The Relic (3 page)

She turned her head and grinned. “Of course. I left markers when I came in. We should get to the spot where I left my jeep soon.”

Why was he surprised? “I forgot how organized you were, Mags.”

“You mean you forgot how good I am at what I do.”

“Oh no, I haven’t forgotten how good you are.” He smiled.

He could feel her frustration as she let out a sigh and turned back to the track. Why did he keep riling her up? Sure, he was a flirt, but he was never disrespectful. Sheesh. But maybe it would help to keep her at arm’s length if she continued to hate him. If he was lucky.

And pigs might fly too.

It didn’t help that she had the cutest arse that swayed from side to side as she moved in front of him, and despite the danger they faced, he couldn’t shake the state of semi-arousal he found himself in. All he had to do was convince his body to stop wanting her, because it sure as hell was reacting to everything about her. Maybe a cold shower—or five—would help when they got back to civilization.

The sky became more visible through the trees, the vegetation less dense, and Vincent was relieved to see a clearing up ahead. Magda picked up speed and jogged forward, her gun raised in her hand and pointing toward the jeep he assumed was her rental.

“Get out of my car, you bastard, before I shoot you!”

Vincent sprinted into the scrub and circled around her to the opposite side. A dark head popped up from the front seat of the jeep. From what he could see, it was a teenager, but it was difficult to tell with the Malays as they were all pretty short.

Magda drew closer to the vehicle, both her hands now gripping the pistol firmly. She looked magnificent with her eyes flashing and her steady aim. If he didn’t know she wasn’t into shooting people, he’d swear she was about to pull the trigger. She’d once told him she could never take another life, not under any circumstances, and he believed her, but she was one hell of a shot and knew her weapons inside out, and she could shoot the gun out of any bad guy’s hand at fifty feet.

A pair of hands rose above the seat and slowly a body appeared. Magda didn’t waver for a second. “I repeat, out of the car—now!”

Scanning the surrounding vegetation, Vincent saw some movement just behind where she stood. He palmed his knife, a Scrimshaw hunting knife he’d mastered as a child going on boys-only trips with one of his many uncles. He never went anywhere without it now. It had saved his butt several times, and he used it now to cover Mags. Moving in from the rear of the jeep, he grabbed the native’s shirt and dragged him out of the seat and on to the ground, holding him face down in the dirt with his foot pressing hard on the neck of the trembling man while yelling at Mags to jump in the driver’s seat.

She didn’t need to be told twice. She got in and revved up the engine while Vincent king-hit the man before jumping in beside her. She quickly reversed, swinging the jeep around, narrowly avoiding the running locals who had suddenly arrived to chase them.

“Hold on, Stone, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

The jeep went flying over a large piece of wood lying on the road, throwing Vincent back against the seat with a thump. “No kidding.”

The trip back to the civilization was spent in relative silence, most likely due to the stress of being shot at and chased twice in as many hours. Sure, it wasn’t the first time, but even though Mags seemed to be doing okay, he personally felt totally out of his depth in the jungle environment. Give him the energy of rush hour or the open road of the outback and he was in his element, but get him in a rainforest and he had no idea.

The outskirts of town came into view and Mags slowed down. “So where can I drop you?”

Oh no. She’s not getting away that easy. “Wherever you go, I go, and after you’ve showered and cleaned up, I’m going to put you on the next plane out of here.”

She rolled her eyes. “Forget it, Stone. I’m here to do a job and I fully intend to finish it. Get used to it.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration rising as he realized there was probably no way he could talk her out of leaving.

“Fine. Then I suggest we work together on this. If we combine resources, we can wrap this up a lot faster, and I’m willing to split the finder’s fee fifty-fifty.”

“Fifty-fifty? How generous. What if I find it on my own without your help? What if I don’t want to work with you?”

“Come on, Mags, you know I’m right. We can accomplish much more together than on our own. I know I’m not your favorite person, but can’t we put our differences aside to get out of this alive?”

He could see the wheels turning in her mind as she weighed up her options. She had to agree. His was the only sensible option. He held his breath waiting for her reply, but before she said anything, she turned into the underground car park of the Bayview, one of the most prestigious hotels in Georgetown, the capital of Penang.

He blew out a short whistle. “Hoo wee, you LAW ladies sure know how to do it in style.”

Magda smiled, reminding him of another reason he’d been attracted to her in the first place. “Why should we do it cheap? We all make enough from our novels to travel in style, but the extracurricular activities, well, they pay extremely well too. Besides, after traipsing around in the jungle all day, I need a nice haven to return to.”

“Does this mean you agree to work with me?”

She laughed, her turquoise eyes sparkling. “Down, boy. I haven’t made up my mind yet. I need a shower and a meal before I can make any decisions. I’ll also need to check in with The Mansion. I can’t really make that decision without the other girls’ input.”

He grinned. Of course the Ladies of the LAW would want Magda to stay safe. He could let them do the persuading for him. “That’s cool. So you’re letting me crash at your place until then?”

“Don’t get any ideas, Stone,” she said, handing the car keys to the valet. “As soon as I’ve spoken to the LAW, you can go back to whatever rat hole you’ve been staying in. I’m sure you have some woman back there waiting to shower you with whatever it is you get women to shower you with these days.”

“Jealous?”

“No way,” she spluttered, as she pushed the button for the elevator. “Grow up, Stone. It’s time you learned not all women exist to give you pleasure.”

“You did a pretty good job once. Actually, I remember we pleasured each other pretty damn nicely there for a while.”

“That was before I found out what a low life you really are, Stone. I won’t be making that mistake again.”

“It’s not like you don’t have plenty of partners either, Mags. Why single me out when you do the same thing?”

Magda hesitated before sliding the room card into its slot. “It’s not the same thing. I don’t sleep with more than one person at the same time.”

He whistled as he followed her into the room. “Now that sounds like a pretty kinky idea. Wanna try it?”

She stormed over to her drawers and grabbed a pile of clothes, holding them close to her body. “Fuck off, Stone, I’m dropping this conversation right now. Order yourself some room service. I’m going to have a long shower.”

Chapter Two

Magda vigorously scrubbed her body under the warm stream.

Damn. Damn.
Damn!
Damn him for throwing our past relationship in my face. Damn him for being so damn gorgeous, and damn him for still being able to get under my skin.

One soapy hand slid down between her legs and found her swollen clit. Her body had been in a state of excitement ever since she’d laid eyes on Vincent a few hours ago, and she longed for release. As her other hand rubbed against her breasts, her nipples puckered and she twisted them between her thumb and forefinger. Her pussy clenched as the familiar heat spiraled throughout her body and concentrated in all the right spots. How many times had she pleasured herself thinking about Vincent?

Her head rolled back as her fingers worked their magic. Her hand continued working her swollen breasts, twirling each nipple in turn and pinching them until she felt the sweet pain of pleasure mounting to the brink but not quite over the edge. In her mind’s eye, she conjured images of a happier time. Of long, hot nights making love with Vincent. She imagined his mouth sucking on her breasts, and his clever hands roaming all over her sensitized body.

The shower door opened and a hand closed over her mouth.

Shit!

Warm breath tickled her ear. “Shh, Mags, it’s me. We have to get out of here.”

She nodded, allowing him to release her mouth.

If you could shout while whispering, that would describe what she wanted to do right now. She did a pretty good impression of it anyway. “What the fuck is going on?”

He passed her a towel and some clothes.

“Someone’s coming. I saw them in the lobby when I went down to look for some maps. They were heading for the lifts. We need to move now.”

She dragged on the shorts and tank top then pulled on the canvas shoes as quickly as she could. Not the time to worry about modesty, she figured. Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it all before.

“Who are these people and what makes you think they are after us?”

He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the balcony door. “No time to explain now. I’ll tell you everything later. Let’s just get the heck out of here before they catch up with us.”

Vincent pulled a rope out of a backpack she hadn’t noticed him wearing and tied it to the railing, yanking on it hard before looking over the side and dropping the other end down. He turned and indicated for her to go first.

“Are you crazy? It’s at least thirty feet down.”

“Yes, it is, but we’re not going all the way.” He beckoned her over and pointed down. “See that balcony two floors down to the right?”

She looked over the side. It was a long way down. One little slip and she’d be splattered all over the steamy footpath.

Holy shit, could she do this?

She could. Really. She
could
.

She’d better
.

She’d gotten out of stickier situations before.

“O-kay, no worries,” she looked back at Vince and nodded.

Piece of cake.

Luckily for her, he missed her momentary lapse in personal confidence and continued giving her instructions. “It leads to a hallway. From there, we can use the fire stairs and make a clean getaway.”

“I have no idea how you know that, but since I don’t have much choice…”

She wrapped her hands in the scarf she’d grabbed on the way out of the room, took a huge deep breath and held it in. She bolted over the rail, quickly abseiling the short distance to the balcony below, before deftly swinging her body toward the ledge where she landed, giving Vince the thumbs up sign. He didn’t waste any time leaping over quickly and joining her. As she opened the door to the hallway, they both stood pressed against the wall to either side of the opening while Magda checked the corridor. She nodded and Vince led the way as they swiftly padded to the stairway then repeated the process so smoothly that any onlooker would think they’d been doing this together for years, and not a few hours.

They raced down a flight of rickety stairs, ignoring the loud sound of their feet on the uneven wooden steps. Luck was on their side as they reached the car park, jumped in the jeep and drove off before, whoever was following caught up.

Five minutes down the road, after avoiding several maniac Penangese drivers, a dozen or so pushbike riders and two rickshaw-type vehicles, Magda released the breath she’d held since jumping into the jeep. Okay, she hadn’t really been holding it for that long, but it bloody well
felt
like it!

Vincent was checking out the rear, his eyes sweeping from side to side as Magda slowed down and pulled into a small market place at the side of the road.

“Whoa, baby, that was exciting. Where to next, double-oh-seven?”

Vincent grinned that million-dollar grin. “My place.”

“Your place? Won’t the bad guys be watching it?”

“They’ll be watching my hotel. This is my other place. Nobody knows about it except me.”

“You have your own place here in Penang? You never mentioned it before.”

He shrugged. “I haven’t used it for years. It’s probably a bit dusty, and possibly overrun with wildlife. Does that bother you?”

Bugs? Spiders? She hated them all and he knew it. Just great.

“I’m sure I’ll cope. Are you sure this place can’t be traced to you?’

He smiled. “Yep, because it’s registered to Jacko, the bloke who used to own it. I never got around to transferring title. Anyway, we’re wasting time. Switch places and I’ll drive. It’ll be faster.”

“I’m not sure about that. I know what your driving is like, Stone. Just give me directions and I’ll get us there.”

His eyes narrowed. “Do you think I would volunteer to drive if there was any other way?”

He was probably right. Acquiescing, she jumped out of the jeep and moved around to the passenger side. “I know I’m going to regret this, so prove me wrong and get us there safely.”

Vincent jumped over the gear stick and took over the driver’s seat. For once, he didn’t have a snappy comeback, which made her a tad nervous.

“I’ll do my best, Mags. It’s been a while, so I hope the local landmarks haven’t changed that much.”

“So why haven’t you been here lately?”

He screwed his face up and shuddered. “I hate jungles.”

She laughed. “So why keep it then?”

He hung a left and changed down the gears as the jeep chugged up a steep hill. “I always meant to sell it, but never got around to it. Good thing I didn’t, because it’s finally come in handy.”

“Let me guess. You won it in a bet?”

He threw back his head and laughed. “You know me so well, Mags. But this time I didn’t. It was given to me for safe keeping, then a few months later, the person who owned it died.”

“Didn’t he have family who could claim it?

“Not that I know of, and I checked. I was going to give it back to them, but couldn’t find evidence of any. Hence, the place is still mine.”

A sudden downpour of tropical rain stopped any further conversation as the roar of the wind battered the small jeep. Magda braced her feet firmly on the floor while holding on for dear life with both hands to the bar above. The whining sound of the tires as they slipped on the swelling mud had her doing the sign of the cross inside her head. There was no way she was moving her hands from where they were. They were stuck like glue and keeping her from falling out of the jeep while it precariously continued its climb up the winding track to wherever this bloody hut was.