by Anna Hackett
Then she heard a noise.
A whoosh. A flap of fabric. Then a whizzing sound.
Seth pulled her closer. Shouts and gunfire erupted all around them. Suddenly, several black-clad figures were zipping down from the trees.
Holy fuck. She looked up at the canopy above, and spotted several parachutes flapping in the branches. Five figures hit the ground and whipped their high-tech assault rifles up.
They attacked, moving fast.
Her gaze fell on the big man in the lead. He mowed through a line of attackers. Even though the newcomers had their faces covered by black masks, she knew it was Lachlan Hunter.
Seth rose, lifted his rifle, and fired, joining his team. January watched Team 52 cut through the attackers with deadly efficiency.
A smaller figure in black leaped up and kicked an attacker in the head. Then the figure spun, and with two hard blows, drove a second one to the ground. That had to be Blair.
When more attackers came out of the trees, the largest of the Team 52 members stopped, lifted his rifle and fired a grenade. It exploded with a boom, flames licking at the trees. Screams echoed around them. Smith Creed.
Another smaller Team 52 member raced across the small clearing, firing in quick succession, taking down several attackers. Beside her, a taller team member leaped onto a log and jumped off, smashing into a man and riding him to the ground. January was pretty sure that was Callie and Axel.
January sucked in a breath. Team 52 sure knew how to make an entrance.
“Where’s the prick who took the artifact?” Seth asked.
“I don’t see him,” January answered.
Finally, the gunfire stopped. Out of the darkness, a woman slid in beside them and pushed her black mask down. She had a small, high-powered flashlight attached to her shoulder.
“Anyone hurt?”
“Hey, Callie.” Seth nodded at his teammate.
“Seth.” The medic turned to January. “It is very nice to see you alive, January.”
“Thanks, Callie. Nice to be alive.”
Callie scanned them both. “So, no gunshot wounds, stab injuries, claw marks?”
“Seth took two bullets in his vest,” January said.
“Ouch,” Callie said sympathetically. She fished around in her backpack and, a second later, she pulled out a syringe. Before Seth could say anything, she stuck it in his arm. “Vest off.”
He obeyed and let Callie ease it off him. She quickly assessed his ribs. He winced a few times, but the painkillers had already taken the edge off.
“Nothing broken. You’ll probably just have a few bruises.” The medic turned to January. “You next.”
“Well, I don’t have any gunshot wounds.”
Seth scowled. “That prick hit you in the head.”
“Head’s fine.” She winced. “I do have a few cuts on my feet, though.”
Seth cursed. “What?”
“I lost my boots. Didn’t have time to lace them.”
He dropped down beside her. His ribs protested, but he focused on lifting one of her bare feet. They were scratched to hell and covered in mud. “Why didn’t you say anything?” His tone was clipped.
January tilted her head. “Oh, I don’t know.” Sarcasm laced her voice. “Maybe because we were running for our lives.”
“Everyone okay?” Lachlan’s voice.
Lachlan and the rest of Team 52 surrounded them, with the exception of Smith, who was standing over the line of zip-tied attackers. Some of them were conscious.
Seth met Lachlan’s gaze. “We’re all right. One of these guys got away with one of the spheres, though.”
Lachlan’s mouth compressed into a thin line and he gave a sharp nod.
“The other one is safe in January’s backpack.”
“Good. Keep it there for now, and we’ll put it in a containment box on the X8.”
Seth looked back at January’s feet. One had a really nasty cut and was caked with mud. “You should have told me.”
She made an annoyed sound. “When we were dodging bullets or when we were wrestling with the bad guys?”
“They don’t look too bad.” Callie’s lips were twitching. “I’ll clean them up on the X8 and get some antiseptic cream on them. Don’t want you getting a nasty jungle infection.”
January’s nose screwed up. “I’d like to avoid nasty infections.”
“No point cleaning them here,” Callie added. “They’ll be dirty again after about three seconds.”
Seth met Lachlan’s gaze. “Can we get out of this fucking jungle?”
Lachlan nodded. “There’s a clearing two klicks west of here. We’ll get picked up there.”
“Saw you treejumped in.”
“We needed the element of surprise.”
“Treejumped?” January asked.
“A form of low altitude parachuting, specifically for the jungle,” Seth told her. “It was created by the British SAS for jungle insertion. You parachute into a tree canopy, then rappel down.”
“It sounds dangerous,” she said.
“It is.”
“All right, let’s move out,” Lachlan announced.
“What about these guys?” January asked.
“Team of Guatemalan soldiers is inbound to take care of them,” Lachlan answered.
January bit her lip. “And the archeologists at the dig site?”
“The Guatemalan authorities are taking care of them, too,” Lachlan said. “Brooks tells me that they are all okay, including an irate, very demanding, Dr. Andelman.”
A short, wry laugh escaped January. “That sounds about right.”
They set off, and Seth watched her limp through the jungle. Despite his aching chest, which was now not so bad, thanks to the painkillers, Seth scooped her into his arms.
“Hey, you were shot earlier. I can walk.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Yes, I can, Lynch. I’m not a princess. A few cuts won’t stop me.”
“Okay, but I wasn’t asking. You’re not walking.”
She huffed out a breath. “Fine, 007. Have at it.”
From nearby, Blair snickered, and Seth shot his friend a look. Beside Blair, Axel was grinning at them.
“Where do you think the sphere is?” January asked quietly, bringing his attention back to her.
“My guess is that the guy and the sphere are long gone.”
She sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find it.”
“You get any more info from these guys?” Lachlan asked.
“The guy who took the sphere said he was a knight. A warrior of Gaia.”
“I go to a yoga place in Vegas called Gaia,” Callie said.
“Pretty sure these guys aren’t yoga instructors,” Seth said.
“Brooks?” Lachlan touched his earpiece. He relayed the information. “Run some searches see what you can find.”
They moved swiftly through the trees and finally reached the clearing. The X8 came into view a moment later, and January gasped.
“What kind of aircraft is that?” she asked.
The jet-copter hovered above the ground, and they jogged toward it.
“A classified, experimental one.”
With its coaxial dual rotors, wide body, and jet engines, it looked like the love child of a helicopter and plane. It was far faster than most helicopters and had an increased range.
“Who’s piloting?” Seth asked. He and Blair were the team pilots.
“Arlo,” Blair answered. “On remote.”
The man was former Air Force, and was in charge of the storage facility back at base. But he’d been a hell of a pilot in his day.
They all climbed aboard, and Seth settled January in a seat.
“Don’t move,” he ordered.
She glared at him, then leaned back in the seat. He watched as she closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “That’s an unnecessary order.”
“Finally, she listens to me.”
“I listen to you, Lynch. I just
don’t dance to your orders.”
God, always busting his balls. He moved to step away, but her hand shot out and circled his wrist.
“Thank you, Seth.”
He heard the heartfelt meaning in her words and something moved through him. The intensity in her hazel eyes caught him.
“I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you,” she finished quietly.
“Glad you aren’t dead, hellcat.”
She raised a brow. “Hellcat?”
“If the shoe fits…”
She crossed her arms. “It doesn’t.”
“It does. If I get 007, you get hellcat.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m too tired to argue with you.”
He pretended to look out the window with avid interest.
She opened one eye. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for a blue moon or a flying pig.”
Her gaze narrowed, but before she could volley back, Blair marched past on her way to the cockpit.
Seth moved to follow his team mate but she blocked him.
“Uh-uh. You get to be a passenger this trip, Lynch. Rest up.”
“I can—”
“No, Seth,” Lachlan said. “Rest.”
Seth scowled. He preferred to be in control when they were flying. He forced himself to drop into a seat.
He opened his backpack and pulled out his first aid kit. He scooped January’s feet into his lap.
“Hey—”
“Shut it.”
“I just thanked you, and now you’re being an asshole again.”
“I’m cleaning your injured feet. How is that being an asshole?”
She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “You could have asked.”
He decided to ignore her. As the jet-copter lifted into the air, he set to work cleaning January’s feet. Seth definitely had to admit that he was happy to be out of the damn jungle.
Lachlan leaned forward. “We need to secure the remaining artifact.”
January pointed to her backpack on the floor. Lachlan set it on the table, and carefully pulled out the wrapped sphere. He uncovered it.
Axel leaned over from the seat behind them. “Pretty.”
“It’s made of pure jade,” January said. “Jade was highly valued by the Maya. It was more valuable than gold, and was associated with water, vegetation, life, and fertility. The Maya used the precious stone in various ways, from healing to funerals and rituals.” As she spoke, her face came to life.
Seth let his gaze roam over her features.
“Nobles and royals were often found buried with many jade artifacts,” January added.
“You had two jade spheres?” Lachlan asked.
She nodded.
“What do they do?” Smith asked, his brows set in a frown.
“I don’t know,” January answered. “We found them in an overgrown temple. There were no tombs there, so we suspect the temple was erected solely to house these.”
Lachlan lifted his gaze. “A Snake King temple?”
January nodded.
“Tell them what you told me about the Snake Kings,” Seth said.
She gave a quick history of the ambitious Snake King Dynasty.
“You think these spheres played a part in the Snake Kings’ rise to power?” Axel asked.
“I don’t have all the answers,” she said. “But yes, I’m thinking that’s likely.”
By now, Seth had finished with her feet, and his brain was spinning. He made the mistake of glancing back at her feet, which distracted him. They were small, narrow, and looked way too delicate for a strong woman like January. He also noted with some interest that she’d painted her toenails bright red.
“I didn’t replace one of the wrappings on the sphere last night.” Seth forced his thoughts back to the job at hand. He felt everyone look at him, but he met January’s gaze. “The vegetation outside our tent was overgrown when we left it. Vegetation that hadn’t been there before. It grew up in hours.”
She hissed out a breath. “I’d forgotten!”
He gently touched the worst-looking cut on her foot. “Callie? You need to take a look at this.”
The medic leaned over and nodded. “Needs some glue. Let me take over.”
“So, this artifact stimulated the growth of the vegetation?” Lachlan said.
Seth nodded, and glanced at January, who appeared to be lost in thought.
His team leader frowned. “Then who the hell stole the sphere, and what the hell do they want it for?”
That was the million-dollar question.
Chapter Seven
January woke as the jet-copter came in to land. She blinked, pushing her hair out of her face.
She knew where they were. The Tonopah Test Range, about a hundred and fifty miles from Las Vegas. She stared blearily out the window at a cluster of aircraft hangars, and around them, beige desert as far as she could see. The Range was also known as Area 52.
The skids touched down. The infamous Area 51 lay not far to the southeast. She’d been to the Area 52 base a few times. The hangars, office buildings, and runways looked very boring, and gave no hint to what lay beneath.
“How are you feeling?”
She looked up at Seth. In the bright daylight, his scars looked stark against his tan skin. He also looked tired.
“I warned you not to be nice to me, Lynch.”
He gave a small shake of his head, looking amused.
Lachlan opened the side door of the X8 and, as January stood, she watched the team leap off the aircraft. Seth jumped out with a fluid flex of muscle, and she clambered down after him in the borrowed boots Callie had found for her on the jet-copter. They headed toward a large aircraft hangar.
The doorway inside was flanked by black-clad guards with serious faces. Nearby, stood other guards in blue-gray fatigues. She knew they were Air Force.
Team 52 stepped into the hangar, and it took January’s eyes a second to adjust from the bright light to the gloom. Everything looked very normal. Planes, maintenance scaffolding, more guards.
Lachlan led them to an elevator at the back of the hangar. He was carrying the containment box, his silver-metal hand wrapped around the handle.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. The interior had matte-black walls, and a mesh floor. After Lachlan hit a button, the elevator zoomed downward.
Moments later, they stepped into the heart of Team 52 territory.
There was more matte-black metal, and the cavernous space was dominated by enormous double doors that she knew led into the secure storage area. The archeologist in her turned somersaults at the idea of being allowed into that warehouse, and seeing all the magnificent and fascinating artifacts that had been locked away.
The team turned away from the warehouse, and Seth gripped her elbow. They walked through a regular doorway that led to the team’s main operations area.
A man was waiting for them. A man she’d never seen before on her previous visits. Wow. He was the kind of man who drew a woman’s gaze.
Unlike the rest of Team 52, who wore fatigues and body armor, this man wore a clearly custom-tailored suit. The dark-blue fabric covered a lean, panther-like body. His hands rested on lean hips as he watched them approach. He radiated a ‘man in charge’ vibe.
He had silky, black hair that wasn’t too long, and framed a face designed to make women beg and angels weep. He had to have some Native American heritage—evident in his bronze skin and high cheekbones.
Lachlan lifted his chin. “Jonah.”
The man nodded, and a second later, intense green eyes hit January. “Dr. James, I’m glad to see you’re alive.”
“Not half as glad as I am.”
The man inclined his head, and there was a faint flicker of amusement in his eyes. “I’m Jonah Grayson.”
“AKA the boss,” Seth murmured to her.
“January, Jonah is the Director of Area 52,” Lachlan added.
Jonah swiveled to La
chlan. “The artifact?”
Lachlan lifted the containment box. “I’ll get it to Ty so he can start some tests. We need to work out exactly what it does. And then we need to find out who’s got the other one.”
Jonah nodded, and his gaze flicked to January again. For some reason, she felt the need to steel herself. Then she felt the brush of Seth’s hand on her lower back, and she settled. Apparently, her Seth Lynch radar was now very finely tuned.
“I know you’ve cooperated with my team before, and I’d like to thank you. It makes our job much easier.”
“I didn’t really cooperate the first time.”
Blair snorted. “No, she whacked Lynch in the head with a pole.”
January’s belly clenched. Did they have to keep bringing that up?
“Gave him a black eye,” Axel added with a grin.
She looked back at Seth and saw he was scowling at the ceiling.
“Um, I am sorry about that. But this whole secrecy thing you’ve got going on doesn’t agree with me. I prefer conversation, rather than an infiltration in the middle of the night. Works better, and people don’t get hurt accidentally.”
Seth made a sound. “Still no reason to smack a man with a pole.”
“I thought you were bad guys.”
Jonah shifted. “We don’t always have the luxury of conversation, Dr. James. Not when lives are at stake.”
She nodded. “Believe me, I’ve gotten that point soundly over the last twenty-four hours. I’m still not entirely onboard with it all, but I’ll keep bringing you any dangerous artifacts I discover. But I’m not going to lie to you, I think the world should know about this ancient technology. Let the archeologists and historians put all the pieces together correctly. Let people know what they might stumble across.”
Jonah smiled, but there was nothing happy about it. “One day, perhaps.” His face turned serious. “One day, when I know there aren’t groups and organizations that attack labs and digs, when innocent people aren’t slaughtered. When I know that planes won’t be shot down in order for people to get their hands on these artifacts.”
Touché. She nodded, and again she felt a hit of grief at the three men who’d died on the plane.
“Let’s get this sphere to Ty,” Lachlan said.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Jonah said. “Lachlan, when you’re ready to debrief, I’ll be in my office.” Jonah nodded at January and stalked off.
