by Anna Hackett
“Uh-uh. You get to be a passenger this trip, Lynch. Rest up.”
“I can—”
“No, Seth,” Lachlan said. “Rest.”
Seth scowled. He preferred to be in control when they were flying. He forced himself to drop into a seat.
He opened his backpack and pulled out his first aid kit. He scooped January’s feet into his lap.
“Hey—”
“Shut it.”
“I just thanked you, and now you’re being an asshole again.”
“I’m cleaning your injured feet. How is that being an asshole?”
She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “You could have asked.”
He decided to ignore her. As the jet-copter lifted into the air, he set to work cleaning January’s feet. Seth definitely had to admit that he was happy to be out of the damn jungle.
Lachlan leaned forward. “We need to secure the remaining artifact.”
January pointed to her backpack on the floor. Lachlan set it on the table, and carefully pulled out the wrapped sphere. He uncovered it.
Axel leaned over from the seat behind them. “Pretty.”
“It’s made of pure jade,” January said. “Jade was highly valued by the Maya. It was more valuable than gold, and was associated with water, vegetation, life, and fertility. The Maya used the precious stone in various ways, from healing to funerals and rituals.” As she spoke, her face came to life.
Seth let his gaze roam over her features.
“Nobles and royals were often found buried with many jade artifacts,” January added.
“You had two jade spheres?” Lachlan asked.
She nodded.
“What do they do?” Smith asked, his brows set in a frown.
“I don’t know,” January answered. “We found them in an overgrown temple. There were no tombs there, so we suspect the temple was erected solely to house these.”
Lachlan lifted his gaze. “A Snake King temple?”
January nodded.
“Tell them what you told me about the Snake Kings,” Seth said.
She gave a quick history of the ambitious Snake King Dynasty.
“You think these spheres played a part in the Snake Kings’ rise to power?” Axel asked.
“I don’t have all the answers,” she said. “But yes, I’m thinking that’s likely.”
By now, Seth had finished with her feet, and his brain was spinning. He made the mistake of glancing back at her feet, which distracted him. They were small, narrow, and looked way too delicate for a strong woman like January. He also noted with some interest that she’d painted her toenails bright red.
“I didn’t replace one of the wrappings on the sphere last night.” Seth forced his thoughts back to the job at hand. He felt everyone look at him, but he met January’s gaze. “The vegetation outside our tent was overgrown when we left it. Vegetation that hadn’t been there before. It grew up in hours.”
She hissed out a breath. “I’d forgotten!”
He gently touched the worst-looking cut on her foot. “Callie? You need to take a look at this.”
The medic leaned over and nodded. “Needs some glue. Let me take over.”
“So, this artifact stimulated the growth of the vegetation?” Lachlan said.
Seth nodded, and glanced at January, who appeared to be lost in thought.
His team leader frowned. “Then who the hell stole the sphere, and what the hell do they want it for?”
That was the million-dollar question.
Chapter Seven
January woke as the jet-copter came in to land. She blinked, pushing her hair out of her face.
She knew where they were. The Tonopah Test Range, about a hundred and fifty miles from Las Vegas. She stared blearily out the window at a cluster of aircraft hangars, and around them, beige desert as far as she could see. The Range was also known as Area 52.
The skids touched down. The infamous Area 51 lay not far to the southeast. She’d been to the Area 52 base a few times. The hangars, office buildings, and runways looked very boring, and gave no hint to what lay beneath.
“How are you feeling?”
She looked up at Seth. In the bright daylight, his scars looked stark against his tan skin. He also looked tired.
“I warned you not to be nice to me, Lynch.”
He gave a small shake of his head, looking amused.
Lachlan opened the side door of the X8 and, as January stood, she watched the team leap off the aircraft. Seth jumped out with a fluid flex of muscle, and she clambered down after him in the borrowed boots Callie had found for her on the jet-copter. They headed toward a large aircraft hangar.
The doorway inside was flanked by black-clad guards with serious faces. Nearby, stood other guards in blue-gray fatigues. She knew they were Air Force.
Team 52 stepped into the hangar, and it took January’s eyes a second to adjust from the bright light to the gloom. Everything looked very normal. Planes, maintenance scaffolding, more guards.
Lachlan led them to an elevator at the back of the hangar. He was carrying the containment box, his silver-metal hand wrapped around the handle.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. The interior had matte-black walls, and a mesh floor. After Lachlan hit a button, the elevator zoomed downward.
Moments later, they stepped into the heart of Team 52 territory.
There was more matte-black metal, and the cavernous space was dominated by enormous double doors that she knew led into the secure storage area. The archeologist in her turned somersaults at the idea of being allowed into that warehouse, and seeing all the magnificent and fascinating artifacts that had been locked away.
The team turned away from the warehouse, and Seth gripped her elbow. They walked through a regular doorway that led to the team’s main operations area.
A man was waiting for them. A man she’d never seen before on her previous visits. Wow. He was the kind of man who drew a woman’s gaze.
Unlike the rest of Team 52, who wore fatigues and body armor, this man wore a clearly custom-tailored suit. The dark-blue fabric covered a lean, panther-like body. His hands rested on lean hips as he watched them approach. He radiated a ‘man in charge’ vibe.
He had silky, black hair that wasn’t too long, and framed a face designed to make women beg and angels weep. He had to have some Native American heritage—evident in his bronze skin and high cheekbones.
Lachlan lifted his chin. “Jonah.”
The man nodded, and a second later, intense green eyes hit January. “Dr. James, I’m glad to see you’re alive.”
“Not half as glad as I am.”
The man inclined his head, and there was a faint flicker of amusement in his eyes. “I’m Jonah Grayson.”
“AKA the boss,” Seth murmured to her.
“January, Jonah is the Director of Area 52,” Lachlan added.
Jonah swiveled to Lachlan. “The artifact?”
Lachlan lifted the containment box. “I’ll get it to Ty so he can start some tests. We need to work out exactly what it does. And then we need to find out who’s got the other one.”
Jonah nodded, and his gaze flicked to January again. For some reason, she felt the need to steel herself. Then she felt the brush of Seth’s hand on her lower back, and she settled. Apparently, her Seth Lynch radar was now very finely tuned.
“I know you’ve cooperated with my team before, and I’d like to thank you. It makes our job much easier.”
“I didn’t really cooperate the first time.”
Blair snorted. “No, she whacked Lynch in the head with a pole.”
January’s belly clenched. Did they have to keep bringing that up?
“Gave him a black eye,” Axel added with a grin.
She looked back at Seth and saw he was scowling at the ceiling.
“Um, I am sorry about that. But this whole secrecy thing you’ve got going on doesn’t agree with me. I prefer conversation, rather than an infiltratio
n in the middle of the night. Works better, and people don’t get hurt accidentally.”
Seth made a sound. “Still no reason to smack a man with a pole.”
“I thought you were bad guys.”
Jonah shifted. “We don’t always have the luxury of conversation, Dr. James. Not when lives are at stake.”
She nodded. “Believe me, I’ve gotten that point soundly over the last twenty-four hours. I’m still not entirely onboard with it all, but I’ll keep bringing you any dangerous artifacts I discover. But I’m not going to lie to you, I think the world should know about this ancient technology. Let the archeologists and historians put all the pieces together correctly. Let people know what they might stumble across.”
Jonah smiled, but there was nothing happy about it. “One day, perhaps.” His face turned serious. “One day, when I know there aren’t groups and organizations that attack labs and digs, when innocent people aren’t slaughtered. When I know that planes won’t be shot down in order for people to get their hands on these artifacts.”
Touché. She nodded, and again she felt a hit of grief at the three men who’d died on the plane.
“Let’s get this sphere to Ty,” Lachlan said.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Jonah said. “Lachlan, when you’re ready to debrief, I’ll be in my office.” Jonah nodded at January and stalked off.
They all headed down a wide hallway. It was lined with large, glass windows that offered glimpses into different rooms—a large rec room with a kitchen, offices.
They moved through a set of doors and into a lab.
Oh. January looked around with interest. Mostly, she preferred being in the field, but this laboratory was clearly top-of-the-line.
“Put it on the bench,” a gruff voice said.
January turned and spied a large, African-American man in a lab coat. He had a powerful body, intense brown eyes, and a well-groomed goatee. This was Dr. Ty Sampson, medical doctor and all-round genius.
“Hey, Ty.” Blair pulled herself onto an empty bench. “The jungle was hot and humid, and full of mosquitoes. Oh, and assholes shooting at us. But we’re fine, thanks for asking.”
Ty ignored her. “Over here.” He pointed to an empty bench.
Lachlan set the containment box down and opened the case.
Ty moved closer, but January saw him pause near Blair and raise a hand. He shone a penlight in her eye. “You look healthy to me.”
Blair batted his hand away, but they were both smiling.
Ty’s gaze switched to January. “Glad to see that you’re all in one piece, and not dead.”
“Aw, I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy, Ty.” January actually had a soft spot for the grumpy genius.
“Now, can we please take a look at this damn artifact?”
“Wow, Ty said please,” Axel said, with a look of mock shock on his face.
The big doctor scowled and nudged the covering off the sphere.
“Did we miss anything?” Two people pushed through the doors, and into the lab.
Because January was standing between Seth and Smith, she noted Smith stiffen minutely. Hmm. She would have guessed that nothing ever put the big, tough Smith on edge.
“Happy to see you guys not filled with bullet holes.” Brooks Jameson grinned at them all.
The comms guru had thick, brown hair that looked like it needed a cut, dark-framed glasses on a handsome face, and a gray T-shirt stretched over his muscled chest. The sleeves of the shirt bit into his biceps and showed off the ink on his arms. He shifted, and she saw the shirt had a picture of Darth Vader on the front with “Who’s your daddy?” written beneath it. She swallowed a smile.
The woman beside him was… January blinked. She was gorgeous. She had sunny blonde hair, a beautiful pixie face, and a blinding smile. She wore a plain, white T-shirt pulled over gorgeous breasts, and tight jeans that showed off a killer figure and long legs.
“Kinsey,” Smith growled. “What are you doing here?”
Kinsey winked at Smith. “They do let me out of the Bunker once in a while, big guy.”
As the woman took in Smith’s unsmiling face, her smile faltered, but then resumed full wattage. She came forward to shake January’s hand.
“I’m Kinsey Beck. I run things in Las Vegas and keep these badasses organized when they’re in town.”
“January James.”
“Oh, I know.” Another blinding smile and January had to shake her head to clear it. The woman should be on stage, or a movie star.
Ty made a sound, and January turned. With gloved hands, he was lifting the jade sphere out of the box.
“Where’s Nat?” Axel asked.
January knew Natalie Blackwell, too. She was the Team 52 archeologist.
“At a conference,” Ty said. “She’s on her way in.”
Ty set the sphere onto a small stand on the bench. A hush fell over the room.
“Pretty thing,” Kinsey murmured.
Seth leaned forward. “From what I saw, it caused plant growth to accelerate. Vines grew up in hours.”
Ty grunted and tapped on a large screen. “I’ll run several tests, and we’ll work it out.”
Brooks leaned against the bench, tablet in hand. “I’ve been running searches on the warriors of Gaia. I found something.”
January straightened, and watched the entire team go on alert.
“In Greek mythology, Gaia was the goddess of the Earth,” Brooks said. “The mother of all life.”
“Okay,” Lachlan said. “And?”
“There are also businesses, charities, and organizations with the word Gaia in their name. I found one charitable organization called the Guardians of Gaia. Their mission is to protect the environment. They do good work.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Blair said.
“They run fundraisers, save endangered animals, help clean up toxic spills. All above-board.” Brooks paused. “But then I dug deeper, and deeper.”
“They were hiding something,” Lachlan said.
Brooks nodded. “Deep. I found references to the Knights of Gaia. They are definitely connected to the Guardians of Gaia.”
January really wasn’t liking the sound of this.
“The Knights appear to be the militant arm of Guardians of Gaia. The Knights are dedicated to protecting the environment…and they don’t care how they go about doing that.”
January frowned. She really couldn’t see dedicated environmentalists out murdering people and shooting down planes.
Brooks looked around. “The Guardians of Gaia are a legitimate charity, but the Knights of Gaia are ecoterrorists.”
“Shit,” Axel muttered.
“I’ve heard of them,” Smith said. “A group attacked a mining operation in Colorado, up in the mountains. There were whispers about who was responsible.”
Brooks nodded. “That was the Knights, although they never publicly claimed responsibility. They are secretive, real secretive.”
“What did they do?” January asked.
“They blew the mine sky-high,” Brooks said. “Killed twenty workers in the process.”
January pulled in a sharp breath and heard hisses around her.
“They operate in small cells,” Brooks continued. “They keep contact between cells limited, so that if one is caught, they can’t link to others.”
“Clever,” Seth said.
Brooks tapped on his tablet, and then turned it to show them some images. The images included the shell of a bombed building near a beach, a large, fire-ravaged house hugging the side of a forested mountain, and what she guessed was the destroyed mine nestled in a valley.
“The Knights of Gaia have also been stepping up their recruiting activities over the last year,” Brooks said.
January wrapped her arms around her middle. The Knights of Gaia had shot down her plane, killed three of her people, and tried to kill her. She glanced up and saw Seth frowning.
“Get to the point, Brooks,” Seth said.
/> “I had to dig deep, but I found some info on the dark web. Including their manifesto.”
“And?” Seth prompted.
“Within a decade, the Knights of Gaia have vowed that there will be no cars, no industry, and no cities. That nothing but a clear, green Earth will exist.”
January sucked in a breath. “They want to destroy all the cities?”
“They’re fanatics,” Brooks said. “And very dedicated to their cause.”
“Shit,” Seth muttered.
“All right, everyone out of my lab,” Ty said. “I have work to do.”
They filed out.
“I’ll keep running the Knights.” Brooks tucked his tablet under his arm.
“We need the main cell locations, Brooks,” Lachlan said. “We need to find that sphere.”
Brooks shoved his glasses farther up on his nose. “On it.”
“Everyone, get some rest,” Lachlan said. “If Brooks gets a location on the Knights, we need everyone ready to move quickly.”
“I’ll show January to some quarters,” Seth said.
“Room T15 is free,” Brooks said.
As everyone split off, heading in different directions, Seth led January down another corridor. Despite her nap on the plane, her energy was dragging.
Seth opened a door. “It’s nothing fancy.”
She took it all in. There was a bed, a desk, and a small door leading to what she guessed was a bathroom. As with everything at the base, it was decorated in black.
“You know I’m used to tents and jungle.” She smiled at him. “And, as you like to remind me, I spend a lot of time in mud.”
“Then enjoy living it up, James.”
She stepped inside. A proper hot shower was going to feel like heaven.
“There’ll be a change of clothes in the closet,” Seth said. “Fatigues.”
“Ooh, the high life.”
He shook his head. “I’m across the hall, if you need anything.”
He turned to leave, but she reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Their gazes met, and they stared at each other for a beat. “Thanks again for saving me.”
“You already thanked me.”
“Well, I’m really happy to be alive.” He’d stepped in front of bullets for her and kept her from losing it. “So, thanks again.”