Free Spy Hard by Dana Marton

up for women and kids, ran deep in his Texas blood. He couldn’t help it.
    “How far have we come?” Melanie asked.
    Not nearly far enough. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll cover more ground once the sun comes up.”
    “Do you think Mochi can handle the walk? How did his arm get hurt?” She was looking at the bandage that was partially concealed by the boy’s shirt, as if she’d just noticed it. The way Jase had set the flashlight down partially illuminated the boy.
    “A dog bit him.” Better not elaborate on that story either. She had way too much stress to deal with already, not a good thing for a woman in her condition. “He walked everywhere his whole life so far. They have no cars or even bicycles in the jungle villages. I promise you, he can take whatever you can take.” Probably more, actually, under the circumstances.
    She kept her gaze on the boy, who was playing with the puppy.
    Jase kept his gaze on her. That she worried more about Mochi than herself said something about her.
    He stopped that train of thought right there. Helping her was one thing; starting to like her was a complication he didn’t need.
    He put away his water and stood to gather some firewood. Of course, with the high humidity and on-and-off rain, everything dripped with moisture.
    He shaved some deadwood with his knife and used the dry core to help him light a couple of thin branches. That provided enough heat to set a larger chunk of wood on fire. “This should help with the wild animals.”
    She looked around at the dark forest as she wrapped her arms around her torso. “About those jaguars…”
    “They could be around.” No sense in giving her false security. Better if they were all prepared for everything. “But not common. It all depends on whether or not we’ll be crossing one’s territory.”
    They fell silent for a while. Mochi shared his drink with the puppy, pulled the dog on his lap, then pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around his knees, lay his head down and fell asleep. The crackling of the fire and the night sounds of the jungle filled the air.
    A howler monkey cried out in the distance.
    Maybe it had met up with a snake. Jase kept his eyes on their surroundings to make sure they avoided that fate.
    The puppy wiggled away from Mochi. The boy snatched it back.
    Nobody was going to get any sleep that way. Jase took off his belt and cut off a narrow strip of leather, bored a hole with his pocket knife and made a makeshift dog collar. Then he hunted for a slim but strong green vine that would be flexible enough to make a good leash. He tied the dog to a sapling when he was done.
    “So what’s the story with the puppy?” Melanie asked, watching him.
    “Damn nuisance.” He had no idea why he’d agreed to take the dog along. Temporary insanity.
    He was in the middle of a crucial op. And he had managed to collect a jungle kid, a pregnant woman and a three-legged puppy.
    She smiled at him for the first time since he’d busted into her room.
    He refused to let that smile affect him on any level. He looked away.
    “Have you been working for Pedro long?”
    “Almost a year.”
    She’d been at the camp for only a few months. He’d heard about the woman up at the hacienda, but had never seen her before he’d caught her crying on the balcony. He’d spent most of his time in the jungle running errands with one group or another. Since he’d been on probation, working to gain the Don’s trust, he hadn’t been allowed up at the house before that. And even if he had been, from what she’d said, the Don liked to keep her under lock and key.
    “What did you do before coming here?” she asked next.
    “This and that. I even piloted a riverboat on the Amazon once.” He couldn’t help a grin. Those were good memories—an undercover op that had lasted six months and made a considerable dent in the drug trade.
    “And you…” she hesitated, her smile fading “…like this work?”
    He extended his hands