Uncharted (Treasure Hunter Security Book 2) (19 page)

Sydney shrugged to herself. She was used to people underestimating her.

She swiveled in her chair and, for a second, stared out at the glowing lights of Washington, DC. She had an excellent view of the grand dome of the Capitol Building. She knew DC—had been born and raised here—but she was still finding her feet in the new job. And behind closed doors, she secretly wondered if she’d ever get there.

Glancing back at her desk, she saw the files stacked neatly on the corner by her executive assistant. And then she looked at her laptop. Sydney knew if she opened it, she’d have a ton of emails to deal with. That glass of wine had never seemed further away. What the hell…there was no one left in the office at this time of night, so she released the clip in her hair. No one to see the new CEO kicking back. The pale-gold strands fell down to brush her shoulders.

Her gaze fell on the framed photo resting on the corner of her desk. It was a picture of her with her father and brother. It had been taken a few years ago, and they were all grinning for the camera.
Why the hell did you leave me the company, Dad?
Still reeling from her father’s sudden death, she’d been stunned when he’d left the lion’s share of the company to her. Her brother, Drew, had inherited stock in the company as well. Drew had a sky-high IQ, and probably knew way more about the business and the company. But she knew that for all his brilliance, her socially awkward brother wasn’t a businessman.

For some reason, her father had wanted
her
to be CEO of Granger.

God, she missed him. Since her mother had died when Sydney was ten, it had just been the three of them. Grief and guilt were a gnawing hollow ache inside her. But Sydney didn’t let it show. She’d been raised in Washington society, and she was damn good at hiding her feelings. At the glittering gatherings, so many people were just waiting for the slightest show of emotion to pounce and spread the gossip. She remembered the insincere faces and condescending pats after her mother had died.

Sydney leaned back in her chair. The CIA should just send their agents to train at society parties and gallery openings. Then they’d have the best poker faces around. She touched the frame. Had it really been two months since her father had died in that explosion? Terrorists had been targeting a foreign diplomat who’d been staying at the same hotel, and her father had been caught in the blast.

“I’m so sorry, Dad.”

Now, Sydney was here, buried in her work at Granger Industries. Drew, unable to cope, had run off to South America. His latest interest was in history and archeology. The guy had a collection of degrees—she sighed—but he never stuck with one thing. Last month, he’d been talking about launching an online tech company. Next month, who knew? He’d probably take up race car driving.

Sydney rubbed her temple again. She had reports to read, forms to sign, tomorrow’s meetings to prepare for. She was trying, but right now, she just felt like she was drowning. Most days she was barely managing to keep her head above water.

It had to get better, but there was a little voice in the back of her head whispering with a whole lot of glee that she’d fail. Again. It loved to remind her that she’d screwed up her last job…and that others had paid the price. She glanced over at the photo of her father again, and her throat tightened.

The ringing of the phone on her desk startled her. She frowned. It was late. Who’d be calling at this time?

She snatched up the receiver. “Sydney Granger.”

“Ms. Granger, listen and do not talk.”

The electronically-altered voice made her stiffen. “Who is this—?”

“Quiet. Your brother’s life depends on it.”

Sydney’s hand clenched on the phone. “This is about Drew?”

“We have your brother in Peru. If you want him back alive, you come to Lima and be prepared to transfer five million dollars to us to secure his freedom. We will contact you again then.”

What?
Her heart started to pound.
Stay calm, Sydney
.
Keep them talking. Get as much information as you can.
“How do I know this isn’t a hoax?” She looked blindly out the window, the lights of the city now just a blur. “I want to talk with him—”

“I make the demands, not you. My only proof…I am Silk Road.”

The line went dead.

Sydney set the phone back down with a shaky hand. Silk Road? Who the hell was Silk Road?

She’d spoken to Drew a few days ago. He’d been fine. Excited. He was on the trail of an ancient pre-Incan culture. He’d been visiting museums, meeting with local archeologists, and talking about heading into the Andes. He’d been yammering on about the ruins he planned to visit, and talking about all the research he’d been doing.

But for all his amazing intelligence, her brother was a bit oblivious to regular life. It would be so easy to snatch him…

God
. If these people hurt him… Drew was all Sydney had left.

She forced herself to breathe.
Think, Sydney
. Did this have something to do with her previous employment? Her former role had been highly classified. None of her friends or family had known about the work she did. To the world, she’d been a Washington socialite who cared mostly about designer clothes, fancy parties, and museum openings.

She quickly opened her laptop and logged on. She typed in a search on Silk Road.

A few minutes later, she sat back in her chair, dread settling in her belly. There wasn’t much, but what she’d learned wasn’t good. Silk Road appeared to be a dangerous, black-market antiquities ring. Not much was known about them, except that they were well-funded, well-connected, and ruthless.

Something else caught her attention. Over the last few months, the group had tangled with a private security firm that specialized in security for archeological digs, expeditions, and museum exhibit security. Treasure Hunter Security. She tilted her head at the fun name. It appeared that this firm had beaten Silk Road—twice.

She typed in another search, and pulled up the website for Treasure Hunter Security.

They were based in Denver but worked all across the world. She scrolled through the pages and stopped at an image showing three men—all of them wearing khaki clothes and holsters—standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Declan and Callum Ward were the owners of the company. Former Navy SEALs, and from the look of them, tough and capable. Her gaze fell on the third man standing with them. He was slightly taller and a little broader than the Ward brothers. Big, with shaggy, long, dark hair and a rugged face. He looked like a man you didn’t want to mess with.

Her gaze drifted back to the photograph on her desk and locked onto her brother’s smiling face. Her stomach turned over.

She had to rescue Drew. And she needed Treasure Hunter Security to help her do it.

Unexplored
is coming in July 2016. Available for preorder now as part of the
Romancing the Alpha 2 Box Set
.

Preview: Among Galactic Ruins

As the descending starship hit turbulence, Dr. Alexa Carter gasped, her stomach jumping.

But she didn’t feel sick, she felt
exhilarated
.

She stared out the window at the sand dunes of the planet below. Zerzura. The legendary planet packed with danger, mystery and history.

She was
finally
here. All she could see was sand dune, after yellow sand dune, all the way off into the distance. The dual suns hung in the sky, big and full—one gold and one red—baking the ground below.

But there was more to Zerzura than that. She knew, from all her extensive history training as an astro-archeologist, that the planet was covered in ruins—some old and others beyond ancient. She knew every single one of the myths and legends.

She glanced down at her lap and clutched the Sync communicator she was holding. Right here she had her ticket to finding an ancient Terran treasure.

Lexa thumbed the screen. She’d found the slim, ancient vase in the museum archives and initially thought nothing of the lovely etchings of priestesses on the side of it.

Until she’d finished translating the obscure text.

She’d been gobsmacked when she realized the text gave her clues that not only formed a map, but also described what the treasure was at the end. A famed Fabergé egg.

Excitement zapped like electricity through her veins. After a career spent mostly in the Galactic Institute of Historical Preservation and on a few boring digs in the central systems, she was now the curator of the Darend Museum on Zeta Volantis—a private and well-funded museum that was mostly just a place for her wealthy patron, Marius Darend, to house his extensive, private collection of invaluable artifacts from around the galaxy.

But like most in the galaxy, he had a special obsession with old Earth artifacts. When she’d gone to him with the map and proposal to go on a treasure hunt to Zerzura to recover it, he’d been more than happy to fund it.

So here she was, Dr. Alexa Carter, on a treasure hunt.

Her father, of course, had almost had a coronary when she’d told her parents she’d be gone for several weeks. That familiar hard feeling invaded her belly. Baron Carter did not like his only daughter working, let alone being an astro-archeologist, and he
really
didn’t like her going to a planet like Zerzura. He’d ranted about wild chases and wastes of time, and predicted her failure.

She straightened in her seat. She’d been ignoring her father’s disapproval for years. When she had the egg in her hands, then he’d have to swallow his words.

Someone leaned over her, a broad shoulder brushing hers. “Strap in, Princess, we’re about to land.”

Lexa’s excitement deflated a little. There was just one fly in her med gel.

Unfortunately, Marius had insisted she bring along the museum’s new head of security. She didn’t know much about Damon Malik, but she knew she didn’t like him. The rumor among the museum staff was that he had a super-secret military background.

She looked at him now, all long, and lean and dark. He had hair as black as her own, but skin far darker. She couldn’t see him in the military. His manner was too…well, she wasn’t sure what, exactly, but he certainly didn’t seem the type to happily take orders.

No, he preferred to be the one giving them.

He shot her a small smile, but it didn’t reach his dark eyes. Those midnight-blue eyes were always…intense. Piercing. Like he was assessing everything, calculating. She found it unsettling.

“I’m already strapped in, Mr. Malik.” She tugged on her harness and raised a brow.

“Just checking. I’m here to make sure you don’t get hurt on this little escapade.”

“Escapade?” She bit her tongue and counted to ten. “We have a map leading to the location of a very valuable artifact. That’s hardly an escapade.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess.” He shot a glance at the window and the unforgiving desert below. “This is a foolish risk for some silly egg.”

She huffed out a breath. Infuriating man. “Why get a job at a museum if you think artifacts are silly?”

He leaned back in his seat. “Because I needed a change. One where no one tried to kill me.”

Kill him? She narrowed her eyes and wondered again just what the hell he’d done before he’d arrived at the Darend.

A chime sounded and the pilot’s voice filtered into the plush cabin of Marius’ starship. “Landing at Kharga spaceport in three minutes. Hang on, ladies and gentlemen.”

Excitement filled Lexa’s belly. Ignoring the man beside her, she looked out the window again.

The town of Kharga was visible now. They flew directly over it, and she marveled at the primitive look and the rough architecture. The buildings were made of stone—some simple squares, others with domed roofs, and some a haphazard sprawl of both. In the dirt-lined streets, ragged beasts were led by robed locals, and battered desert speeders flew in every direction, hovering off the ground.

It wasn’t advanced and yes, it was rough and dangerous. So very different to the marble-lined floors and grandeur of the Darend Museum or the Institute’s huge, imposing museums and research centers. And it was the complete opposite of the luxury she’d grown up with in the central systems.