Beautiful Sacrifice

on illegal artifact middlemen from time to time, which kept the cops off his own back.
    Probably taking down competitors, just like the narco “informants” do, Hunter thought.
    He kept reading swiftly. Everything he saw made him believe that if he was going to find the shooters and whoever they worked for, it wasn’t going to happen north of the border. The people in the United States who might have answers were dead or lawyered up. As much as he’d like to beat the truth out of the gangbangers, he had a gut feeling that any real knowledge had been lost when Snakeman went south.
    Hunter punched up a travel Web site and checked availability. From the look of it, they’d just added more flights to Cozumel to accommodate the holiday-season demand. He booked several different flights on the family business account, paying extra for fully refundable tickets.
    Wonder how good the Reyes Balam bodyguards are?
    Good or bad, Hunter would find out. He wasn’t lettingLina out of his sight until he was sure she was protected. Then he’d go hunting in Mexico, where rules were different and life was lived a lot closer to the bone.
    But first, Crutchfeldt.
    “Hunter? Where are you?”
    Lina’s voice floated through the silence like music. The huskiness told him that she had just awakened.
    “I’m just checking on Jase.”
    “How is he?” Her voice was as anxious as Hunter had been before he talked to the hospital.
    “Good,” Hunter said. He left the computer and headed toward the bedroom. “Out of danger, stable, recovering faster than anyone expected.”
    “That’s wonderful!”
    When he got to the bedroom, she was propped on one arm, the sheet loose around her breasts. She was more beautiful to him than ever, goddess and woman, as deep inside him as his heartbeat. Deeper.
    She watched him with equal intensity.
    “Don’t look like that, sweetheart,” he said huskily.
    “Like what?”
    “Like I have another party hat in my jeans.”
    “You’re not wearing any jeans,” she said, her glance traveling over him with open approval. “Not wearing anything, in fact.”
    “Neither are you.” He bent over and kissed her slowly, thoroughly. “We’ll take care of that when we get some new clothes, Padre style. Do you think Crutchfeldt would like to show us through his collection?”
    Lina slowly surfaced from sleep and the desire that curled lazily through her. “Crutchfeldt? Why would he?”
    “You’re Celia’s daughter. You’ve heard so much about hiscollection from your mother, and you happened to be in the area, yada yada.”
    More awake with each second, Lina thought about it. “He just might. He’s arrogant, proud, and likes to be admired for his scholarly and discriminating taste.”
    “Perfect. Bat those fantastic eyelashes at him, make suitable cooing sounds, and generally take his mind off of business.”
    She grimaced. “Ugh. That’s what Celia does. The batting and cooing.”
    “Works, right? Men can be very simple creatures.”
    “Simon Crutchfeldt is odious,” Lina said. “He’d wade through blood to get to an artifact he wants.”
    Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “Literally?”
    “There are rumors…” Lina’s long fingers moved restlessly over the bedspread. “But rumors aren’t truth. I don’t want to spread lies, even about him.”
    “Are those rumors about a network of grave robbers and bloody middlemen who funnel artifacts through Mexican government contacts to Crutchfeldt?”
    She gave him a startled look. “Yes. How did you know?”
    “Part of any security operation is gathering information. My uncles are good, and two of my cousins are even better. Born hackers.”
    “Crutchfeldt.” She said it like a curse. “I can’t decide whether to shower before or after we see him.”
    Hunter laughed. “I’ll shower down the hall while you decide. Because if I shower near you, we’ll be in severe danger of making a baby.”
    Lina got up. She’d much rather have lured Hunter into bed or into the shower, and knew he felt the same way. But she didn’t object aloud. They had used up all available condoms.Not that she didn’t want to have a baby. She did. Just not nine months from today.
    Sometimes being an adult sucked.
    Hunter watched Lina’s beautiful butt disappear into the bathroom. He grabbed his clothes, showered, and dressed quickly. A circuit of the house told him that nothing had changed since the last time he’d made the rounds shortly before sunrise. Nobody