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hotel with a backward wave. Brody nodded in return, watching her disappear inside.
    The best thing Amelia Sawyer could do was leave the country. And with any luck, she’d never come back.

Chapter Three
    A dark-haired waitress placed a plate of
pollo en salsa de huevos
in front of Brody, who inhaled the delicious scent of chicken, eggs, onion, and garlic. His mouth watered and his stomach rumbled.
    Thanking the waitress, he picked up his fork. The day was looking up. He was going to enjoy his lunch, then pick up a part for his Cessna he’d been waiting a month for. Amelia Sawyer should be on a plane back home, he’d gotten some sleep last night, and early this morning a group of scientists had booked a charter into the jungle. Some kind of research trip. The pay would come in handy since his accounts were empty. It wasn’t enough to pay off Jeremy’s bookie, but it would buy him some time and get Tito off his back until he figured out what the hell he was going to do next.
    Taking a bite, Brody pushed thoughts of his business partner away. One day at a time was how he was handling this. Until he found Jeremy, he had no choice, no matter how much he wanted to kick his friend’s ass to the curb.
    “Hey, Brody, what are you doing here? Figured you’d be out joining the hunt.”
    Brody looked up to see the owner of the restaurant standing across the table from him. A short, gaunt man with a toothless smile who could cook better than Emeril. “What hunt?” he asked Felipe around another bite.
    “Didn’t you hear? Some American woman has a map to
Paraíso
. Guess that woman you rescued a few years back drew it. The one who took that fall off the cliff. She was a redhead, too, come to think of it. She must have found it, yes?”
    Food curdled in his stomach. Brody set his fork down on the edge of his plate. “Run that by me one more time.”
    Felipe leaned in. “You know her. The American with the red hair.
Ella es bonita.
”
    Brody couldn’t argue that. Amelia was a looker.
    “She has a map of
Paraíso
that’s supposedly genuine. She hired Don Newton after you rejected her. It’s the buzz all over town.”
    No, he broke up that meeting. Amelia was on her way home. She said so last night. “Thought she left town,” Brody said, his tone casual, though he felt like a coil ready to spring.
    Felipe shook his head. “Oh, no. She’s leaving with Don this afternoon. Not the wisest choice if you ask me. That man is crooked. It’ll take them longer to get there on foot than by your plane if the map is accurate.”
    “How many people know about the map?” Brody asked softly.
    “I don’t know how many actually
saw
it, but many are talking about it.”
    Brody cursed. “That’s what I was afraid of.” He rose to his feet and threw a couple
sucres
on the table to cover the bill. “Thanks, Felipe,” he said and strode out of the restaurant.
    Instead of getting in his Land Rover, Brody walked to the hotel a few doors down. With luck, he would catch Amelia before she met with Newton. He pushed through the door and approached the front desk. The attendant looked up from his magazine. It took Brody all of one minute to get the information he needed. The “pretty, young American” had already left and her room was paid until the end of the month.
    Back outside, Brody squinted in the bright sun, cursing the “pretty, young American.” He should have driven her to the airport himself. Made sure she got on that plane. Now, she was in a shit heap of danger. There was no telling who knew about the map and what they would do to get it. Christ, word would spread like wildfire.
    Tahua wasn’t a big town. He would find her. And when he did, he was personally escorting her to the airport, putting her on a plane, and staying until he saw it leave the ground.
    • • •
    Amelia looked around the small bar and let out a bored sigh. She’d been waiting for Mr. Newton for over an hour.
    Her bags were packed, his fee in her