“Nope.” He remained straight-faced except for the slight twitch of his upper lip. “But it looks as though I’ve been ousted, too. I’m beginning to think the village elders have given us approval to have a little husband-and-wife time.”
Their gazes simultaneously strayed to the leaf-mattress bed tucked into the corner of the room. Minuscule was the term that came to mind. Constructed of roughly cut lumber and with a mattress support made of an intricate latticework of rope and vine, the thing would barely contain Penny, much less the two of them.
“Cozy.” Rafe half smirked.
Too cozy. Penny could practically touch the palpable tension with her fingertips. God, she’d missed him over the last week. Her body manifested his lack of closeness much like an addict needing a fix, with unsteady hands and racing heart.
She dried her palms on the thin cotton shift Rosita had given her before forcing her thoughts in the exact opposite direction of where her body wanted to go. “Rosita mentioned that the village’s hunting party was planning to lead us to Mocoron. I don’t like the idea. I mean, what if Fuentes finds out? I don’t want him to punish them for helping us.”
“I already told the elders we didn’t need anything except a finger pointed in the right direction and maybe a few supplies. We’ll get to Mocoron. Contact the team. And then we’ll take it from there.”
“Take it where, exactly? It’s not like we know how high up the chain the mole may be. We can’t exactly walk up to everyone with a badge and politely ask if they’re raking in two separate paychecks—one from the government and one from a psychotically crazed Honduran kingpin.”
“No, but we’ll have our gut instincts. And no one can find information better than Charlie.” He slid his arms around her waist, pushing his front to her back, and tucked his chin onto her shoulder. “We knew this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, but there’s always a link. Somewhere. Charlie’s specialty is finding it, and when the fucker makes a stupid mistake—and he or she will eventually—we’ll be there. And that much closer to finding Rachel.”
“That’s almost what Vincent told me—that people make mistakes and the key to catching them is using that to your advantage.”
Penny hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud until Rafe’s body stilled. His lips brushed against her neck as he spoke. “Who’s Vincent?”
“A friend, my mentor at the bail enforcement agency. He’s actually a retired SEAL.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t go to him when you suspected what happened to Rachel. Even as retired old-timers, SEALs eat this kind of shit for breakfast.”
“Actually, I did. He was reaching out to his former team.”
“Then what happened?” Rafe linked his large hands just below her belly button and held her close.
“I left two days before they were scheduled to leave…because Vincent would’ve never let me tag along.”
It took a moment to interpret the shaking behind her shoulders as laughter. She turned in his embrace and punched his arm. “It’s not funny!”
“Honey, if you can strong-arm a brood of Alpha operatives, you can sure as hell get your way with a crew of geriatric SEALs.”
“Can I have my way with you?” Eyes wide, she slapped a hand to her mouth, but a string of giggles still escaped through her fingers. “I didn’t mean…oh hell. That came out way wrong.”
“I like the way it came out, and the answer is without a doubt, yes.” Rafe eased her chin up. One dropped glance to her lips and air became in short supply.
Needful heat ripped through her veins and he’d yet to touch her any more intimately than the brush of fingers sliding into her hair. He held her gaze so long she could’ve sang the national anthem. And then she saw it—the slight flicker in his eyes, the crease of his frown as his gaze dropped to her mouth and back. Something bothered him.
She palmed his cheek, tracing her thumb down the line of his frown. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I think you were right a few days ago. You should stay here in the village while I head to Mocoron,” he finally said. “You can rest, continue to collect your strength. And then when everything’s done and over, the team and I will come back and get you.”
That wasn’t what she expected. Her mouth dropped right before it snapped together with an audible click. One small step and she pulled herself from his embrace, uncaring of the show she was no doubt giving him in her paper-thin cotton pajama dress.
“Are you freaking kidding me? After that whole spiel about not leaving me behind you’re now suggesting that you do just that? I don’t know what kind of medicinal jungle products you’ve been smoking while we’ve been here, but it’s made you delusional. You had your chance to go at this alone and you refused, remember? Now that I’m healed, you want me to stay behind? Why?”
“For once, can’t you just do as you’re asked? I have my reasons.”