The Relic (2 page)

She turned her head at a loud shrieking noise and reached for her Browning Pro nine millimeter. She never left home without it. The noise could be one of two things. Monkeys or birds—neither of which she was particularly fond of. The shadow that briefly swept overhead confirmed the creature was of the feathered variety. She replaced her gun in the special holster inside her shirt and waited for her heart rate to return to normal. It had to be a bird of prey of some variety, no doubt, and thank the Lord she was here on the ground.

Half an hour later, when she found another tear in her cargo pants courtesy of the thick undergrowth, she wasn’t so sure.

Bloody hell. This was supposed to be an easy job.

No danger. Go in, find the lost relic and get out.

Yeah right.

It’d been two days now and she still had no idea where the object was, and from the stories she’d been told, this wasn’t your average, everyday, garden-variety relic. This one had some pretty amazing legends attached to it that she had only just begun to learn about.

Boss, the unofficial office manager of The League of Amazing Women, had neglected to tell her that this particular relic was made from a chunk of crystal from Alexander the Great’s crystal sarcophagus. Even she had heard the stories surrounding the mystery of his burial place. Several different groups claimed they knew its location, but were hiding it to prevent wars over its ownership.

And protect it they should, if the stories were true—that the holder of the sarcophagus would assume power in the country in which they resided. Just imagine if terrorists got their hands on it?

Of course this little piece of crystal wasn’t the whole shebang, but hey, someone must believe it had some sort of power. The locals had definitely closed ranks and that was the one thing she was sure of. Since she’d arrived in Penang, she’d hit one brick wall after another.

Damn. She looked down at her ankle and saw the trickle of red seeping through her sock.

Another leech.

Why is it always leeches?

She stopped and reached in to her backpack for the salt. The slimy little creature curled up and came off in her fingers while she squished it the best she could before she wrapping it in a leaf and hurling it to the jungle.

Looking up, she squinted at the sun and wondered just how much farther it was to the small village the guide at the hotel had told her about. Okay, he hadn’t exactly come across as the honest type. He wouldn’t even look at her until she flashed a wad of money at him. However, one thing she did know about human nature was that people did not want to lose their meal ticket. So if he wanted her to come back for more, he would at least have to steer her in the right direction the first time. Unless, of course, someone was paying him more to send her on a wild goose chase, but she didn’t want to think about that right now. Nope. She was going to think positive all the way. And if she continued to say it, it might actually be true.

Another five minutes and the vegetation began to thin a little. In another ten, she walked into a clearing to find a group of three huts.

Definitely not luxury accommodations.

The walls were made of some sort of mud concoction and from what she could see, no windows. No doors were visible so she walked toward the edge of the closest one to investigate more.

Yuck! Something stunk like the old outside dunnie on her grandfather’s farm. Her nose twitched as the smell increased while she rounded the hut in search of the door. Catching a whiff of the noxious aroma again, her nostrils made the decision for her.

She made her way to the next hut to look for the door. The stinky one could wait.

“Hello?”

Maybe someone would come out and talk to her. She rounded the edge of the hut and found a roughly hewn doorway covered with a piece of hessian material that hung loosely from the top of the opening.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

Pausing for a few minutes, she listened for any signs of habitation. Finding none, she ducked her head and entered. She blinked a few times to get used to the darkness. The hut was definitely empty. The only things she could see were the rough matting on the floor and some sort of chest to the side along the circular wall. Looking behind her one last time, she took a step toward it and reached out to open the intricately carved door. A flicker of guilt crossed her mind as her hand paused mid-air.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Magda?”

Magda whizzed around, palming the gun from her ankle holster.

“What the—?”

And there he was. All six-foot-three inches of muscle, sandy blond mussed-up hair and the cockiest lopsided grin in the universe, and he was leaning against the wall of the hut.

The last person on Earth she wanted to see.

Relaxing her grip on the weapon, she took a few seconds in an effort to calm her racing pulse and shortened breaths. “You’re going to have to stop creeping up on people like that, Vincent. I almost shot you.”

His baby blue eyes twinkled. “Nah. I know you better than most, don’t forget. You never shoot real people.”

His gaze changed from amusement to desire as he moved his line of vision from her face, across both her swelling breasts, down to her groin and back.

Damn. Her nipples reacted of their own accord to his inspection.

Damn this man.

“Besides, you wouldn’t shoot me, Mags—you know you love me.”

She shoved past him and made her way outside the hut.

“You arrogant son of a bitch!”

“I guess that means I’m not going to get my welcome kiss?”

“Fuck off.”

“I guess not.”

“Get over yourself, Vincent Stone. Hundreds of women may drop at your feet, but I am definitely not one of them.”

Not this time.

Never again.

He feigned a crushed looked, pouting, but with that hint of laughter behind his eyes that had always attracted her. She was such a sucker for his sense of humor. Sure, he was tall, built and gorgeous, but it was the wicked wit, the laconic humor and the constant twinkle in his eye that had done it for her. But that had been two years ago, and she’d put it all behind her. Done a pretty damn fine job of it, too, if the ambivalence she was feeling for him right at this moment was anything to go by. Forget her bodily reaction, which was just a momentary aberration.

She was surprised, that’s all. She hated him. She really did.

“You wound me, Mags. I can’t help my natural charm, wit and good looks. What would you have me do? Wear a bag over my head?”

She stifled a grin. “I don’t really care, to tell you the truth. You were just another notch in the belt for me, as I was for you.”

His face shuttered and he grew serious. “Okay, let’s quit the personal stuff. I repeat my question again. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Looking for something.”

His expression turned hard. “Quit fencing, you’re here for the relic just as I am, but you have no idea what you’re letting yourself in for, Mags. This gig is dangerous.”

Magda shivered. Having her fears confirmed as well as dealing with the one man who’d ever gotten under her skin was making this mission a hell of a lot more than she bargained for, but she refused to give in.

The League of Amazing Women never give in, dammit!

“I can handle it, Vince. I’ve been in sticky situations before and I can look after myself pretty well.”

“Bloody hell, Magda, I don’t want you to get hurt. There’s some scary shit attached to this one. Don’t take the chance with your life.” He reached over and ran his finger over her cheek. “Despite what you think, I do care about you.”

“Bullshit. You just want a clear run at the relic and I’m in your way.” She pushed his hand away from the tingling skin on her face. “Get this, buddy—I’m not going anywhere until I find that relic!”

Thwack!

“Fuck!” Vincent dragged Magda to the ground, covering her body with his. Raising his head, he checked to see where the weapon had come from.

“Shit, Vince, you’re squashing me.”

“Be quiet, Mags, I’m trying to save our lives here.”

“What are you talking about?” she shouted, but as Vince shushed her again, he pointed to the arrow in the wall of the hut.

“Holy crap!”

“Exactly. Now get ready to make a run for it.”

She shuffled out from underneath him and turned her head from side to side, looking around the village. “From the angle of the arrow, the shooter came from that direction,” she said, pointing toward the other side of the village. “That means we go back the way I came, which is behind this hut. I vote we make a run for it then split up to make it harder for them to track us.”

Vincent shook his head. “Uh-uh. No way. We have a much better chance if we stick together. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Stop going all macho on me, Stone. Be realistic. Two of us running together is like a beacon to them. If we split up, they have to as well, and that will weaken their firepower.”

“Listen, Superwoman, we have no idea how many of them are out there and we haven’t got time to argue about this now. Let’s get the heck out of here before they shoot at us again.” He stood and held out his hand for her and pulled her to her feet. After checking once again for any visible signs of the attacker, he squeezed her hand and kissed her surprised mouth firmly before running into the jungle, dragging her behind him.

God, this woman infuriated him. Stubborn as much as she was beautiful. Vincent would ring her neck if anything happened to her. Didn’t she realize she couldn’t save the world from everything? Someone had to look out for her, and since there was no one else around, he was damn well going to do it.

As they both weaved through the vegetation, he tried to decide where the protective streak had come from. She was a pro at this sort of stuff, as was he, so she should be able to look after herself. In fact, he knew she could. She’d been on several missions before where they’d crossed paths and he’d seen first-hand how handy she was with a gun, but this was different. Natives shooting arrows weren’t exactly your usual enemy and were totally unpredictable. Besides, there were more people involved with this than Magda knew about. It was going to get really ugly.

Rain started to fall as they trekked farther into the jungle on their way back to civilization. Vincent only had a vague idea where they were, but since Magda seemed sure of her direction, he was happy enough to follow along. After the first five minutes, she’d cracked the shits at his hesitation and had taken over the lead. Okay by him. As long as one of them knew where to lead them, that was fine. Besides, if they got lost, she wouldn’t be able to blame him. She was already pretty angry with him after their brief liaison two years ago. He’d felt more for her than he was ready for, so he’d cut short their relationship quick smart. He knew if he’d hung around with her any longer he’d have been stuck, and he hadn’t been ready to do that. Not then, and not now. His job called for long absences and he didn’t think it was fair to any woman to have to wait around for him while he went off in search of lost artefacts. Not to mention most women wanted kids someday and he figured kids deserved to have two parents bringing them up. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be home enough, given his career choices, and having grown up with an absent father, he never wanted to do that to any child of his.

And besides, he liked his life. Why should he change it for any woman? Women loved him as he was, and he loved women. He had a duty to spread the love around.

That’s what he’d always thought, until he’d met Magda. Something about her called to him. Something dangerous he’d stopped before it had gone too far.

He thought he’d gotten her out of his system, but just seeing her had been enough to convince him that hadn’t worked. But he didn’t have time to worry about that now. First, they had to get somewhere safe, then they needed to find that relic and get the hell out of Penang. The sooner the better. He was being paid handsomely for retrieving this relic, but right now he was quite happy to share with Mags if it meant they could find it sooner and hand it over. Then he could disappear and not have to think about what a threat she was to his emotional wellbeing, or lack of, as the case may be.

He heard Magda swearing up front as she lost her footing on the increasingly muddy track. He reached for her, but she jerked away from him, righting herself by grabbing a sturdy branch in from of her.

“You okay, Mags?”

She stopped and turned to face him, her face tight, reflecting the strain they both felt. “Just dandy, Stone. Any signs of a tail?”

“Not that I have seen, but with the rain, it’s hard to tell. The noise of the downpour would cover any sound they’re making.”

“Not to mention cover our tracks, so that may be a good thing.”

He stared at her erect nipples through the wet shirt.

Oh yeah. “Definitely a good thing.”

She looked down at her shirt and sighed. “Get your brain out of your pants, Stone. We have more important things to deal with right now.”

“Sorry, but they’re great tits and here they are standing at attention for all the world to see. What’s a guy to do?” He smiled at her angry expression. She had a beautiful face, but when she was angry, it really shone. “I’ll try to keep my eyes to myself in future.”

“Of course you will. Not. Just remember, we will not be having sex, so this is the closest you will get to ever seeing my tits again.”

He laughed. You couldn’t blame a guy for enjoying the view, but she was right. The last thing they needed was to get involved again.

The vegetation of the jungle seemed to be getting thicker, but at least the rain had eased off. Most of the water came down from branches in large drops, splashing off his face as he looked up to the light shining down in irregular beams through the dense canopy. They’d been traveling for at least an hour now and civilization was apparently not any closer than it had been thirty minutes before. He dragged the edge of his T-shirt over his sweat-soaked face.

The humidity sucked big time.

Mags was relentless in forging ahead, not even stopping once for a drink since they’d started. He stared at her up ahead as she held back a large branch for him. “Do you have any idea where we are?”