Page 72 of Wicked Intention

Zo slipped going down an incline but caught her balance before Finn’s hands curled around her shoulders. He pulled up the rear, softly giving her directions when they needed to shift course. She assumed it meant he was more concerned about someone coming up behind them than what lay in front.

As tempting as it was to ask Finn to do what he could to save the disk, Zo wouldn’t do that. She wanted him solely focused on keeping himself and Tia Izel safe—nothing else. God, if anything happened to either one of them, she’d die inside.

Zo tried to concentrate on the rainforest, but her lack of sleep was making it difficult to focus for more than a moment or two. She didn’t want to think about how much trouble she’d be in right now if Finn hadn’t located her.

“Whoa!” Finn’s hands caught her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. “We’re at the tree where I found you.”

Blinking hard, Zo tried to clear the bleariness from her eyes. It didn’t help. This place looked the same as the rest of the rainforest. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, trying to get her bearings. It took two revolutions before she spotted the fallen tree off in the distance. “That way,” she said, pointing toward it.

They hopscotched through the rainforest, moving landmark to landmark. Despite her exhaustion, they only had to backtrack once, and Zo was feeling pretty damn good even though the rain had resumed.

“Slow down, loquita,” Finn said, catching her hand.

She stopped and turned to him. “You heard something?”

Finn shook his head. “No, but we’re getting closer to the Huarona city than I like, especially since you told me Ramos already had it staked out.”

Biting her lower lip, she nodded. “I didn’t think I was near the ruins when I hid the disk.”

“We’re not on top of the city,” he explained quietly, “but we’re within a perimeter that Ramos’ men might be patrolling. We’ll have to be more cautious.”

They weren’t exactly moving at a lightning pace already because her brain took extra time to remember the next landmark and because her eyes took a while to pick it out, but she nodded. She’d reached a point where she didn’t care if they ever found the disk as long as she could sleep. Blinking hard a few times to clear her vision, she identified where they needed to go, and Zo crept forward.

And promptly swayed, barely catching her balance.

“We can take ten minutes to rest, you know.”

Zo shook her head. “If I sit down, I’ll be out for ten hours, not ten minutes. Let’s just get through this. Then I’ll collapse.”

Finn didn’t like that answer, but he didn’t argue with her.

They reached the tree roots that looked like a scorpion.The trunk had been taken down at some point, and a ribbon-like twisted thing had come out, curling up behind the roots like a scorpion’s stinger. Zo paused, trying to recall which way to go from here.

Her brain refused to give up the answer, and she shook her head, trying to wake up.

“It’s okay,” Finn said quietly. “Don’t put pressure on yourself. Take your time and run through your steps in your mind.”

She smiled at him—no wonder she’d fallen so hard for his man. Taking a deep breath, Zo tried to relax. She’d come upon the scorpion-like roots from the side, which was why she’d noticed its appearance. The tail had been on her left. She shifted, moving until the wavy ribbon was in the position she remembered before turning 180 degrees. “This way,” she said.

He followed without questioning her.

There were so many things that were special about Finn, but this was one of the big ones. He trusted her.

Damn, she didn’t want to leave him behind in Puerto Jardin. She’d promised to have his back, and even with his former teammates at hand, it didn’t feel right. Zo had given himher word.

She didn’t see the sapling lying across her path until she fell over it. There was zero time to catch her balance, and she went down hard, landing on a fallen tree branch. It knocked the wind out of her, and Zo struggled to get a breath.

“Are you okay?” Finn demanded, crouching beside her.

Zo tried to assure him, but she didn’t have enough oxygen. She raised her hand and gave him a thumbs up. He didn’t look convinced.

“What hurts? Can you move?”

Of course, she could move. Zo struggled to reach her hands and knees, wheezing all the way. Finn stood abruptly and pulled her to her feet, hoisting her on his shoulder. Theworld spun wildly, and she lost what little breath she’d managed to capture. He didn’t give her time to acclimate, and she grabbed his waist to steady herself.

“Going somewhere, señor?” the man asked in heavily accented English.

Finn froze, and Zo raised her head. She had a glimpse of two big guns before her lover slowly turned to face the men. “My wife needs medical attention,” he said in Spanish.

---