It might be the heat making his brain steamy, but she looked incredibly beautiful here in the midst of the Maya Underworld. Stunning even with her auburn hair curling around her face, sticking to her skin. Sweat rings, dirt smudges, and all. If her father wasn’t parked next to him, Quint might have come up with a romantic limerick to express his sudden flood of affection for her and how he forgave her for lying. Okay, maybe a limerick would be too short, but it was too fucking hot for a long-winded sonnet.
Juan pulled out his handkerchief and dabbed his forehead. “Well,gatita? Do you hear anything?”
She sat back on her heels. “No.”
Juan tapped his cane on the floor between his feet. “You really think a whistling sound loud enough for Esteban to hear at the entrance would come from that wall?”
“Maybe. There might be a hole somewhere, and with the right air pressure shifts, it could be possible.”
Quint wasn’t buying her explanation. Not totally. He had a feeling she was up to something else, but what? Maybe checking for a temperature change on the blocks?
“Esteban probably imagined it.” Her dad tapped with the cane again. “You know how that boy’s imagination can take off like a runaway stagecoach given the right jump-scare.”
Angélica stood, brushed her hands off on her thighs, and then stole Juan’s cane. “That’s possible, but I want to give Esteban the benefit of the doubt.”
She tapped the floor in front of the wall with the cane.
Clack clack.
Then she moved a little farther along the wall and tapped on the stones underfoot again.
Clack clack.
“I’m not sure what you’re looking for now, child, but if it’s a hidden chamber underneath us, then you need to take a second look at that wall. There is no way something that heavy could be sitting on anything other than solid bedrock.”
“There’s no harm in checking, Dad.”
Quint stared at the ceiling directly over his head, his flashlight finding more webs of cracks. Oh, shit. His heart pounded in triple time. “Maybe we should head out. This place is a bust.”
“It’s not a bust,” Angélica said.
He shifted his beam to her. “Did you see any glyphs on the trek here?”
She blocked his light with her arm, continuing to tap along the floor. “No glyphs, but something tells me there is more to this place than meets the eye.”
Or hadsomeonetold her that? Like her mother? Had Angélica omitted telling him everything her mom had said by the fire the other night?
“Are you looking for an entrance similar to what Ruz found at the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque?” her father asked.
Quint turned to Juan. “Who’s Ruz?”
“He was an archaeologist in the 1950s working at Palenque.” Juan dabbed some more with his handkerchief. “He and his workers are credited for figuring out that the circles drilled into the stone floor at the top of the temple were there to help lift the stone slab. When they raised the stone, they found a narrow stairway filled with tons of rubble. It took them years, but after they eventually cleared the passageway, they found an intact burial chamber containing Pakal, the great Maya king. Along with his remains were all sorts of jade accessories for the king to take into the afterlife, including an amazing jade mask that had been covering Pakal’s face.”
“I remember seeing a picture of that mask in a book when I was researching to come down here the first time.”
“Not thefirsttime,” Angélica corrected, still tapping.
She was right. Decades ago, back when he was in high school, he’d been down here working at a dig for another archaeologist, the father of his best friend. That was when he’d first met Pedro. They’d formed a fast friendship that had been put on pause until Quint had shown up at Angélica’s dig site looking to solve an old mystery—although not anywhere near as ancient as what they were trying to figure out at this site.
“Right. Make that the first time I metyouboth. Did I mention before how much I was smitten from the start?”
Juan snorted. “I’m assuming you’re talking about how much you likedme.”
“Of course. You had me at ‘hello.’ I’m just using your daughter, sacrificing my virtue to her wicked ways in order to keep you by my side.”
He chuckled. “I knew it. It’s my animal magnetism. It’s how I won over Marianne. She was a spirited filly, but she couldn’t resist me when I cranked up the charm.”
Quint pulled his canteen from his pack. “Same goes for your daughter. From the get-go, she couldn’t keep her hands off me.”
