Rafa was tired. Tired of traveling. Tired of returning to an empty apartment, sometimes only for a few days at a time. Theoccupation that once invigorated him now made him restless. He wanteda life. Friends to make plans with. Possibly a woman he could take out more than a couple of times before he’d disappear again for weeks or months on end. A job he got on his own, and not because his dad was on the board. Even if it meant starting over.
His resignation wasn’t supposed to have been countered with a call from his boss to his father, and, from his father, a special request:
Rafael, it’s time you knew the truth about your ancestry. Os protetores da lua have been protecting the Cidade da Lua since it was abandoned hundreds of years ago. They are the only people who are said to know the true location of the city. But they are everywhere. Living normal lives. Out in the world, listening. Watching. Waiting for the next explorer to set their sights on the Moon City. And your mother…she one of them.
I’m counting on you. You must save it from these treasure hunters. For your mother.
Finally, a chance to discover who he really was.
“Now, as to our whereabouts,” Dr. Mejía continued, focusing Rafa’s attention back to the screen. “We had every intention of being there, guiding you through the Amazon rainforest—”
“And darting from black caimans and electric eels,” Dr. Matthews said, giving a loving glance to Dr. Mejía as she playfully elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to wince.
“But…” The camera panned out, revealing Dr. Matthews’s arm in a cast. “Ford had to go and get himself injured yesterday. Seriously, only Ford could manage to topple off a three-foot-high retaining wall and break his arm mowing the lawn,” Dr. Mejía said with a good-natured eye roll.
“Hey, it was my first time,” he teased back.
Hmm…how was this going to work?
“You’re probably wondering, how is this going to work?” Dr. Mejía said.
Mind readers. Maybe theyweresuperstars.
“Given the demands of an expedition in the Amazon,” Dr. Matthews said, “we didn’t think it was prudent for me to accompany this search.”
“And seeing as Ford is a walking catastrophe right now—”
“Catastrophe?” he said, making a face at her.
“Babe, you stubbed your toe getting out of bed this morning.”
A few snickers carried through the group.
“Fair,” he said.
“As I was saying,” Dr. Mejía continued, “this is where I need to be right now. Where webothneed to be.”
They stared at each other with affection. Rafa had never had someone look at him that way.
“Fortunately, the team we curated is brimming with talent,” Dr. Mejía said. “And we’ve selected our replacements from the lot of you. Allow me to introduce Dr. Bradley Quinn…”
Rafa fought to keep his eyes from rolling asBradstood and gave himself a couple pats on the back—literally—completely taking the spotlight from the video still playing with Dr. Matthews explaining Brad’s qualifications and background. Rafa folded his arms. Lead or not, Rafa still had no intention of taking direction from Brad.
“But while Dr. Quinn would probably make a fine lead on his own, every good archaeologist needs a partner. Someone to bounce ideas off—” Dr. Matthews said.
Brad’s shoulders deflated, sending a satisfied grin across Rafa’s face.
“And to check them when they are wrong,” Dr. Mejía said,nudging Dr. Matthews in the side. “We also want to introduce Dr. Miriam Jacobs, doctor of archaeology and my colleague from UC Berkeley.”
Everyone’s eyes shot toward Miri as her’s grew to the size of oranges. Whereas Brad’s reaction evidenced that he must have been forewarned about this sudden change of events, Miri sat frozen in her chair. No, this wasn’t planned. And by the look of things, her sudden promotion perhaps wasn’t a welcome one—not for Miri, nor for Dr. Brad.
Brad’s gaze narrowed at Miri. But Miri didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes shifted from face to face, then to her surroundings, as if she were looking for an escape route. She didn’t want this. No…that nervous, quirky chatterbox Rafa had spent an hour and a half with in the car wanted no part of this.
And when her eyes finally connected with his, he saw the fear in them. Fear that she wasn’t ready for this responsibility.
It killed him that he’d have to prove her right.
Chapter
