“No. Stop.” He held up his hand. “This is the reason why you lied to me in the first place. I don’t want you to feel like you have to ask for my go-ahead to do your job, Angélica. This relationship is not going to work if either of us feels like we have to get permission. Speaking for myself, I’ve been traveling the world on my own far too long without a tether. And you’ve had the freedom these last few years to pick and choose what you want to dig into for the most part.”
She set her glass down and turned in her lounge chair to face him. “Then how do we make this work, because I really want you in my life, as much as you’re willing to stay.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere.” He reached out for her hand. “I’m tired of jaunting about the planet on a moment’s notice.”
She took his hand, lacing her fingers in his. “So, you’re okay with settling here?”
“I’m not settling.” He squeezed her hand. “I love you, Angélica. I don’t want to leave your side, even when it means spending weeks on end in the jungle, neck deep in ticks and snakes.”
A warm happiness rippled through her from top to bottom. “And man-eating mosquitoes?”
His gaze narrowed slightly. “You read my article?”
“I did. It was perfect. You made it interesting, listing information about the structures and the weapons caches, yet you protected Site 5 from future wannabe diggers by clarifying that the area appeared to be sparse on shiny treasures. And then you ended by spelling out how the place is off-limits per the Mexican government.”
“You think your boss and the other higher-ups at INAH will besatisfied with it?”
“Definitely.”
“Good. I’d like to include the photo I took of a couple of butterflies sitting on the stone steps of Structure I, and maybe the shot of Daisy holding the conch-shell trumpets that you had her take to INAH before heading back to the States.”
Angélica had been hesitant to hand off those two shells due to the curiosity they might cause about Site 5, but morally she’d felt obligated to share the find with the rest of the world. Plus, she wanted to make sure Daisy was credited as the one who made the discovery, because this find could help boost her future career prospects in the Mesoamerican archaeology field.
If the powers that be at INAH listened to Angélica’s recommendation to share pictures of the glyphs on the shells with other universities and experts, maybe the archaeology community would find out about another ancient civilization living in this area that pre-dated the Maya.
“You good with me using those photos?” Quint asked.
She nodded. “If you have one of Raul in his Calakmul Ranger shirt, that might reiterate the fact that the forest rangers are guarding the site.” The ranger had seemed a little down about returning to his old job after they’d wrapped up, but promised to stop by for a visit next time he was in Cancun. “But no shots of KuTu or Bronko.”
Both had requested to be left off record, if possible. Bronko had his sicario past to worry about coming back to haunt him, and KuTu had told her that he always tried to be like wind, blowing through places without leaving any footprints in his wake.
That was basically how she’d ended things with KuTu, waving goodbye to him as he’d faded into the jungle just beyond the trees. Before he’d left, though, Angélica had asked if she might be able to hire him again to help in the future. He’d told her that he had planned to end his time on the earth for good with the help ofCamazotz, but now that he was still stuck here, he needed to figure out what the Maya gods needed from him in the future. He said he would be in touch if another meeting with her or her tall demon friend was required.
“No photos of those two guys, got it,” Quint said. “I also have a good shot of a king vulture perched on the wall to add to the articlefor some local wildlife flavor; or, I might use that photo in a piece I’m working on about how important king vultures are to the jungle’s ecosystem.”
“And in keepingCamazotz’sarmy at bay.” She grinned. “Don’t forget to mention that.”
“Yeah, that, too.” He let go of her hand and tucked his arms behind his head, staring out at the horizon, which was now bright, pale yellow with only hints of pink here and there. “I sure wish I could have seen the vultures take on those huge bats.”
“Or maybe you don’t wish that. It was really gruesome. Pedro told me that Bronko was still talking about the brutality of it on the flight out.”
“You think you’ll ask Bronko to come back again?”
She shrugged. “That’s up to him. Normally, I’d say we can’t afford to pay for his protection services on top of a dig site crew, but things may change now that Mom has control of Dr. Fernel’s finances. She actually told Fernando and Esteban before Pedro flew them out that there would be a lot more work for them in the near future because she—well, Fernel—would be continuing to help finance our digs.”
His chuckle had an edge of disbelief. “How is she going to pull off slipping into his shoes at the university where he works?”
“Oh, I forgot to share what Mom told me last night when she called.”
“Where was I?” Quint asked.
“Helping Rover settle in.”
“Oh, yeah. What did Marianne say?”
“After she arrived back in the States yesterday morning, she went to Dr. Fernel’s university and found out that his affiliation with the school was no longer valid. He’d worked there as a professor at one time, but then he became obsessed with collecting rare artifacts and ended up losing his job due to always being off playing the rogue archaeologist.”
“Ah, an Indiana Jones copycat.”
