The thought of Abby with Reynolds sent a jolt of heat to the back of his neck. He remembered the day Reynolds had come to see her, remembered his own jealousy, how he’d taken Abby bent over his desk. He wished they were somewhere he could claim her again.

Abby went back to work on the stone relief. “I noticed this while you two were dealing with the snakes.”

“What is it?” Gage moved closer.

“I don’t think this panel is carved into the wall. I think it’s been put here to block whatever’s behind it. I think we might be able to move it aside.”

He examined the thick stone panel. A close look showed Abby was right. “So let’s get it out of the way.”

“What about Paulo?”

Gage smiled. “I don’t think he’ll be coming down here anytime soon.”

Mateo came forward to help. It was tough going, but Gage could feel the stone begin to move. They pushed and shoved. With a last great heave, the heavy panel slid off to one side to reveal another room.

Abby shined her light through the opening. “Oh, my God. Gage! Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”

In the beam of the headlamp, gold glittered everywhere. Mayan gold. Stacks of it. Trinkets and coins, calendars and figurines, jade masks, inlaid skulls, gold-and-silver medallions. There were tiny golden statues and jeweled rings and long, thin golden earrings.

“Plunder,” he said. “Whoever did this must have been raiding tombs for years to collect so much.” He glanced around. “From the way it’s piled up, I’d say it was stored here after the house fell into ruins.”

“I can’t believe we found it!” Abby’s gaze traveled around the room. “King was right,” she said softly, her words tinged with reverence. “There must be millions of dollars’ worth of gold in this room.”

“You know we can’t keep it,” Gage said. “This is national historical treasure. It’s protected.”

Her eyes ran over the mounds of gold. “I know.”

“I need to call Victor Alamán—and pray he can get his men here before the others find out what we’ve got.”

Grabbing his gear bag, Gage pulled out his sat phone and made the call, then waited impatiently for Victor’s assistant to put him through.

“It’s Logan,” he said. “We’ve found it. Unfortunately, there are a dozen men here who believe it’s theirs. As soon as they find out what we’ve got, they’ll come after it. If you want your share, you’d better get your men down here ASAP.”

“I will take care of it,” Victor said.

Gage ended the call and stuffed the phone out of sight in his pack. “They’re on their way. We need to move the stone back in place.”