Master of the Game (Rush Series Book 3) (11 page)

“Would
it kill you to tell the truth about anything?”

Anger
and frustration swelled over her. She’d already had to deal with one bully, she
didn’t want, nor need, to deal with another. As she had with Childers, she
reared back her hand. Unlike Childers, Ben didn’t try to block the blow. The
hard smack of her hand against his face seemed to echo through the surrounding
area. Shame poured over her like lava over a mountain pass. While Childers
would have deserved the slap, Ben did not.
 
The fire went out of her just as quickly as it’d come. Lifting a hand to
press it against her trembling lips, she moved to go around him.

“You
should have told me you were married,” he said quietly to her back.

She
stumbled at his words. Her breathing became more rapid as pain sliced through
her chest. Without another word, she continued on to the campsite. Without
speaking to anyone, she slipped into her and Roman’s tent and burrowed down
into the sleeping bag covering her cot. Scalding tears burned her eyes. It was
just too much. She couldn’t take one more thing. Her chest burned with the need
to sob and lash out at someone. But as in all things of late, she had no one to
blame but herself. And not wanting to draw attention to herself, she stuffed a
fist against her lips to stifle any noise. She only prayed Roman would stay
away until she could get herself back together. She really didn’t want to have
to explain anything that had happened in the last thirty minutes.

Eventually,
exhaustion won over her warring emotions and she drifted off into a troubled
sleep. She woke to Roman’s hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,
you need to eat,” he said softly.

Without
opening her eyes, she replied, “I’m just too tired.”

Silence
met her words and she was forced to open her eyes. She saw his eyes rested on
the front of her shirt. She glanced down to see the sleeping bag had slipped
down revealing her white shirt stained red with the blood from her nose. “What
happened?” he asked.

She
raised her gaze to his eyes.
“Nothing.
I slipped on
the boulder when I got out of the falls.”

He kept
her gaze for a long moment, disbelief written in his eyes. “Why do I not
believe you, Devon?”

“I
don’t know. It was just an accident. I’m just tired. It’s been a long week.”

“I’m
here if you need me,” he said, before exiting the tent.

She
breathed a huge sigh of relief as she stared up at the shadows playing at the
top of her tent from the trees up above it. She shifted her jaw side to side to
work out some of the stiffness. Her nose felt swollen and both wrists hurt. She
felt battered both inside and out. There were so many missteps she’d made in
the last week. But no matter what, she had no choice but to walk the path laid
out before her now. She only wondered what her life would be like at the end of
that path.

~*M*~

Alex
had watched Devon stumble away from him. He wanted nothing more than to go
after her and force her to… he wasn’t sure what he wanted from her. He’d seen
the marks on her face and her wrists and anger had flooded him. That he’d
reacted that strongly made him even angrier. He didn’t want to care about her
one way or the other. Instead of following her, however, he went to where she’d
surfaced from. He hadn’t found anyone at or near the falls. He’d gone back to
the campsite to find Roman Alcazar sitting in front of the fire-pit calmly
eating the stew that had been prepared by Jose Suarez.

Was it
Roman who’d knocked his wife around?
If not him, then who?
Alex glanced around the pit but everyone seemed accounted for except for the
Professor. Just as he thought that, he saw the Professor step from his tent.
His gaze slipped back to Roman. Could a man slap around his wife then calmly
sit down and eat his dinner? That he cared what happened in the life and times
of Devon Alcazar irritated him. She was not his concern. He had a job to do.
That he’d found no leads frustrated him nearly as much as worrying about that
woman.

Heaving
a deep sigh, he moved toward the pit and tipped his head to the group before
dishing up his own plate. He looked around and found an empty seat next to the
Professor’s intern, the very pretty and young Sara Daniels. She reminded him a
little of Addison. She was petite and surprisingly well-groomed for someone who
spent the bulk of their time with their hands in the dirt. She smiled as he
sat, which he returned.

“So how
was life in the jungle,” he asked her as he forked the surprisingly good stew
into his mouth.

“I
think you’d have a better idea of that more than me,” she replied.

“And
why is that?”

She
lifted her shining honey-colored eyes up to his. “We’re isolated into one spot,
whereas you have the opportunity to wander.”

“I can
assure you once you’ve seen one part of this jungle, you’ve seen what the rest
of it looks like.” Taking a sip of the Mexican beer at his feet, he glanced to
where Roman sat. The other man was studying Sara Daniels intensely. This kind
of irritated him further. His concern should have been with his wife, not on
this woman. He briefly wondered what happened to Devon. She’d not come out
since he’d been back. He wondered if she’d eaten.
Again, not his concern
, he told himself. He shifted his attention
back to the pretty, little intern.

“So,
how long have you worked for the Professor?” he asked.

“
Ummm
, not all that long, really. I interned for a different
Professor for almost a year, but it didn’t work out. When I found out that
Professor Childers was coming on this dig, I volunteered. It’s an awesome
opportunity. I’m lucky to be here.”

He
considered her answer. “Does the Professor come on a lot of digs with Tag?” he
asked.

“I know
he’s been on the last three. I don’t know about before that,” she replied.

“Alcazar
told me you two had met in college?” Alex asked in confirmation.

She
nodded her head as she raised her own beer bottle to her lips. “Yep, we had a
few classes together. I must say, I’m surprised to find him married.”

“Why?”

She
gave Alex a sheepish look. “Well… he was quite the ladies’ man at the
university.”

“Do you
know how long they’ve been married?” he asked.

She
slowly shook her head as she thought.
“
Nooo
.
I think the last class I had with him was about four months ago. I hope he
wasn’t married then, is all I’m saying,” she said with a laugh.

Alex
grinned back at her. “It sounds as if you two had a thing back then.”

“I
wouldn’t exactly call it a thing. But we hooked up sometimes,” she replied with
a knowing grin. “But I do find them odd.”

“Why is
that?”

“They
certainly don’t act like newlyweds,” she replied.

Alex
nodded but didn’t respond, instead he asked, “How do you like working for the
Professor?”

“Professor
Childers is all right, I guess,” she said with a grimace.

“That
doesn’t sound very good.”

“He’s…
a little too touchy-feely for my tastes,” she replied.

“How do
you mean?”

“He
tends to think he’s God’s gift to woman. I’d heard he’d been in trouble at the
university about coming on too aggressively to some of the female students,”
she replied in hushed tones.

Alex
turned his gaze over to where the Professor sat. Could he have been the one to
attack Devon and not Roman? Immediately, Alex chided himself for even thinking
about that. He was on a mission and it wasn’t to solve the problems of an
obviously troubled woman. She had a husband for that.

Long
after the fire-pit had burn out, Alex lay on his cot thinking over what
information he’d gained since he’d arrived. He needed to have Jacob run a check
on the good Professor to see what troubles the man had had. Alex wondered if
maybe those troubles could have led him to steal the missiles to sell to the
highest bidder. He somewhat doubted it. He couldn’t really see the weak man
initiating something so harsh… but you could never tell about people if the
money was right.

His
mind again flickered to Roman Alcazar. Now,
he
fit the profile… young, impressionable, strong ties to Mexico and contacts
within, as well as, strong ties to the supposed site where the missiles were
being hidden. As Alex drifted off to sleep, he couldn’t be sure if he was
fingering Roman Alcazar as the ring leader because of Devon, or because he
really was a viable candidate. Either way, he was worth keeping an eye on.

Chapter 7

The
next morning, Alex rose with the group as was his norm. He helped build the
fire and noticed for the first time that Devon wasn’t out and about helping
with the morning chores. Jose rustled up an impressive breakfast as always.
Alex found himself glancing continuously toward the Alcazar’s tent. He
eventually saw Roman emerge and join the group round the fire-pit. He was quiet
and the most pensive Alex had ever seen him. He watched the man pick at his
food and drink his coffee before he fixed a plate and took it into the confines
of his tent.

Alex
breathed a sigh. He was spending way too much time thinking about another man’s
wife. What concern was it of his if she ate or not? He finished his breakfast
and listened to the banter around the fire. As the group began picking up and
preparing to depart, movement outside the Alcazar’s tent caught his attention.

He
watched as both Roman and Devon stepped out of the tent. While he was dressed
in the customary khakis and T-shirt, she was wearing sweatpants. Alex watched
as Roman raised a hand and gently traced what Alex assumed were the bruises on
her face. Alex slid his eyes away when Roman leaned forward and presses his
lips to her forehead.

When he
turned back he saw Roman catch her hand before she went to go back into the
tent. She turned and whatever he said seemed to upset her. She shook her head
emphatically and placed her hands on each side of his face and stepped forward
until they were practically nose to nose. She spoke quietly and grabbed his
face when he attempted to shake off both her hands and her words. She continued
to speak to him until finally he gave a half-hearted nod of his head. She
nodded her head in unison with his and gave him a small smile. He stepped back
before rushing to gather her in his arms for a quick hug before leaving
quickly, almost as if he didn’t want to leave her.

Alex
watched Devon as she watched Roman walk away with the team. She raised a hand
and brushed it against tears that weren’t apparent from where he sat. She
glanced around the camping area as if sensing his gaze. She froze when she saw
him and then quickly retreated back into the security of her tent.

Alex
remained where he sat for a while longer, and while he wouldn’t admit it to
himself, he was waiting to see if Devon would reappear, but she didn’t. Tossing
the rest of his now cold coffee into the nearly extinguished fire, he rose and
went into his own tent to watch the camera feeds from the night before.

~*M*~

Devon
stepped back into the tent and watched Roman leave with his team members. He
was no fool and knew her story about falling at the falls had been untrue. When
the morning light had entered the tent and he’d seen her face, he’d gone
ballistic. He’d demanded she tell him who’d attacked her. But she’d refused to
tell him.

She’d
tried to make him see which side of the situation was the most harmful. She’d
not been seriously injured, whereas, an allegation like this – about someone
one who wasn’t really affiliated with the team against someone who was – would
be devastating to her. She needed to keep it quiet. She’d begged him. When
she’d told him she wasn’t going on the dig due to her face, he’d really gone
off. He’d wanted nothing more than to storm out into the camp and take on
everyone. She’d finally managed to get him to calm down and let her stay. But
he’d been resistant until the bitter end.

This
was her problem to deal with, not his. She’d not let him – a man who’d been by
her side since she was a small girl – be hurt by her and her circumstances.
This was his dream job and she was determined not to let it become a nightmare
because of her.

She
wiped at the useless tears on her face. What had she been thinking staying so
long at the falls? She’d put herself in that situation. Her stomach had fallen
when she’d seen the look on Ben Allred’s face as she’d forced Roman to leave
her at the tent. What right did he have to judge her? But… she knew why. Once
again she felt the familiar wave of self-pity rush over her. How had she gotten
here? The answer to her question didn’t make her feel any better. She’d gotten
here by her own hand.

She
waited until everyone had vacated the camp before leaving the sanctity of her
tent. She couldn’t stay in those close confines any longer. She wandered toward
the now burned-out campfire and snagged a cup of coffee. It was
luke
-warm, but it was something to wrap in her idle hands.
Waiting around… hiding out… was miserable and terrifying.