by Liliana Hart
He’d thought when she’d first come in she might be the age of some of his graduate students, but seeing her up close he put her age closer to thirty. Her eyes were a clear gray and her thick sculpted brows were a darker shade of blond. It made him wonder if she was truly blond all over. That thought didn’t help with the fit of his slacks, so he tried to think of something else.
“Thank you for meeting me.”
Her voice was soft and husky, and he could only imagine how it would sound when he was buried deep inside of her. Somewhere between the time she’d walked in the door and spoken her first word, he’d decided he was going to take her to bed. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this badly.
“I realize this is unorthodox, but I needed someone very quickly. I appreciate you seeing me so soon. I’m afraid this is a bit of a delicate situation, and I was afraid it might be too…late if you waited until after the holidays.”
“Too late how?”
“Just be patient with me. This has been a difficult week.”
Riley nodded and found his interest growing. Just what kind of artifact had she come across?
“Before I can show you anything, I need to make sure you will be discreet. This knowledge in the wrongs hands could make things even more difficult than they already are.”
Riley didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “I don’t gossip to tabloids, Ms. Lawrence. I work in an occupation that often requires discretion.”
“It’s Doctor, not Miss.”
“I beg your pardon.” Riley couldn’t help but smile at her narrowed gaze. Color had washed into her cheeks and he had the sudden urge to trace his finger over the gentle curve of her jaw.
“And I’m well aware of your reputation. You’re considered something of a renegade in academic circles. A man who likes to pick his own teams and call all the shots when excavating new locations. You can hold your own with grave robbers and government officials alike, and your interns have a tendency to leave your digs in tears because you yell at them if they mishandle the finds.”
“The good interns don’t leave in tears, Doctor Lawrence. The good interns usually end up getting a call the next time I put an excavation team together. I don’t put up with mediocrity.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong. I feel the same way. I’m just stating the facts. Your insistence on not playing the political game and kissing certain asses has held you back somewhat, but your work is solid.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“I wouldn’t bring something this important to you without checking the facts. Lives could depend upon it.”
She pulled a photograph out of her purse and slid it across the table. He didn’t look at it until her gaze met his in question, letting her know he wasn’t as anxious to see what she had as she wanted him to be—though in truth he was practically salivating with what could be waiting for him.
He pulled a pair of wire rimmed glasses from the neck of his sweater and slipped them on, bringing the photo closer with the tip on his fingers. The sight before him made his chest tighten and his fist clench with anger in his lap.
“Is this some kind of a joke, Doctor Lawrence?”
“I wouldn’t be here on a joke. Tell me what it is? I wasn’t able to find any information or match a description from my own resources.”
Riley grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, so they were nose to nose across the table. “Do you have it with you? Who else knows about this?”
“I didn’t bring it with me. It’s in a safe place. And I’m not sure who else knows. That’s part of the problem.”
Riley took a moment to think. This was a find that could make a career or get someone killed. Most likely the latter. They’d have to be very smart how they played this out.
“This is a dangerous game you’ve decided to play. If this is the real deal and not an imitation then you need to be very, very careful.”
She let out a long breath he hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Looking at her a little closer, Riley realized he’d been mistaken about the nervousness he thought he’d seen. She wasn’t nervous at all. She was terrified. And she had every reason to be.
“Believe me when I say that I didn’t know the rules of the game when I was thrown into it. Please,” she said softly. “Tell me what it is. And then tell me what to do with it. This is way out of my area of expertise. My field of study is the Renaissance.”
Riley looked at her steadily, trying to decide if he was the one being taken for a ride by a clever seductress. If he made the wrong decision, the good reputation she’d talked about earlier would be gone in a heartbeat. He’d be a laughingstock in the academic world.
“If the item in the photograph is the genuine article, then you have in your possession The Tear of Nefertari. It’s a pearl of the highest quality, more than 254 millimeters in size. It’s supposedly flawless. And the reason you weren’t able to find any information on it is because there’s less than a dozen documented descriptions of the pearl.”
“Oh, no,” she said, her eyes big and round as comprehension dawned.
“I’m glad you understand the mess you’re in. Ramesses the Great gave it to his consort, Nefertari after the birth of their first son. The same son who died in childhood as a result of the plagues of Egypt during Moses time. After their son’s death, Ramses and Nefertari hid the pearl, afraid it was the true cause of their gods’ anger.
“The last person to see it and claim he’d held it in his hands was a grave robber who looted several of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings in 1817. He wasn’t exactly a reliable source, but there was a newspaper article written about it that described the pearl in great detail. The grave robber was found dead with his throat slit barely a month later and the pearl hasn’t been seen since. The Tear of Nefertari is considered a curse for all who touch it. Its name is synonymous with death. So I’ll ask you again. Where did you get it?”
She didn’t hesitate to answer this time. “Jonathon sent it to me in the mail with a letter to contact you if I didn’t hear from him within three days.”
Riley narrowed his eyes at the way she’d said his friend’s name. There was a familiarity in the way she used it that told him they’d been close.
“You and Jon were lovers?” he asked.
She blushed slightly at his bluntness. “We were lovers. But we are still colleagues. As you know, our world is small. I couldn’t very well disassociate with him completely without hurting my own career.”
Riley knew exactly what she was talking about. It was the reason he made it a point to never start an affair with someone he worked with on a frequent basis. He hated awkward entanglements.
“Jon said you and you alone could be trusted, and not to even mention that I’d gotten a package from him to anyone else. He said things were tangled and that there were countries and collectors alike who always kept their ears to the ground about rare finds like this one.”
“So what you’re telling me is that Jon got in some hot water, and to draw the heat away from himself, he sent you a priceless artifact that dozens of people would kill for. You two must have had a hell of a break up.”
She lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “It wasn’t exactly amicable.”
Riley would have liked to hear the details, but he had bigger problems to think of. “So where did my good buddy Jon go, and why hasn’t he come back?”
“I don’t know. I started searching for him as soon as I got the package. I called his phones and stopped by his office. I checked my messaging service at the library and even called his mother to see if she’d heard from him. He just vanished.
“I knew the pearl was something dangerous as soon as I took it out of the box. But no matter how badly I wanted to be rid of it, I couldn’t just turn a piece of the world’s history over to anyone who wanted it. Though it would have served Jon right if I had. I started seeing shadows around every corner, and I was jumping at every sound.
“I waited for his call
on that third day, sure he’d come by to pick it up a laugh about the entire incident as if it were some kind of joke. But he didn’t call. So I got in the car around ten o’clock that night and drove back to his apartment. The police were there, and when I went to see what had happened one of the neighbors said there’d been a burglary.
So I sent you an email from my phone, drove back home and packed a bag. I think someone followed me from Jon’s apartment. I saw the same black car before I got home and then again on the highway after I left. I think I lost him when I crossed the state line. I’ve been living out of a suitcase in different motels for the past couple of days. Until you could meet with me.”
“Shit.” Riley took his glasses off and rubbed his fingers over his eyes. This was a hell of a mess, and he could only assume that Jon was dead because of his carelessness. And Maggie Lawrence was liable to be next if they didn’t do something quick.
“You’re right,” she said, gathering her bag and sliding the photo back inside. “I shouldn’t have contacted you even though Jon told me too. It’s wrong to get anyone else involved in this mess.”
She slid out of the booth before he could stop her.
“Maggie, wait. I’m not going to let you do this alone. There’s a way to get around this, we just have to be smart. It’s a miracle you’ve made it this long without someone finding you.”
He took out his wallet and threw some bills on the table.
“Tyler,” he called out.
“Yeah, Doctor MacKenzie,” Tyler shouted back from the kitchen.
“I’m going to have to cancel on the dinner.”
Tyler came out to the counter with a bowl of stew in his hand. He looked at Maggie and then back at Riley with admiration shining in his eyes. “Completely understandable. You guys have a nice night.”
“I need you to do me a favor, Tyler? If anyone comes in looking for my friend here, tell them you’ve never seen her.”
Tyler’s expression sobered and he nodded. “I was just thinking it might be a good idea to close up early and head home before the storm hits.”
“Good idea,” Riley said, ushering Maggie to the door and into her coat.
He threw his own gear on and took a long look through the glass door and into the night. Nothing looked suspicious, but his neck was tingling.
“Wait, what about my car?” Maggie asked as he ushered her into the front seat of his Jeep. “Where are we going?”
“Your car will be fine. The police will just think it got stranded with the storm. But you need to ditch it because whoever was following you will recognize it.”
“I told you I lost them.”
“Honey, men who keep their ears to the ground about rare artifacts almost always have enough money to find what they’re looking for. They’ll find you. If they don’t have your phone traced they will. They’ve probably already checked your email, which means they’ll be able to find me. Now give me your keys. I’ll get your bag.”
She handed over the keys without a word.
A sense of urgency was ticking away in the back of his mind like a timer on a bomb counting down to zero. He grabbed her bag from the trunk and threw it in his backseat. He hopped in the Jeep, and for once it started without a fuss. Riley didn’t let out a breath until he was a couple of miles away from the coffee shop with no sign that anyone had followed.
“I’m going to have to break my promise to you,” he said, looking her in the eye as they stopped at a light.
“What do you mean?”
“Discretion is not going to help us in this case. The quieter we keep this, the more danger we’re going to be in. The tabloids and media need to become our best friend. The only problem is we’ve got a bitch of a snowstorm moving in on us, and we won’t be able to call a press conference until its run its course. We’ll have to be on our guard and lay low until then.”
“Where are you taking me? I’ve got family who’s going to be worried. And I’m not just going to shack up in a hotel with a man I’ve just met.”
“We’re not going to a hotel, darling. We’re going to Surrender.”
“It sounds like the same damned thing to me.”
“Only if you ask nice.”
About the Author
Liliana Hart is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of more than sixty titles. After starting her first novel her freshman year of college, she immediately became addicted to writing and knew she’d found what she was meant to do with her life. She has no idea why she majored in music.
Liliana can almost always be found at her computer writing, hauling five kids to various activities, or spending time with her husband. She calls Texas home.
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Also by Liliana Hart
JJ Graves Mystery Series
Dirty Little Secrets
A Dirty Shame
Dirty Rotten Scoundrel
Down and Dirty
Dirty Deeds
Dirty Laundry
Dirty Money
A Dirty Job
The MacKenzies of Montana
Dane’s Return
Thomas’s Vow
Riley’s Sanctuary
Cooper’s Promise
Grant’s Christmas Wish
The MacKenzies Boxset
MacKenzie Security Series
Seduction and Sapphires
Shadows and Silk
Secrets and Satin
Sins and Scarlet Lace
Sizzle
Crave
Scorch
MacKenzie Security Omnibus 1
MacKenzie Security Omnibus 2
Lawmen of Surrender (MacKenzies-1001 Dark Nights)
1001 Dark Nights: Captured in Surrender
1001 Dark Nights: The Promise of Surrender
1001 Dark Nights: Sweet Surrender
1001 Dark Nights: Dawn of Surrender
The MacKenzie World (read in any order)
Trouble Maker
Bullet Proof
Deep Trouble
Delta Rescue
Desire and Ice
Rush
Spies and Stilettos
Wicked Hot
Hot Witness
Avenged
Never Surrender
Addison Holmes Mystery Series
Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Sour
Whiskey For Breakfast
Whiskey, You’re The Devil
Whiskey on the Rocks
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Whiskey and Gunpowder
The Gravediggers
The Darkest Corner
Gone to Dust
Say No More
Stand Alone Titles
Breath of Fire
Kill Shot
Catch Me If You Can
All About Eve
Paradise Disguised
Island Home
The Witching Hour
Books by Liliana Hart and Scott Silverii
The Harley and Davidson Mystery Series
The Farmer’s Slaughter
A Tisket a Casket
I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus
Get Your Murder Running
Deceased and Desist
Malice In Wonderland
Tequila Mockingbird
Gone With the Sin
ks on Archive.