GOLD RIVER (Book 1)

Chapter 10

Tom peered at Kate in the throes of intense, boiling agony. "You didn't have to enjoy that so much."

She smirked. "I'm thrilled to be of service." Guess she was no longer concerned now that he was awake, and he didn't die.

Gradually, the pain subsided to an annoying throb, leaving him with a mild grimace. "It sure is a fancy seeing you here," he said with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. Fully intended. He regarded the sky with a smirk. "You seemed to handle your fall from grace rather well."

Kate smoothed her white blouse, running her hands over the front pockets of her brown cargo pants, a nervous tendency she had when facing confrontation. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, you're not nursing any injuries. They didn't drug you. You jumped from the plane and knew exactly when to pop your chute. They probably coached you the whole way. My only question is who and why?"

Kate cut her eyes to him, appeared sullen. The why hit home. She glanced away and then back at him. "We need to move if we're to reach the ruins by noon. We have much to do."

She pulled a compass from her pants pocket, got a bearing, and brushed past him. "You can follow me since you're obviously in the dark."

"Wait a cotton-picking second, sugar britches."

That got her attention. She turned around and got in his face. "For your information, there are two reasons they rendered you unconscious, one of which is your reputation for being stubborn."

"If by stubborn, you mean refusing to do things I don't want to do, then yeah, I guess you have a point." He pressed on. "I feel like I've wrestled a bear and lost. I need... I deserve some answers."

Kate turned and walked off again.

"Hold up a minute. You know what? I'm not going anywhere with you. For all I know, you're the one who threw me off the plane."

She stopped and faced him. "I did not throw you off the plane! I had nothing to do with your abduction."

"Who are they then? And who is the guy with the raspy voice?"

"His name is Benson, that's all I know. His partner's name is Crow."

"Crow? What kind of name is that?"

"I don't know. He's a disturbing individual, and he doesn't speak. I don't know what's wrong with him, if something happened to his tongue or if he's psycho. I'm working for them out of necessity, and I will not go into details about it. But... Tom... I need you," she said with a crack of desperation in her voice.

"Yeah, well, get in line, sweetheart." He folded his arms.

"You don't have to be a sod about it, you know. You could just go along with me since we're both here, in the bloody jungle."

He bit his lip, but didn't move, didn't say a word.

"For the love of all things, good and pure. Can't you just..."

"No, I can't, because you almost got me killed. And I'm still taking antibiotics for a snake bite." He showed her the marks on his hand. "Which thankfully, the guy with the raspy voice allowed me to keep." He rattled the bottle in the pocket of his jacket. "Ava would've been fit to tie if I couldn't finish my prescription."

"Your older sister has always looked out for you."

"She stuck around when you left."

Kate rolled her eyes. "What will it take to get you to move?"

"I wanna know why we're here."

"Fine," she said. "Recently, a group of archeologists discovered what appears to be a ruin."

"What kind of ruin are we talking about?"

"The kind that involves gold."

"Gold got me snake bit. I think I'll just stay put, or better yet, find my way out of the jungle by myself."

Kate closed the gap between them, took him by the hands and stared deep into his eyes. "Tom, I need your help. I can't do this without you."

Something in her eyes caused the hard edges of his resolve to melt away.

"Will you please come with me?"

He didn't know if she was playing him, but regardless, she was doing a good job of it. "So, how much gold are we talking about?"

"A big room full of it."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

Kate's jaw dropped.

Something occurred to him before she could answer. "What was the other reason they drugged me?"

"Because they don't like you much at all," Kate said and then added, "And neither do I at the moment."

"I've never been in it for the accolades, sweetheart." Tom paused to observe her response. He didn't address every woman with cute names, but he did Kate at the moment, because he knew it irritated her. "By the way, why exactly are you working for them?"

"You ask too many questions, and stop calling me, sweetheart. We have another hour of hiking before we get there. I suggest you pipe down and keep your wits about you. There may be more of those awful panthers creeping about."

"They're jaguars."

"Gold, Tommy boy. Keep your eyes on the prize."

He bit his lip again and huffed. This better be good.