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bent suddenly and pressed a hard, warm kiss on her startled mouth. “Shut up, Gabby, before you get us into trouble.”
    As if she could talk at all, after that. Her lips felt as though they’d been branded. If only they’d been alone, and it could have been longer…
    Laremos had a twin-engine plane and a pilot to fly it. He settled into one of the comfortable seats in front of Gabby and J.D., and another man, small and young, brought them cups of coffee as the plane headed toward Guatemala City.
    “I have told the appropriate people that you and your friend here are visiting me,” Laremos said to J.D. and laughed. “It will put you under immediate suspicion I fear, because my past is no secret. But it will spare you the illegality of having to smuggle yourself across the border. I have friends high in government who will help. Oddly enough, the terrorists who have your sister attempted to kidnap me only weeks ago. First Shirt was nearby and armed.”
    “First Shirt doesn’t miss,” J.D. recalled.
    “Neither did you, my friend, in the old days.” Laremos studied the older man unsmilingly.
    “How many men are there in the terrorist group?” J.D. asked. “Hard core, Laremos, not the hangers-on who’ll cut and run at the first volley.”
    “About twelve,” came the reply. “Maybe twenty more who will, as you say, cut and run. But the twelve are veteran fighters. Very tough, with political ties in a neighboring country. They are just part of an international network, with members in Italy who saw a chance to make some fast money to finance their cause. Your brother-in-law is an important man, and a wealthy one. And the decision to bring your sister here was most certainly devised by one of those twelve. They took over the
finca
only a month ago. I have little doubt that the kidnapping has been planned for some time.” He shrugged. “Also, it is known that the Italian authorities have been successful in dealing with this sort of kidnapping. There is less risk here, so they smuggled her out of Italy.”
    “Roberto is trying to borrow enough to bargain with,” J.D. said. “He’s determined not to go to the authorities.”
    “He does not know about you, does he?” Laremos asked quietly.
    J.D. shook his head. “I covered my tracks very well.”
    “You miss it, the old life?”
    J.D. sighed. “At times. Not often anymore.” He glanced at Gabby absently. “I have other interests now. I was getting too old for it. Too tired.”
    “For the same reasons, I became an honest man.” Laremos laughed. “It is by far the better way.” He stretched lazily. “But sometimes I think back and wonder how it would have been. We made good
amigos,
Archer.”
    “A good team,” J.D. agreed. “I hope we still do.”
    “Have no fear,
amigo.
It is like swimming—one never forgets. And you, do you keep in condition?”
    “Constantly. I can’t get out of the habit,” J.D. said. “Just as well that I have. Cutting through that jungle won’t be any easy march. I’ve been keeping up with the situation down here, politically and militarily.”
    “What about this lovely one?” Laremos asked, frowning as he studied Gabby. “Is she a medic?”
    “She’ll handle communications,” J.D. said shortly. “I want her at the ranch with you so that there’s no chance she might get in the line of fire.”
    “I see.” Laremos’s dark eyes narrowed and he laughed. “Trust still comes hard to you, eh? You will never forget that one time that I let my mind wander…”
    “No hard feelings,” J.D. said quietly. “But Gabby runs the set.”
    Laremos nodded. “I understand. And I take no offense. My conscience still nags me about that lapse.”
    “Will somebody tell me, please, what’s going on?” Gabby asked when she could stand it no longer.
    “I’ve gotten together a group to get Martina out,” J.D. said patiently. “That’s all you need to know.”
    “The mercs! They’re already here?”
    “Yes,” he