Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (122 page)

“Sure we do—fear of getting shot in a cartel fight, fear of not having enough food for our children, fear of contaminated water.
Real
shit to be worried about.”

I looked over at Meredith, who was now positively green. It looked as if she was worried about some pretty real shit to me.

My own breathing became labored during our long, steep climb. After what seemed like forever, we reached the top. The guard put Meredith down. She opened her eyes, looked at how high up we were, and promptly bent over and threw up near the guard’s feet.

“
¿Pero qué coño?
” the guard yelled and jumped back.

Ramirez laughed at him. I leaned over and rubbed Meredith’s back. “It’s okay,” I said. “It's going to be okay.”

Meredith looked up at me, her eyes wild. “You don’t need to keep saying that. It’s obviously
not
going to be okay. Not even close.”

This was where I wanted to tell her that her husband was a badass, and that nothing was going to stop him from getting to her. And that the same thing went for my husband. They were coming for us, I knew it.

Unfortunately, I was pretty sure that was exactly what Gerardo Ramirez wanted.

“What now?” I asked him, straightening myself and looking at him.

“Now, we wait,” he said. “Enjoy the view.”

Meredith and I put our backs against the cool stones and slid down to sit on the side of the temple, as far away from the edge as possible. I looked out at the esplanade. I could see ruins in every direction. There were carvings of snakes, faces, and gods. There were also what looked like a hundred columns spread out around another, lower temple. They looked like pieces of an enormous, intricate chess game.

“What are those?” I asked.

“The Group of a Thousand Columns,” Ramirez said. “There were other temples surrounding The Temple of the Warriors.” He motioned to the lower temple surrounded by the columns. “Those were part of the infrastructure.”

“What did the Mayans use this place for?” I asked.

“It was a place of worship. And the center of their civilization—it was a trade hub,” he said. “But no one knows why they abandoned it.”

“Huh,” I said, not sure how to proceed with him. “It’s fascinating. I’d like to explore it, uh…under other circumstances.”

Ramirez just looked at me.

“What are you going to do with us?” I blurted out, unable to help myself.

“I’m going to wait for your man to show up,” he said. “And then when he gets here, I’m going to let him watch while I kill you.”

“Huh. Is that really necessary?” I asked. “Can’t you just—you know—
scare
him a little bit, instead? You have kidnapped us, you know. I’m sure he’s very upset right now. Isn’t that enough?”

Ramirez looked at me as though I had three heads. “No, it’s not enough,” he said.

I saw Meredith watching me like I was crazy-talking.

Neither of these reactions was going to stop me, however. One thing I’d learned was that everyone, even every bad guy, wanted something. I just had to cross my fingers that Ramirez wanted something more than he wanted to kill me in front of John.

I was crossing all my fingers that he wanted something more.

“Isn’t there anything else that you want?” I continued, undeterred. “Because my husband has a lot of resources. And a lot of friends. If there was something he could do for you…”

“There is nothing he can do to give me my wife back. Do you understand that?” He was beginning to look like he wanted to cut all three of my heads
off.

“Of course I do,” I said in a reassuring tone, “and I’m sure he understands that, too. But maybe there is something you want more than just killing me? More than just making him suffer?”

“Nothing comes to mind,” Ramirez said.

Meredith was staring at me, still green, and looking more and more worried by the second.

Still, I didn’t stop. “Money? Immunity? A helicopter?” I offered.

“You’re his most significant resource,” Ramirez said. “I’m looking forward to utilizing you.”

“Killing me isn't going to bring your wife back,” I said

“I know,” he said. “But it
will
make me feel better.”

“It might not make you feel better. I’m actually a very nice person,” I said. “Right, Meredith?”

“I actually like you less than I thought I did,” Meredith said, looking at me accusatorially.

I sighed. “I kind of get that a lot.”

Meredith motioned to Ramirez. “I’m not trying to be mean, but he’s obviously upset. And he’s the one with all the guns. So don’t make this any worse—just leave him alone.” She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in them, as if being alone was the only thing that could help anyone.

I could understand why Meredith was less than pleased with me; we’d brought her and Matthew down here for a vacation, and it had turned out to be the worst decision of our lives. I’d tried to rescue her, and I’d failed spectacularly. And now we were prisoners at the top of this enormous pyramid, our husbands most likely risking their lives on their way to try and rescue us.

“Mer, no matter what happens—I want you to know that I’m so sorry that things turned out like this,” I said.

“I know,” Meredith said. “But it’s making me rethink Matthew’s decision. And I’m really pissed at you about that.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

Meredith just shook her head, keeping her face buried. “I’ll tell you later. If there
is
a later.”

Ramirez stood up. “It’s time to go in,” he said, motioning to the building.

“No, thank you,” I said automatically. The interior of the building looked dark and cramped. It was hot out here, and high up, but at least it wasn’t in
there.

“Like all of my offers, it’s not one you can refuse,” he said and grabbed me. “Let’s go.”

***

I don’t know how long we were inside the small, dark space of the interior temple, but it seemed like forever. I watched as the sun moved across the sky to the west. Ramirez and his men came and went from the top of the pyramid, but there was always at least one guard with us, his gun trained on our faces.

“Do you think they’re coming?” Meredith asked.

“Unless something happened to them,” I said. “I sort of hope they don’t, to be honest. There’s so many of Ramirez’s men here. And they’re set up everywhere. They’d be walking into a death trap.”

Meredith shivered.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just being honest.”

“I need to hear the truth,” she said. “I need to be prepared.”

“I know nothing will stop Matthew from getting to you.” I put my hand over my heart; it was almost as if I could feel him out there, coming for her. “I know how much he loves you, and what an amazing soldier he is. He
will
come for you.”

He wouldn’t leave his children without their mother,
I thought, even though it pained me to even think about them. The poor little things.

“You know what I was saying before? About not liking you that much?” Mer asked.

“Um…yeah?” I asked, a little wary.

“It’s because I know you think Matthew shouldn’t become a civilian.” She paused for a beat. “And you’re right, Liberty. I’ve fought him about it for years. I’ve begged him to quit his job. But I was wrong. It took something terrible like this for me to figure it out—but I can see it now. And I might never get the chance to tell him.”

I watched her face; she was studying the guard who had his gun trained on her. “There are too many bad people in the world,” she said. “Too many people who hurt others.” She turned and looked back at me. “Matthew can help people. He
has
helped people, probably more than I even know. Who am I to ask him to stop?”

“You’re his wife,” I said. “Trust me, Meredith—I’ve had the same argument with John more times than I can count. Of course they help people—they’re the good guys. That doesn’t mean you want your husband to get shot.”

“I think I have to be brave. And less selfish,” she said.

“You’re plenty brave. And just because you want someone to be safe doesn’t make you selfish.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she said to the guard. She stood up suddenly and wobbled over to him. He jumped to his feet, cursing in Spanish, as she dry-heaved on the floor next to his feet.

And then she turned backwards, just a little, so I could see her face.

Get his gun
, she mouthed at me. She dry-heaved again, and I sprung up and launched myself at the guard. Before he had a chance to aim his gun at me, Meredith turned and kicked him in the balls—hard.

“Get it!” she hiss-whispered as he writhed beneath me. I slid off him and grabbed the weapon.

Then I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes, and whacked him in the head with it.

He stopped writhing. “Did I kill him?” I whispered, squinting at him through one half-opened eye.

“Nah,” Mer said. “You just knocked him out. I think.”

We just looked at each other for a beat.

“So…we need to get out of here. Now,” I said. I went towards the entrance and crouched down. I knew there were stairs on other sides of the pyramid, but the only ones that led to this chamber were the ones we’d climbed. “There are a lot of guards out there. And Ramirez,” I said, trying to count the soldiers in the plaza. “He’s down there, talking to some of his men.”

I looked back at Meredith. “We need to go down the stairs and then run for it. Whoever comes up here next, we’d just have to shoot them. And the next one and the next one. They’d figure it out and come up here with the whole army.”

“They’re going to shoot us down like dogs out there,” she said.

“Not necessarily,” I said. “Ramirez has an end game. I’m it. He doesn’t want to kill me before he gets the chance to have his fun.”

I went over to her and looked at the gun. “You know how to use one of these?”

“Not an automatic one like this,” she said.

“If you know how to fire a regular gun, you’ll like this. It’s almost too easy, so watch it,” I said.

Meredith looked at it apprehensively.

“S’okay, Mer. If I can figure out how to shoot one of these, a monkey can.”

***

The plan was simple: head down the stairs with the gun out. Make sure to remind Ramirez that he wanted to kill me in front of John, not now, which would ruin all of his fun.

“I’m worried I’m going to get dizzy,” Meredith said.

“Just don’t look down—look at each step. Concentrate on that and don’t look up.”

“You should take the gun,” she said, pushing it at me.

“No,” I said quickly. “You’re going to need it.”

“Liberty—” she started.

I held my hand up, cutting her off. “Just trust me, okay? You ready?”

She nodded, looking pale.

“Don’t look down,” I said again. “And if they start shooting, stop climbing. And shoot them back.”

I went outside the temple fist. Even though it was much later, the sky was still bright. This was the longest day ever. I counted ten men below me, one of whom was Ramirez.

I took a deep breath and crossed myself.

“Ramirez!” I shouted. All the men looked up at us and automatically trained their scopes at the top of the pyramid.

“Don’t shoot!” I called. “We’re coming down! We’re armed!”

“Where’s the guard?” Ramirez called.

“He’s…resting. He’s okay. I think.”

It sounded like Ramirez laughed a little. But then he stopped. “Mrs. Quinn, you know you are not leaving these ruins alive,” he called.

“I know,” I called back, “but we had a deal. You need to let her go. Otherwise, she’s gonna shoot a lot of you and then we’ll all die. Without you getting your revenge. That’s not what you want, is it?”

Ramirez said nothing back to us but spoke with his guards.

“Proceed,” he called finally. “She can go. It makes no difference to me.”

We took the steps quickly and carefully; Meredith only looked at her hands and feet as we climbed down the steep descent. The gun stayed strapped to her back.

“I’m not going to leave you here, again,” she said. “You tricked me into this. It’s not right. I don’t want to go—they’ll just shoot me when I run. Or worse.”

“Not if you shoot them first,” I said, breathing hard. “If you stay, you’re dead. Ramirez wants
me
. He’s willing to make the deal. And this time, we have a big gun. Big guns really help.”

“Do you think they’re out there?” she asked, looking up just long enough to scan the esplanade.

“Yes,” I said, “but I don’t know where. I think we’re better off trying to get out than get them in. Run back to the entrance and find a place to hide. The ticket booth was empty—see if you can get in there and barricade yourself. Or head for the road. But you keep that gun out—if anybody tries to mess with you, just shoot them.”

“I can’t,” she said.

“Oh yes you can,” I snapped. “You have two little kids that need their mother. And a husband that’s never gonna forgive me unless I get you out of here. So if someone tries to take you—shoot them. You don’t have to kill them, but you do have to hurt them enough so they can’t run after you, and you have to disarm them.”

“And then what?”

“And then you either run or you hide. Matthew will find you. I know it.” I reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

“What about you,” she asked, not bothering to make it a question.

“I’ll be just fine,” I said.
I hope.

We got to the base of the temple, and Ramirez came to us. “Go,” he said to Meredith. “My men have been given orders not to shoot you. Go and do not come back.”

Meredith gave me one long last look. She appeared physically ill, but I just nodded at her.
Go
, I mouthed.

She nodded and ran towards the path, clutching the gun.

“You,” Ramirez said, smiling at me without warmth, “are a pain in the ass.”

“I kind of get that a lot,” I admitted.

“Go,” he said, shoving me. “Back up. Your time is coming near. I can feel it.”

I felt sick with dread as we climbed back up. My breath was coming in wheezes after climbing all the way down the enormous pyramid and then scaling back up. Ramirez shoved me inside the temple without even bothering to check the guard, who was still unconscious on the floor.