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Tino’s weight bore down heavier and heavier. Isabella propped him up against the wall, holding him upright with one hand while she worked to find the directions on the wall. They had to be getting close to the Marriott. It was going to be hard to get in without someone noticing the shape they were both in. But she couldn’t call anyone. They’d both been stripped of their phones. The phone Tino gave her was in her room. She could call Daddy and have help within hours. She hated to pull in the WIA. It was Tino’s assignment to take down Garza, but if he really did call Rico and Garza showed up, that meant Rico couldn’t be trusted.
The markings confirmed her assumption. Now to look for a manhole. She allowed Tino to slump into a sitting position and wandered on down the tunnel with the beam of her light pointed to the ceiling. The beam glanced off a round metal disc. There was the way out. The next problem was whether or not the rusted rungs protruding from the wall would hold not only her but Tino.
She counted her steps back to Tino, hoisted him up, quivering the muscles in her legs and arms, and tried to count her steps as they shuffled back to their only escape from the sewer.
“Tino? Tino, you’re going to have to help me. I can’t pull you up the ladder.”
“Querida. Leave me and go for help.” He coughed and moaned.
“No! You will buck up and climb this ladder. When I get you in the hotel room then you can become the whiny, wimp I always knew you were.” She grabbed his hand. “Sit here and shine the light up so I can see. I’ll climb up first and shove the cover to the side. Then I’ll come down and we’ll both climb up.”
“Won’t hold.” His gaze slid up the wall.
“It will. Keep the light steady.” Her conviction was as much for herself as for Tino. She walked over to the wall and grasped the rung in front of her face. Raising her legs, she hung there waiting to see if the metal held her weight. It passed. If this one—which would have been in the water more than the rest—was solid, they should all be. She placed a foot on the bottom rung and began her ascent of the wall. At the top, she used one hand and her shoulder to push on the cover. Grunting and perspiring, she slowly inched the heavy metal disc to the side and stuck her head out. They were on the far side of the Anthropology Museum at the edge of the park.
Finally, something was going their way. She descended the ladder and roused Tino. “Come on. We’re at the edge of Reforma Park.”
Tino stood, forcing his muscles to respond. He had to get up the ladder. It was the only way to get Isabella to safety. His muscles, bones, and insides felt like several days had passed as he pulled and Isabella shoved him up the ladder. His arms shook, and he didn’t think he could hang on a moment longer. Isabella gave him one more push on the butt and his head cleared ground level.
Aching and cursing, he forced his arms up onto the street and rested, propped on the walkway. Several people strolled by watching him emerge from the bowels of the earth. Had they been their Aztec ancestors, they would have welcomed him as a god. But his beaten and bloody face only had them hastening away.
It took considerable effort, but between his weakened condition and Isabella forcing him upward, he finally rolled clear of the hole and she landed on her back beside him.
“You really have to start carrying your own weight.” She kissed his cheek and lay beside him gasping.
“Sorry.” He wanted to say so much more but even the effort of talking wore him out.
She stood. “Come on. I’ll get a taxi to take us to the hotel.”
Tino leaned on Isabella as she hailed a taxi. She opened the door and pushed him in before sliding in beside him.
“Marriot, por favor,” she said, and he dropped off to sleep.
~*~
Isabella’s heart thudded and elation slipped a near hysterical giggle from her lips as the taxi pulled up to the Marriott’s front doors. Her WIA instructor, Sean Gunderson, stood in the lobby of the Marriott. She waved him over and within minutes two other men helped her carry Tino up to her room.
“He needs a doctor.” She smoothed the hair off Tino’s forehead as she took a seat on the bed beside him.
One of the operatives with Gunderson spoke into his cell phone.
She looked up at her instructor. “How did you know I was here?”
“Therese is an operative. She was told to let us know if you didn’t return. I had already landed when she called saying you’d been gone over night and someone had searched your room.”
“I knew there was something about her I trusted.” Isabella smiled. That was one of the few people her gut had been right about.
“Where have you been and what happened to Konstantine?” Gunderson took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
“I’m not sure what happened to Tino. We were headed to hand over something to Tino’s superior and we were snatched by Garza and his wife. Someone nearly choked me to death, and I woke up in a small chamber with Tino. He was beaten badly. I found a way out of two chambers built into the old sewer tunnel not far from the Garza home. The one”—she shivered—“appeared to have been used to kill people. It looked like blood stained the stairs leading up to two thrones.” She clutched Tino’s hand.
Gunderson patted her knee. He knew how she’d almost been a sacrifice victim in Guatemala.
“Anyway, I’d spent enough time in the underground tunnels lately that I figured out how to get back here.”
Her instructor’s right eyebrow arched and his lips quirked into a smirk. “And why have you been spending so much time in the underground tunnels?”
Her stomach squeezed and a sigh whispered over her lips. She would have to face someone with all the things she’d done under the auspices of doing her job. It might as well be this man rather than Daddy.
“I guess you’ve read my report on how the artifacts were stolen? I also stumbled onto some statues that are either more valuable than any other Aztec artifact yet uncovered or a case of fraud. I wanted to determine which and used the tunnels to steal one of the statues. Only I chose the wrong accomplice and ended up turned over to Bastante, who I think, is part of the statue scheme.”
Gunderson crossed his arms. “Where did you lose the statue?”
“In the tunnel just inside the storage room at the Templo Mayor museum.” She tipped her head and moved her fingers over Tino’s forehead. “If DEA closes in on Garza’s house, they’ll find the other two in a tunnel off the basement.”
Gunderson pulled out his phone and punched in a number. “Hello, Fred.” He walked away, and Isabella directed her attention to Tino.
“Why did they beat you?” she softly said, rising to get a wash cloth.
“Because I didn’t kill you and wouldn’t tell them how I know you.” Tino grasped her hand when she returned to sit on the bed. “I didn’t want to put the gun to your side. But I’d been sent by Karyme to kill you. Seeing them at the spot I’d set up to meet Rico, I could not control my anger. I thought by pretending I’d caught you, they would let us slip away believing I would execute her wish.” His pain-filled eyes clouded even more. “I should have caught on to Rico sooner. He did things that were risky and harmful to informants. Now I fear Hadda could be the next to fall victim to Karyme.”
Isabella shivered thinking of how she’d thought the woman was kind before seeing the dangerous side seep through her disguise. The vile side of Karyme that would have watched as someone killed her. “Why is Hadda in danger?”
“She is Garza’s daughter by Anarosa.”
Gunderson returned with a man carrying a black bag. “This is Dr. Hardy. He’s paid well for his discretion.”
The man walked up to Tino and ushered Isabella away. She walked over to Gunderson. “We need to talk,” she whispered and walked into the outer room with Gunderson following.
“Karyme Garza ordered Tino to kill me. And one of the Garza goons nearly strangled me to death. But the person Tino is most worried about is a girl in the staff at the Garza house. Her name is Hadda and her mother is Anarosa. If we can find a way to get those two out of there, the DEA might have some reliable witnesses to help build their case against the Garzas.” She could see by Gunderson’s shuttered eyes he didn’t care what the DEA did. Or that two lives might be in danger. It would be up to her and possibly Tino to get the women out of that household.
“I’m here to close the thefts and bring you back.” Gunderson’s phone trilled. He looked at it and walked away talking.
The doctor walked over and stood beside her. “The patient has bruises, contusions, and some knife cuts but as far as I can tell without x-rays it is all mostly muscle and tissue damage, nothing internal. I did sew up two gashes on his abdomen that he’ll need to watch that he doesn’t rip the stitches out.” He held up a small bottle. “These are eight hundred milligram ibuprophen. He can take one every five to six hours for the pain.” He looked back at the bed. “I gave him one already. When it kicks in, it would be a good idea to scrub him in a shower. From the smell, I’d say he’s been in the sewer and that will make all his open cuts susceptible to infection.”
Remorse hit Isabella in the solar plexus. She should have thought of the risk of infection. She’d been so anxious to pour out her thievery to Gunderson she’d not taken care of Tino properly.
“I’ll get him cleaned up right away. Thank you, doctor.” She shook hands with the man and returned to the bed. Because she’d been in the sewer as well, the smell hadn’t registered. She looked over her shoulder to the main room where Gunderson and his men were all huddled together. They can deal with the theft and the statues. Tino would be her task.
She strode to the bed and picked up Tino’s hand. “Come on. It’s time for a shower.”
One eye opened and the side of his mouth that was the least swollen twitched.
“I think you like the idea well enough to help me get you up.” She winked at him and working together he sat on the edge of the bed and then stood.
Isabella didn’t say a word or even look back as she helped Tino into the bathroom. She closed and locked the door before she eased him onto the toilet lid and began stripping him.
Her heart ached at the sight of the bruises, gashes, and stitches on his torso and limbs. “Who did this to you?”
“Manny, the man who nearly strangled you to death.” Tino tentatively touched her throat. “I tried to shoot him and someone took me out from behind.”
His dirty smelly clothes were in a pile on the floor.
“Can you stand in the shower by yourself until I get in?”
His eyes brightened. “Sí.” He rose to his feet and stepped under the already steaming water.
Isabella quickly undressed and joined Tino. “The doctor said you should be thoroughly cleaned.” She lathered a wash cloth with the hotel soap and started at his head working her way down his body, stealing herself when her scrubbing made him flinch. A moment of pain would be far better than becoming sick from infection.
Even though she washed him with a caregiver mind set, her hands caressed and massaged the intimate areas on his body with care. By the time she knelt at his feet washing away the sewer stench from his ankles and toes, she knew the pill the doctor gave him had eased his pain.
His hands massaged her head, before urging her to her feet. The minute she stood, he cradled her head in his hands and kissed her tenderly. Within seconds the soft kisses turned ravenous as his tongue tangled with hers and their bodies meshed. She forgot about his ravaged body and reveled in the ecstasy his kisses and heated caresses did to her body and soul.
Tino immersed himself in the emotions only this woman could bring out in him. He’d made his decision while lying on that cold stone floor and watching her find their escape. He would resign from the DEA as soon as they set foot back in the U.S.
The warm water running over their heated bodies soon cooled. Tino reluctantly, eased his embrace and dropped kisses along her face. “I wish to leave this place. To take you home and spend our lives together.”
Isabella leaned back, peering into his eyes. “Is this a marriage proposal?”
He tried to read the emotions in her eyes, but her body snuggling against his, told him as much as any sparkle in her eye.
“Yes, querida, it is a marriage proposal. I want you in my life.” His hand cupped her cheek as he watched her eyes. Her mind was spinning. He could tell by the concentrated stare in her green/gold irises.
She eased out of his arms. “What about your job?”
“I will resign as soon as we land. I no longer wish to chase drug lords or my family’s revenge.” He placed a hand over her left breast. “You are all I care about. Making you happy and keeping myself alive to enjoy life with you.”
Her gaze searched his for a moment before she smiled and jumped, looping her arms around his neck and nearly bringing them both to the shower floor.
“Then I accept.”
Her answer and deep, intoxicating kiss chased away the pain and filled his heart with warmth and contentment. Two things he’d been missing for the last eight years.
Pounding on the door, angered him. It had to be the men from WIA.
“¿Sí?” he called not releasing Isabella. She turned off the water.
“I need to speak with the two of you. Now.” The man’s voice didn’t sound the least bit embarrassed. More irked.
“We’ll be right out,” Isabella said, grabbing towels from the shelf above the toilet.
“We cannot put on the dirty clothes and I do not have any clean ones here.” Tino dried his hair and wrapped a towel around his waist.
Isabella’s cheeks reddened. “And my clean clothes are in my bag in the other room.” She dried her hair and wrapped the towel around her chest. The bottom barely covered her cheeks. “Stay in here. I will bring your bag to you then I will have clothes delivered from a store for me.” He made a mental note to also have Isabella pick out a ring before they left. He wanted her to arrive in the states with his ring on her finger.
He opened the door and was relieved to see that only the man in charge remained in the room.
Without the hot water and steamy thoughts washing over and through his body, the muscles stiffened quickly making his movement jerky and re-igniting spasms of pain. He walked over to Isabella’s bag and hauled it back to her in the bathroom. He kissed her cheek, and then faced the man standing with his arms crossed and scowling.
“I’ve heard about you from Isabella’s father but that doesn’t mean I have to like or trust you.”
Tino shook his head. “I do not know you and I do not like or trust you. We are even. The only thing I care about is getting Isabella back home safe.” He stepped by the man and picked up the room phone. He asked the desk clerk to have a set of men’s clothing and shoes his size sent up to the room as soon as possible. He put the phone down, and Isabella walked into the room dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers. Her damp hair was in the usual braid. She wasn’t wearing her glasses which made her eyes appear even more exotic.
“What did you need to talk to us about Gunderson?” she asked, stopping beside Tino, grasping his hand, and drawing him to sit on the couch beside her.
“DEA raided the Garza compound. They found the locked room and all the evidence to bring down Garza, but they only apprehended the staff. Garza, his wife, and his underlings were nowhere to be seen.”
Isabella squeezed Tino’s hand. He felt her fear vibrate through their linked palms. He was pretty sure Garza would head out of the country but would his crazy wife go without taking revenge on Isabella?
“Hadda and Anarosa, the cook and her daughter, are safe?” Tino asked.
Gudnerson shook his head. “They found the cook with a nasty hit to the head. She’s in the hospital and the girl is missing.”
Tino looked at Isabella. Her eyes widened as she peered into his. They couldn’t leave until the girl was safe. Isabella squeezed his hand. She’d help him.
“What is the DEA doing to find Garza and the girl?” Isabella asked.
“Nothing. They are confiscating everything in the Garza house and contacted local authorities to stop Garza if he tries to leave, but I’m sure he has all the local law enforcement on his payroll.”
Isabella released Tino’s hand and stood, fisting her hands on her hips. “What is WIA doing about the missing girl?”
Gunderson snorted. “Nothing. She doesn’t have anything to do with the missing artifacts. And that tunnel you told me about...it’s been sealed off. We didn’t find any evidence of carved statues.”
A knock on the door sent Gunderson to answer it.
Tino pulled Isabella back down on the couch beside him. “We must find Hadda,” he whispered.
Isabella nodded. “We have to go back into the sewer and find those chambers. I’d bet my vest Karyme has her.”