Page 58 of Sins of Leo

Ruth squinted. “I think he means it’s down in the valley.” The jungle sloped sharply into a shallow depression from which jutted treetops, the branches dense and laced together to form a seamless canopy.

“Down. Yes.” Santos bobbed his head.

“Okay, then let’s go.”

Santos shook negatively. “You go. Me no.” The fear rolling off him proved palpable. The poor man was terrified.

“The door won’t hurt you while you’re with me,” Leo tried to reassure. However, the statement didn’t soothe Santos, who muttered something in Spanish and fled at an angle from where they’d arrive.

Leo grimaced. “Guess we’re on our own.” He glanced at Ruth. “You okay, Buttercup?”

“No,” she grumbled. “Everything hurts.”

“Soon as we find the relic, I can beam us back to Tower and you can have a nice long soak in a tub.”

“With bubbles?” She practically whined.

“And a massage,” he offered with a wink.

The promise did much to revive her. “Then let’s get this over with.” She began tramping down the slope, the steepness of it almost sending her rolling.

She made it to the bottom of the bowl and paused. “It’s quiet down here,” she remarked.

“Too quiet,” he agreed.

No hum of bugs. No chirp of birds. Even the branches and foliage remained utterly still. The lack of any normal wilderness noise made their movements seem too loud. If anyone were here, they’d hear them for sure. Although, given Santos’ extreme fear, she doubted many people visited.

Ruth stepped gingerly, tense with fear and anticipation. Her father had spent his last months in this jungle. His body might still be here. The skeleton at least. Time and nature would have taken the flesh.

“Can you feel that?” Leo suddenly asked.

Until he mentioned it, Ruth hadn’t realized the air had changed. It became charged as if with electricity.

“Seems too sunny for a storm,” she remarked, trying to see the sky. The treetops filtered the sun’s rays, and the hints of blue made impending lightning unlikely.

“Not a storm. Whatever it is, it’s making my tattoo tingle,” he murmured. “Stay close.” He didn’t hold her hand. Then again, it would have required a free one. He held a revolver in one, a machete in the other. Ruth held on to her courage lest she flee after their guide. She’d never done anything so daring. So frightening.

The rockface appeared suddenly, the thick and fat boles of the trees giving way to pebbled terrain, from which thrust the vine-covered wall, just like the one in the picture. A glance overhead showed the trees that, while avoiding the clearing, had grown tall enough to reach over the area, the boughs forming a shield against any eyes in the sky. No wonder it remained hidden.

The air practically crackled, and Leo frowned. “Scorpio didn’t mention the air being charged with electricity when he found his door and artifact.”

“Are the sites supposed to be the same?”

He paused before saying, “I don’t know. I guess not. After all, if you figured out the traps in one, then what would be the point of having them in the others?”

“Traps? What traps?” she exclaimed.

He appeared sheepish as he admitted, “The cave Scorpio and Rebecca found had a few quirks.”

“What kind of quirks?” Her lips pursed, and her gaze narrowed.

“Every watchWipeout?”

She groaned. “Are you saying we need to run some kind of gauntlet?”

“Possibly.”

Seeing a rock high enough to act as a seat, she plopped her butt on it. “I’ve got nothing left to sprint from danger with.”

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