“And if I don’t? What if I find the Moon City first?”
“You won’t. The lidar images I commissioned have been coming in quite handy. Much better than that piece of scrap metal around your neck,” he said, nodding his head in her direction.
“Okay, well, how do you know I won’t reveal your identity once I’m free?”
“Dr. Jacobs, Dr. Jacobs,” he said, clucking his tongue and folding his hands in front of him. “Do you think I don’t know how to keep people quiet? Everyone’s got a price.”
“Go ahead. You can’t buy me off. And I have nothing to hide. I’m clean as a whistle.”
Vautour snickered, then tossed a glance toward Rafa. “I see why you like her.” Rafa tried to stand, but Vautour’s men placed their hands on his shoulders, holding him down. Vautour then turned his attention back to Miri. “It doesn’t matter if you’re clean as a whistle. Rumor is that you’re about to find yourself out of a job.”
“So what? I can always get another one,” Miri said confidently.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I don’t know what my son told you about who I am, but I know people. People with influence.”
“Yeah, and as soon as they find out that you’re Pierre Vautour—”
“What makes you think they don’t already know?”
Miri threw her head back, Rafa’s dad’s words seeming to knock her off balance. It hadn’t occurred to Rafa that his dad’s identity may not have been as secret as he imagined.
“Everyone has a price,” his father continued. “All I need to do is call in a few favors, and then your doctorate will be worth more as a place mat than any sort of job credential. Might as well get a job working at a convenience store.”
“Well, good thing I am a convenience store snack connoisseur,” she said proudly.
“Does she ever stop?” his dad asked, glancing down at Rafa.
“No,” Rafa said, smiling as he admired her confidence and gumption. She truly was remarkable.
His dad took a deep breath.
“I told you, boss,” Hunter said, “she’s weird, right?”
Miri’s smile faded as her shoulders deflated.Fucking asshole.
“Shut the hell up,” Rafa spat at Hunter, wriggling to freehimself, not that it was any use. He was firmly trapped by his father’s men. But he caught what seemed like a flicker of sympathy in Miri’s eyes as she watched him struggle in their grasp.
“What about him?” Miri asked, looking at Rafa. “What are you going to do with him?”
“Do you care?” his dad asked.
“No, not really.” Her words cut deep, more painful than the clenched hands digging into his shoulders. “Just curious whether you’re going to have him follow me out of the rainforest to make sure I leave, that’s all.”
“Seeing as he wasn’t the best with instruction, no, I don’t think I will. Why? Does this mean we have a deal?”
Miri looked at Rafa once more, but he couldn’t read the expression behind her eyes. With a single blink, she turned back to Vautour and said, “Sure.”
“Miri, don’t believe him. He’s a liar. You can’t trust him,” Rafa called out.
“You’re one to talk, Rafael,” his dad said. “You know your way back, don’t you?” he asked, pointing at Miri.
She nodded.
“Then go. Go and tell your team he abandoned you in the rainforest. But don’t you dare breathe another word of this to anyone.”
Miri glanced at Rafa once more as he struggled to break free from Vautour’s goons. Then turned and ran.
Leaving a hole in Rafa’s heart.
