Guardians of Stone (The Relic Seekers)

by Clenney, Anita

  She registered the looks of horror a second before the place erupted into chaos, lights swaying and falling as members of the tour group fled, tripping over headstones and crashing into one another. A hand reached out again, pulling her into the shadows. She screamed, but no one heard her. Everybody else was screaming too.

  “It’s me.”

  “Jake. My God. Someone just tried to kidnap me.”

  “Again?”

  “It must have been Thomas. Maybe we can catch him. Do you have your gun?”

  A bone-chilling scream sounded nearby and Jake swung his flashlight. Loretta had fallen in an open grave and Gilbert was trying to pull her out.

  “It wasn’t Thomas,” Jake said. The beam from his light dropped behind Loretta to the other occupant of the grave. “That’s Thomas.” Jake held the light on the face long enough for Kendall to recognize him.

  “Oh my God! You killed Thomas.”

  Jake didn’t answer, so Kendall looked at him for an explanation. He was staring at the body, a stunned expression on his face. “His beard is fake.”

  Kendall looked at Thomas. His beard was coming loose, and his ball cap had fallen off. “Did you do this?”

  “I didn’t kill him.” Jake’s voice sounded hollow, a harsh contrast to the chaos surrounding them. “It must have been whoever tried to kidnap you.”

  “Should we check to see if he has the box?” She hated the thought of searching a dead body, but they had to get the artifact. Two other men had joined Gilbert, and together they were trying to extract Loretta from the grave.

  “Stay here.” Jake hurried over and jumped down in the grave. He gave Loretta a boost from behind and the four of them managed to free her. While the others pulled her away from the grave, Jake squatted beside Thomas, holding his light close to the body so he didn’t draw attention to the fact that he was searching the dead man. Kendall could see from Jake’s posture that he was still shocked. What was wrong with him? She would have suspected that he didn’t deal well with death—he did have that aversion to bones—but he’d touched Raphael’s corpse without any problem.

  In less than two minutes, he was back. “Whoever killed him must have taken it.” His voice was still flat. “He had that leather bag with him in the catacombs. That’s what he put the necklace in. I would guess it held the box also. It’s empty now.”

  “How long has he been dead?” Kendall asked. “Maybe it’s just been stolen.”

  “Hours. The body is stiff.”

  “So the killer is probably long gone. Then who tried to grab me?”

  “He could have come back to hide the body.”

  Guilt mixed with her grief at the loss of human life, even a thief’s. It was probably hitting her hard because she had known he was going to die. Should she have warned him? Would it have made any difference? “I wonder who Thomas was pretending to be.”

  “Come on. The police are arriving.” Jake nudged her out from behind the tombstone where he had pulled her. Roberto was calling out to the group, trying to gather them in one place. A few onlookers circled around Loretta, who was lying prone on the ground, while others moved toward the grave. There was confusion as to whether the ruckus was real or staged.

  As they left, Kendall saw red hair and a pallid face at the back of the confused crowd, staring in shock at the grave. Jake took Kendall’s hand and they slipped through the crowd, joining the onlookers on the streets who had gathered to see what all the commotion was about. Jake put his arm around Kendall’s shoulders and pulled her close, as if they were tourists, yet she could feel the conflicting emotions in his body. He was still angry at her for leaving the inn, and he was also confused by whatever had happened back there at the grave.

  “I told you not to leave,” he said.

  “I wanted to see where Brandi was going.”

  “And it almost got you killed. How long before you learn?” He pulled her into the cover of bushes near the lane leading to the inn. It looked deserted. Only a couple of lights were on inside. “Be quiet and follow me.” They approached from the side, slipping past the trellis to the back entrance. They made it upstairs unseen. Everyone else must still be at the graveyard.

  “Wait here while I check the room.” He unlocked the door and walked inside. He left the door open, and she could see him moving around the room. She dreaded the lecture she knew was coming. A couple of minutes later, he motioned her inside. “It’s clear.” He stopped her when she reached for the light. “Don’t.” He crept to the window and looked out.

  “You think he’s watching?”

  “If he’s smart.” Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “What were you thinking, leaving like that? You climbed down the damned trellis. What the hell am I going to do with you?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not used to having a handler. You seem to think it’s hunky-dory to do whatever you want without telling me. I saw you go into Brandi’s room.”

  “You’re jealous?” he said in disbelief.

  “The fact that you would have sex with anything that moves is none of my concern, but you seem to think you can do whatever you like, while I have to report to you like a kindergartner.”

  “Your devotion overwhelms me.” He moved close, causing her to take a step back. “I wasn’t screwing Brandi, I was searching her room.”

  “I saw you with her on the bed.”

  “You saw me checking on her after I knocked her out,” Jake hissed.

  “You knocked her out?”

  “How else was I supposed to look for the box? The only thing I want to have sex with is you.” He stepped even closer and she could feel frustration and heat rolling off him. “I don’t even know why. You won’t follow orders. You take risks. And you get under my skin like an itch. Sometimes I just want to...Ah, hell.” He yanked her to him and kissed her. It was an angry kiss, as much teeth as lips. His hand moved up to grip her hair, pulling her head back. A soft rumble escaped his throat and the kiss softened, but his breath came harder, tangling with hers. His hands slid down her back, pulling her tighter against him. His hips nudged hers and she felt her insides flip. She didn’t even realize they’d moved until her thighs bumped the bed. He gently pushed her down and moved over her, his hard body pressing against hers, his mouth and tongue making mush of her common sense. His groan melted with hers as one large hand slipped under her shirt.

  Without warning, he lifted his head. One second he was doing things to her mouth she’d never felt before, the next he whispered “Hide” and moved like a jungle cat toward the door.

  Kendall sat up, dazed. She saw the knob turning and heard the soft sounds of someone picking the lock. She slid off the bed and hurried toward the closet. The door eased open and a shadowy figure stepped inside. All hell broke loose. There were slams and thumps and grunts as shapes flew across the room. Something crashed into the bed, slamming it against the wall. She jumped up to help, but it was too dark to tell which shadow was Jake. Dodging the grunts and growls—growls?—she flipped on the light. She squinted at the brightness and then blinked in shock. Jake and Nathan were in the middle of the room, bodies locked in combat. They jumped apart, and lowered their fists. Nathan shielded his eyes.

  The two men appeared equally stunned to see each other. Nathan scrubbed a knuckle over a split lip and stared at Kendall with eyes that were strangely bright. Then he did something he’d never done. He crossed the room and hugged her. “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered so low she almost didn’t hear him.

  At first she was too stunned to react, but then she hugged him back, wrapping her hands around his waist, feeling his heart pounding against her cheek. There was something different about him. Not just the fact that they were hugging, whereas he’d rarely touched her before. He felt strange, not himself. Her skin started tingling and she became light-headed. Sensations and smells started pulling together and forming...

  “If this lovefest is over, I’d like some answers. For starters, why are you breaking into our room?”


  At the sound of Jake’s scathing voice, Nathan let go of Kendall, breaking the spell. Jake watched them, his jaw clenched, forehead bleeding again, and the beginnings of a black eye to match Nathan’s split lip. Both men were bruised and disheveled, their clothes torn. Nathan wasn’t wearing his usual suit but jeans and a black shirt, which was gaping where buttons had been ripped.

  “You didn’t check in so I came to find you,” Nathan said. “What happened to the car?”

  “How do you know about that?” Kendall asked.

  “He knows every step we’ve taken. He has a tracking device hidden in our duffel bags.” Jake looked at Nathan and raised an eyebrow. “What? You didn’t think I knew? You’ve tracked me on every assignment.”

  “You’ve been tracking us?” Kendall said.

  Nathan’s jaw clenched. “If you get in trouble, I know where to send help. What happened?”

  Jake gave a rude laugh. “We’ve been imprisoned in a tower, almost killed by booby traps, left to starve to death in the catacombs, shot at, our car was blown up, and Kendall’s almost been kidnapped twice. We barely made it out of that castle alive. Hell, we were almost electrocuted by giant statues. What were you thinking, sending her into a death trap? You might not give a damn about me, but think about her.”

  A muscle worked in Nathan’s jaw. “You think I knew all that would happen?”

  “You knew more than you told us.”

  “It’s over now. I’m calling off the search.”

  Jake shook his head. “I’m not calling anything off. Someone tried to kill us. I’m not letting that go.”

  “I’m not letting this go either. I’ll handle it.”

  “What? Send in your goons?”

  “What do you think you are?” Kendall asked, regretting it when she saw Jake’s frown. He was far more than a goon. She turned to Nathan. She could see disappointment in the set of his shoulders. “But what about the box? And your cross? They stole it too.”

  “We’ll have to find them later,” Nathan said. “Who were the thieves? I don’t suppose you got any names?”

  “You sure you don’t already know?” Jake said, earning a surprised look from Kendall and Nathan.

  “How would I know?”

  “One of them was the guy from the hotel, Thomas Little. The one you were checking out. The interesting thing about Thomas is that I’ve seen him before. In Iraq.”

  Kendall pulled her jaw back into place. “You knew Thomas before? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t recognize him at the hotel. I didn’t see his face clearly with that beard.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell me in the catacombs?”

  “There wasn’t time to explain.”

  “We had all night,” Kendall said, exasperated. “You’re one to talk about keeping secrets.”

  “I don’t know who Thomas is, but he doesn’t work for me,” Nathan said. “We ran his ID. He didn’t exist until five years ago. We’re still checking him out.”

  “Who he really was,” Kendall said. “He’s dead now. Someone stabbed him and took the box. Now all three thieves are dead and we have no idea who has the box.”

  “Maybe you have it,” Jake said to Nathan. “You could have had Thomas follow us and steal the box and then had him killed. Perfect plan. No one would know you had the relic. We would think it was stolen. The men who knew the truth would be dead.”

  “Are you bloody insane? I’m going to pretend you haven’t just accused me of murder; that you’re sleep deprived or someone hit you on the head.”

  “He did get hit on the head when the car exploded,” Kendall said.

  Jake frowned at her. “I want answers.”

  “Well, accusing Nathan isn’t getting us anywhere. Maybe you made a mistake about seeing Thomas in Iraq.”

  “I’m not mistaken. I saw him only a couple of times there, but it’s him. You heard him say my name.”

  “That’s true,” Kendall said.

  “He must have recognized me at the hotel. That’s why he looked shocked when he saw us in the elevator and what he meant when we overheard him saying he’d seen a ghost. He was talking about me, not you as I’d thought.”

  “Another thing you forgot to share,” Kendall said. Did either of them ever tell her the whole truth? “What was he doing in Iraq?”

  “Trying to foul up an assignment, as far as I can tell, and now he shows up here doing the same damned thing. There must be a connection. Looks like a setup to me.”

  Nathan frowned. “Why the bloody hell would I set you up?”

  “To keep an eye on me? To ease your boredom? Who knows what makes you rich boys tick.”

  “I don’t know anything about your assignment in Iraq.”

  Kendall didn’t know exactly what they were referring to, but she knew Nathan was lying. Not from reading him, but from knowing him. Now wasn’t the time to confront him. If she told Jake, there would be all-out war. “Are you military?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “His team contracted their services to the highest bidder,” Nathan said.

  “You’re a mercenary?”

  “No. We do what you do. Find things.”

  “Hidden treasure or hidden terrorists,” Nathan said, his tone unusually sarcastic.

  Jake scowled but didn’t reply.

  “What was your assignment?” Kendall asked. “Maybe there’s a link.”

  “We were hired to get inside the palace of a prince who was supposed to be supplying terrorists with weapons and information.”

  “Was he?” Kendall asked.

  “We never found out. The mission failed.” Jake put on his blank mask again.

  “I don’t see how a prince supplying weapons to a terrorist could be linked to this,” Kendall said. “Another loose thread.” They had a whole tapestry of them. Just like the one in the castle. “Maybe a little time away from the situation wouldn’t hurt. Then we can figure out who Thomas is.”

  “The trail will get cold,” Jake insisted. “I’m going to keep searching. You go home. You might have climbed a few pyramids and opened some tombs, but this is no place to play Indiana Jones.”

  “You really are a jackass!”

  There was a tap on the door. “Kara, Jason? Is everything all right?”

  “It’s Roberto,” Kendall whispered. “Stay out of sight so he can’t see you’ve been fighting.” She rose and went to the door, opening it just a crack. “Sorry for the noise. We have company.”

  Roberto’s frown lightened. “Your brother. Merda! I forgot to tell you he stopped by early this morning.”

  Brother?

  “Is Nick staying tonight? I don’t have another room available. Could he sleep on the pull-out sofa?”

  Nick? Pull-out sofa?

  “Good idea. I’ll let him know. Oh, do you suppose I could get some ice? For drinks.”

  “I will bring some up in a moment.”

  “Thank you, Roberto.” She closed the door and turned to Nathan and Jake.

  Nathan’s nostrils flared. “You’ve been sleeping in the same bed?”

  “We didn’t know there was a pull-out,” Kendall said.

  Jake gave a nonchalant shrug. “We’re posing as newlyweds. Why would we need it?”

  “I trusted you,” Nathan said to Jake.

  “We didn’t have sex,” Jake said, giving Nathan a cold stare. “Not that it’s any of your business if we did. She doesn’t belong to you, no matter what your dick thinks.”

  A low rumble came from Nathan’s throat.

  “Stop it! Both of you! I’ll take the sofa. You two can have the bed.”

  “You take the bed,” Nathan said. “Jake and I will flip for the sofa.”

  “This honeymoon’s going downhill fast,” Jake muttered.

  While they waited for the ice, Kendall explained to Nathan in more detail about the events at the castle, including Raphael. She’d just finished when there was a tap on the door, and Roberto called out that he�
�d brought the ice. Kendall got rid of him as quickly as she could.

  “You two need to clean up. You both look like hell.” She didn’t wait for a reply but went into the bathroom and got clean washcloths and towels. When she started back, they were talking in hushed voices.

  “...her away from here,” Jake was saying. She stood inside the door, listening. They were obviously talking about her. “It’s too dangerous for her. I was going to call you so you could put her someplace safe.”

  “And how were you planning to get away from her?” Nathan asked, his expression doubtful.

  “I was going to get a friend to keep an eye on her until you showed up.”

  “Keep her prisoner?”

  Kendall stepped into the room. Nathan and Jake turned, both looking guilty.

  Kendall glared at Jake. “You were going to sneak out and keep me prisoner here. You’re unbelievable.”

  Jake rubbed his forehead. “It’s not safe for you to keep searching for this box.”

  “He’s right, Kendall.”

  Now they were on the same side. “Well, you’re not putting me anywhere. I’ll decide when I stay and when I leave.” She threw a washcloth at each man. “Sometimes you both act like I don’t have a brain.”

  “This has nothing to do with intelligence,” Nathan said, holding the washcloth he’d caught. “I’m sending you home because I don’t want you hurt. I want you both back in Virginia. Take a few days and relax. You’ve earned it.”

  Jake’s eyes were hard. “What if we don’t want to leave?”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “She can go back,” Jake said. “But I’m not leaving.”

  “If you know what’s best, you will.”

  Even Kendall could hear the hidden threat. Jake looked like he wanted to kill Nathan.

  “Stop arguing and ice your injuries,” Kendall said, handing them each another washcloth filled with ice. “And for goodness sake, sit down. You’re both pacing like panthers.” And all that maleness was shrinking the room.