“I called your boss.”
“But why?”
“Why? Son, I was worried about you. I’d heard a rumor that Dr. Bradley Quinn got injured, and that your crew had gotten off course, and when I hadn’t heard from you, I feared something had happened to you.”
“Dad, I’m in the Amazon,” Rafa said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Cell service isn’t exactly 5G out here. How did you even hear about Quinn?”
“Protecting the Cidade da Lua has been my life’s work,” his father said matter-of-factly. “I know people.”
Wasn’tthatan understatement. Rafa had witnessed his dad’s connections firsthand. People spilling their secrets. It was amazing his dad wasn’t involved in politics.
“We’re fine. There were some guys in the jungle who were trying to steal our equipment, and we got into a fight with them,” Rafa explained.
“Were you hurt?” his dad asked with worry in his voice.
“No, but we managed to get away.”
“You should have let them take the stuff. That might have solved all our problems.”
“Yeah, I realized that afterward,” Rafa said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But it all happened so fast. One second these guys were waving goodbye with all our stuff, and the next Pring—I mean, Dr. Jacobs—she went after them without a second thought.” Rafa smiled thinking about it, picturing Miri taking on those guys as if she didn’t have a fear in the world. “She was pretty amazing,” he unwittingly said, immediately snapping his mouth shut once the words came out.
Fuck.
“Mmm…Dr. Jacobs,” his dad said. “I looked her up after you told me about her. She’s quite pretty.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Sounds like you might have a soft spot for her.”
“I suppose I do.” There was no use denying it. Besides, he couldn’t lie to his dad. That was one thing they promised never to do. No matter how bad things got. No matter how terrible things seemed to be. Their relationship depended on trust.
It was bad enough he hadn’t told his dad how he felt about his job atGloGeo.
“Hmm,” his father murmured, as if deep in thought. “That might be a problem, then.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t let her succeed, Rafael. She can’t find the Cidade da Lua. That’s not what you’re there for.”
That may have been the plan, but Rafa didn’t want to be the reason for her failure. It didn’t feel right. Not anymore.
“Well, I don’t think it matters anyway,” Rafa said, trying to refocus his dad’s attention away from Miri. “Seems there’s another team out here looking for it, too.”
“Another team?”
“Yes. Have you ever heard of Pierre Vautour? His guys are the ones that attacked us.”
“Rafael,” his dad said after a beat. “Pierre Vautour is a dangerous man.”
“You know who he is?”
“Of course I do. I met him in Brazil many years ago, searching for the Cidade da Lua.”
“Why didn’t you mention him when we were talking about this expedition last week?”
“I had no idea he’d still be out there looking for the city decades later. If he’s there, then you need to stay out of his way.”
“And how am I supposed to do that? It’s not like I know where he is.”
