“Angélica,” he cut in, his body tightening visibly.
“And stay there until I finish here.”
“No.” There was a resounding finality in his single-syllable reply.
“Hear me out, Quint.”
“It’s a waste of breath.”
Rather than argue across the tent for any passersby to hear, she moved over to his cot and sat down next to him.
He shook his head at her. “Don’t think that you can change my mind with a few well-placed touches and kisses, woman.” He leaned slightly away, his eyes narrowed, wary. “I mean, your mouth is amazing, but I’m no schoolboy and this subject is not up for debate.”
“Listen, Quint.” She kept her voice low. “There is something I didn’t want to tell you when it initially happened. I’d hoped it wouldn’t come up again, but I was wrong, and in light of recent events, I have to come clean because I don’t want you to get hurt.”
His brow furrowed. “This better not be the start of one of those ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ relationship cop-outs, because we are far beyond that shit.”
“Of course not.” She took his left hand and held it in both of hers. “You know I’m crazy about you, heartbreaker. Given the option, I’d rather we both be back home enjoying our nice, soft bed together.”
He scoffed. “No, you wouldn’t. You’d rather be right here in this tent planning out tomorrow’s field work.”
Quint had her there. “Okay, you’re right about that, but my thoughts about you leaving this place have nothing to do with you and me. Please, believe that.”
“What then? Is this about my reaction to the tarantula in my boot? If so, that was—”
“No,” she interrupted him. “Well, kind of.”
“Quit being cryptic and just get on with it.”
She squeezed his hand and let it flow. “KuTu believes that theLord of Death has sent you fromXibalba.”
He stared at her hard, as if looking for cracks. “The Maya Underworld?”
“Yes, thatXibalba. He thinks the vultures flying around and the tarantula in your boot are protectors sent by Yum Cimil to watch over you.”
He let out a guffaw mixed with a cough. “So, I’m some sort of lackey for the Maya god of death?”
“At least one of the death gods, anyway.” She licked her lips. “When he was talking me out of climbing the wall that first day we came across it, he said it was too dangerous for me and suggested I send you up instead. That you would be safe because of your protectors.”
“And you, of all people, believed him? You, who doesn’t believe in curses or prophecies?”
“That has changed. I’ve changed.”
“Since when?”
“Since you showed up and strange shit started happening.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded a couple of times. “But seriously, you believed KuTu enough to send me up that wall, knowing there was a possibility of snakes and who knew what else being up there.”
“Parker, there are snakes everywhere in the jungle. There were probably a bunch more on the ground around us while you only had one to deal with up there.”
“Quit making legitimate points when I’m trying to be miffed about you throwing me to the lions.”
“I will when you quit being dramatic about going up on that wall. Besides, if memory serves, you weren’t about to let me climb it, even though I happily would have.”
“You know fighting with you isn’t any fun if you’re always going to be right about everything. You need to work on that in the future. I’d like to win a few arguments now and then.”
“Duly noted.” She scooted closer to him so they were touching, shoulder to thigh. “But, seriously, KuTu isn’t the only one who has concerns about you.”
