Stolen Moment [Enslaved & Enticed] (Siren Publishing Classic) (11 page)

Trey’s lips tightened into a thin line when he realized how much this was hurting her to do this.

“Everything is going to be okay, Rylie. I have a good feeling about this,” Trey said.

She wanted to trust him, but her last vision kept playing over and over in her mind. He was so different. Her opposite in every way.

Rylie’s hands were steady as she lifted them to the pendant again. She centered all her energy, forcing it down to her hands. She snapped open the clasp and let the pendant fall to the ground. Poppy backed away from it, clutching at her neck.

“No one touch it,” Trey said.

Poppy went limp. Trey lifted her to the couch where she started to come to. She looked around
at
her trashed living room and the scratches on Trey’s face.

“What’s going on?” Poppy asked.

“You were wearing the pendant,” Trey said.

“I was? I don’t remember anything.” She frowned.

“You don’t remember putting it on?” Rylie asked.

“It’s all a big blank,” Poppy said.

Poppy’s gaze locked onto Tice and she blushed, looking away when
she
caught sight of him shirtless. It was clear to Rylie that Poppy’s memory was coming back.

Trey picked up the pendant with a pen and wrapped it in a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.

“Give it to me,” Rylie said.

Trey hesitated as though he wanted to argue the point. “I got it.”

“Trust me. I know what needs to be done.”

Slowly, Trey unwrapped the pendant, but kept the handkerchief pinched around it as he handed it over to Rylie. She took the pendant and stood, walking over to a lamp to look at it more closely.

“I found it in a leather satchel. It was so out of place in the chamber we were excavating,” Rylie began. “At first, I thought one of the crew left it down there by mistake. No one claimed the bag.”

“Rylie,” Trey said.

She laughed. “How can something so beautiful have so much evil living inside of it. Do you see how the light swirls within the ruby?” she asked. “It’s like something toxic or a parasite lives within it. I thought it was magical. I ignored the dark energy I felt because of the way it made me feel.”

Trey walked over to look. Concern whispered through his gaze. “Let me.”

“No. I need to do this. I should’ve done this the moment I found it,” Rylie said.

“Don’t do this Rylie. Let us take care of it,” Trey said.

“I have to do this.”

All the pain and anger from the last six months morphed into a white-hot energy that Rylie could no longer control. Love for her sister and brother-in-law bloomed through her heart. Rylie envisioned the moment before her sister walked down the aisle. She looked so happy. So in love.

Rylie fisted the pendant in her hands, channeling the love for her sister down through her hands and into the pendant. Evil burned through her fingers, but Rylie held on to the feeling of love she shared for her sister. She held on to the love for she felt for Trey. The vision of her death stormed through her mind.

“No!” Rylie screamed.

Heat moved through her hands, searing and powerful. Trey’s strong hands wrapped around hers. Wolf placed his hands on top of Trey’s. Poppy placed her hands on top.

Think about love and focus your energy.
Trey projected the thought through their minds.

Red light exploded from the pendant. Rylie screamed as beams of red and black light shot through their fingers. A burning sensation seared over her palms. They fought the entity that struggled to stay within the cursed pendant. The pendant shattered within her hands, turning to dust. Black ash slipped through her fingers, falling to the ground. Rylie collapsed back against Trey. He caught her, holding her tight. They both were breathing hard.

Trey looked at Wolf. “It’s over.”

“It’s really over,” Rylie whispered.

“You guys okay?” Trey asked.

Poppy nodded, but Tice looked as though he’d seen a ghost. “We’re good. It’s all good,” Tice said.

Rylie didn’t object when Trey led her into the kitchen to wash the evil from her hands. There was worry in his eyes and in the dark amber color of his aura.

“I can handle this, Trey. I won’t break.”

“I know. That’s what frightens me. I don’t want this life for you.”

“Maybe we’re meant to do this together,” she said.

“Perhaps we are. Let’s get out of here. It’s been a rough night,” he said.

Wolf was helping Poppy clean up the living room as they passed through. They went outside where a full moon was rising in the sky. It made Rylie think of the wolves she was just discovering lived among them. Trey seemed to catch the thought from her head as their gazes locked.

“You should talk to Tice. He can answer your questions better than I can.”

“Do you think he’d care?”

“No. He’s pretty proud of the fact that he’s wolf.”

Rylie took a cleansing breath of nighttime air. Trey opened the door to his Escalade and helped her inside. Rylie knew everything was going to be all right. It had to be. What else could go wrong tonight?

Rylie knew Trey was driving her back to his place. She suspected that he wanted to keep her around longer than just tonight. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to imagine the possibility of spending the rest of her life with him, the long lazy Saturday mornings, the even hotter nights. The truth was that she’d always secretly wanted it all and a life to share with someone else.

She wanted marriage, children, a husband that loved her more than anything else in the world. Most of all, she wanted a family.

Rylie noticed that one of the scratches on Trey’s neck was bleeding as he shut off the Escalade. She reached for him, brushing her shaking hands against his jaw. “You’re bleeding.”

Trey pulled her onto his lap. He was breathing as though he’d sprinted miles to get to her. Their lips were a mere inch apart. Rylie felt the sweet anticipation of his lips. “I want to kiss you, Rylie.”

“What are you waiting for?” she whispered.

He groaned as their lips connected. His mouth conquered and gave. Rylie felt the heady rush of his kiss all the way to her toes and back up again. She ran her hands through his hair, bringing him closer, taking their kiss deeper.

He reluctantly pulled away. “I love you, Rylie.”

“I love you, too.”

He brushed her hair away from her cheek. “Let’s go inside.”

They headed into his house together. Rylie moved through Trey’s living room, waiting for him to return. A table was in the corner, scattered with papers and photos. It was left as though he’d been working there hours before. Rylie edged over the stacked photos and a chill raced down her spine. There was a picture of her at her sister’s wedding nearly a year ago. She was wearing the blue satin maid of honor dress and standing outside the church. Why was he following her?

Treasonous guilt fluttered through her mind for going through his work, but it was quickly followed by relief for finding out the truth. Either she confronted him now, or she pretended she didn’t know the truth.

She heard his footsteps on the hardwood. She turned. Trey’s gaze went to the photo she was holding in her hand. Her heart pounded. She couldn’t take being lied to. Honesty was the one thing she had to have within her relationships. It was the only thing that kept the trust. She looked at Trey. He was honest and noble. Why would he lie to her?

Hurt passed through her body as his gaze softened. “Rylie. What’s wrong?”

“Why did you follow me to my sister’s wedding?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I wanted to see you all dressed up that day. I shouldn’t have, but I did.”

Rylie felt sick and disappointed in the worst possible way. She didn’t have a date that night. She would’ve loved to go with Trey.

He looked pained. “I never meant to fall in love with you like this. It just happened. I’m not sorry for loving you or wanting you Rylie.”

“I want you to take me home.”

“I can’t let you leave this way. Not when you’re hurting.” He grabbed her wrist as she started to turn and muscled her against the table, trapping her with his strong, protective arms. “I was going to tell you everything.”

She was livid. “Not good enough.”

“Don’t do this to us. Hear me out.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “I don’t want to hear any of it.”

“Rylie.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore. It
’
s like you have all these secrets.”

“There are no more secrets, babe.” He cinched up her chin and touched his forehead to hers. “You’d found two of
the
things I’d been searching for within six months in Jordan. I was impressed. Intrigued. Aroused by the idea that someone I didn’t know was trumping my team. I crossed the line. I admit it. I’m glad I did.”

“I can’t do this.”

“Don’t throw us away because you’re scared of loving me,” he said.

“I’m not afraid of loving you.”

“Then why are you running from me, babe?”

Rylie pulled away, and Trey let her go. “I didn’t tell anyone I had the pendant after I found it. It’s my fault my sister is gone.”

“You couldn’t have stopped it. The pendant wasn’t on our radar then. My team didn’t know it was cursed until you lost your sister and brother-in-law. Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”

Rylie paced further away. “Why weren’t you honest with me from the beginning?”

“I should’ve told you the moment we met. I didn’t know how to explain. I wasn’t expecting the chemistry I was feeling to be two-sided.”

He looked so devastat
ed
and handsome and sorry about the way things were turning out between them. He was the type of man she always thought she’d end up with.

Frustration sprinted through his eye before he shut it off. He came closer. “Please don’t run away from me like this,” Trey said.

“I need time. I don’t know what to think about us anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Rylie.”

“Not good enough.” She pushed away from him. “Drive me home.”

“Don’t do this, Rylie.”

She stared at him. She didn’t like to be manipulated by any man. The fact that it was someone she had fallen hard for burned. Trey could see that she needed time to cool off, but he didn’t know her well enough to know that hell would freeze over, thaw, and refreeze again before she did.

She was silent as he drove her home. Rylie thought about the trip to Jordan she’d been putting off for months. All she had to do was make one phone call and she’d be on the plane by the end of the week. Trey pulled up and she opened the door to his Escalade.

“Don’t contact me ever again.”

“Rylie.”

She slammed the car door shut, walked away, and didn’t look back. Rylie made it inside her apartment before she broke down. Tears rushed to her eyes. She slid to the floor with her back against the door. She loved him, and he kept the truth about everything from her. She wanted to run back to his arms and forgive him, but she knew she couldn’t.

Heat waved up off the desert sand. Rylie
hadn’t
plan
ned
on coming back to Jordan so soon, but she’d gotten a lead on the copper disk she’d been searching for since graduate school. The disk was used in ancient sacrificial rituals and rumored to entrap the souls of the dead. That wasn’t the only reason why she was in Jordan. She was there to forget all about Trey. Three weeks wasn’t long enough to forget about him. She just needed more time. She needed to stop dreaming about him every night and waking up wet in the morning.

The back of Rylie’s neck tickled as though someone had caressed her skin. Rylie looked over her shoulder. The feeling of being watched continued to haunt her days. Her sunglasses and safari hat shadowed her face. She lifted her hand to look out over the miles and miles of sand.

No one was out there.

“How much further do you want to go?”

Rylie looked back at Tasha. Tasha’s instincts weren’t the best when they were in field. She just needed more patience. “Let’s give it another twenty minutes before we move on to the second chamber. We don’t have much daylight left.”

“You ready to go back down?” she asked.

“In a few minutes.”

“What’s wrong?” Tasha asked.

Off in the distance, sand was starting to blow in the wind. Light glinted off of something metallic. It was a Jeep. “We have company.”

Their armed security escorts were already on their feet. They worked
on
contract and were based in the U.S. One had military grade binoculars up against his face and the other had his weapon at the ready. Rylie went to Turner’s side and asked to see. He passed them off. She adjusted the scope. The driver was driving too fast.

“Do you know them?” Turner asked.

A flutter of excitement made her heart race. Trey. “Maybe. The passenger looks like someone I know.”

“Are you certain?” Turner asked.

“Positive.”

They were a good ten miles out. Wind caught the flaps of her tent, snapping the canvas against each other. She looked past the Jeep, to the West with the binoculars. Fear raced through her blood. A sandstorm was brewing.

“They’re not going to make it to camp,” Rylie said.

Tasha was already dragging their equipment from their outdoor table into her shelter. Rylie looked to the tents. Would they make it through another storm? As if reading her thoughts Turner said, “The tents will hold. I double checked them this morning.”

They were cutting it close. Sand was starting to kick up and slide around Rylie’s feet. Tasha came to her side with her own binoculars.

“What the hell are
they
doing here?” Tasha asked.

Rylie lifted her binoculars again. “I don’t know. I think that’s Tice driving.”

“He better stay away from me,” Tasha said.

“You both should get inside while I deal with them,” Turner said.