Without waiting for him to respond, she got up and hustled away, scrambling along the side of the rocky falls as fast as she could without drawing attentionandbefore Rafa could changeher mind. Going down into the camp was foolish, but she wouldn’t be intimidated. She’d been letting others dictate her whole career. Tell her she wasn’t good enough. Disregard her like she was insignificant.
Well, fuck that.
Miri relished the thought of being a thorn in Vautour’s side, ruining his attempt at finding the Moon City and divulging his identity to the world. Then he’d see howinsignificantshe was.
And she’d show him that he couldn’t treat people like disposable objects. This was payback for what he’d done to Rafa.
She quickly made it to the bottom of the waterfall. Vautour was nowhere to be seen. He was probably in a tent, relaxing, plotting the evil demise of some other poor sucker. Or, more likely, trying to figure out a way to off his crew once he found the Moon City. Pierre Vautour didn’t exactly seem like the type to share his treasures.
Taking her time so that no one would hear, she crawled along the edge of the camp. The ground was wet, soaking through what were supposed to be waterproof pants. But as she’d already learned at the airport that first day, they were definitelynotwaterproof.
Most of the men were down by the water, sitting around a firepit. Cooking something, not at all concerned that Miri and Rafa might be hot on their tail. She scanned the site. Searching for the chair that Vautour had been sitting in. There, at the edge of the camp. Near the tents. And still sitting smack in the center of it were the photos.
This was too easy.
Miri crawled along the forest floor, underneath tall ferns and elephant ear plants. She looked back and forth, making sure noone was coming. But right as she was about to spring from the understory, Vautour emerged from his tent and grabbed the folder, taking it back with him into his private quarters.
Crap.
She debated scrapping the whole idea, heading to the meetup point. But just then, a commotion came from outside the tent area, a couple of the guys arguing over a game of cards. Hunter, of course. Another one of the guys was yelling at him for being a cheater, but the disturbance was loud enough that it caused Vautour to exit his tent to check to see what was going on. Giving Miri the perfect opportunity to sneak inside and take the images.
She stuffed the photos into her bag and then slowly crawled away. Once she was a safe enough distance from the tents as she dared, she got back on her feet and ran as fast as she could toward the spot she’d pointed out to Rafa, hoping that he’d be waiting for her when she got there. They probably should have formulated a better plan, but Miri’s habit of acting first and thinking later had gotten the better of her.
Eventually, Miri slowed down, then opened the folder. Inside were about a dozen lidar images and a map with various locations circled and crossed out. It seemed Vautour was still trying to pinpoint the exact location on a map. Who knew how he’d even obtained these images? Not many people had access to lidar technology.
Miri scoffed. Money could buy anything.
Suddenly, a rustling came from beyond the trees. She quickly closed the folder and held it tightly against her chest, backing against a wide tree.
“Pringles?” Rafa whispered. “Is that you?”
Miri ran out from behind the tree, “Rafa!”
He ran over to her, grabbing her in his arms and murmuring in her ear. “Thank God, you made it.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t?”
He smiled. “Honestly, Pringles, at this point, nothing about you surprises me. Did you get it?”
She lifted the folder, waving it in the air.
“I don’t even know what to say,” he said with a grin.
“Then don’t say anything. We need to go.”
They headed in the direction the medallion had pointed to at the waterfall, eventually coming upon the lake of the giant water lilies. Once they found the next medallion marker, they skirted around the lake, making sure that Vautour and his crew wouldn’t see them. It had only been thirty minutes or so, but it was only a matter of time before Vautour and his team would be back on their scent.
So Miri and Rafa moved at double time, stopping only to give Anissa and the others updates on their location. The ground was a muddy mess after the rain from the evening before, however, making it difficult to run through the brush. It was hot, humid. Miri’s clothes were soaked through. Her hair was matted against her forehead, yet when she glanced at Rafa he still looked as sexy as always.
They ran for several miles, slowed down only by the darkness descending upon the forest. They’d never hiked this late at night—never once it got dark. Darkness meant trouble. Trouble out here meant danger. Jaguars. Reptiles. Vampire bats.
It was one thing to camp with a group of twelve people. It was another thing entirely to camp with just two, especially when they couldn’t risk a fire. Fire would be a direct beacon for Vautour and his men.
“We need a break,” Rafa said.
“Just a little farther.”
Rafa’s hand pulled back on her arm. “We’re not going to have any juice left in us if we are too tired to keep going. We need to rest.”
