“There’s never a good time.”
“So after she died you decided you’d be Billy’s little mother, and now you’re willing to put lives on the line when you discover you’ve nurtured a sociopath.”
Dead silence. “Why are you such a nasty son of a bitch?” she said finally. “Did I run over your dog? Okay, yes, I did something wrong. Something very wrong, I take full responsibility. But it was done out of love.”
“So are a lot of bad things. Love and religion are two of the most dangerous things in human existence.”
Another long silence, and he kept his eyes on the road. He was being a nasty son of a bitch, and he wasn’t sure why.
“You must lead a very sad life,” she said finally. “Faith and love don’t do bad things; people do. They get confused, they make mistakes, because, unlike you, they’re human. I’m sorry no one ever loved you when you were young—you might not be such a cynical asshat if someone had.”
He had to stop baiting her. “I said religion, not faith. And I didn’t say love was bad, just dangerous.”
“At least you admit the existence of love,” she said in a brittle voice.
“I’m open to the possibility.”
“Bully for you.”
He made one more turn on the increasingly overgrown road, and he saw what must have been the old convent before him. The South American jungle had begun to encroach, and there were vines and foliage crawling over the old stucco walls, greenery everywhere. “Home sweet home,” he said.
Parker was looking up at it doubtfully. “Maybe we ought to keep driving.”
“We were never going any farther. The Guiding Light has used this place whenever they come down from the mountains, and right now they’re not more than ten klicks away.”
“We’re that close to a rebel army composed of criminals? Just the two of us? Who do you think you are, Rambo?”
“Soledad is with them, remember? If she’s a prisoner do you want to abandon her?”
“Of course not! I just don’t see how the two of us . . .”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” he said, deliberately goading her. “I have a plan.” He put the jeep in park, looking at the dispiriting landscape.
“I’ve got a plan,” she said. “To stab you in your sleep.”
She surprised a laugh out of him. “Then you’d be up shit’s creek without a paddle.”
“That’s the only thing that’s keeping you alive, mister,” she said smartly, unfastening her seat belt and climbing out of the jeep. There was a large courtyard to one side of the building, and she started toward it.
He almost reminded her of her bag, then decided he’d given her enough shit for one day and grabbed it himself. “You really going to cook for me?” he said, coming up even with her.
“Hell, no. I just didn’t like that skank.”
He was amused at the idea. “Why not? She was very pretty,” he added, just to see her reaction.
“She’s a snake,” Parker said succinctly, and then shuddered. “There aren’t any snakes or spiders here, are there?”
He’d seen spiders as big as dinner plates in Calliveria when he’d been here in the past, but he suspected this might be one subject that was a little too intense for her. Murder attempts and human trafficking were bad enough—yucky wildlife was beyond the pale.
“You don’t like snakes and spiders? Wuss. We’re more likely to be visited by jaguars.”
“You can fight them off,” she said. “I suggest you cook dinner as well, unless you want to risk poisoning.”
He almost mentioned the spiders, but thought better of it. “You’re just lucky I packed provisions.”
“Not lucky. You’re a very thorough man.” She suddenly turned away, her face growing red, and he knew what she was thinking. She was remembering the sex last night, and if a shaft of arousal hadn’t hit him he would have been amused. Hell, he was amused. Except he wasn’t going there again, not if he could help it. She had a very bad effect on his attention span—she was far too distracting, and he needed to keep his brain working. “We’ll find a couple of rooms that aren’t too disastrous, eat dinner, and then settle down. Tomorrow we’ll head up into the mountains and see if we can find the Guiding Light.”
If he expected her to brighten at the mention of two rooms, he was doomed to disappointment. Didn’t she know what she wanted? Either she wanted him in her bed or not, and she couldn’t have it both ways.