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intuition. He could have sworn the minute he went to touch his reticent virgin, she’d swoon. Either that or clench her principles against her plump breasts and run for high ground. It hadn’t happened.
    To be on the safe side, he’d come to her with a contingency plan. He was a soldier and well aware of the importance of strategy. On the rare possibility of her submitting to his lovemaking, Murphy had decided to leave her virginity intact and renegotiate their deal.
    Instead he’d ended up taking her. He wasn’t proud of the fact, but there was no going back now. He wasn’t a weak man—unlike Jack Keller, who was often a victim of his own desires, especially those of the flesh. To Murphy’s way of thinking, women were to be tolerated and used when the opportunity arose. Nothing more. Yet he’d fallen prey to his own physical desires and bedded Letty Madden.
    Everytime he glanced her way, something he tried to avoid, he was left to wonder. For reasons he couldn’t explain, his memory had gone patchy on him. He remembered everything that led up to the point when he’d actually committed the deed. It worried him.
    It could have been the wine, or was it Letty herself he found so potent? Murphy wasn’t sure he’d like the answer.
    He found that reading her was damn near impossible. Each time he’d broached the subject of their lovemaking, she’d clammed up like an oyster hiding a pearl. God in heaven, he wished he could remember. Now, however, the deed was done, and he had no out. Because of his weakness he was stuck escorting Letty Madden into Zarcero.
    The plane landed in Hojancha City at five that afternoon, Texas time. After clearing customs, which meant walking past a guard asleep at his desk, Murphy led the way into the busy terminal.
    The inside of the airport had been uncomfortably warm, but the heat outside hit him like a sandblaster. It was like this for him the first few hours in the tropics. The heat, the stench, overpowered him. Depending on the time of day and the year, he sometimes found it difficult to breathe.
    His clothes clung to him. Texas in summer wasn’t exactly a Garden of Eden, but the tropics were something else. The heat could drain away a man’s strength in a matter of hours. He glanced at Letty, wondering how she would adjust, and cursed under his breath at the thought of her tagging along after him through the jungle.
    Letty scurried behind him, holding on to her luggage with both hands. Since she’d insisted on bringing along a suitcase, she could damn well carry it herself, Murphy decided.
    “We’ll be staying in a hotel for the night, won’t we?”
    “No.” As far as he was concerned, the less she knew of his plans the better.
    Murphy scanned the crowd, searching for Ramirez, his contact. Ramirez would deliver the weapons andput him in touch with men who’d provide him means across the border into Zarcero. No easy feat, according to what he’d learned. Both would be pricey. Not that he cared; he wasn’t the one footing the bill.
    “I’ll need someplace safe where I can keep my suitcase.”
    “Did you bring along any valuables?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder. She was doing her best to keep pace with him and not succeeding.
    “No, of course not.”
    At least she was smart enough not to carry cash. “What’s inside?”
    “Clothes for Luke and a few other medical supplies he might need.”
    Without hesitation, Murphy took the heavy suitcase out of her hand. He set it on the first available space he could find, flipped open the lock, and tossed a fresh set of clothes over his shoulder.
    “What are you doing?” Letty shouted, scrambling to grab the shirt and slacks. Unfortunately a beggar reached them first.
    “Murphy,” she cried, her voice trembling with outrage.
    He ignored her as he continued to discard the contents, including the medical supplies too bulky for her backpack. As far as he could see, there wasn’t a damn thing either of them would need.