by Anna Hackett
Noises. Hale tensed and turned his head. Faint echoes.
Fuck. It was voices.
“Elin,” he murmured, shaking her.
“Hmm.” She stretched against him, turning her head to press a kiss to his chest.
“Someone’s coming,” he said.
She snapped awake, her eyes clearing of sleep. She cocked her head, and he watched her stiffen as she heard the sounds.
She leaped to her feet and searched for her clothes. “Do you think it’s our team?”
Hale had learned to listen to his instincts. “It’s too early. They’ll be here in another hour or two. Besides, we wouldn’t hear Dec coming. My guess is its Drift and his buddies.”
“Silk Road never gives up.” She buttoned her trousers. “Damn, I can’t find my T-shirt.”
Hale quickly pulled on his trousers. “Grab one of mine. Quick.”
She pulled one of his T-shirts out of his bag, and yanked it on. It was too big, but she knotted the bottom and then pulled her loose khaki top over the top and buttoned it. As he shoved the rest of their things back into their packs and rolled up their sleeping bags, he watched her tuck her shirt into her trousers.
He was sorry to see all Elin’s sexy curves covered, and her FBI agent demeanor back in place. Once this was over, he promised he’d take his time with her. Explore every inch of her—touch her with his hands, his tongue, everything.
He handed her a backpack. “Come on, we need to get into the tunnel before they block our only exit out of here.”
As they moved out of the cave house, he realized he could see a golden light ahead.
“What the hell?” Elin breathed.
They reached the doorway. The entire cavern was lit with golden light.
“How is there light?” She arched her head, looking toward the soaring ceiling above.
Hale looked up at the arched roof. “I’m not sure. I can see some gold panels up there. My guess is they have some sort of lighting system.” Excitement rushed through him. He’d kill to know what ingenious methods the ancient miners had developed. “Maybe using reflected light from the surface? I’d need to see it up close to know for sure.”
She flashed him a quick smile. “I like when your geek side shows.”
Another echo of voices and they both stiffened. “Come on. Let’s get back to the tunnel.”
They crept through the cavern. As they neared the tunnel, the voices got louder. Shit. They were close.
Hale heard a distinctive, deep voice. Drift.
“Find them.” The man’s voice echoed off the walls. “I want the Seal of Solomon, and I want the spies dead. Kill them.”
Hale grabbed Elin’s arm and pulled her back into the cavern. He skirted the water. “We need to find another way out of here.”
“There’s no other way out. We looked.”
“There must be something.” He looked around the underground paradise. “We need to find the Seal of Solomon before Drift. And no way am I planning to die today.”
They moved along the walls, searching. Suddenly, Elin paused. “I feel airflow.”
He moved up beside her, and felt the faint brush of air on his skin. “I feel it, too.” He pushed aside some of the mossy vines. Solid rock lay behind them.
On the other side of the cavern, he heard the Silk Road team enter from the tunnel.
Adrenaline charged through him. Any second now, they’d spot Hale and Elin.
“No joints or openings,” she murmured, running her hands over the rock.
Dammit. He pressed his hands against the rock. That air had to be coming from somewhere.
Suddenly, rock moved beneath his hands. A small square of rock depressed inward, and Hale stepped back.
“Elin?”
“I see it. Maybe it’s a—”
A second later, the floor beneath them fell away. Hale fell down a small set of steps, Elin tumbling right behind him and ramming into his back.
He looked up…just in time to see the rock trap door above sliding closed, locking them in impenetrable darkness.
***
Elin fumbled around in her backpack and found the flashlight Hale had given her. She flicked it on.
They were in a narrow tunnel. The walls had more carvings on them, and in this tunnel, the beautiful, multicolored paint had been preserved. The vibrant colors were stunning.
They both stood, and Elin dusted off her trousers. She walked over to the closest wall, her gaze on the images.
“Okay, Layne would give her firstborn child to see this,” Hale said.
Elin shone the light around. “Hopefully, she’ll get the chance, without giving away any of her children.”
“We have to get out of here, first.”
She heard the word he didn’t say. Alive. They had to get out of there alive.
Well, she sure wasn’t letting Silk Road kill them. Her gaze skated across the images, then moved back and zeroed in on one. “Hale, what does that look like to you?”
He moved up beside her. “Hell. A ring.”
The image showed a man in golden robes with a long beard holding a small object above his head. It was a bulky ring with a large stone in the center. The stone was set in the middle of a star.
They walked down the tunnel, Elin staring at each image.
A ship braving a wild sea.
A convoy crossing desert sands.
A long mountain rising up out of the desert.
Another man holding the ring and standing in a circular room.
A statue of a king, with a pedestal at his feet. Resting on it was the ring.
Elin couldn’t help but feel like it was almost a hallway in some grand palace, instead of a tunnel in the bowels of an ancient mine.
They reached the archway at the end, and stepped into a large room.
It was circular. There were more carvings along these walls, along with several statues, as well. She sucked in a breath. It was just like the room inscribed on the tunnel wall.
There were five statues, each one made of gold. Kings and gods, if she had to guess. One looked Egyptian, a few weren’t familiar, and one was a bearded, robed king.
God, these statues alone would be invaluable.
“This looks like Solomon,” Hale said.
She strode across the room, stopping at the foot of the statue. It was Solomon. Even carved in gold, he looked regal and wise. Flanking him, beautiful images were etched into the walls.
“That’s his famous temple,” Hale said, pointing to the picture on the left. “And that looks like the Ark of the Covenant sitting on the steps leading in.”
Elin traced her fingers over another set of images on the right of the statue. “This is the well-known scene with the Queen of Sheba.” A woman in a flowing dress had just swept into Solomon’s court.
“His supposed lover?” Hale said.
“So the legends say.”
But it was the stone pedestal in front of the statue that drew her attention.
She drew in a breath. Resting on the center of the pedestal was a chunky gold ring, with a golden star in the center, set with a large, uncut diamond.
It wasn’t pretty. Elin circled the pedestal, taking in the ring from all angles. “Too big for a female’s hand.”
“But perfect for a king’s,” Hale said. “You think it really holds incredible knowledge?”
“No.” Her hand hovered over the ring for a second, remembering the booby traps back in the shaft.
Taking a bracing breath, she gently picked the ring up.
No boulders rolled out of the wall, and no vats of molten lava poured over them. She shook her head at her fanciful thinking, and looked at the ring. It was surprisingly heavy, and she wondered if King Solomon had been the last person to wear it.
Suddenly, they heard noises. The scrape of stone, thumping, and the muffled sound of voices.
“Fuck,” Hale snapped. “How did they find us?”
Elin stared back at the tunnel. It was t
he only way out. “We’re cornered.” Her gaze met his.
“We fight,” he said.
She nodded. “Here.” She shoved the ring at Hale. “Protect it.” She then pulled out her stolen Beretta. There wasn’t much ammunition left.
She saw the first Silk Road man enter the treasure room. She shifted to use one of the statues as cover, braced herself, and lifted the weapon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hale step behind the statue of King Solomon, his big body tensed and waiting.
Elin took a shot and one man went down with a cry.
Others rushed in, and gunfire lit up the space.
Dammit, Elin wanted more time with Hale. She fired again, catching another man in the shoulder. More of Hale and his warmth, charm, and sexy body.
But as the Silk Road people rushed forward, Drift’s shouts egging them on, she realized that they were trapped deep underground, with no way out. Their rescue would arrive soon…but they were going to be too late.
Her handgun clicked on empty. A big Silk Road man rushed at her and she threw the gun at him. The butt hit him in the face and he roared.
Another came at her, and she raised her hands. She swung to the side, landed a punch to the woman’s gut, and spun away, bouncing on her feet.
Elin kept fighting, landing a solid kick to one man and a chop to another. She saw Hale charge forward. With several hard, mean moves, he took down two men. He had a tough, unforgiving style of hand-to-hand fighting.
More gunfire, and Elin ducked.
She saw Hale dive and roll across the floor. Damn, was he hit?
She landed a vicious front kick to a woman in front of her, fighting her way toward Hale. A punch slammed into her side, and she staggered back, half spinning.
Hale’s startled shout reached her ears. No. She ducked low, and landed a hard, uppercut punch into a man’s nose. Blood sprayed, and he rocked backward.
She spun. Was Hale okay?
Elin froze. Hale was…gone.
She searched the room. He wasn’t where he’d been standing by the statue. He wasn’t anywhere.
Another shot whizzed past her, and she dived to the floor. She crawled across the ground, heading toward where she’d last seen Hale. Where the hell had he gone?
Suddenly, two guards rushed at her. She kicked out at one and watched him tumble. She rolled up, getting ready to run.
A blow slammed into the back of her head.
Seeing stars, she staggered, landing on her hands and knees. Someone grabbed her arms, wrenching them behind her back hard enough to hurt. She cried out.
John Drift stepped in front of her, his face set like stone. “Hello again, Agent Alexander.”
Chapter Thirteen
Fuck. A trapdoor had opened up in the floor under Hale, and swallowed him.
He reached up, hammering at the rock above him with his fists. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness, and he didn’t have the flashlight, Elin did. The lantern was also in her backpack. Double fuck.
Now there was solid rock between him and her. She was stuck on the other side of it, with Silk Road trying to kill her. He roared in anger.
His chest tight, Hale slammed his palms against the rock. He felt all around, looking for a way to get it open and get back through.
He couldn’t find anything, but he kept shoving and hitting until his knuckles tore and started to bleed. He had to get to her.
“Hold on, Elin.” He felt around the other walls of the space he was in. It was a small tunnel. There had to be a way to trigger the trapdoor from this side. There had to be.
Finally, he slumped against the wall in defeat. Nothing. There was no way back to her.
Once again, he was stuck, unable to help someone he cared about. He dragged in some deep breaths, each one hurting his chest. Was she okay? Did Drift have her?
Was she even still alive?
He had to find another way. He turned, facing the blackness. Keeping his fingers on the side wall, he moved down the tunnel, taking careful, shuffling steps.
Hale hadn’t prayed in a very long time. Not since that long-ago mission where he’d lost the men he’d loved like brothers. He did now. He prayed Elin was still alive.
He reached an area where the tunnel split off in different directions. He stared into the blackness. Damn, he’d give anything for some light. Then he blinked. To the right, he could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. He turned that way, and as the light got better, he picked up his pace.
He had no idea if he was moving farther away or closer to Elin.
Then, he heard something. He stilled and cocked his head. Running water.
He rounded a corner and ahead, he saw a large, round opening in the wall. Light was filtering in from narrow openings in the ceiling above. Water poured from the pipe, dropping into a long channel cut into the tunnel floor. The channel ran back into another dark, dank tunnel. Inside it, he heard the sound of something grinding and clanking.
What was that? He moved closer, peering into the darkness. He couldn’t see whatever it was but his respect for the miners grew. There was some sort of machinery still active here.
Hale looked up. In his head, he tried to picture the layout of the mine, and the way they’d come. If his calculations were correct, this water was coming from the large pool above in the cavern, and there was some sort of plumbing system here pumping it back up to the waterfall. It had to be water-driven and he itched to examine it in detail. Whoever had built the mines had constructed one hell of a plumbing system.
He stared at the flowing water. If he could swim back up this tunnel, there was a chance he could make it all the way back into the pool in the cavern.
Back to Elin.
Hale kicked off his boots. He was a SEAL. The water was his terrain, and he’d been trained to hold his breath for a very long time.
He dumped his backpack and yanked it open. He’d only take what he needed. He tossed aside the sleeping bags and clothes. He kept his grappling gun. His fingers landed on some small silver balls in the bottom of the pack. Little prototype grenades he’d been playing with. He stuffed them in his pockets. Time for them to take a test run. He slipped the lighter backpack onto his back and tightened the straps.
Once again, he stared at the water-filled pipe ahead of him. He had no idea how wide it was farther up, and if he could even get through it. Hell, maybe it didn’t even go back to the cavern pool.
Maybe he’d drown, trapped in King Solomon’s Mines for eternity.
But saving Elin was a risk worth taking. It was one thing that Hale never regretted, going in to try and save his SEAL team. He hadn’t thought it through or planned it well, but he hadn’t hesitated to try and save them.
He sure as hell wasn’t going to hesitate now.
Hale sucked in a few deep breaths, and then climbed into the rock-cut channel. The cool water hit his feet, and soaked the bottom of his trousers.
He sloshed through until he reached the circular pipe entrance. He pressed a knee to the edge, water hitting his face. He launched himself inside.
He pushed through the water, even as it tried to push him back. Soon he was swimming through the darkness, the light gone. He kept one hand on the wall to direct himself. The water flow pushed against him, but he kept his kicks strong and steady.
It was so fucking dark. He tried not to think about the walls closing in on him.
Hale’s lungs started to burn, but he kept kicking with strong strokes. Elin would come for him. She was too driven and stubborn to give up. He wasn’t going to fail her.
The tunnel curved, and Hale was pretty sure it was heading upward. Come on. God, maybe his oxygen-deprived brain was just playing games with him.
As dizziness hit him, he thought of Elin. Her smile, and the way it lit her eyes and warmed them. The way she kissed—with everything she had. The way she looked at him, like he was important.
He blinked. Light ahead. He blinked again, wondering if it was real or if he was imagining it.
He kept moving his legs, although he could feel each kick was losing strength. His lungs were burning, his brain screaming at him to open his mouth.
Suddenly, there was a shimmer of light coming from above. He looked up and saw a tunnel headed vertically up above him.
Clumsily, he kicked until he was moving up. Determination punched through him, and he dug deep for the last reserves of his strength. Near the top, his mouth opened reflexively, water flooding into him. Choking, he kicked again, and his head broke the surface.
Hale coughed the water out and then sucked in air. That’s when he heard voices.
He slowly sank back into the water, just keeping his eyes above the surface. He worked to keep his breathing shallow and quiet, and slowly turned his head. He’d been right; he was back in the main cavern.
He spotted the Silk Road group entering the space. Two men were dragging a struggling Elin between them.
Everything in Hale wanted to leap up and charge out of the water, but he forced himself to stay still.
They shoved her onto a large rock and he saw that her hands were tied behind her back. He also saw that one side of her face was swelling, with bruises forming.
Bastards. Hale’s hands curled into fists. Someone would pay.
John Drift stepped forward, eyeing Elin like she was some specimen for him to dissect.
“How did you find us?” she demanded.
“Claude liked pretty gadgets in all his toys. Your vehicle was outfitted with a tracker.”
Hale cursed inwardly. They should have known. It explained why Drift hadn’t chased after them in the helicopter when they’d first gotten away.
“Where is the Seal of Solomon?” the man said.
Hale jerked. Hell, he’d completely forgotten about the damn ring. He touched his pocket and felt the slight bulge.
“I don’t know,” Elin answered. “We didn’t find it.”
Drift’s gaze narrowed. “I saw the paintings, Agent Alexander. The one showing the ring at the foot of the statue of King Solomon. Right where we found you.”
“It wasn’t there.”
Drift nodded. A guard stepped forward and punched Elin in the gut. She doubled over with a groan.