by Addison Fox
They’d both been blessed with quick fingers. He could only hope the talent they’d both put to misguided use would be the thing that would save them.
He turned his gaze toward the museum’s prize idiot.
Let the diversion begin.
“How’d you get in the middle of this, Baxter? I always knew you were a little wanker toady, but this is bad even for you.”
“I make a pittance at the museum. I decided to up my game.”
“And the answer to that was to partner with these guys? Do you have any idea how far over your head you are?”
“Hardly. I decided to put my talents to better use. Something you know an awful lot about.” Bravado dripped from his lips, but it couldn’t hide the sweat that pooled over his brow and ran down the sides of his face.
Baxter still carried the excavation tools and had continued shifting the heavy bag from side to side. If he could catch him off guard, Finn estimated he could get some momentum off the sheer heft of the bag.
But that strategy still didn’t change the fact the men on the other side of the narrow chamber had guns pointed at Rowan. Nor did it change the wild card that was Bethany.
And her gun was the steadiest of the bunch.
* * *
Rowan kept her hands off her tools—no use tipping off Jared and his thugs to her intentions. And she could only thank their supreme lack of intelligence that they didn’t see the variety of sharp picks and pointed trowels on her belt as weapons.
Little did they know.
The real trick would be escaping the chamber without any gunfire ricocheting through the small, enclosed room. No matter how horrible the situation—and this one was pretty damn bad—she was a scholar, and the thought of losing something so precious had her seeing stars.
If they could only get outside...
“He doesn’t have it.” The words were out before she could stop them, and at Bethany’s narrow-eyed gaze, Rowan knew she needed to see the con through to the end.
“And you do?”
“It’s in safekeeping.”
“Likely story.”
Rowan shrugged. She had no idea if it was working, but she pressed on. “Think what you want. I’ve given him a hard time since I found out he had the bracelet. I mean, who the hell traipses the world with priceless jewels in their carry-on?”
Bethany’s face remained set in hard lines, but Rowan didn’t miss the calculation in her gaze.
“Since he can’t take proper care of his things, I took it.” Rowan shot Bethany a triumphant sneer. “Despite what you may think, Bethany, I’m rather good at stealing.”
“Oh, darling, no need to get uppity. I never said you weren’t good at it.”
Rowan tossed another sneer at Finn. “Men. So concerned about what’s in their hands they never look at what’s around them.”
The agreement in Bethany’s gaze was telegraphed loud and clear. “Fine. He stays here and you come with me.”
“Nope.”
Bethany waved the gun. “I don’t think you’ve got a choice.”
“Actually, I do. Since I won’t give up the location and Finn has no idea where I put it, you’re out of luck.”
“Oh, so small-minded, Rowan. You think I won’t torture it out of you?”
The thought sent chills down her spine, but Rowan pressed on. “Do you really think that would work? I’ve honed keeping my mouth shut since a tender age.”
Bethany’s laugh ran shivers down her spine. “And I’ve honed my persuasion techniques nearly as long and I’ve got a whole box full. Don’t screw with me.”
“Then we all leave the chamber.”
Rowan held her breath and waited to see who’d out-bluff the other. Under normal circumstances, she’d never have thought she’d talk her way out of the chamber, but there was something personal in Bethany’s insistence on getting the bracelet.
And the fact it was personal made Bethany the weaker party in the negotiation.
“Where is it?”
“Out of the chamber. I won’t risk a bullet going wild and ruining something this old and precious.”
“If you’re dead, why would you care?”
Bethany’s soft-spoken words ran another layer of chills down her spine. “Let’s just say that’s the difference between you and me. This will stand long after we’re gone.”
“Oh, save me the pompous speech. The people who built this place are long since gone, too. Long past ever caring it existed.”
Rowan knew Bethany spoke the truth. The grief of the living far surpassed the peace of the dead. But faced with the possibility of not making it out of the chamber—of not living her life with Finn—Rowan suddenly knew the most desperate desire to live.
“Let’s go.” Bethany tossed orders to the thugs, sending the victim of Rowan’s lock picks first up the corridor to the outer chamber, followed by Baxter and Finn. Rowan and Bethany fell in line behind the second thug, and Jared brought up the rear.
Rowan could see the back of Finn’s broad shoulders and took solace in their strength. They could do this, and the small, sloping hallway was their best chance. The ascent was slow and Rowan waited on some signal from Finn. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Rowan, I love you. No matter what happens, I need you to know that.”
“I love you, too.”
“How sweet and touching.” Bethany was quick to intrude on the moment, and her companions added their laughter to her snide words.
The cocky laughter provided the slightest advantage and Finn didn’t disappoint.
“Always, Rowan.” The extra emphasis on her name had her hands moving to her tool belt.
But it was his final word that unleashed chaos. “Now!”
Finn shoved hard at Baxter and his thick pack of tools, pushing him into the lead thug with a gun and sending them both to the ground.
Rowan had her sharp, pointed trowel in one hand and a heavy pick in the other. With unwavering focus, she slammed the pointed edge of the trowel into the hand of the man in front of her, slicing through the skin of his gun hand. He howled in pain and dropped the gun immediately.
She maintained her momentum, swinging the pick behind her before launching herself backward into Bethany, the two of them falling into Jared like dominoes. The heavy sound of gunfire echoed around them in deafening waves, but the corresponding pain of a gunshot wound never came.
Instead, all she saw was Finn, striding toward her like a conquering hero, his hand outstretched. She reached for him like a lifeline, and they scrambled over and around a struggling Baxter and the first thug, who still lay in a heap.
They cleared the large antechamber in a run and kept on moving toward the corridor that would get them outside the tomb to safety. Her ears still rang with the heavy blast of gunshots and she could barely hear anything beyond the thud of her heart. Instead, she focused on the rays of light, visible in the distance, beckoning them forward.
Finn’s hand never left hers, and he pushed her in front of him as they reached the narrow hallway that lead to the exit. With trembling legs, she pushed herself harder up the sloping stairway, frantic to get them outside once more before any further gunfire rang out.
And it was only when they reached the bright sunlight of the desert that Rowan allowed herself to hope they’d escaped the nightmare.
* * *
Finn pointed toward a small building about five hundred yards away. “The security station. We need to get there.”
She nodded and kept moving, her strength and stamina absolute as they raced toward the small building that was their final hope of ending this. He waved his arms and shouted as they ran, quickly catching the attention of two security guards.
“Hands up, Finn! They need to know we’re not going to hurt t
hem.”
Rowan’s instructions came just before he saw the guards wrap their hands wrapped firmly around their guns.
Rowan shouted for help over and over in Arabic, then English, and the guards ran faster toward them.
She ran through a quick overview of what had happened and got the ready assurance additional help was being called in. The police set them up in the small guardhouse with specific instructions to wait.
Finn dragged her into his arms immediately. “It killed me to see you with those guns trained on you.”
“Right back at ya, Gallagher. I’ve always hated guns but never more than at that moment.”
“You were amazing. And you knew exactly what I meant about the tools on your belt. You saved us.”
“We saved each other.”
He pressed his lips to hers for a quick, hard kiss. “I’m still giving you the edge, sweetheart.”
“I told you I was sick of women sitting back and waiting to be rescued.”
His bark of laughter was loud and immediate as he pressed another kiss to her lips. “So you did.”
She clung to his waist, and Finn couldn’t stop running his hands over her shoulders and back, as if reassuring himself she was all right. “Did you have any idea it was Bethany?”
“None. I always thought she was a dim bulb.” Rowan’s shaky laugh tugged at his heart. “How wrong was I?”
“Oh, baby, we both were.”
He’d spent so much of his life focused on possessions it was humbling to realize just how misguided he’d been. There was no possession on earth that matched the beauty of being with her. Nothing he could ever acquire that meant more than the gift of her love, given freely.
“I love you, Rowan.”
She lifted her head, and in the gorgeous blue depths of her eyes he saw his future. “I love you, Finn.”
“I want to make a life with you. And I want to do it in the light. No sneaking around and no more shady jobs.”
“We are a pretty good team.”
“The best.”
She took a deep breath, her words urgent when she finally spoke. “Before that night at the Warringtons’, I was empty. And it took me a lot of years to fill those holes, but I did okay. I had my family and my work. And I know I was lucky. But there were still holes. Still gaps of darkness that I never seemed able to fill.”
“And now?”
“You fill the emptiness, Finn. And I have no reason to hide in the dark places anymore, either.”
He dragged her against him once more and pressed his lips to hers. Love—fierce and tender, wild and warm—flowed between them.
And in her arms, Finn found his forever.
Epilogue
Rowan marveled at what a difference a day made. Or, in her and Finn’s case, a few weeks.
They were once again gathered in her grandparents’ townhome, but this time Alexander Steele was more than intent on treating Finn as a member of the family. The awkward glares were gone, along with the stilted conversation, and her grandfather had been his most charming self. “That business of yours is booming, Finn. And the work you did to return that long-lost bracelet to the Royal Family certainly has tongues wagging. Rumor has it they may hire you for a few more jobs.”
“Yes, sir, they have contacted me about some work.”
Rowan didn’t miss the quick light that filled her grandfather’s eyes, and from Finn’s wry smile, she sensed he didn’t, either, but she was too happy to care.
They were together and safe and she’d never anticipated her future more than right this moment.
Happy laughter floated around them, and the conversation only grew louder as the evening wore on. Campbell and Abby exchanged adoring glances. Kensington and her grandmother sat in deep conversation about who knew what. Liam and Finn were, last she’d heard, exchanging war stories about adventure travel in New Zealand.
She took it all in, unable to hold back the simple joy of being with those she loved.
The joy faded slightly as her thoughts shifted to Will’s family, as they did so often. She’d spent time with Debbie and knew the woman’s grief would never fully go away. She could only hope in time the smile would return to the woman’s eyes. Finn had already helped her set up a college fund for their children and had seen to their financial needs, as well.
Will wasn’t the only one to pay a price. Bethany’s crimes had gone far deeper than anyone knew, and the British government hadn’t taken long to extradite her from Egypt. Although her latest focus had been on the bracelet, she’d been involved in several high-level thefts along with an impressive résumé of corporate espionage and blackmail.
Her accounts had been buried deep, but Campbell’s skills had done wonders for the case against her. Once he’d dug past the Knightsbridge connection on the internet forum, it hadn’t taken him long to tug on a few strings. Bethany’s house of cards had depended on a deep network of interlaced accounts, and Campbell had discovered them all.
The warm hand covering hers pulled her from the whirlwind of her thoughts, and she smiled up at her grandfather, his blue eyes twinkling with merriment. “I got that joke before, Grandpa. About the Royal Family.”
Her grandfather pressed a hard kiss to her forehead before settling in the seat next to her and taking her hand. “’Course you did. Finn did, too. That’s why I told it.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“And you wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She couldn’t resist giving him a big hug. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“You’re happy.”
“I am.”
His gaze stayed warm on hers. “You deserve it, my girl. All my grandchildren do, but I’m happy to see the shadows have disappeared from your eyes. More than I can say.”
“Thank you for standing by me. And thank you for seeing that I came out the other side.”
A light sheen of tears filled those blue eyes so like her own. “We’re family. That’s what we do.”
She thought of Finn and the life he’d had to create, practically on his own. She then thought of his recent outreach to his father and hoped some of the years could be repaired. Or, if not fixed, at least replaced with some new, happy memories.
But she knew that not all families had what she had. And not all children were lucky to grow up with the support of people like Alexander and Penelope Steele.
“No. We’re the Steele family. And that’s what we do.”
“Well said, my girl. Well said.” He patted her knee. “Which brings me to my next point. Do you have to head back to Egypt so quickly? The holidays are nearly here.”
“I told you Finn and I aren’t going back until the first of the year.”
“That tomb’s not going anywhere.”
She lifted one lone eyebrow, unwilling to let him bait her. “Now that Baxter’s spending his life in prison stripes, the British Museum’s allowing me to lead the dig to expose the Nefertari Wall. Do you know how huge that is?”
“So’s planning a wedding.”
As if sensing the brewing family debate, Liam’s voice rose up over the din as he called everyone to order. He held a bottle of champagne in his hand. “It’s time for a toast.”
Kensington and Abby helped Liam line up the crystal flutes her grandmother had brought from Ireland decades before. Campbell gave their grandmother his arm to escort her to a seat next to Alexander, and no one missed Penelope’s not-quite-whispered, “I told you not to nag our girl.”
For her part, Rowan found Finn and sighed in contentment when his
arm wrapped around her shoulders. He nodded in the direction of her grandparents. “They’re an incredible pair.”
“Yes, they are.”
Rowan knew in her heart just how true that was. They’d given her roots and wings—the deepest sense of security and the encouragement to leave the nest.
But it was when her grandfather lifted his flute, ordering everyone else to do the same, that Rowan knew the greatest gift.
His love.
“To my granddaughter Rowan. The most stubborn soul I’ve ever known. Ever since she was a wee babe, that gritty perseverance has been matched by only one thing. The size of her heart.” They all drank before her grandfather lifted his glass once more. “And to Finn.”
Finn’s arm tightened around her shoulders and she couldn’t help but smile at the show of nerves.
“You stole my granddaughter’s heart.”
A hard bark of laughter welled up in her throat, matched only by the one currently shaking Finn’s shoulders. “Yes, sir, I did.”
“See that you take the very best care of it.”
Finn turned toward her and took her champagne glass, setting hers and his down on a nearby table. He then reached for her and pulled her fully into his arms. “I intend to, sir. Every day of my life.”
* * * * *
Look out for another House of Steele adventure!
Kensington Steele is about to meet her match
in the form of a sexy and formidable security expert in
THE ROME SEDUCTION.
Keep reading for an excerpt from KILLER'S PREY by Rachel Lee.
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Romantic Suspense title.
You want sparks to fly! Harlequin Romantic Suspense stories deliver, with strong and adventurous women, brave and powerful men and the life-and-death situations that bring them together.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Romantic Suspense every month!
Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.