She gave directions for the group to enter the tomb and move down the corridor, then to the right where they would enter the first burial chamber. Pete knew the really exciting stuff would be cordoned off from tourist view, so he listened carefully to what she had to say about the religious texts and images adorning the closest chambers. It often gave clues to what or who was buried deeper within.
But as she stood at the entrance to the tomb and the group filtered past her, disappearing down into the darkness, Pete found himself strangely stunned into stupor. Up close she wasn’t just attractive, she was a knockout. Mahogany hair that fell to her shoulders in a gentle wave, dark chocolate eyes, a straight nose and one damn sexy mole on the upper right side of her perfectly pink mouth.
He put the two together—that sultry voice he’d been listening to all morning and those sinful lips he was now staring at—and even roasting in the hundred-plus-degree heat, he grew rock hard.
“Are you all right, sir? You look a little pale.”
He nodded slowly but couldn’t seem to get his brain to click into gear so he could stop staring.
“Here.” She pulled a water bottle from the pack looped around her waist and smiled. The sweetest grin he’d ever seen. Which only jacked him up another ten degrees. “Take mine. It just gets hotter once you get inside.”
Holy hell, she had no idea.
He took the bottle she held out for him, waited while she passed by and headed into the corridor. Then guzzled the whole damn thing as he watched her sexy ass sway as if for his eyes only.
Normally he’d be thinking of all the ways he was going to get her flat on her back so he could seduce her into talking about the site, the relics and what was really going down. But for some reason, watching Katherine Meyer walk away right now, he wasn’t just thinking about to-night.
He was thinking of a whole lot more.
And wondering what the hell had just happened to him.
Present day
New York City
Kat bit her lip as she sat behind the wheel of the luxury car, waiting for Pete to come back from dropping off his date.
Date? Good God. That woman wasn’t a date. She was a piranha. The way she’d pawed at him in the backseat? Kat was sure the woman was going to eat him for dessert right there on the expensive leather upholstery. Just what did he see in a woman like that?
Oh, yeah, right. Kat clenched her jaw. Like she couldn’t tell? Big boobs, skinny butt, class and sophistication and money.
All things Kat had never had and wouldn’t ever attain.
Not your problem. Don’t go there. What he does and with whom isn’t why you’re here. You don’t even care, remember?
A car honked behind her. Kat jumped and whipped around in her seat. It took moments to realize it was just another limo wanting her space. She put the car in gear and pulled forward until she was halfway up the block. Two women dressed in clingy silver outfits and sky-high heels climbed out of the limo and headed for the same building Pete had disappeared inside.
Kat blew out a breath and tried to refocus as the car behind her pulled away from the curb and turned the corner. But thinking about her current situation did little to quell the nerves in her gut bouncing around like Mexican jumping beans.
She rubbed her forehead. Seeing Pete again had thrown a major kink in her plans. She’d just committed a theft of major proportions, and now she could also add car-stealing to her list of little misdemeanors. It wouldn’t take long for Pete’s real driver to put out a notice on the missing vehicle. She’d lucked out that he’d left his cap and jacket on the front seat when he’d gone in to take a leak, but lifting this limo was completely off the plan chart.
If she wasn’t careful, she’d have the cops on her in a matter of minutes. Like she needed that on top of everything else?
She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes tight. Why hadn’t she just walked away?
Tired of arguing with herself, Kat dropped her hand and eyed the building again. He’d been in there too long. What if he’d gone upstairs with the piranha? What if he wasn’t coming back down like he’d said? What if—oh, shit—what if he was having wild jungle-sex with her right this minute?
Definitely not going there.
A shadow in her rearview mirror caught her attention. Thoughts of Pete slipped to the back of Kat’s mind as her instincts jumped to alert. Slinking down in her seat, she reached up slowly and tipped the mirror so she had a better view behind her.
It was a man. Broad shoulders, long legs. Tall. Wearing a full-length dark coat. He glanced around the empty street several times before crossing the road and heading for the piranha’s building.
He stepped under a streetlight for a brief moment, then eased back into the shadows. But not before Kat saw his arm lift toward the sky. Metal glimmered in his hand. Seconds later, the light went out with a near silent pop.
But one second was all it took. In that moment he’d been in the light, Kat had a clear view of his face. Of his close-cropped hair. Of his beady eyes.
Busir.
The hair stood up on her arms, but she didn’t avert her eyes. Not even when he slinked into the shadows along the building and then stopped. Slowly, she reached for the backpack she’d set on the passenger seat, flipped it open and pawed around until she found her 9mm. Her fingers closed over the cold metal with stunning force. Though she was expertly trained in how to use the firearm, a rush of adrenaline swept through her. Would she be able to take a life after all?
She wasn’t sure. If she did, it would put her on the same level as the men who had killed Sawil and Shannon.
She knew only one thing for certain: Busir and his goons had come for Pete just like she’d predicted. Her conscience wouldn’t let her sit back and do nothing.
After slipping the Beretta into the pocket of her jacket, she searched the backpack again for the small stun gun her self-defense instructor had suggested she buy. She’d much rather use that if she could. Gripping it and an extra cartridge in her hand, she climbed out of the car, careful to stay low and silent.
A quick glance back confirmed Busir wasn’t alone. He’d brought a friend, though not the same one she’d seen at the auction. This one looked American. Kat inched her way around parked cars, well out of both their view, until she got to the alley. Once there, she kicked up her feet and ran down the wet pavement, made a trip around the block until she came up from the south behind their car.
She was breathing heavily as she ducked out of sight and moved close to the vehicle. Busir was still waiting in the shadows. His counterpart sat in the driver’s seat, awaiting his signal.
Long seconds passed while she waited. Her breathing slowed, but the adrenaline rush sent the blood pounding in her ears in time with her heart. She let instinct and years of training finally sink in, tried to block the selfdoubt on the fringes of her subconscious. Logic told her she couldn’t take out both men on her own, but she had surprise on her side. And she’d make the most of it.
Pete suddenly emerged from the lobby, head down and arms crossed over his chest. A frown cut across his face when he looked up to where the limo had been. One quick glance around, and then he turned toward the car. Tucking his chin against his chest, he headed up the street, oblivious to what was about to go down around him.
Perspiration dampened Kat’s skin. It nearly killed her, but she waited until she saw Busir make his move.
Then she made hers.
As Busir slinked out of the shadows and followed Pete up the sidewalk, Kat gripped the driver’s door and pulled. The man in the front seat jolted around to face her. She was sure she’d never seen him before, but that didn’t stop her. She gripped the stun gun and hit him hard, right in the neck to avoid his coat. He jerked and yelped, but she held her ground and counted to four.
The man seized, then fell over on the front seat. He wasn’t unconscious, but he was incapacitated. At least for the time being.
And for a moment, Kat’s
eyes widened at what she’d just done. Images flickered through her mind like a silent movie. The tomb. The sounds. The struggle. And running.
She closed her eyes tight and took large breaths to calm her nerves. But two was all she could afford. She opened her eyes, ready to find Pete. And that was when she noticed the empty vial on the console. She reached around the man’s body and lifted the small glass container.
Lorazepam.
Oh, dear God.
A loud crack, followed by a grunt, jerked her attention away from the vial and toward the street. She looked up just in time to see Pete and Busir disappear into the alley.
Her feet skidded on the icy sidewalk. She nearly lost her balance twice before she reached the entrance to the dark alley.
Where her mouth fell open.
If she’d thought Pete needed protecting, she’d been wrong. He had Busir pinned against the side of the brick building and was easily in complete control of the situation. Blood trickled down his temple. Redness and the beginnings of what looked to be a nasty bruise were forming near his eye. But what stopped her cold was the look of pure malevolence in his eyes as he stared into the face of a killer.
This was the side of him she hadn’t known. The side that turned a blind eye to what was right, negotiated deals on the shady side and stayed one step ahead of the law along the way. It was also the side that contracted with rapists and murderers and men who would do whatever it took to get what they wanted.
No.
She didn’t realize she’d spoken the word out loud until Pete’s head whipped her way.
Surprise and confusion raced across his bruised features. “What the hell?”
Busir used that moment to take the upper hand. He lifted his arm, and with a move Kat barely tracked, plunged a hypodermic needle into Pete’s neck.
Pete hollered, jerked his attention back to Busir. His eyes flared. He reached up, pulled the needle from his neck and stared at it. In the split second of Pete’s confusion, Busir shifted out from the wall and plowed his fist into the side of Pete’s face. Pete hit the wall, ricocheted off. He lunged at Busir, taking them both down to the ground hard.
Kat screeched and jumped back as the two grappled. Fists flew, and bodies smacked the hard concrete. She knew she needed to do something, but she was too stunned to do more than stare, especially because Pete was handling his own and beating the crap out of Busir.
Until, that is, he threw a punch that missed its mark by a foot. And another. And another.
Oh, God. That needle had to have hit an artery or a vein. He was fading fast and losing whatever advantage he’d just gained.
Blood and sweat dripped down Busir’s face. When Pete blinked and gave his head a swift shake, Busir wriggled out from under him and pushed to his feet. Back to her, looking down at Pete who was fighting to stand himself, Busir let out a low chuckle. One Kat had heard years before and would never forget. It was all she needed to shock her right back to reality.
She charged before she could change her mind and hit Busir hard in the back with the stun gun. He jolted, screamed, whipped around. And she hit him again dead in the chest without even a second thought.
She gritted her teeth and held on to the stun gun even as his coal black eyes focused on her. His body jerked and seized. His eyes rolled back in his head, and then he fell to his knees, finally slumping forward on the ground where he continued to twitch as electrical impulses flickered through his body.
Slick with sweat and breathing heavy, she stared down at what she’d done for the second time tonight. Not an inkling of remorse rushed through her. At that moment, she understood how men could kill. He deserved that and so much more for what he’d done to Sawil. To Shannon. To her.
Tires spinning on slush out on the road pulled Kat back to the present. She had mere seconds before Busir’s buddy in the car revived; minutes before Busir came to or his other friend from the auction showed up to help.
She hurriedly stepped over Busir and dropped to the ground next to Pete, slumped back against the wall, his head and eyes tracking her like he was operating in serious slow motion. Confusion drew his brows together as he stared up at her with wide eyes.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” she said quickly, checking to make sure there weren’t any bones sticking out of his body anywhere.
“Kat?” he croaked.
“Can you walk? I don’t think I can carry you.”
“Whoa.” He gave his head a hard shake and leaned it back against the wall. “Real…real…trippy dream.”
A nightmare was more like it.
His words were slurring together, and she knew the drug was taking effect. She had to get him up and out of this alley before it was too late. “I need you to stand.”
She stepped over him, slipped both her arms under his and around his back. A grunt tore from her chest as she used every last bit of strength to help him to his feet. Good God, he was nearly dead weight already. And smelled…oh, heaven…so incredible. She took a deep whiff of his scent and was bombarded by a thousand memories she’d put out of her mind years ago.
“You…” He set both hands on her shoulders as she pushed him back against the concrete wall and used her shoulder to brace him up. “You look like som’un I know.”
Definitely losing it. She needed to hurry.
“I get that a lot.” She shifted around, looped his arm over her shoulder. It slid down her back as his head fell back against the concrete again.
“Motherfucker…I feel like shit.”
That made two of them.
She grabbed his arm with her left hand and held on tight as she slipped her other arm around his waist and pulled him away from the wall. Her back and shoulders immediately screamed in protest. Panic set in when she looked up and saw how far away the car was. “Pete, you have to help me here. I can’t do this on my own.”
Somehow he listened. Though his head lolled around and his feet moved like there were bricks attached to the soles of his shoes. How the hell would she get him to the car before Busir and his muscle woke up? And what was she going to do once they got there? Just like he’d done once before, Peter Kauffman was suddenly turning her world upside down.
She maneuvered them around Busir, said a quick prayer the man was still paralyzed, and inched them both toward the sidewalk.
“I look as…bad as ‘im?” Pete asked when they reached the icy walk.
“Not quite.” He looked like Adonis to her, even bloodied and bruised as he was. And as dangerous as a king cobra where she was concerned. This was the dumbest thing she’d ever done. And that was saying a lot, considering her history.
“No more champan’ for me, ‘kay? I don’ like hang…overs.”
Sweat slid down her temple as they moved. “Don’t worry. Something tells me a hangover is the last thing we’ll both be worrying about in a few minutes.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Six-and-a-half years earlier
Valley of the Kings
“Your secret admirer’s back.”
Kat hefted her backpack up on a worktable outside the tomb and flipped open the top. She had a killer headache from not enough sleep the night before and the relentless heat, which, after three months, she still wasn’t used to. She popped two ibuprofen and downed them with a gulp of water. “He’s not my admirer.”
Shannon Driscoll rolled her eyes and gathered tools for the day’s work. “Fifth time in a row he’s taken the tour. I’d call that an admirer.”
“Fourth. And you don’t get a vote.”
“You forgot Sunday. He was here, found out you weren’t leading and left.”
Kat frowned at her roommate and reached for her hat. “Coincidence. And besides, even if for some strange reason he is here because of me, which he’s not,” she said with a pointed look, “I’m not interested. There’s obviously something wrong with the man. That or he’s after something specific.”
“I’ll say,” Shannon muttered. Blonde hair fell over her shou
lder as she reached for a pick. “And I have a pretty good idea what that specific is. By the way, you have a smudge of dirt on your cheek.”
Kat whipped around and rubbed her palm over her face. “Where? Did I get it? Is it gone?”
Shannon let out a hoot of laughter. “Yeah. And for the record? I’m totally buying that whole not-interested thing. I’ll see you after your tour with lover-boy.”
Kat frowned again as Shannon headed down the slope toward Dr. Latham, the site leader, who, with his trusty clipboard, was doling out assignments for the day. Just Kat’s luck she’d been relegated to tourist duty—again—like the grunt she really was.
Boy, this was an exciting job, wasn’t it? She loved the digging and research, but the catering to the public stuff really grated on her nerves. Now and then was fine. Days in a row? No, thank you.
She hated to admit it, but as much as she enjoyed being a part of the project, she was really looking forward to getting everything she needed and getting gone. Especially lately. Tensions were high on the dig. Several pieces they’d excavated over the last few months had mysteriously disappeared. Consensus among the crew was they’d simply been miscataloged, but Kat wasn’t so sure.
She let out a deep breath, wiped the dust from her forehead, and told herself not to worry about it so much. There wasn’t a lot she could do without proof, and as her colleague Sawil had told her repeatedly, it wasn’t her responsibility. Especially since she really was nothing more than a grunt. What she wanted most was to finish her dissertation. And she wanted to go home for a few weeks and see her mother. It’d been too long already.
Knowing that was several months off at least, she blew out a long breath and smashed her hat down on her head, then turned toward the group of tourists fifty yards off waiting for their guide. And just like Shannon had pointed out, there was the sexy American again, hanging at the back of the group like he’d been every other time for the past four—correction, five—days.
Stolen Heat Page 3
