The route forward was even more difficult than what they had endured so far, with sections of the trail crumbled away, leaving only a ledge barely wide enough for the sure-footed mule to pass.
They stopped to rest, power snack, and hydrate. With only an hour of daylight left, Mateo set off ahead to find a place to camp. After they’d left the death scene, they headed into more unfamiliar terrain, and Mateo had taken the lead.
“Keep your eyes open,” Gage warned him. “There’s no way to know if we’ve still got men dogging our trail.”
Mateo nodded and quietly disappeared around the first bend. They continued up the trail, so steep in places Gage wasn’t sure the mule could make it. But old Mort was as stubborn as Abby, and Kyle seemed to take the harsh conditions as a personal challenge.
The days had been steadily growing hotter, the afternoon sun throbbing down mercilessly. Gage figured Abby was exhausted, but she didn’t complain. She was in the hunt all the way, and he couldn’t help admiring her for it.
They kept pushing onward. By the time Mateo returned, everyone was more than ready to end the day.
“Good place to camp ahead,” Mateo said. “Not far. Trail gets better after that.”
“That’s good news,” Gage said.
With their upended schedule, they wouldn’t be spending the night at the GPS coordinates that indicated where King’s campsite had been. But tomorrow, unless something went wrong, they would reach the last X marked on King’s map.
Abby would either find her grandfather’s gold, or she wouldn’t. Gage tried to quell his mounting excitement, but he was a treasure hunter. Abby wanted to find the Devil’s Gold—and so did he.
It was dark, a campfire burning, their packaged dinners consumed. Gage still hadn’t talked to Abby. Needing some space to clear his head, he set off for a spot he’d noticed at the edge of the clearing. In the distance, moonlight outlined barren peaks.
His mind went to Abby and the fight they’d had. As if his thoughts had called her, light footfalls came up behind him, and small hands settled on his shoulders. Gage tensed.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you aren’t a quitter. I know you aren’t afraid of those men.”
Gage turned to face her.
“Please don’t be angry,” she said.
He studied her face in the silvery light, the smooth curve of her cheek, the full pinkness of her lips. “If I hadn’t agreed to continue, would you have left with Kyle?” The words came out of nowhere. He hadn’t realized that aside from his concern for Abby, he was jealous.
“Finding the treasure means everything to me—you’ve known that from the start. But I know going without you and Mateo would have been a stupid thing to do.”
“Knowing something is stupid and not doing it are two different things. Would you have gone without me?”
She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I want you with me when we find it. I want to share that moment with you. Would I have gone with Kyle? The truth is I don’t know.” Abby went up on her toes and softly kissed him. “I’m just grateful you’re here.”
A little of his anger faded. Not enough.
Abby kissed him again, just a sweet brush of her mouth over his, but the gentle press of her lips turned his thoughts from anger to lust. He was already hard, the zipper at the front of his cargo pants stretched taut. He had wanted this woman since the first time he’d seen her.
His arm went around her waist, and he pulled her close, his arousal like steel where it pressed against her.
“If we were somewhere else, I’d have you. I’d make you want me as much as I want you.”
“I already want you, Gage. I think I’ve wanted you since that first day in your office.”
Heat roared through him. Desire wrapped around him like a fist. His hands slid beneath her T-shirt. He unsnapped her bra and filled his palms with her breasts. The tips were pebbled rock hard. He wanted to lower his head and taste them, nip the tight little berries with his teeth, suck the fullness into his mouth.
He wanted to strip her naked, drag her down on the soft earth, and take her until neither of them could move, then start all over again. Gage kissed her long and deep, wrapped her thick braid around his hand and tilted her head back, kissed her until she was clinging to his shoulders and making little sounds in her throat.
Abby was a fire in his blood. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could withstand the flames.
It took every ounce of his will to pull away. “Tomorrow we’ll find your treasure,” he said gruffly. “Then we’ll finish this.”
Abby trembled. “What about your precious rules?”
Gage made no reply, just took her hand and led her back toward camp. Abby didn’t protest, not with Kyle and Mateo out of sight only a few yards away.
Her fingers felt small and warm nestled in his big hand. Just the touch of her skin made his heart beat faster.
Gage clenched his jaw. Abby was a dangerous distraction. One man was already dead. He didn’t want anyone else falling victim to the Devil’s Gold.
* * *
The final leg of their journey was a grueling trek beneath a hot desert sun. Abby was determined to reach their destination. Gage was pressing hard to make it happen. Mateo disappeared off and on, scouting ahead and checking their back trail, while Kyle plodded along with Mort at a steady, unwavering pace that ensured they would reach their goal.
By mid-afternoon, they were ahead of schedule. When Mateo reported a series of water holes linked together by an ancient chain of falls that dropped down the side of the mountain, Gage called for a badly needed break.
Though the falls were dry, worn smooth over eons, the recent rain had completely filled the rock basins at the bottom of each one, creating pools on three different levels.
While Gage studied the maps, Kyle watered the mule and tethered him to graze, took a quick swim, then stretched out with his hat over his eyes for a nap. Mateo, happier when he was off on his own, had enjoyed the pools earlier and headed back up the trail.
Abby was busily snapping photos and shooting video as Gage grabbed a towel out of one of the panniers and disappeared down the game trail toward the middle water hole. Ignoring a little voice that warned her to head for a different pool, she tucked the camera away, grabbed a towel, and silently fell in behind him.
By the time she caught up, Gage’s clothes and his weapon were neatly stacked on a rock near the edge of the basin, and he was already in the water, which was only waist deep. Bare-chested, his muscles bunching with every move, he was an amazing sight.
Backing into a shadowy alcove, Abby unlaced her hiking boots and toed them off, unzipped her jeans and shoved them down her legs, then pulled her T-shirt off over her head, leaving her in her bra and panties.
Her gaze returned to Gage as she unbraided her hair. She could hardly wait to go into the water, but instead, she remained in the shadows, entranced by the beauty of the man in front of her.
He had a thick chest dusted with fine dark brown hair, wide, heavily muscled shoulders, six-pack abs, and a pair of incredible biceps. A sliver of warmth slid into the pit of her stomach as Gage scrubbed his hair and body with a handful of sand, then ducked under to rinse.
Abby remained in the shadows as he rose like an ancient god out of the sea. His legs were long and muscled. His thighs and calves flexed and tightened as he walked out of the pool.