Page 32 of Wicked Suspicion

“With a billion-dollar prize.”

Nodding, she asked, “Why do you think that pile of papers would have any information about the treasure?” His gaze hardened, and she tacked on, “It might help me narrow down what to watch for as I skim through the records.”

“Those historical documents are from the right period and they belonged to my predecessor’s late grandfather, Diego Ramos. The man worked as the foreman on the archaeological dig at the Huarona ruins. Until the civil war shut down the excavation, of course.”

“Of course,” Nyx agreed with him again. “The elder Señor Ramos had an interest in Puerto Jardinese history?” She asked as if she knew nothing about the man. It wasn’t true. She’d heard stories.

“An intense interest, particularly in the legends. The Lost Treasure of Trujillo has definitely reached that status.”

“Sí, it has,” she said slowly. Nyx was much more curious about those papers sitting in the library now than she’d been five minutes ago. The library. Case wanted her to get him out of the suite and into the library. “Now that I have an idea of what I’m looking at, I’m certain the research will go faster. Will you allow my fiancé to help me?”

There was a long pause, and when Vargas spoke, he didn’t answer her question. “You will join me for lunch. Sort through the clothes the housekeeper delivers and see if you can find something to wear. Enrique, return Señorita Templeton to her room.”

Case prowled the library, looking for additional listening devices. He’d already found one mic and a camera. It wouldn’t surprise him if there were more. His best guess was the bugs weren’t here yesterday but had been added after Nyx asked Vargas to allow him to assist her.

The drug lord had stalled her, sent her back to the suite, and then delayed her further with lunch—a meal he hadn’t been invited to. It was plenty of time for Vargas’s men to wire the room. Case’s gaze went to Nyx. She sat at the table, reading some kind of document. Her hair was still braided, keeping it out of her way, but she was wearing jeans, a black strapless tank top, and over that, an oversized, gauzy white shirt.

The way it fell left her shoulder bare. Case fought the urge to go to her, lean over, and press his lips to her exposed skin. He’d never gotten hot over a woman’s shoulder before, but it was Nyx. Everything about her was attractive to him. Even her stubbornness.

Shaking off the desire, he refocused on his search. His number one priority had to be her safety. His op was second. Taking his Fireball to bed wasn’t on his to-do list. No matter how much he wanted her.

Sleeping beside her was testing him, especially last night. Somewhere around one a.m., she’d rolled over and ended up with one of her legs on top of his thighs. By the time the early morning sunlight had drifted into the room, waking him, Nyx was snuggled against his side and he had an erection. They were both pretending it hadn’t happened.

He found another camera near the window. Case wasn’t pulling the spy gear, but he wanted to know where it was and how much they were dealing with.

The patrol passed by the window, matching the timing and pattern Nyx had shared with him yesterday. Case didn’t like it. Vargas was too smart not to change things up. If the goal was to lull him into a false sense of security it wasn’t going to happen.

Case returned to the table, picking up the bowl sitting in the center, and checking it out. No sign of any electronics. It looked old, and there was a painting of some kind of person on the side. “This is an artifact, isn’t it?”

Nyx looked up from the document she was reading. “Yes, I think its late Nazca.”

“Late Nazca? When was that?”

She straightened in her chair. “About 550 to 750 AD.”

He froze, then slowly, carefully, returned the bowl to the center of the table. “I didn’t realize it was that old. It has a small crack.”

Nyx’s lips curved. “Relax, hon, I saw that yesterday. I know you didn’t do it.”

He wasn’t easy to read. By the time he was in grade school, Case had learned to conceal, to hide, but Nyx had seen right through his mask. It left him edgy, and he resumed his search.

The library wasn’t all that large, but it was stuffed with books, artifacts, and knickknacks. He could see why she’d been curious enough to go through the drawers. If she’d had more time, she likely would have searched the shelves and among the books. Case found another camera near the ladder and made the peace sign for whoever was monitoring it before moving on.

He wanted to go through the drawers and see if Nyx missed something, but with all the bugs, that wasn’t happening.

There was a large vase in the final corner of the room. “How old is that?” he asked, pointing to it.

“A few centuries older than the bowl.” She sounded distracted, and he glanced over. She was rapt over whatever she was reading.

Case returned his attention to the corner, examining it from a distance. He didn’t want to know how much a vase that old and that big cost to replace. Besides, pinning down every camera and microphone wasn’t needed.

“We have three cameras and five mics in the room,” he told her.

Nyx looked up, expression serious. “Where are they?”

He pointed them out, and she turned, studying each one.

Standing, she went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist before pressing close. Reflex had him returning the embrace. Her kiss was slow, tender, and his hands tightened. She kissed her way to near his ear. “Wide-angle lenses?” she asked, voice barely a breath.

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