Marked in Mexico (3 page)

Jessica giggled, took her hair out of its ponytail, and shook it out so it hung down to the small of her back. They did seem like nice enough men, but she wasn’t interested. Until she found a way out of her predicament with Phillip, she didn’t need another man complicating her life, and she definitely wasn’t prone to vacation flings. All she wanted to do was relax and put her life in Maryland and her relationship with Phillip out of her head and spend some quiet time with her best friend, and that’s exactly what she planned to do.

Sunday morning Jessica woke up more refreshed than she had in months. A day lounging in the sun had really done her good. Afterward, they’d eaten dinner at the hotel and shared a couple of drinks with Zach, Dave and Jack. As much as she tried to deny it, she did enjoy their company. The three men were a breath of fresh air in her usually stuffy world.

Zach was polite and funny and Amber seemed to enjoy his company the most. She’d even convinced him and his friends to go on the ruins tour with them, though Amber had made it clear she was engaged, so Jessica felt the new friendship was harmless enough. Dave spent most of the evening getting drunk and hitting on every woman at the bar. Jack said little and had retired early, which had made it easier for her and Amber to slip away as well without looking like party-poopers and enabled them to get a decent night’s sleep.

When she stepped onto the bus, Jessica could see that it was nearly full, but the guys were already on board and saving seats. Amber plopped down next to Zach and they immediately started talking about New York, having discovered the previous night they were both originally from Manhattan.

Jessica paused, trying to decide who to sit with. Dave looked a lot like Phillip and she hated being reminded of him. It was unfair of her to judge Dave that way, but she couldn’t help but not trust his smooth talk and charming flirtations. While she’d been amused by the way Dave had carried on at the bar the previous evening, she had no desire to encourage his attention.

Jack was Dave’s complete opposite. He seldom spoke, but when he did he chose his words carefully, whether it was a perfectly-timed barb at one of his buddies’ expense or a rare, but well thought-out addition to an ensuing conversation. Jessica assessed his current attire and it brought a smile to her lips. He wore a loose T-shirt, long baggy shorts, white socks several inches up his calves and hiking boots. The clothes hid the broad shoulders and muscles she’d witnessed the previous day on the beach and the whole outfit bordered on the ridiculous. He had shaved and his golden skin was smooth. Jessica wasn’t sure which look she liked better on him, though the clean-shaven version appeared less dangerous and put her at ease.

Of the three men, Jack looked by far the most harmless and she was pretty certain he wouldn’t expect her to initiate any conversation. The night before at the cantina he had done his best to ignore her, which suited her just fine. She wasn’t used to that kind of reaction from men, but it would be nice for a change to be able to let her guard down a bit.

“Move over,” she said to Jack as she slapped at the knee he’d cocked on the seat, probably to discourage her from sitting there, she thought with amused satisfaction.

Jack lowered his leg off the seat and rolled his eyes as he slowly shifted around to make room for Jessica to sit next to him. She almost giggled as a faint exasperated huff escaped his lips. The actions were so childish that she was torn between slapping him alongside the head and telling him to grow up, and giving the little boy in him a big hug.

“What’s wrong with me? Do I stink?” Dave joked as he mockingly smelled his own armpits.

“Zach here’s a fellow New Yorker, so we have lots to talk about, and you look and act too much like Jessica’s...well, I suppose you would call him her boyfriend, who she pretty much despises at the moment, for her to be comfortable around you,” Amber replied.

Jessica thought “despise” was a little harsh, even though Phillip was definitely not her favorite person at the moment, but felt no inclination to correct Amber. She hadn’t known these men before yesterday and would probably never see them again after they returned to the resort, so she didn’t see the need to explain her personal life to any of them.

Jack lifted an eyebrow at Jessica, but didn’t ask. Amber’s statement was a bit odd, but he really didn’t care about Jessica or any other woman’s love life. In fact, he was glad the two women were unavailable and uninterested. It took a lot of pressure off him.

After he lost Elaine in a climbing accident three years ago, he’d vowed to never get serious about anyone ever again and the best way to do that was to avoid women all together. The more distance he kept, the less responsibility he’d have to face. His friends understood how he felt, but still pushed him to look for casual affairs. He had never believed in one-night flings, but had a difficult time convincing his buddies, especially Dave, that there was something inherently wrong with using women once and then tossing them aside.

Jack was relieved when Jessica made no effort to engage him in one-on-one conversation. He was uncomfortable when people asked him about his personal life, even though they were usually only trying to be polite by showing interest.

She seemed content to turn around in her seat in order to converse with Zach, Amber and Dave. The way Jessica twisted placed her so close to him that he could smell the fragrance of some tropical flower in her hair. He cursed himself for finding the scent pleasant and shifted to stare out the window, but couldn’t push her scent out of his mind. She smelled as classy as she looked. Even in her shorts and casual top he could tell she was more sophisticated than most women he knew. He doubted she ever got a speck of dirt under her perfect pink fingernails, broke a sweat or tolerated a hair to fall out of place. She was definitely not his type or in his league.

“Please, stop showering me with attention! It’s so uncomfortable,” Jessica feigned to the great amusement of everyone but Jack, who seemed to ignore the comment.

“As I said yesterday, our buddy is a little socially challenged,” Zack explained, “but don’t hold it against Dave and me.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.” Jessica scooted around a little more to hear the conversation.

She found it refreshing to talk about all the hotspots in New York and listened as the guys joked about some of their favorite climbing incidents. They even humored Amber with polite interest when she talked about her wedding. The conversation was so far from the law firm and politics that Jessica couldn’t help but feel happy and relaxed. She couldn’t remember when she had enjoyed something so simple so much.

Even though she had joked about it, she’d been a little offended that Jack had turned his back to her and stared out the window for the first half of the drive. Jessica wasn’t sure if he was arrogant or rude, but by the time they neared the ruins, he’d at least begun to throw in the occasional quick-witted jab at Zach and Dave as he added to their climbing stories. His deep voice was soothing, almost hypnotic, compelling her to listen closely to every word. Despite her efforts to remain annoyed with him for his earlier shunning, she couldn’t help but be a bit charmed.

After they disembarked the bus they listened to the tour guide jump into the history of Chichén Itzá. The guide asked the group to stay together and Jessica wondered how that would suit her rowdy companions. The three men seemed too free-spirited to fall in line. Most of the other passengers were elderly, except for a half dozen college-age girls who seemed more interested in showing skin than learning about the Maya. Dave was the only one of the guys to show the young women any interest at all, which made Jessica wonder about Zach and Jack.

“You two don’t have to baby sit us,” Jessica informed them. “If you want to go help Dave out with all those young girls, our feelings won’t be hurt. In fact, Amber’s fiancé would probably prefer it.”

“Believe me, Dave doesn’t need our help. Besides, I’m still a little tired from last night. I couldn’t drag Dave out of the bar until two this morning,” Zach replied with a grin.

“They’re a little young for me and not really my type,” Jack added coolly as he followed the guide to the next pyramid.

Jessica and Amber fell in behind the men. Their eyes focused on the magnificent architecture and detailed glyphs as they wandered through the columns of the Temple of the Warriors. The sky was a deep blue, which provided a perfect backdrop for the dozens of photographs Amber was clicking off. Jessica hadn’t even brought a camera on the trip, knowing her friend was a compulsive shutter-bug and she could just sponge copies of all the digital photos.

“Take our picture,” Amber demanded as she handed her camera to Zach.

Amber pulled Jessica toward her and they posed on the steps of the temple with their arms around each other. Jessica couldn’t help but smile. Amber had been her best friend for so long and she always made her problems disappear. As they stood on the steps, Jessica wished this trip would never end and she would never have to go home and face Phillip and her father. Of course, Daddy would be disappointed in her when she broke it off with Phillip and told him she was moving. There was nothing in the world Jessica hated worse than letting her father down, but living the life she had been was making her miserable and she refused to continue to compromise her values for anyone, especially Phillip Harmon and Cooper Morgan.

Jack looked on. He’d noticed the day before that Jessica looked mighty fine in a bikini, but he hadn’t noticed how beautiful she was until she smiled. When he first met her, she’d come across so unhappy he wasn’t sure how to react, but now she was simply radiant. Her wide smile was warm and genuine and exposed her perfectly straight white teeth. As she grinned and giggled at Amber, her dimples became more prominent, making her appear like a carefree teenager, not a trial lawyer. Jack couldn’t force himself to look away, entranced by her brilliant violet eyes and enchanting smile.

“Come, come, let’s keep moving,” the tour guide called.

Jack was thankful for the interruption since it forced him to look away from Jessica. He’d only come on the tour to get Zach and Dave off his back. He had little interest in Mayan ruins and even less interest in getting to know two women he would probably never see again after he returned to Colorado.

The tour guide led the group to all the smaller temples, ball courts and other structures in a clockwise fashion around
El Castillo
, the main pyramid in the center of the city. When they reached
El Castillo
the guide waited until everyone caught up.

“The last stop on the tour will be at the sacred well. The sacred well is a sinkhole about sixty-five feet across and is located a half mile from here. Legend is that the sacred well was used for human sacrifices. Skeletons of about fifty people have been found at the bottom, giving credibility to the story. It’s a magnificent feature of the ruins, but if anyone is not up for the hike, you can wait here or meet us back at the bus.”

Many of the older participants in the group decided to wait at
El Castillo
, fearing the half-mile walk might be too much for them in the oppressive humid heat of late afternoon. The sun blazed down and no clouds offered any hint of relief as the rest of the group strolled toward the final stop on the tour.

The group encountered few other visitors as they walked to the sacred well. At the well, the guide went into detail about how the sacrifices were carried out. Jessica felt he was being a little melodramatic and started to tune him out until he abruptly stopped talking. His silence jolted her back to attention.

The look on the guide’s face sent shivers down Jessica’s spine. His eyes were focused on something behind the group which only he could see. Jessica’s eyes darted from Amber to the other twenty-five people standing around her and could tell they were all aware something was wrong. As if on cue, the entire group eased around to face what stood behind them.

One of the young college girls screamed, but the sound was cut short by the butt of a rifle being slammed to her temple, knocking her to the ground. An old man moved to go to her, but stopped as a gun was raised to his head.

Two gunmen held automatic rifles at the ready and motioned for the group to turn back around and face the tour guide. Everyone quietly complied except for the young woman still lying on the ground, bleeding and whimpering.

Jessica reached for Amber’s hand and squeezed it hard as they looked at the shaking guide with a pistol pressed to his temple. The gunman said something to the guide in Spanish and the guide translated.

“He says do not move and do not make a sound and no one has to die today.”

Everyone obeyed, the silence broken only by the birds singing in the trees, a sound too pleasant for the situation. The gunman again said something and the group eagerly waited for translation.

“Everyone lay face down on the ground and clasp your hands behind your neck. Do not move, do not make a sound and do not look up.”

Jessica hated to release Amber’s hand, but knew they had to comply. She stayed as close to Amber as she could while easing down to the hard-packed ground. She joined her fingers behind her neck and turned her head to the side so she could breathe freely and still see her friend.

She heard a whimper as someone was drug to her feet. The noise was feminine and sounded young, so Jessica imagined one of the college girls had been grabbed. She waited and listened. This time she heard a yelp, followed by a slap, and another person being drug to their feet. Another heavier, clumsier shuffle sounded, but little else.