Dangerous Desires (7 page)

“The perfect hiding place.” Drake nodded, his eyes narrowed in thought, as he studied the towering cliffs.

“Or the perfect ambush,” Jason said, his gaze suspicious. Madeline wasn’t quite sure what to make of Jason. More caustic than the others, he’d been located off site during the rescue, handling logistics and communications. “What’s to stop her from leading us right into a trap?”

“Nothing,” Tyler said, her smile at odds with her words, “except maybe the fact that she’s the reason half the men at di Silva’s compound are dead. Seems like a weird way to set up an ambush.”

“Still, I think Jason has a point,” Avery said, waving off Madeline’s protest. “While I don’t think that Madeline is setting us up, I wouldn’t put it past di Silva. So bearing that in mind, we need to proceed with caution.”

Madeline hadn’t considered the idea that she was being played. She knew it couldn’t be di Silva. The man wasn’t astute enough to orchestrate something like that. But Ortiz was another matter. He knew she’d tried to get help. Maybe he’d lied when he’d said killing Richardson was the end. Maybe he’d had other plans.

“You think it’s possible, don’t you?” Nash asked.

Madeline blew out a breath. “I suppose. They knew about my meeting with Richardson. That’s why I was sequestered at Casa de Orquídea. But I thought that was the end of it. Still, anything is possible.” She stopped, knowing she had to be careful about how much she revealed. These people believed she was di Silva’s
mistress. And she needed for them to keep thinking that. It was the only way she’d avoid prison. If they knew about all the things she’d actually done…

“There’s no way di Silva could have known that we were coming,” Avery said. “The mission was secured. Clearance strictly limited. So, for the moment, at least, I think we’ve still got the element of surprise. You said there were usually two guards?”

“As far as I know.” She nodded, ignoring her tumbling thoughts. “I’ve only actually been here twice. But I tried to make note of as much as possible. There should be one man at the opening and another near the temple. It’s a kind of grotto, actually, built back into the cliffs. The stream bisects the clearing, then drops off the far edge to form a waterfall. There’s a pool below it. It’s quite beautiful, really.”

“Pity we aren’t here to sightsee,” Nash observed as he lifted his field glasses.

“Yeah, well, you can’t have everything.” Avery shrugged with a grin. “Jason, I want you to stay here until you verify we’ve made it safely to di Silva’s cache. Then you can proceed to the rendezvous point and handle logistics from there. Hopefully we won’t need emergency evac, but after our scuffle at di Silva’s compound I want to be sure we’re ready for anything.”

“Not a problem.” Jason nodded, rotating dials on his handheld com device. “Although I’m having a little difficulty raising Hannah. I think maybe it’s this damn canopy.” He nodded at the thick trees towering overhead. “As soon as you’re safely inside, I’ll make my way to somewhere a little clearer and see if I can reach her. She ought to be able to get a satellite feed of the area.”

“Just keep me informed,” Avery said. “Tyler, you ready?”

“Everything I need is in here.” She patted the large duffel she had thrown across her shoulder.

“Good.” Avery checked his weapon and then turned to the team. “Drake, I want you and Nash to take the lead. Our first priority is to find and immobilize the guards. Tyler and I will follow, with Madeline.”

“Me?” Madeline asked. “Can’t I just stay here with Jason?”

“He’s too damn busy to baby-sit,” Drake said, irritation flashing. “Just follow orders, keep quiet, and everything will be fine.”

“Not a problem,” she snapped, surprised at how easily he managed to push her buttons.

Behind her Avery cleared his throat. “If everyone’s ready? We move on my signal.”

And with that, they were off. Nash and Drake on point, Tyler flanking Madeline, and Avery bringing up the rear. As they neared the opening in the rocks, Drake fanned to the left and Nash moved to the right, the two of them keeping low as they circled cautiously toward the gorge.

About fifteen feet from the entrance to the ruins, Drake stopped and held up his hand.

Avery touched his head, and Madeline nodded, reaching up to turn on the communication device they’d given her.

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Drake said, his voice absurdly intimate as it resonated against her ear.

“Me either,” Nash responded. “But that doesn’t mean there’s no one there. It’s hard to see anything beyond the rocks.” Madeline watched as they inched forward, guns
at the ready, Nash crossing to the far side of the gorge as they passed between the rocky sentries.

The silence stretched out as they waited, and then her earpiece sprang to life. “We’re clear,” Drake said.

Madeline followed Avery and Tyler as they made their way through the gorge and into the ruins. Inside, the ground leveled out into a circular clearing paved with small beveled-edge stones. The stream cut through the middle, widening into a peaceful series of concentric ponds that formed channels leading to a central pool. The edges were adorned with carvings, forgotten images of a vanished culture.

To the left on the far side of the clearing statues stood silently along the edge of the enclosure, their faces worn and ravaged with time. On the right of the stream, jagged steps rose from the jungle floor to a platform leading to what must have once been a temple or tomb. Parts of the stone structure had collapsed, and there were vegetation-filled gaps in the masonry, but the doorway stood solid, its dark mouth gaping open. The sound of the waterfall punctuated the calls of the birds and somewhere in the distance the chittering of monkeys.

“Looks like we’re definitely alone,” Tyler said, as she and Madeline joined Drake in the main courtyard. Nash and Avery had moved to the far side of the stream, surveying the area for any sign of activity.

“I don’t like it.” Drake shook his head, his eyes narrowed as he turned to Madeline. “I thought you said there were supposed to be guards?”

“There were.” She nodded, trying not to squirm under the heat of his gaze. “At least when I was here before.”

“Maybe di Silva called them back to the compound,”
Nash said, as he and Avery joined them on the terraced paving. “There’s no sign of anyone.”

“It gives me the creeps,” Tyler said, her gaze shooting around the clearing, still scanning for danger.

Drake moved away from them, kneeling beside the pool to examine one of the carvings. Without thinking, Madeline followed him. “Any idea what they are?” she asked.

“Petroglyphs,” he answered, without looking up, his fingers tracing the curve of a spiral and then the scarlet-edged line of what appeared to be a crested bird. “Sacred ones, if I had to guess. Created by
jeques
or priests.” He brushed off his hands and pushed to his feet, his gaze moving across the ruins. “This was definitely a ceremonial place.”

“You seem to know a lot about it,” she said.

“There actually isn’t a lot known about the ancient peoples who inhabited this part of Colombia. But I know enough to recognize what we’re seeing here.”

“He knows a lot more than he’s letting on,” Tyler said, coming to join them. “When he’s not out to save the world, Drake’s a rather noted archaeologist.”

“Tyler, as usual, exaggerates,” he said.

“So what’s with the stone over there?” Tyler asked, as Madeline tried to place this newest information in context with her earlier impressions of Drake Flynn.

Drake moved his gaze to a tilting table of rock near the steps leading to the temple. “Most likely a sacrificial altar of some kind.”

“Maybe it’s just as well we don’t know the details.” Nash frowned as he joined them. “Sounds like a bloodthirsty lot.”

“And a long dead one,” Avery said, bringing the
conversation back to the task at hand. “What’s more important now is the fact that this place is deserted.” His eyes narrowed. “Maybe I was right and di Silva’s been playing us and the weapons have been moved.”

“No,” Madeline insisted. “They’re here. I’d know if they’d been moved.”

“For a mistress, you seem to have been privy to some pretty important information,” Drake commented, his gaze dismissive.

“I told you I made it my business to keep my ear to the ground,” she spat out, anger threatening her composure. Forcing herself to breathe, she turned to Avery. “The weapons are here. I swear it.”

“Well, the only way to be certain,” Nash said, cutting through the building tension, “is to check it out.”

With a grunt and a nod, Drake agreed, moving up the steps. Madeline clenched her fists and then followed. Tyler and Nash followed behind her as they made their way to the top, Avery staying behind to watch the clearing. Inside the temple, they were faced with more petroglyphs and a crumbling interior. Fallen stones and broken statuary littered the floor.

“Avery was right.” Tyler frowned as she shone her flashlight around the room. “There’s nothing here.”

“There’s a hell of a lot here,” Drake whispered, lost in his reverie again as he reached down to retrieve a small earthenware pot with tripod legs. “Just not the weapons.”

“There’s a doorway leading to another room behind there,” Madeline said, aiming her flashlight at a half-tumbled-down wall. “The stash is inside.”

She watched as Drake reluctantly set the pot down and then the two of them followed Tyler and Nash around
the fallen wall. In front of them a doorway opened into a shadow-filled room, the carved lintel seeming ornate after the simplicity of the anteroom.

“Maybe you should go first,” Tyler whispered to Drake, her voice tinged with reverence. “I feel like we’re going somewhere we shouldn’t.”

“Whatever magic this place held, it’s long gone,” Drake said, sweeping across the room with his flashlight. Crates were stacked five deep, reaching almost to the ceiling, each stamped with the language of its original owner—Russian, English, Chinese.

Tyler pried open one of the closest crates, revealing a stack of machine guns nestled against packing material. A second crate revealed explosives—grenades and other incendiary devices—this one from the ex–Soviet Union.

“Jesus,” Nash whispered, pulling out a digital camera, “there’s enough here to fight a fucking war.”

“I had no idea,” Madeline breathed. “I’ve never actually been in here.”

“Then how the hell did you know this was here?” Drake asked.

“I saw the boxes being carried in.” She shrugged. “I guess they didn’t think I knew what was inside.” A blatant lie. Without the information she’d stolen, Ortiz wouldn’t have been able to acquire half of the munitions here.

Drake eyed her for a moment, his gaze speculative, but before he could question her, Avery’s voice crackled in her ear.

“Just checking in. You guys all right?”

“Yeah.” Drake nodded, turning away from her to talk with his boss. “How about you? Any sign of intruders?”

“It’s still quiet,” Avery replied, “but I’d feel a hell of
a lot better if we could just be done with this thing. You find the weapons?”

“They’re here,” Drake answered. “Just like she said. One-stop shopping for terrorists. My guess is that di Silva’s been stockpiling for months. They’re documenting it now.”

“And, Tyler, you’ll be able to take it out?” Avery asked.

“Should be able to. But it’s going to be a hell of a blast. Which means it won’t be much of a secret. We’ll have to be ready to move when it goes.”

“You’re going to blow it all up?” Madeline asked with a frown. She’d known they were going to destroy the weapons, but she hadn’t realized that meant the ruins as well. Her heart twisted.

“We don’t have a choice.” Drake’s somber gaze met hers. “There’s no time to move them. And we can’t risk their being sold.”

She nodded. “I just think it’s sad. I mean, all of this—it’s survived for so long…” she trailed off, not sure what else to say.

“Sometimes,” he said, “we have to make sacrifices for the greater good.” The words were clipped but she could hear the note of pain in his voice. Every action had a price. And this one was costing Drake Flynn.

“Hey, Madeline,” Tyler called, frowning down at the duffel holding her equipment, “would you mind giving me some more light over here?”

“Sure.” Grateful for the distraction, Madeline nodded as she grabbed a flashlight and headed over to Tyler.

“Avery?” Drake called into his mic. “You still there?”

“Roger that.”

“Have you heard anything from Jason?”

“Yes,” Avery replied, his voice thready in Madeline’s ear. “He’s in place. But he still hasn’t been able to contact Hannah. Between the mountains and the trees there’s just too much interference. Hopefully he’ll be able to rig something. But in the meantime, we’re on our own.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem as long as it stays quiet,” Nash said as he snapped another photo.

Madeline lifted the flashlight and held it over Tyler’s shoulder, illuminating the duffel’s contents. Tyler sorted through her equipment, sighing as she pulled out several of the components.

“Is something wrong?” Drake asked, moving over to join them.

“Yeah,” Tyler sighed, lifting her gaze to meet his. “Someone’s had a go at my bag. Everything’s been tampered with. The equipment’s totally fucked. There’s no way this stuff is going to blow anything.”

H
ow the hell could the explosives have been compromised?” Avery asked, as Drake joined them at the mouth of the clearing. Madeline had been uneasy ever since they’d left the airfield, but now suddenly the weight of what she was doing hit her full force.

If Ortiz caught up with her, she was a dead woman.

She glanced around the clearing, sizing up the opportunities for escape. If things went well, she’d let them get her out of the country, and then make her move. But if things went south—and it was beginning to look as if that was going to be the case—the only choice she had was to make her escape on her own.

She owed these people nothing.

“I’ve got no idea. Tyler says she checked everything before we left. So your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, the point is that all of it’s trashed,” Drake was saying. “And if Jason can’t get through to Hannah, it’s going to be the blind leading the blind as far as knowing if di Silva is in the area.”