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“I don’t honestly know, Jack. It’s too early to tell. I’m not happy about it, that’s for sure.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine,” he agreed. “So? Does this compromise the op you’re on? Do you want to be taken off it and have someone replace you or what?”
Her heart leaped. “You’re not ordering me back?”
“No. Why should I? Only if you want to. You’re developing a good cover down there. I got a call from Sergeant Kilmer last week. He’s pleased with your professionalism. They feel you’re very good at your job.”
Relief simmered through her. Daria almost didn’t dare believe her ears. “Then… you’re not taking me off this op unless I want off it?”
“Yes. Look, you’re a known quantity to us, Daria. You had no idea about this development. It’s a genetic FUBAR and not your fault. If anything, you’re the real victim in all of this mess. What I’m more concerned about is that, if Pavlovich ever lays eyes on that birthmark of yours, all hell could break loose. He’s astute enough to put all the pieces together.”
She tucked her lower lip between her teeth for a moment, staring out over Cusco. “I can hide it with a neckerchief, Jack. No one will see it. I’m due to go out into the village of Orilla tomorrow and I’ll routinely wear it anytime I go out into the jungle. If I ever run into Pavlovich out there, he won’t know I have the birthmark.”
“Okay, that sounds workable. Kilmer said they’re setting up an op to get Korsak. Has Nik been able to find out the name of the next village yet?”
“Yes. Orilla. I’m going out there tomorrow to meet with Señora Elisa Vega. She’s the wife of the chief of that village. Korsak and his team are supposed to show up there the next day.”
“You need to egress out of there before they arrive,” Jack warned her.
“I will,” Daria promised. She had a Glock and she carried a knife as well. She had been provided the legal permit to carry a firearm in Peru, although it was concealed so that and no one could see it was on her person. In this country, if she was found with a military firearm, she could be thrown into prison. Only thepoliciawas allowed to carry weapons, as well as their SWAT teams. The coolness of a sudden breeze lifted strands of hair across her face and she pulled them away. Keeping alert, wanting no passersby to overhear the call, Daria ended it, feeling more than a little relieved that Driscoll would allow her to see this mission through. And that meant she wasn’t a detriment to Shield, which gave her all the relief she so desperately needed right now.
How much she missed Nik! Tucking the phone into a plastic baggie and sealing it, she wandered down the long portico filled with tourists waiting for the next train to the jungle area at the base of Machu Picchu. Above her, the sun shone down brightly and she had on her sunglasses and baseball cap to shield herself against its heat. She stopped at a vendor, a Quechua woman with a brown felt bowler hat set jauntily on her head, and bought two dark-green neckerchiefs. Paying a lot more Peruvian soles than the asked-for price, Daria slipped one of the scarves around her neck. She made her way through the ticketed gate of the train station, found the bathroom and went in. Studying herself critically in a mirror, she saw the neckerchief did indeed hide her birthmark. Patting the soft cotton material, Daria could see it would remain in place even if it shifted around on her neck. The birthmark would remain hidden to the world at large. She couldn’t even allow herself to think about Pavlovich’s reaction if he ever found out about it.
Daria boarded ten minutes later and sat in the first-class car. During the ride up, the gentle rocking motion of the train soothed some of the wild emotions loose and howling within her. She sat alone at her table, a cup of freshly-brewed coffee in front of her. The train was climbing up and out of the dark-brown bowl of the valley in which Cusco sat, and heading up toward the twelve-thousand-foot point where it crested the mountains before dropping down again to sixty-five hundred feet below into Aguas Calientes, an hour ahead. She rested her head back against the dark-green leather of the seat and closed her eyes.Nik…Daria knew he would hold her. Give her a sense that her world was going to be all right, even if it lay shattered all around her feet right now. Never before had she felt that kind of warmth: that living protection that he invisibly bestowed upon her. If only she could see Nik, hear his voice once more, feel his strong, cherishing mouth upon hers… At some point during that thought, Daria dozed off.
Nik’s heart leapedin his chest as his team walked into Orilla in the late morning and he saw her.
The clouds were lifting over the jungle, the birds singing, monkeys howling and hooting. There, near Chief Vega’s hut, was Daria, sitting on a small tarp with several samples of orchids lying around her, an opened notebook in her hands. What was she doing here? His heart thudded with terror as he looked over his shoulder to see Pavlovich suddenly alert, focused on her as well. Daria was dressed in her normal jungle attire, her hair hanging in one long braid between her shoulder blades. What was new was the green neckerchief around her neck as she sorted through the orchids. Many curious children also crowded around her, watching intently what she was doing.
He saw the sudden fear in the faces of the village’s Indians as he and his team appeared from out of the jungle trail. Orilla was the largest village on Korsak’s circuit. It had around two-hundred inhabitants, and sat about five hundred feet above the banks of the small river flowing by it. The long oval-shaped village was smooth and flat. A number of metal tripods dotted the clearing with blackened kettles hung suspended over fires below them. Nik could smell the Quinoa cereal on the air. The nutlike flavor always had a sweet fragrance to it. It hurt him to see the children suddenly start running as his team moved into the village proper, dashing behind their mothers’ long, colorful skirts. Dogs didn’t even bark. They ran and hid, too.
What was Daria doing here? She’d known they were arriving soon, but they were a day early. Korsak had decided to push on and get to the village to rest up overnight in comfort instead of camping out and coming in tomorrow morning. He saw Daria lift her head, her eyes widening with surprise. When her gaze locked on his, he could do or say nothing. His team knew she was his woman, and that should protect her. But Pavlovich and his men were another question mark. If only Daria weren’t here! She was at risk! His hand tightened around the shoulder straps of his ruck. He saw so much in her expression for that fleeting second. This was a hot mess.
Turning, he looked at Korsak behind him. “My woman is here. Unless you have other things for me to do right now, I’m going to see her.” He couldn’t just peel off and leave without an explanation. Korsak made all the final decisions.
Ustin grinned. “Well, well, this is new, Morozov.” He shrugged. “You know where your hut is at. Invite her in with you. I’m sure we won’t be seeing much of either of you.”
Relief tunneled through Nik. He nodded and walked to the right, heading to where Daria was standing, her gaze never leaving his. He heard Brudin snickering and ignored the bastard. Korsak had his hands full with Pavlovich and his men, and was probably glad to be rid of him for a while, anyway. As he strode toward Daria, he saw questions in her widening gold-brown eyes, saw welcome and wariness in them, as she looked past him at the troop of Russians entering the village.
She wiped her hands down the sides of her green trousers as he approached.
Nik knew his team was watching. He halted a foot away from her, keeping his boots off the tarp where the orchids sat. “Why are you here?” he demanded in low voice, speaking Ukrainian. The children were not afraid of him, and came running to his side, touching his pants, his hands, tugging on him, pleading for him to give them the candy that he always carried in his pockets.
“I didn’t know you were coming in today,” she said, frowning. “I thought you were supposed to arrive tomorrow morning?”
“Korsak changed his mind.” He looked over his shoulder and saw the men heading down one side of the village. They had huts at the other end, empty and waiting for them. Turning, he reached out, sliding his hand along her jaw. “Make this look good?” and he stepped forward, leaning down, taking her mouth before she could reply. The moment his mouth met her warm, lush lips, all the terror dissolved and his world anchored hotly around Daria. He felt her arms go around his neck, drawing him close, eagerly kissing him in return. This wasn’t play-acting, this was real, and he groaned in pleasure as she hungrily returned his kiss. For just this stolen moment, Nik inhaled the fragrance of the orchids she’d gathered, and the scents clinging to her black, shining hair. Her fingers caressed the nape of his neck, his flesh tingling wildly there, recalling its memory of her scalding, teasing touch. Finally, he eased back from her wet lips, studying her from beneath his short, thick lashes. The love he saw shining in her eyes was real.
“The last two weeks have been a special hell,” he growled, caressing her hair, her shoulder, and finally sliding his fingers down her arm to her hand, holding it. He glanced toward the team. Nik saw the women hurrying their young daughters inside their thatched huts, afraid that one of Korsak’s men would grab one and rape her. He saw Pavlovich standing, hands on hips, looking imperiously around, as if he owned this village and its innocent inhabitants.
“I know,” she whispered unsteadily, placing her free hand on his chest, searching his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m here. I didn’t know. Should I leave?”
He shook his head. “No. That will rouse their suspicions.” He slid his arm around her waist, bringing her against him as he pointed to a lone hut at the other end of the village from where the team stayed. “Señora Vega has a special hut for me over there. I hold a medical clinic there when I’m in town, and it’s larger than the others. That’s where we’ll stay.” He gave her a heated look. “Tonight, you’re mine.”
Daria leaned into Nik, absorbing the feel of his arm around her shoulders drawing her against him. She felt his worry, felt his protectiveness, as they stood together. “What should I do in the meantime?”
“I’ll take you to meet Pavlovich to dispel any issues that might come up later regarding you. I’m sure Korsak has told him you’re my woman.” His mouth thinned as he studied her. “What’s wrong?” He saw sudden pain in her eyes and her soft mouth pursing up.
“Nik,” she choked out quietly, holding his gaze, “the DNA test results came back. I’m a long-lost relative of his.”
