Undiscovered (Treasure Hunter Security Book 1) (12 page)

Outside, he saw flashlights arcing through the dig. Two vehicles stood, lights on, illuminating the main excavation site. He saw shadows moving at the storage tents.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the action and into the shadows. There was a brisk wind blowing.

Dec touched his ear. “Everyone okay?”

His team checked in.

“All clear,” Morgan said.

“Idiot stepped on Hale,” Logan said. “But we’re fine.”

“Okay. Where are you?”

“Eastern side. Five hundred meters out of camp and watching the show.”

Shit
. He and Rush were on the other side of the camp.

“Roger that. Anyone see Stiller? He was in his tent.”

“That’s a negative,” Logan said.

Not good. “Okay. Get to safety. The doc and I are on the western side. Let’s lay low, and then rendezvous at the prearranged emergency point.”

The wind blew harder, spitting sand in their faces. At least it would muffle noise, and hopefully help conceal their footprints.

“We need to get out of camp and meet up with my team.”

Rush nodded. “I hate leaving these bastards with free range of my dig—”

“Yeah, sorry I misplaced my army, otherwise I’d take them down.”

A hint of white teeth in the dark. “And there go all those superhero delusions I had about you.”

“Come on, Rush. Even while I’m rescuing you you’re busting my balls.” He tugged her down a dune and deeper into the desert.

They hadn’t gone far when he heard voices raised in excitement. Dec turned. The headlights of one car perfectly illuminated Aaron Stiller’s skinny form. He was pushed hard by the thug holding his arm and the archeologist fell to his knees.

“No,” Layne said, pressing a hand to her mouth.

Then a tall, broad figure appeared.

Everything in Dec’s body went still. Ian Anders.

He had a clean-cut face for such an evil person. He was wearing all black and staring at Stiller with calculation. Then he held out his hands.

Dec heard Layne gasp. Anders was holding the scroll and the set-animal amulet.

“Can Stiller translate the scroll?” Dec asked.

She nodded. “Without a doubt.”

“Shit.” There was nothing they could do. Dec chewed it over and realized he needed help. He pulled out his satellite phone and thumbed in Darcy’s number.

His sister, reliable as always, answered on the first ring. “Declan?”

“Darcy, I don’t have long. Anders has raided the camp. He has the scroll and one of the archeologists. Rush says the guy can decode the scroll.”

“The map to Zerzura,” his sister said grimly.

“Yes. I need you to call in Callum. Tell him to come in with help.”

“I’m on it. What else—”

The scream of static filled his ear and his phone went dead. With a curse, he turned it off. Next, he touched his earpiece. “Logan? You there?’

Nothing.

He yanked his earpiece from his ear. “Dammit to hell.”

“What?”

In the starlight, he could make out Layne’s pale face. “They’re jamming our comms.”

There were more loud voices from the direction of the camp. Dec glanced over his shoulder…and saw flashlights heading in their direction.

“Dammit. Run, Rush.”

They sprinted through the sand. Layne tripped, but Dec grabbed her arm. She righted herself and kept running.

The wind grew stronger and Dec felt the whip of sand against his skin. He scanned ahead. The vague outlines of the dunes were all he could see. There were no good hiding places.

Suddenly, a large shape loomed over them. Dec’s pulse spiked and he brought his gun up.

“Dec.”

Dec lowered his weapon. “Shit, Logan. I almost blew your head off.”

Logan snorted. “Come on.”

Dec grabbed Layne’s arm and soon they reached the bottom of the dune. “Logan, plan?”

“Bury ourselves in the sand.”

“Hey, boss man.”

Dec heard Morgan’s voice but didn’t see her.

“Down here.”

Dec just made out the two bulges in the sand that he guessed were Morgan and Hale. He nodded. “Let’s do it. Rush, lie down.”

She did, pressing her belly to the sand. Dec quickly covered her with sand.

“Stay still and quiet.”

She nodded but he knew she had to be scared. He touched her head, then quickly set to work burying himself right beside her.

The voices got louder.

Under the thin layer of sand, Dec stayed very still. He’d had practice at sitting quietly, waiting, on missions. Patience was a hell of a valuable skill, along with calm under fire.

Someone was shouting in Arabic.

From just meters away.

He kept his breathing calm and waited. He felt something shift right by his hand…then slim fingers slid into his under the sand.
Layne
. He gently tangled his fingers with hers and held on.

Dec willed these guys to move on. To go somewhere else. If these goons shined their lights down, they might notice Dec’s and the team’s hiding place.

After what felt like an eternity, the voices drifted away.

Soon, all Dec could hear was the whistle of the wind.

Finally, he sat up and shook the sand out of his hair. He heard the others doing the same. He helped Layne up.

“Nice work, Rush.”

“I thought I was going to faint. They were practically on top of us.”

“Come on.” He saw the glow of flashlights not far away. “They’re still looking for us and something tells me they’ll be back.” He hauled her to her feet. “Time to go.”

Together, they all set off, trudging through the sand.

“I managed to get a call into Darcy before they jammed us,” Declan said to the others. “I called in Cal.”

“Good,” Logan said.

“For now, we make our way to Dakhla—”

“Boss?”

He frowned. “Yes, Morgan?”

“I think we have a problem.” Morgan was pointing ahead of them.

Dec looked up and drew in a sharp breath. “Oh, shit.”

“What?” Layne’s voice was shaky.

“Look ahead.”

“I see sand dunes.”

“Above them.”

“I see the black night sky.” There was confusion in her voice.

“No stars.”

She stared ahead, then gasped. “Something’s blocking out the stars.”

As she said it, the wind picked up even more, howling at them.

Dec’s mind raced as he tried to find an escape plan to keep them alive. Behind them, was a team of very organized and well-funded antiquities thieves.

And in front of them, brewing like a boiling witch’s broth, was a wild desert sandstorm.

“Come on. We go on a bit farther, then we’ll take cover.” If they burrowed in too early, the thieves might catch them.

“If we wait too long, the sandstorm could kill us,” Layne shouted. “I’ve been through one out here on another dig. And I’ve heard some pretty bad stories.”

“Then we’d better get the timing right. Everyone, open your emergency packs.”

Everyone pulled scarves and goggles out of the backpacks and slipped them on.

They pushed on until the edge of the sandstorm swallowed them. Soon the lights behind them disappeared. Hell, everything disappeared.

The sand was pinging off his skin hard and stinging. He tapped Logan’s arm. The man would know what to do.

Dec grabbed Layne’s arm. There was no way she’d hear him over the howl of the wind. He pulled her down in the sand and yanked his backpack off. He pulled out the small, plain canvas tent he had in his pack.

It wasn’t fancy. You didn’t want mesh in a desert to let all the dust and sand in. He quickly set it up. It was a solo tent—sleek and streamlined. It was going to be a tight fit for two of them.

He urged her in. He tried to spot the rest of his team, but the storm was too bad. The wind was tearing at him now like a wild beast. Logan and the others were all trained and experienced. He knew he didn’t need to worry about them.

Dec followed Layne into the tent. It only took a second to seal the tent behind them.

He turned to face her. There was only just enough room to sit up and his head brushed the top. He pressed a button on his watch and the face glowed. It gave just enough light to make her out. She looked kind of cute with the huge goggles dominating her face.

The wind was making the canvas flap, and its wail was like a mob of monsters right on top of them.

He saw Layne’s hands were clenched tightly together.

Dec pulled her into his arms and held on. She buried her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

Funny how in that instant, Dec wouldn’t trade being stuck in the middle of a deadly sandstorm for anything.

***

Callum Ward gunned his motorbike and leaned into the curve.

Evening was falling in Denver and the city lights twinkled above him. His sweet little Ducati wanted to go faster—she’d clearly missed him while he’d been trekking through the Amazon. But as he whizzed through the LoDo area, he stuck to the speed limit. Mostly. He promised himself he’d take her out of the city one day and let her knock his teeth into the back of his head.

His jaw tightened.
After
he’d rescued his brother.

Cal pulled up in front of the Treasure Hunter Security warehouse. Lights were still on inside and he knew Darcy would be busy with her computers.

He pulled his helmet off and headed inside.

Darcy looked up and as soon as she saw him, rushed over. “Thank God you’re here.” She threw her arms around him. “I didn’t think you’d be back until tomorrow.”

“One idiot anthropologist safely retrieved.” He pulled back and frowned at her worried face. “D, what’s going on? On our last call you said you were worried about Dec and his job…”

She pressed her hands together. “The dig got raided three hours ago. I’ve lost contact with Dec and the team.”

Cal cursed. He strode toward the computers. The thoughts of taking a few days off to ride his bike and go rock climbing in the mountains evaporated. “What do we know?”

“Anders raided the dig with Silk Road thugs. Dec and Layne, the lead archeologist, got separated from Logan and the others. I have no idea if they managed to meet up.” Darcy scraped a hand through her hair, messing it up. A surefire sign she was agitated. “Something jammed our signal. Plus I just checked—” her blue-gray eyes were drowning in worry “—and a huge desert sandstorm hit their location a few hours ago. I can’t even pick up the emergency trackers in any of the team’s watches.”

Fuck
. Cal sucked in a deep breath. “Any good news?”

“No. Dec said Anders captured one of the other archeologists and a scroll that leads to Zerzura.”

“Look, they’ll be fine. Dec is good at this work, D. He’ll get himself, the team, and the archeologists out of there.”

“Cal, it’s
Anders
.”

Hell
. Cal’s gut went hard. She was right. That meant his brother was unlikely to back off and Anders was a dangerous psychopath.

“I’m going in,” Cal said. “Where’s Coop?”

“Ronin’s on a job in Canada.”

“Damn.” Cal rubbed his forehead, running through logistics in his head. He had to get to Egypt…fast. “I know who to call. Get me flights to Cairo. When we land, I’ll call.” He pulled his sister in for a hard hug. “Keep trying to contact Dec.”

She nodded. “Cal, I have a bad feeling. I’m scared for Dec.”

“He’s tougher than titanium.” Cal cupped her cheek. “I’ll find him.”

She released a slow breath and managed a nod.

Cal strode out to his bike, tugging his helmet on. It was only then that he let his worry show.

***

Layne woke up warm and snug.

She blinked, focusing on the hard arm wrapped around her waist. She shifted and realized she was clutched tightly in Declan’s arms, her back nestled to his hard chest, her butt snuggled to his hard—

He was stroking her arm slowly, seemingly relaxed.

Then it all crashed in on her. The sandstorm. The raid.

She shot upright, bumping the top of the tent and dislodging a rain of dust. She started coughing and felt her goggles resting around her neck.

She felt Declan move.

“Either we survived, or the afterlife is dusty as hell.” She turned toward him. “It’s morning, and it feels like the sun is getting pretty warm. I can’t believe we fell asleep!”

“I wasn’t asleep.”

She eyed him. The dark stubble on his cheeks just made him look sexier and more dangerous. But he was alert. She realized he’d been watching over her during the sandstorm, protecting her as always.

She didn’t let herself think, she just leaned down and kissed him.

His arms clamped around her and yanked her down on his chest. Layne cupped his rough cheeks and poured everything into the kiss. He groaned, then bit her bottom lip, making her moan. His hands slid down her sides.

“When we’re safe, I’m planning to strip your clothes off and fuck you,” he growled. “Every way I know how.”

She pulled back, staring into his glittering gray eyes. She licked her lips, savoring the taste of him. “Oh? What happened to your ‘I’m too dark and brooding for you’ speech?”

He sank a hand into her hair and tugged her head back. “You are such a pain in my ass.”

“Good. You need it. So you’ve decided I’m not too sweet and innocent for you?”

His thumb traced her lips, the air charging even more. She nipped at the hard pad of his thumb and something molten flared in his eyes.

“I never said you were sweet.”

She nipped again. “Good. Because, Declan Ward, I can be very not-sweet when I want to be.”

He groaned again. “I’m going to make you pay for giving me a damn painful hard-on. Especially when we need to get moving and there is nothing I can do about it.”

Reluctantly, she pulled away and sat on the layer of sand that had infiltrated their tent. She patted his chest. “Poor thing.”

He sat up. “Careful, payback is a bitch.”

Layne grinned cheekily at him. Considering thieves had raided her dig and she’d just survived a sandstorm, she was feeling pretty good.

They packed up their meager belongings and climbed out of the tent.

The morning sun was rising in the sky and the temperature was getting warm. She turned around, taking in the view, her stomach dropping.