Trouble and Treasure (#1, Trouble and Treasure Series) (7 page)

I shook my head, messy hair bunching
around my face. “They broke into my house, Elizabeth, they tried to
steal my globes.”

At the mention of the globes, Sebastian's
expression changed. Where he’d once had a keen but even look on his
face, he now looked dangerously interested. His lips spread back, a
glint of his straight and perfect teeth peeking from underneath. He
sliced his hard gaze towards Elizabeth, and for the first time
looked concerned. Then he shot that gaze right back at me, those
eyes hardening again. “You told her about the globes?”

I receded back, clutching my arms around
my middle. This wasn’t how it was meant to go. Elizabeth was meant
to call a lawyer, a kindly old gentleman who would have sat there
and listened to my story and gone out and made it all okay. She
wasn’t meant to call Sebastian Shaw, and Sebastian Shaw sure as
hell wasn’t meant to show up and get angry at me for sharing my
story.

“
Do you have any idea what you did?” His
arms were no longer raised in fake submission. He held them stiffly
at his sides, hands rounded into soft fists.

For the first time I noticed the numerous
cuts and bruises across the back of his hands and fingers.

“
Excuse me?” My voice was about as high as
it was possible to be. This couldn’t be happening. Criminals didn’t
act with such sincere indignation, as if you had somehow broken
their trust by telling the kind old lady down the road about their
misadventures. “You broke into my house last night,” I
began.

“
Oh grow up,” he snapped, “I saved you from
those men in your drawing room. I saved you from those men in the
van,” he gave me a stiff, unfriendly nod, “If it wasn't for me, god
knows where you'd be but probably tied to a seat answering
questions from real criminals.”

“
Excuse me?” My voice was even higher this
time; I couldn't understand what was going on here. Who the hell
was this guy to get so angry at me?

Sebastian grabbed one of the kitchen stools
on the other side of the bench and sat roughly, pulling out the
tails of his expensive suit jacket as he did.

Elizabeth, who was still watching us with
great interest, sniffed and turned towards the kettle. “How about I
make us all a cup of tea? Sebastian, would you like some
pancakes?”

Sebastian turned to Elizabeth and offered
her a friendly smile. He appeared to look at her with real
affection, and the smile that played across his lips was most
charming. But my oh my was it at odds with the steely look he
offered me next.

“
What's going on here?” I tried again. But
no matter how much I questioned this ridiculous situation, nobody
else seemed to have a problem with it. For the love of god, I was
about to sit down and have pancakes with a man who broke into my
house only last night. This is not how things are meant to go. Then
again, perhaps this was how things went when you had forgone
calling the police and had gone to bed after your home invasion
instead.

I still stood with my back to the door, my
arms clutched around my middle as tight as they could go. With
Sebastian seated, my gaze darted to the door behind him. If I
somehow managed to get around the less-than-legal lawyer, I might
be able to make it down the corridor and out the front door. Then
it would be the old game of avoiding the criminals until they got
bored and went home.

Sebastian saw where I was looking and shook
his head. He didn't even bother telling me I had no chance, he just
got comfortable in his seat and shook his head like he was a master
telling his dog not to jump on the bench.

I hardened my jaw, clenching my teeth.

“
There are a lot of people out there
looking for you, Amanda.” Sebastian drummed his fingers on the
table, his large golden watch on his left wrist slipping and
showing deep cuts along the flesh. “Trust me when I say they will
not be as nice as I am.”

“
Stop threatening me,” I said bravely,
letting go of my middle in order to clamp my hands on my hips. “I’m
going to call the police.”

He chuckled. “Well, if you were going to
do that, you should have done that last night. That was what I
expected you to do. But you do look a bit stupid.”

“
Excuse me?!”

“
Then again,” he leaned forward, still
tapping his hands on the table, “You didn't call the police, and
that would be the only reason that you are not in the hands of
Maratova and his men.”

I gasped. “Was he.... Was he the man who
was after me last night?”

“
One of the men, Amanda.”

“
They’re working with the police?” I
clutched a hand over my mouth.

“
I wouldn't say they are working with the
police.” Sebastian leaned back easily. “But you're still in a lot
of trouble.”

“
I haven't done anything.” I shook. “I
haven't done anything wrong at all.”

Sebastian shrugged. The prick looked as if
he was enjoying this. Then again, he didn't seem like an upstanding
character; it would take someone with a particularly flexible view
of the law and morality to break into someone's house in the middle
of the night.

“
Sebastian,” Elizabeth called from over by
the stove, “You stop baiting that girl. I called you here to get
this sorted, and if you want to be fed you should jolly well get
professional.”

Surprisingly Elizabeth's reprimand had an
effect on Sebastian, and he cleared his throat, leaning forward and
straightening up.

“
I have no idea what’s going on here,” I
said weakly.

“
You put a spotting globe up for sale at an
auction house, and that spotting globe...” Sebastian shook his
head, swallowed, and briefly looked as lost as I did. Then he
hardened up and cracked his neck from side-to-side. “Well let's say
that you've got the whole world's attention. More important than
that,” he leaned forward and he looked interested. His eyes
widened, showcasing his dreamy blue irises, “Where are the other
globes, Amanda?”

I still had my hand clutched over my
mouth.

“
It is important, Amanda; those globes are
worth more than you can imagine. The one you sold at the auction
house may have only fetched you £15 million. But altogether those
globes....” He shook his head. He locked those blue eyes on me
again. “Where are the rest?” He leaned even further forward, and it
almost seemed as if he wanted to stand up from his seat, walk over
to me, grab my shoulders and squeeze the information out of me.
“You have no idea how important this is.”

“
What are those globes?” Elizabeth asked,
sounding interested but not awed or scared by what was going on.
“They must be something to have so many strapping men interested in
them.”

Strapping men? Was that the most appropriate
way of describing them? Surely horrible, evil criminals was better.
I held my tongue, bit my bottom lip, and watched as Sebastian
started to carve up his pancake pile.

“
Well, Elizabeth, I have to tell you that
these globes are dangerous; you probably shouldn't know more than
you already do.” He shot me a particularly mean look at
that.

Elizabeth waved a hand that him. “Oh pish,
it doesn't matter at all. Tell me, or I will not be paying your
fee. So why don't you go ahead and tell me what those globes are,
and why my dear Amanda is in so much trouble here.”

“
They are treasure maps. Perhaps the
greatest treasure maps in the world. At first glance, and to those
who know nothing of their true origin and purpose, they would look
like ordinary spotting globes. Once each of the globes are put
together, across their surface are the locations of innumerable
treasure hoards.”

Elizabeth clapped her hands together, a
true smirk crossing her lips as her ruby rings banged together
lightly. “Oh, how exciting.”

Sebastian snorted. “I think the word you
are looking for, Elizabeth, is dangerous.” Sebastian put his fork
down and gave me a pointed look. “I wasn't kidding when I said that
I have no idea how much those globes are worth. I'm not kidding
when I tell you that every Government, every henchman, every crook,
and every Mafioso will kill,” he stressed the word kill, “To find
out what that sum is.”

I put a hand up to my chest, my heart
beating so strongly I could feel it vibrating.

“
Amanda sold one of these at auction?”
Elizabeth put her head to the side, looking genuinely curious. “How
unlucky. I imagine it would be an adventure to traipse around the
globe finding hidden treasure.” She leaned back on her
stool.

Sebastian snorted again. “An adventure
indeed, but not nearly as fun as dodging all the hit men, thugs,
and mercenaries who will be after Amanda so they can get their
hands on the other four.”

I wasn't sure whether he was making things
out to be more dangerous than they were just to get a reaction out
of me. As he sat there, leaning back in his seat and taking
deliberate mouthfuls of the pancakes without spilling any sauce
down his middle, he seemed far too collected and calm to be
trustworthy. Plus, he had that annoying boyish look about him. The
one that told me this lawyer had never gotten over teasing girls in
the playground.

I sniffed, straightened up, held my head
high and tried not to be as frightened as the uneasy gurgle in my
stomach suggested I was.

“
So, Amanda, you want to tell me where
those globes are? Or would you like to call the police and end up
in Maratova's hands by the end of the day?” He leaned forward,
smile unpleasant.

“
Look here, Sebastian,” Elizabeth leaned
in, slapping her hand flat against the table to get his attention,
“I imagine she would be a lot more willing to help if you would at
least offer to help her first.”

Sebastian looked mildly chastened, played
with his jaw as if it were bothering him for some reason, and
opened his hands. “We will cut a deal: you tell me where those
globes are, and I promise I will do everything within my power to
keep you safe.” Though he had a truculent look on his face, his
tone sounded sincere. “And don't tell me they're back at the manor;
I don't want to have to deal with Maratova again today.”

“
Who is he anyway?”

“
Not much to say: works with the army,
Special Forces, heads up their unit that looks for... shall we say
the valuable antiquities that governments, let alone museums, would
kill for.”

I snorted. Governments and museums killing
to get their hands on antiquities? Was this supposed be some stupid
movie? Governments didn't send out Special Forces to go find
artifacts that “belonged in a museum,” to borrow a phrase from
Indiana Jones. They were far too busy doing real, proper,
democratic things with their time.

Sebastian looked unmoved by my
incredulity. “I suggest you get all your laughing done, Amanda,
because this is a serious situation. You think Maratova is a
friendly guy? You think he'll keep it all above board to get those
globes? Let alone all of the other teams that are out there after
you. You need to take this seriously, very seriously. While these
pancakes have been delicious,” he pushed the plate away, offering
Elizabeth another charming nod, “It's probably time we get you
somewhere safe, and you get me those globes.”

I stood there and tried to think. It was
hard. Excuse me if I’d never been thrust into a situation like this
before; I led a quiet life. I always had my trust fund to fall back
on, I never got in any trouble, and I despised drama. I had zero
experience with whatever the hell this was.

Was I meant to trust this guy? While he’d
apparently saved me from the men in my drawing room, and he’d given
me his gun, I could tell he was only telling me what he wanted.
Plus, he knew that Maratova chap, the brute who’d chased me through
the forest last night.

There
was too much to think about, and I simply didn’t know
enough to decide whether to trust this guy. Plus, despite the fact
he was world-class attractive, he was a world-class irritating
schoolboy too.

Sebastian Shaw

I couldn't believe it. How could I get this
lucky? After failing last night and being pistol whipped for my
troubles, I’d found Amanda anyway. Or, better than that, I’d shown
up for work, found her in Elizabeth's kitchen, and been fed
excellent pancakes as a bonus.

Getting her to trust me was going to take
some effort.

The longer she stood there, back pressed
against the locked kitchen door, eyes occasionally slicing towards
the corridor behind me, the more I lost my advantage. As far as I
knew nobody else, apart from Elizabeth, had any clue where Amanda
Stanton was. But it wouldn't be long before Maratova popped up; the
man had more resources at his fingertips than God.

“
Look, Amanda, we can't stay here any
longer. You're going to have to trust me, let me know where those
globes are, and we'll take it from there. Or you can be just as
stupid as you look, and stand in your pajamas and do
nothing.”

“
Sebastian,” Elizabeth crossed her arms,
“Have you forgotten what I told you? Stop berating the girl, and
jolly well start helping her. If it is as dire as you're
suggesting, stop being a brute, and start being nice.”

Nice? If Elizabeth weren't one of my
favorite clients, I'd laugh at that. If Elizabeth or Amanda were
under any impression that whatever the hell would follow would be
nice, they were in for a big surprise.