now that she’d found Chimalli. Although she’d much prefer not to.
Snap!
Corrie froze and turned off her light. Someone . . . something was there.
Uh-oh . . . maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Ocelot? Puma? Please, not an actual jaguar. It was one thing to run from a jaguarundi during the day. Another entirely to run from a jaguar at night. She hid behind a tree, listening to the shuffling of leaves and branches coming her direction. Closer. Closer. She closed her eyes, trying to meditate and slow her breathing.
“Corrie?”
Ford?
Her eyes shot open and she moved out from behind the tree, right into the beam of Ford’s flashlight. She shielded her face from the light and flashed her own at him.
“Corrie, what the hell are you doing out here?”
The truth wasn’t an option. The truth could get her taken off this job.
“I . . . I needed some fresh air.”
Believable. Real believable.
“Fresh air? Corrie, please tell me you weren’t doing what I think you were doing?” When she didn’t respond, he sighed. “You can’t go out there. Not alone and definitely not in the middle of the night. Do you know how dangerous this is?”
She opened her mouth to deny his accusation, but what could she really say? She was obsessed with Chimalli. There really was only one possible explanation for her being out here.
“I wanted to see it once more before the site is crawling with people.” Her voice pleaded. Ford could understand, right?
“I can’t let you do that. You know the rules.”
“I know, but just the one time. I promise, I won’t mess with anything—”
“Just being there could potentially mess with things. Plus there are snakes and who knows what other creatures out there, which will only be harder to see and protect yourself from in the dark.”