Emeralds Are Forever (Love on the Run Book 2)

by Jaclyn Hardy

  This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are represented fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Emeralds are Forever

  Book design and layout copyright © 2018 Dragons & Fairy Tales Press

  Cover design copyright © 2018 Dragons & Fairy Tales Press

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright © 2018 by Jaclyn Hardy

  For Ashley

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  About the Author

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  When I first started this series, I wasn’t sure exactly where I wanted to go with it. I thought doing an Indiana Jones type story would be a lot of fun—but I had no idea just how exciting it was. I have loved writing these last two stories and I can’t wait to write the next one.

  I want to thank Sarah Gardiner for encouraging me to get this written. She’s been an awesome cheerleader along the way! I also want to thank my mom for her never-ending support. Also, thank you to Amy Petrowich, Lisa Racette, and my awesome beta readers for all of your help, and for catching my rather amusing typos!

  Thank you to all of you for standing by me and reading my books. I love you all!

  Ben dropped his headphones onto the desk and let out a loud “Yes!” The retrieval of Cleopatra's earrings had gone without a hitch, and Carlie was on her way home. The museum would be thrilled to have a matching set. He watched as the plane took off before standing to stretch. Now that the job was done, he could concentrate on the article he was supposed to be writing for the newspaper. But first, he needed to go get some groceries.

  He grabbed an apple out of the fridge, then found a baseball cap to hide his hair. He'd have to shower later that night. Going between being “Ed” for Carlie's team and Ben Wilson for the newspaper could be exhausting, but it also meant getting the scoop for the newspaper before anyone else did.

  A warm breeze welcomed him as he left the house and climbed into his old Honda. It had been unseasonably hot and hadn't cooled down even after dark.

  The grocery store was empty for a Thursday night, but Ben preferred it that way. He pushed a cart inside and made his way down the aisles. Produce, bread, cereal. He ticked his list off in his head as he went.

  “Excuse me?” A woman's voice jolted Ben out of his thoughts. He turned to find a woman smiling up at him. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her striking green eyes stared into his. It took a moment for him to realize he was just standing there.

  “Uh, hi.” He tried to figure out how to get his cart around her, but his brain didn't seem to want to work.

  The woman pointed at a bottle of vanilla extract on the top shelf. “Can you get that for me? I'm rather vertically challenged.”

  Ben laughed and handed it to her. “Vertically challenged?”

  “I like it better than calling myself short. Thank you.” She set the bottle into her basket.

  “You're welcome.” He pushed past her, trying to get distance between them so his mind would work again. Clearly, he needed to step away from the computer more often so he'd know what to say to women. Or people in general.

  After passing each other three more times going down the aisles, the woman laughed. “We can't keep running into each other like this.”

  Ben grinned. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me.”

  She raised a hand. “Guilty. I just . . . I swear I know you from somewhere. It's been driving me crazy trying to figure out where.”

  “I would remember if I had.” Ben stopped, realizing what he'd just said. He put his hand out. “I'm Ben.”

  “Deirdre.” She took his hand and a shiver of electricity went through him.

  Ben dropped her hand but could still feel her soft skin and firm grip. “I better get going. I have to get my article turned in . . . not that you needed to know that.”

  “Article?” Her eyes brightened. “You work for a paper?”

  “Yeah. Well, sort of. I mean, I write articles for the paper, but I do other things, too.” Shut your mouth, Ben. “Well, see you around.”

  He turned and walked toward the cashier, mentally cursing himself. He'd been smooth once upon a time. But then the only girl he'd really talked to for the last few months was Carlie as he helped her on missions. That didn't count because she was married.

  Deirdre wasn't anywhere around as he paid and went out to the car. It was probably better that way anyway. He couldn't exactly pay attention to someone when he was supposed to be helping his team through missions. That didn't stop him from glancing around the parking lot to see if he could find her one more time, though.

  His phone rang as he pulled out onto the road.

  “Hey, Carlie, what's up?”

  “I just heard from Braden. He said there's something going on at the airport where I'm supposed to land. Can you check it out?” Her voice was muffled, but then it was coming from a phone in the heel of her shoe.

  Ben sighed. So much for working on his article. “I'm heading home right now. Give me a sec. How long until you land?”

  “Three hours. And Ed? Make sure Braden isn't anywhere near the airport if there's trouble.”

  “Will do. Everything you need is in that bag. Be ready.” Ben hung up and checked his car's computer for traffic jams. It was too close to rush hour for his comfort, so he turned down a side street. He pushed a button on his car radio and waited for the computer to pull up Carlie's flight. She was halfway across the Atlantic by that time. She was closer to landing than she thought. He cursed and pushed his foot down on the gas. As soon as he pulled in to his driveway, he grabbed the bags of groceries and hurried into the house.

  The computers in Ben's office hummed, calming his nerves. He pulled up the surveillance of the Atlanta Airport. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but anyone who was after the earrings would know better than to be seen on the normal cameras. A few codes and another hack and he was into the main frame. He sat back in his chair and watched as the computer cycled through.

  There. Ben leaned forward and played back the video. Apparently Frank wasn't out of commission. Ben swore and grabbed his phone.

  “Come on, come on, answer,” he muttered until the other line picked up. “Please tell me you're waiting at the airport for Carlie right now.”

  Braden laughed. “Hello to you too.”

  “Listen, Frank is there, right by the gate that Carlie is coming through. I'm going to try to reroute the plane, but if that doesn't happen, you need to be ready to take him out.”

  “Way ahead of you. He's in my sight. Just make sure that plane doesn't show up here.”

  “I'll do my best.” Ben stared at his phone before punching in another number. “I need to report a medical emergency.”

  Ben swept the remnants of his phone into his garbage. He hated getting rid of the phone, but he
couldn't let anyone trace it back to him. The plane was now on its way to JFK, and hopefully Frank wouldn't have time to get there before it landed.

  He walked into the kitchen to put away his groceries. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground from one of the bags. Ben tensed. Did Frank know he was onto him? He picked it up with two fingers and caught a familiar scent. How . . .? He chuckled when he opened the paper to find Deirdre's phone number written on it along with a smiley face. Maybe he hadn't made a fool of himself after all. But how had she gotten it into his bag without him noticing? The thought that she could be a spy crossed his mind, but he pushed it away.

  After making a sandwich and grabbing a drink, Ben went back to his office to work. The paper with Deirdre's phone number sat next to him on the desk. He could call, but then he would seem desperate. That's the last thing he needed right then.

  Ben stared at the blank document on the screen in front of him, trying to figure out how to start the article. Finding Cleopatra's earrings had been fairly easy once they had the necklace in hand, but he couldn't exactly put that in there. As he typed, his eyes kept drifting over to the paper. It had been a few hours since he was at the store. Surely that was long enough . . . He grabbed another phone out of the drawer and started to type in her number. No. He wouldn't call. Maybe just a text, then.

  Hey, this is Ben. We met at the store today. Want to go out for a drink sometime?

  Lame? Probably. But at least it was a start. He hit enter and set his phone down. Now the ball was in her court and Ben could concentrate on work. A little history of the jewels, along with where the necklace was found would be great in the article, just to make sure people remembered from the last article he'd written. He smiled as he wrote his version—the accurate version—of how it had been recovered. So many papers had gotten it wrong, even though he'd personally written the press release for it.

  Next came the retrieval of the earrings. They were found in a crypt under the British Museum that most of the museum curators hadn't even known about. And now they were on their way back to the US to be reunited with the necklace. Ben read through the article a few times to make sure everything was correct, then double checked the display date. He'd booked it the night before with a tentative date in case Carlie got into trouble again.

  A text popped up on Ben's phone.

  That sounds great. How does tomorrow night sound?

  Ben tapped his phone against the table. Tomorrow? He'd planned to take off to New York, but maybe that could wait a day. The ceremony for the museum wasn't for another week, and this way he could catch up on some other work.

  Perfect. I'll pick you up at eight o'clock.

  I look forward to it!

  Ben pumped his fist in mock celebration. He'd actually managed to get a date. His already good day had just gotten much better.

  Deirdre—or Dee, as her friends called her—stared at her phone with a grin on her face. She couldn't wait to tell Carlie about Ben. Speaking of which, she should have been home by now. Dee checked the time and sent a quick text. Trying to keep up with her was almost impossible now that she was married. Not that it had been easy before that.

  “Hey, Dee?” Dani, her roommate, poked her head into Dee's room. “Do you have—what's up with you?”

  “I just met the most gorgeous guy.” Dee flopped back on her bed. “We're supposed to have drinks tomorrow.”

  Dani came into the room and plopped on the bed next to Dee. “Okay, spill.”

  “I had to grab some groceries on the way home from the gym and stopped at this little store just off the freeway. This guy helped me get some vanilla off the top shelf, and then we kept running into each other over and over.”

  “So let me get this straight. You stop at a random store at midnight, talk to a complete stranger, and then give him your number?” Dani rolled her eyes. “Only you.”

  Dee threw a pillow at her. “Hey, I don't normally do this.”

  “Uh-huh. First there was your Pilates instructor that you just happened to run into at the dentist and ended having dinner with him that night. Then there was the intern in your math lab that helped you with your homework. Admit it. You have a problem.”

  “I totally don't.” She rolled over to face Dani. “What did you need?”

  Dani blinked. “I totally forgot. Do you have any extra soap? I ran out and don't want to run to the store this late at night. Who knows, I might run into some crazy guy who I decide to ask on a date.”

  Dee laughed and threw another pillow at her. “There's some in the pantry that Carlie didn't take with her.”

  “Thanks.” Dani left the room.

  Maybe it had been crazy to give him her number, but she couldn't help it. She knew him from somewhere, and she was determined to figure out why. When he was counting out his change, she'd slipped her number into his bag as she left the store.

  Still no text from Carlie. Dee was going to have to give her a piece of her mind when she finally heard back. She pulled out her homework to look through the final she'd be taking in the morning and forced herself to study. If Carlie was successful on this trip, Dee would be making another last-minute visit to New York and she wanted to make sure she had her finals done before then.

  Except that every time she tried to read a paragraph, Ben floated through her mind. Those brown eyes and his dark, tousled hair made her want to text back and move the date to tonight instead. No, she couldn't think like that. She had work to do.

  With only a couple of semesters left of college, Dee was going stir crazy. She'd been going to school for way too long. It was time to be done. She set the timer for an hour, promising herself that she could take a break when it went off. Her economics class might kill her, but she still had to study for it.

  Dee let out a whoop as soon as the alarm went off. She slammed her book closed and left her room to go find some ice cream. There wasn't much left in the freezer, but it would have to do. She could hear Dani singing to her music in the other room, which meant her studying was going about as well as Dee's had.

  Nothing else was on, so Dee flipped to the news station. With the impending trip to New York, it was good to know what the weather was like so she could pick out a dress. She opened the lid and took a bite, savoring the minty chocolate flavor. Her favorite.

  “We're coming to you live from JFK airport where the flight has just landed. Emergency crews are on the runway, waiting to take a patient straight into quarantine. It is too early to know what the patient has contracted, but our sources say it could be tuberculosis. We'll keep you updated as the story unfolds.”

  Dee's mouth hung open as the ice cream on her spoon dripped into the carton below it. That was Carlie's plane. She was sure of it. The flight number matched the one she'd been watching for, but it had landed at the wrong airport.

  “Hey, Dee, where—what's wrong?” Dani glanced between the TV and Dee's face. “You're pale.”

  “What was Carlie's flight number again?” Dee asked, trying to stay calm. Maybe she'd written it down wrong.

  Dani checked her phone and rattled off the four numbers Dee had been dreading. “She should have called by now, right?”

  Dee set down the ice cream and pulled out her own phone. “Yes, she should have, but I don't think she can.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Watch.” Dee nodded toward the TV while she dialed Braden's number. “Please tell me she's not the one with TB.”

  Braden didn't say anything at first and Dee had to check to make sure the call was still connected. Muffled sounds came from the other side of the line before he finally spoke.

  “That's a trick question, but the short answer is she's fine. Things went a little . . . south, but we took care of it. I'm heading there now.”

  “I'll be on the first plane—”

  “No. That'll make things worse. No offense.” Braden's voice was drowned out for a second. “. . . avoiding drama.”

  Dee grumbled. “I'm not drama. But fine. I
'll stick around here, but you better make sure she calls as soon as she can.”

  “Got it.” The call dropped.

  Dee grabbed the forgotten ice cream and shoved a spoonful into her mouth. Carlie had better be okay or she was going to be in so much trouble when she got back.

  Dee struggled to find her phone so she could throw it against the wall for ringing so early. Seeing the name on the screen changed her mind.

  “What's going on? Where are you? Are you okay?”

  Carlie laughed, but the sound was muffled. “I'm fine. Mostly. We had to get creative to get the plane diverted, so now I'm recovering at an undisclosed location.”

  “Sounds awesome. Did you get the earrings at least?” Dee glanced at her clock and held in a groan. Her final was in less than four hours.

  “Yes. We're hoping to get me out of here tomorrow so I can hit the show date. Are you coming?”

  “Wouldn't miss it. Listen, I need to get some sleep for my final. You better call me the second you're out of your 'undisclosed location,' got it?”

  “Got it. Good luck on your test.”

  Dee dropped her phone on the bed and rolled back over to sleep. But her mind wouldn't stop going over everything she knew about Carlie's plans. Which was basically nothing—as usual. Had Carlie really given herself TB just to divert a plane? That wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing she'd done, but still. Exposing all those people to something just to keep the earrings away from everyone? It didn't seem worth it.

  But then she wasn't Carlie.

  The hours passed, and at five am, Dee gave up. She changed into sweats and an old T-shirt and went for a jog. She needed to make it past the final, and then she could crash for the rest of the day.

  She passed a news stand and caught headlines about the plane diversion the night before. She stopped and grabbed a few coins out of her wallet to buy one of them. It wouldn't work to read and run at the same time, so Dee stopped at a park and sat down to read the story. No names, which was good. Hopefully Ed could work his magic and keep Carlie out of the news until the story died down.