by Anna Hackett
“There are other players involved now. There’s been a leak about our trip to the Lost City. I need to get there first, and claim what’s mine.”
“Other players?” Hale pulled his duffel bag up higher on his shoulder.
“The fucking FBI and their Art Crime Team.” Claude shoved his hands on his hips, annoyance on his face. “And those Treasure Hunter Security bastards.”
Hale barely controlled his jerk. How the fuck did he know? “Heard those THS guys are do-gooder pains in the ass.”
“Oui,” Claude agreed. “You are correct, Carter. The Wards are often in our way.”
“But the FBI?” Hale said. “I thought they couldn’t operate outside the USA.”
“The prick that leads the Art Crime Team, an agent by the name of Burke, has la trique,” Claude gesticulated wildly, “a hard-on for our organization. He is a dog nipping at the heels of Silk Road.” Claude shook his head. “It is not like we are selling weapons or drugs.”
Hale barely resisted looking at Elin. No, they were just selling history off piece by piece, and killing anyone who got in their way.
Claude scowled. “There’s also someone else asking questions.”
Hale looked at Elin now. She was frowning. “Who?” he asked.
“We don’t know.” The Frenchman chopped a hand through the air. “My sources have just said that someone has been asking questions. Someone who is after my treasure.”
So there definitely was a treasure of some description. What the hell could it be?
Claude’s dark eyes flashed. “I don’t plan to let anyone beat me to Ophir. Now, let’s take a look at our route and get moving.”
Sabine handed Claude a map. He opened it up on the hood of the lead four-wheel-drive.
“Based off Farini’s lost journal, what he found in the desert was actually an outpost of Ophir.”
“Not the city itself?” Elin asked.
“Correct. And there is a clue at the outpost. A key that will lead us in the direction of the city and the mines.”
Hale decided to take a risk. “What’s this treasure? What’s so special about it?”
Claude paused for a second. “Something beyond value, Mr. Jordan. Something that belonged to King Solomon himself.” Claude folded up the map.
“King Solomon got treasure sent to him from the mines.” Hale frowned. “Why would he send something valuable back?”
Claude stuck the map under his arm. “To hide it. Now, enough questions. Let’s go.”
Hale loaded his duffel bag into the back of his and Elin’s Land Rover. As he slid into the driver’s seat, Elin climbed into the passenger seat. He glanced curiously at her.
“You going to argue with me about driving?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You’ll get bored of it eventually, and be begging me to drive later.”
God, she was something, and she was probably right. Ahead, the rest of the convoy pulled out. Hale set the Land Rover in gear and followed.
He watched Elin pull a small device out of her pocket, and start waving it around the dash, the console, the ceiling. He recognized the tech straight away. He had a few of these little babies himself. She was checking for bugs.
As they drove out of Upington, she climbed into the back to finish her check. Finally, she climbed back into the passenger seat. “Clean.”
“So, who do you think this mystery player is?”
“No idea. I’ll send the info to Alastair when I can. My tablet has a satellite connection. I’m more worried about how much they know about the FBI and THS being involved.”
Hale gripped the steering wheel, turning all the information over in his head. “What do you think about this treasure belonging to King Solomon?”
“It’s what I expected,” she said. “But I still don’t know what it could be, or why it’s so valuable.”
Hale stared ahead as the desert spread out ahead of them. “I think we have a whole lot of questions, and not very many answers.”
Chapter Five
Darcy Ward loved having the office to herself.
She set her cup of chai tea latte down beside her computer and pressed her finger to the fingerprint recognition pad to unlock her system.
Morning sunlight shone through the windows of the warehouse and she knew Sydney would be in soon. Logan O’Connor’s smart, elegant girlfriend had taken over the business side of THS, for which Darcy was forever grateful.
She sipped her tea and studied the screens. She needed to check if her searches had found any more information on what treasure Silk Road could be after in the depths of King Solomon’s Mines. Pausing, she stared ahead, wondering what it would be like to be out in the field, being the first person to step into the legendary mines after centuries.
Darcy wrinkled her nose. Unfortunately, she knew being in the field also meant heat, flies, bullets whizzing, and sleeping on the ground. Shaking her head, she tapped in some new searches. Give her an office any day.
The sound of the front door opening had her turning around with a smile.
But it wasn’t Sydney Granger who’d arrived.
Darcy groaned. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Special Agent Alastair Burke, head of the FBI’s specialized Art Crime Team, raised a dark brow. “Good morning, Darcy.”
She scowled at the man. “It was.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again,” he added, his tone dry.
He was wearing a dark suit that did little to hide the fact that the man had a hard, muscled body. She was certain there was a rule that said FBI agents were supposed to be middle-aged, slightly overweight, and with thinning hair.
Her gaze moved up his not-overweight body to his neatly-cut, mahogany-brown hair. He shifted, resting a hand on his hip. It parted his jacket and she saw his holster and gun. A shot of heat hit her belly. Damn, why did men in suits with holsters look so sexy? It wasn’t fair.
“Always so polite and welcoming,” he said.
She pasted on a sweet smile. “Agent Burke, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” And how the hell do I get you out of here?
His lips quirked. It was the closest she’d ever come to seeing him smile. “You didn’t even choke when you said pleasure.”
“Just tell me what I need to do to get you to turn around and head out the door.”
Burke shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not planning on leaving.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
The front door opened again and three more FBI agents—two men and a woman—entered. They were carrying laptops and file boxes.
A heavy feeling settled on her, and she stared into Burke’s intense, green eyes. Damn, the man wasn’t yanking her chain.
“With my agent in the field, along with your team, I decided it made sense to pool our resources on this mission.”
“You decided,” Darcy said.
“You want to do everything you can to help keep Hale and your brothers safe, don’t you?”
She hissed out a breath. “Of course, I do.”
He waved to the agents. “Then let my team plug in and share what we have. From here, we’ll work together and coordinate everything the field team needs.” Burke’s face hardened. “And do whatever needs doing to bring Silk Road down.”
Darcy huffed out a breath. She could hardly argue with any of that. “Fine.” She nodded at the agents. “I’m Darcy Ward.”
One by one, the agents introduced themselves.
Darcy pointed to some empty desks. “Help yourselves. Let me know if you need anything.” She kept her face blank. “And I’ll grant you access to my system.”
Burke looked at her. “That won’t be necessary. We can access the system ourselves.”
Her gaze narrowed. “No, you can’t.”
He took a step toward her and she got a whiff of his crisp, clean cologne. Damn him for smelling so good.
“Want to make a bet?” he said softly, so only she could hear.
Dammit, th
e man was far too smug. “You already got in.”
This time, Special Agent Burke graced her with a full smile. She blinked. Holy hell, the man was gorgeous.
Get it together, Darcy. He’s arrogant, annoying, bossy, and a thorn in your side, remember? “We work together to keep our people safe out there, but while you’re here, you stay out of my way.” She lifted her chin. Take that, Agent Burke. Score one for Darcy.
But Burke leaned closer, his voice low and silky. “What are you so afraid of, Darcy? Having me here, or finding out you like it?”
She stood there, frozen to the spot. Then he turned and walked over to his agents.
Dammit, she should have laughed. Scoffed. Made a witty comeback.
But right now, it appeared she was fresh out of witty comebacks. Damn. Score one for Agent Arrogant and Annoying.
***
“Don’t you get sick if you read while you’re in a car?” Hale asked.
Elin looked over at him. “No.” She looked back down at the tablet. She was pulling up everything she could on King Solomon.
“Of course, you don’t,” Hale said. “You’re the perfect Agent Alexander.”
“Well, I aim for perfect. Aiming for mediocre is a waste of time.”
Hale threw his head back and laughed. It was a deep, rich sound that made her stare at him. She also felt a gut-deep bolt of arousal.
No. Absolutely not. They were on a dangerous mission. She stared down at the tablet again, the screen blurring. She did not have the time to be attracted to the sexy, charming Hale Carter.
“What have you found on King Solomon?” he asked. “By now, I expect you to have it all organized and color-coded.”
She shot him a cool look. “I prefer numerical coding. It makes it far easier.”
Another laugh, and this time, Elin had to fight back a smile.
“I found some interesting articles about King Solomon. He was the wise and wealthy king mentioned in the Bible.”
“I know the baby story,” Hale said.
She smiled. “Right. Let’s hope no babies actually got cut in half to settle disputes. He was the King of Israel, son of the famous David, of Goliath fame. He was also the builder of the famous temple. Most historians date his reign to around 950 BC. He was also known as an accomplished magician.”
“Magic, huh?”
“Yes. Stories about him got entangled with the occult centuries later.”
Hale nodded. “Any particular treasures linked to him?”
“Apart from all the gold, diamonds, ivory, and the other wealth he accumulated?”
“Right.”
“Loads.” She sighed. “The Ark of the Covenant. A magical throne. A golden table. A ring, and a key.”
“Key?”
“Sounds like it was a magical book. The throne and table were made of gold, and magic as well. They were apparently looted by enemies. The ring was known as the Seal of Solomon, topped with the Star of David symbol, and was also—”
“Let me guess…magic.”
“Ding, ding, you win the prize.” She sat back in her seat. “It allowed Solomon to amass wealth and wisdom, and to control djinn.”
“Djinn? Demons, right?”
“Genies. Supernatural beings of Islamic mythology. They were said to be able to travel instantaneously between locations, and Solomon was said to have used them to build his temple.”
Hale grunted. “I like to believe there’s a grain of truth in every myth and legend. On previous expeditions, I’ve seen some pretty crazy and amazing stuff.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about some of your Treasure Hunter Security missions.”
“So, we’re on the hunt for either the Ark of the Covenant, a golden table, a golden throne, a book of spells, or a magic genie ring,” he said.
“Sounds like it,” she said. “Of course, they don’t really have magical powers.”
He raised a brow. “You don’t believe in magic, Agent Alexander?”
“No. I’m a realist.”
“Would never have guessed.”
She wrinkled her nose at the sarcasm, but a bump in the road made them both jerk. The road was slowly getting rougher, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the pavement gave way to dirt. Elin went back to her research and they continued on.
“Look,” Hale said.
Elin raised her head and spied a scraggly tree ahead. A male lion lounged in the scant shade. He watched them with a bored, lazy look as they drove past. She’d seen lions in the zoo before, but it didn’t quite compare to seeing them in the wild. For a little while, the stark desert had made her forget just what called this land home.
Another hour passed, and Elin’s prediction proved correct. Claude’s vehicle led them onto the dirt, dust spewing up behind it.
“Getting close to the border with Botswana,” Hale said.
But as they neared the border, Claude turned west, staying inside South Africa for now.
The land slowly turned from flat, dusty desert to a rockier terrain. Rocky outcrops littered the landscape, and in the distance, Elin could see the dark smudge of a mountain range.
She had to admit there was something stark and imposing about the desert. Maybe because it made her feel so small. She might have to think about coming back here and going on safari. She gave a mental snort. Right, like she had time for a vacation.
“I’m glad we aren’t covering this ground with wagons, like Farini did,” Hale said.
“Absolutely.” It would have been a hard, uncomfortable trek.
Hale stared toward the west. “You really think King Solomon hid something out here?”
Elin tried to imagine people mining in this unforgiving land and preparing shipments of ivory, gold, and diamonds to send north to a foreign king. “I think it is a likely location for Ophir. There is a good source of gold, diamonds, and ivory here. Solomon received shipments from Ophir every three years, so I doubt Ophir was close to Israel. Whether he sent some treasure back to be stored here, I don’t know, but Claude and Silk Road believe it.”
Claude lead them off the established track they’d been following. The Land Rover bumped over rough ground, and Elin gave up on reading her tablet. God, she felt like her bones were rattling. She gripped the handhold above her window.
“If there’s a track here, I can’t see it,” Hale said. His large hands gripped the steering wheel tight as he maneuvered them over the rough ground.
“He must be following something from Farini’s journal,” she said.
They fell into silence as they continued north-west. She guessed they’d hit the Namibian border before too long.
“I did research on the Kalahari before the mission, and I read an interesting legend that’s told in this area,” Hale said. “About a place called the Bushman’s Paradise.”
“Oh?” She turned in her seat. “I haven’t heard this one.”
“There are variations of the tale, but it talks about a secret place in the desert where there is a freshwater spring, and kids play with diamonds as big as their fists.”
He was getting into the spirit of the story, his tone deep and musical. The man could read her dry mission reports and make them sound good.
“There is one story that tells about a diary that was found, written by a survivor of a shipwreck. He was taken in by the San people, and taken to the Paradise. They killed him to protect its location.”
Elin made a skeptical noise.
“Another story is about a German soldier who was taken to the Paradise by a local guide. He was amazed by the place, and took some diamonds. Years later, he went back, trying to find it again.”
“And?” Despite herself, she found herself caught up in the tale.
Hale lowered his voice. “He was found dead in the desert, poison arrows in his back, and his pockets filled with diamonds.”
“You believe every fantastic story you hear, Carter?”
He shot her one of those mega-watt smiles and her gaze dropped to his
mouth. He had full, well-shaped lips.
“I’ve seen some pretty fantastic stuff at THS.”
She nodded and jerked her gaze off his mouth. “Like lost oases in Egypt, mythical jewels in Asia, and South American jungle salves that can heal wounds in minutes?”
His smile widened. “That’s right. It makes me wonder what other fantastic things are out there, buried and hidden away by time.”
Ahead, she saw taillights come on and she straightened. “We’re slowing down.” She leaned forward, looking through the windshield. “Look.”
A rocky outcrop rose up, covered in piles of large, blocky stones.
The vehicles pulled to a stop at the base of the hill. There were several large blocks of rock stacked in places, hardy shrubs growing in between.
It almost looked like the tumbled remains of a structure. The large blocks were regular-shaped and stacked. But the more she looked at it, the more it looked like a natural, evolutionary formation.
“Does that look like an outpost of an ancient lost city to you?” she asked.
Hale opened his door, letting the desert heat in. “No, but I never assume anything at first glance. Let’s take a look around.”
The rest of the team members were exiting their Land Rovers, and Elin did the same, jamming her hat on her head. The heat hit her in the face, and she carefully picked her way across the rocky ground.
Claude flung an arm out at the outcrop. “This is the location of the Ophir outpost that Farini discovered.” The Silk Road leader’s smile was wide, eagerness radiating off him. “Farini mentioned finding engravings carved into the rocks. That’s where we should find the key leading to Ophir itself. Spread out. Find it!”
Side-by-side, Elin and Hale climbed the rocky hill. Hale pulled a little ahead of her, and instantly her gaze dropped down to where his cargo pants hugged his very fine ass. As he climbed, she watched the flex of muscles under the dark fabric.
Elin tripped on a rock and fell forward.
Shit. Before her face smashed into stone, a strong hand wrapped around her arm and broke her fall.
“Watch your step, Alex.” A small smile flirted on his lips.
Busted. Elin huffed out a breath. This time, she kept her gaze firmly on the ground, and not her partner’s ass.
