Guardians of Stone (The Relic Seekers) (3 page)

Exactly the kind of gift the man who’d ruined his life would revere.

T
HEY LANDED IN
Rome without a hitch. Nathan didn’t believe in hitches. His money and contacts saw to that. They breezed through security to the rental car Nathan had waiting for them outside the VIP lounge. A silver Maserati.

“Want me to drive?” Kendall asked.

Jake grunted no. He’d requested no driver for a reason. One of the perks of working for a rich boss was the cars. He really wanted to try out the Lamborghini, but Nathan never let anyone drive his favorite car.

Jake threw his duffel bag in the back and considered offering to load Kendall’s, but she was too quick.

“Are you always this charming?” she asked, slamming the trunk.

“You should see me in bed,” he said, eyeing her jeans and soft sweater, which were as sexy as that red dress she’d had on before. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d gone longer than this without sex.

“No thanks.” She reached for the passenger door. “You might not want me here, but we have a job to do. Let’s do it and go home.”

Jake opened his door and slid inside. “Got a man waiting for you?” With a body like hers, she must have men lined up. She had their boss’s silk boxers in a twist.

“No. What’s the address for the hotel?”

Jake turned the key and the engine purred to life. “You can’t
sense
it?”

She glared at him and dropped a big bag at her feet, the kind that went over your shoulder or your back. She’d kept it with her the entire time, guarding it like the crown jewels. “Assuming we can find the place, how do we get in?”

“You have
your
talents, I have mine.” He’d gotten inside places where he didn’t belong more times than he could count. This should be no different. Get in. Get the box. Get out.

“And if we get caught? If this order still exists, they probably take their privacy seriously.”

“We’ll pretend we’re a couple of tourists, husband and wife on a honeymoon. We got lost hiking.”

“This will be my first time undercover,” she said. “How about you?”

The memories came from nowhere, the cries of frightened girls, the sound of gunfire, the beatings, and constant fear of death. “No.” He was glad she didn’t ask any more questions. They drove in silence, ignoring the throngs of tourists admiring the views. The peak season for tourism had passed, but there were still crowds. The hotel was only a short distance away. It was elegant. No surprise there. Trust Nathan to put them up in fancy rooms, and then send them on an assignment with no direction and little intel. Better than the first assignment for Nathan. He was lucky he’d had a tent in the woods and a change of underwear.

They left the car with the valet and started inside, carrying their own bags. Jake refused to let anyone else touch them. Again, Kendall had grabbed hers before he could offer to help. She stopped once and turned around, frowning. Jake followed her gaze but didn’t see anyone other than the valet pulling away in the Maserati. While Jake checked them in at the front desk, Kendall called Nathan to let him know they had arrived. He
probably already knew. Jake suspected Nathan was tracking their every move.

The clerk confirmed the reservations under their aliases, and when Kendall joined Jake, the man’s gaze immediately dropped to her breasts before returning to her face. “If you need anything, anything at all, please call, regardless of time, day or night.”

Did she have this effect on every male? “I thought he was going to kiss your hand,” Jake said as they walked toward the elevator. Everything about the place screamed money, from the marble floors to the elaborate paintings and décor. It was nice, but he’d rather have a cabin beside a mountain lake.

“He was extremely accommodating,” Kendall said. “Nathan has great taste in hotels. Have you stayed here before?”

He shook his head as they stepped inside the elevator. A man entered behind them and out of habit, Jake put himself in front of Kendall. When the man leaned forward to push the button for his floor, he looked at them and did a double take. Another admirer of Kendall’s breasts, Jake guessed. He didn’t blame him. Kendall was the hottest thing he’d seen in months. But still, she was with him. Didn’t matter that he was just a bodyguard. They could be married for all this jackal knew. Jake turned to give him what his team had called his hell-frozen-over stare, but the man was already looking at the floor, tugging his ball cap lower.

That didn’t stop Kendall from watching him. She kept sneaking glances until he got off the elevator on the floor below theirs. The guy was young and tall and had a few muscles. So what? Or maybe she had a thing for beards. Jake didn’t trust beards. Too often they were used for hiding.

“If you hurry, you might catch him,” he muttered as the doors closed.

“What?”

“You were all but drooling. You looking for a little action on the side?”

“Is that all you think about?” Kendall gave him a disgusted look and stepped away.

“Sometimes I think about food and hockey.” And how to keep silly psychics alive.

It was only after they got off the elevator that Jake wondered if his irritation over the guy had been something more. He seemed familiar. Could he be one of Nathan’s men checking up on them? If he’d paid more attention, maybe he’d know. He needed to stay focused. Nothing would foul up an assignment faster than lust. But he was still thinking about how good Kendall smelled when they stopped outside their door.

“There’s only one room,” Kendall said, looking alarmed.

“It’s a suite.” He opened the door and they went inside. The living area was almost as fancy as the lobby. A waste of money a woman would appreciate.

“This is bigger than my apartment.”

Jake dumped his pack and duffel bag on the floor. “There are two bedrooms, each with a bath. And there’s a kitchen and sitting room. Choose whichever bedroom you like, or we can share.”

Kendall glared at him and opened one of the doors. Jake glimpsed a plush king-size bed. “This one,” she said, and shut the door in his face.

He waited a second and tapped.

She cracked the door and peered out, her eyes as green as pond slime. “What now?”

“I need to check your room.”

“For what?”

“Bedbugs.” He pushed the door open and moved past her, giving the room a thorough check. But there were no bad guys under the beds or hiding in the shower. No bugs. Of any kind. “All clear.”

Kendall was standing by the door, arms folded over her chest, watching. “Did you think it wouldn’t be?”

“You never know.”

“Thank you. Now please leave. I’m going to shower and take a nap. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Yell if you need help scrubbing your back.”

She made a rude sound and slammed the door.

“Sweet dreams, Legs.”

Jake didn’t nap. He was used to operating on short bursts of sleep. He checked the rest of the suite, and then continued studying his maps. What did that box contain that was so important? Nathan didn’t send him after things that weren’t important, and he’d never authorized Jake to carry a gun. That didn’t stop him from carrying one, but this time something wasn’t sitting right in his gut. And his gut was usually dead on.

But not always.

A couple of hours later, he put the maps away and tapped on Kendall’s door. He needed food. She probably did too. After another minute of knocking and no answer, he cursed and turned the knob. He’d explained to her that she had to stay close.

When he stepped inside her room, his heart slammed against his ribs. Her duffel bag and backpack were upside down and all her things spread across the bed and floor. Papers, makeup, flashlight, a bottle of water...all kinds of junk. There was no wallet. He didn’t know if it was a robbery or a kidnapping, but either way, he was screwed.

They hadn’t been in Rome two hours and he’d already lost her. It must have happened while he was in the bathroom.

After checking the hotel bar, gift shop, and concierge with no sign of her, he stopped at the front desk and told them his girlfriend was missing. They took him back to the security office, where a guard checked the cameras to see if she had left the building over the past two hours. There was no sign of her leaving. Jake’s thoughts were frantic, but he forced himself to stay calm. There was no telling what kind of person they were dealing with. Someone could have smuggled her out of the hotel in a suitcase.
They must have been pros to work so quietly and so quickly. He hadn’t even heard her cry out.

The phone rang and the security guard picked it up while Jake considered his next move. The local police would be no match. He would have to call Nathan. He had more resources. They’d have to check the airports, hospitals...

The security guard hung up the phone. “One of the guests reported a suspicious woman on the floor below yours. Didn’t you say your girlfriend has blonde hair?”

“Yeah.” Jake followed the guard to the ninth floor. The elevator doors opened and Jake slipped out first. Partway down the hall they spotted her hiding behind a marble sculpture, staring at a door.

“That her?” the security guard asked. Kendall hadn’t seen them.

Jake nodded. He wanted to wring her neck.

“What’s she doing?” the guard asked.

He didn’t know, but he was sure as hell going to find out. “We have friends staying on this floor. Probably can’t remember which room they’re in.”

The security guard frowned. “She could’ve called the front desk and asked.”

“Yeah, well, she’s got looks, but brains...What can I say? You can’t have it all.”

Surprisingly, the guard accepted the explanation and left. Slack security, Jake thought. He’d have to warn Nathan about his choice of hotels. He crept down the hall toward Kendall. She was so focused on the door she didn’t hear him sneak up behind her. He grabbed her arm. “What the hell are you doing?” he growled in her ear.

She jumped, but he held on to her. He hadn’t realized how worried he’d been until he felt her squirming in his arms. And that made him even more pissed than he already was. He let go of her, and she whirled, eyes flashing, face hot. God, she was gorgeous.

“Care to tell me why you’re hiding behind a sculpture instead of in your room where you’re supposed to be?”

“I’m uh...” She glanced at the door.

“You were looking for the guy in the elevator.” Jake shook his head in disgust. “You’re looking to
accidentally
bump into him so you can get laid, and here I was worried that you’d been chopped up in little pieces and smuggled out of the hotel in a suitcase.”

Kendall scowled. “If I was that desperate to get laid, I wouldn’t chase down a stranger. Heck, you’re sniffin’ at me every ten seconds.”

That completely derailed him. All his “sniffin’” was just talk. But damn. Would she? If he got her in bed, maybe he could get her out of his system. She was screwing up his focus.

“I’m not looking to get laid. Something about the guy bothers me. I wanted to see if I could figure out why.”

“You mean your psychic mumbo jumbo?”

“It’s not mumbo jumbo,” she said. “Why did you think I might be chopped up in pieces and smuggled out of the hotel?”

“Your room looks like it’s been searched.”

“I was looking for my phone.”

“To call him? Or take his picture?”

She started to speak, but the door she’d been watching began to open. Jake grabbed her and pulled her around the corner into a small sitting area. “I need to teach you a thing or two about surveillance, Legs,” he whispered.

“I’m not an idiot. I tried this already but I couldn’t see the door.”

“There.” He pointed at a mirror behind them that reflected the door yet kept them hidden. “Always know your surroundings and use them to your advantage.”

“Shhh, it’s him.”

The guy from the elevator stepped out of the room. He still wore the ball cap and was pulling out his keys. His phone rang and he looked at the number before answering. “You’re here?”
He continued walking as he listened. “I know you’re worried, but I can’t call it off now. I’m too close. But things have gotten more complicated. I think I just saw a ghost.” His voice faded as he moved past them and down the hall.

After the man got in the elevator, Jake kept staring after him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. He realized he was still holding Kendall, and she hadn’t tried to move. Should he read anything into it? He let a hand slide down her stomach, testing the waters.

“If you want to keep that hand, you’d better move it.”

When he did, she pulled away and stalked down the hall toward the elevator. He was so mesmerized watching her go that by the time he got to the elevator, the doors were closing. She stared at him through the shrinking crack, not even attempting to stop it. He punched the button for the next elevator, and when he got to the room, he heard her stomping around inside her bedroom.

She was going to be trouble. He could feel it in his bones.

He didn’t even bother to ask her about food, given the mood she was in, so he ordered room service and, after he’d eaten, took a shower and tried not to think about her at all. He thought about the guy downstairs. He wasn’t sure what it was that bugged him. The phone call maybe. Was the “ghost” he referred to Kendall? He had seemed surprised in the elevator. Maybe it was more than her breasts. Just thinking about them had Jake imagining her slicked up next to him in the shower. He gave a snort of disgust, shut off the water, and climbed out, cursing Nathan for not calling a couple of hours
after
Jake’s date so this lust would’ve been out of his system. He needed to concentrate on the assignment, not sex. He wrapped a towel around his waist and plodded into the bedroom. He yanked the curtains closed, blocking out the city lights, and loosened his towel when a scream erupted from Kendall’s room.