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CHAPTER

13

COULD SHE HAVE BEEN ANY more obvious about her attraction to the man? She’d been peering into his eyes like a lost puppy! It had to be because she’d been out in the desert far too long. Lord knew her love life was in a severe drought. But no excuses. There were far more important things that required her attention than her raging hormones. Besides, Matthew and Robyn seemed rather close. Alex wasn’t sure if they were a couple, but there was a definite chemistry between them. It was probably best she stay out of their way.

Alex pulled back the door flap on the main tent and stepped inside. She expected Seth and Timal to be milling about, but only Jasper was inside.

She headed to the kitchen area and poured herself some water to take with her to the computer workstation that was set up at the other end of the tent. That’s where Jasper was standing in front of a free-standing magnetic whiteboard that displayed enlarged photographs of the hieroglyphics they’d discovered.

Jasper’s energy was quiet and brooding, as well as uninviting, but she stepped up next to him anyhow.

“I know you didn’t want to bring others in on this,” she said, unsure why she was initiating a conversation on the subject again. They’d been over it several times. “But I really do think they will be an asset.”

Jasper turned his head slowly to look at her. “You’re the boss.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“It’s your call.” Jasper’s tone struck her as detached, but she knew better.

“I trust Matthew, and the three of them have experience hunting down legends as a team. And the Emerald Tablets are, by far, one of the greatest.”

Jasper’s usual combativeness was replaced with surprising calm. “I appreciate that, but I feel like we could have taken care of this on our own. That’s all.”

Alex took a deep breath. “We’ve been down there. We haven’t gotten anywhere yet.”

“We haven’t exactly explored the tunnel for hours,” he countered. “Just tell me what you think Matthew brings to the table.”

“I told you. He’s a skilled treasure hunter and archaeologist, and he’s passionate and knowledgeable about the Emerald Tablets specifically.” Guilt snaked through her core because that wasn’t the whole truth.

“You’re skilled, I’m skilled, and we have this.” Jasper directed her gaze to the photograph of another set of hieroglyphics she had yet to tell Matthew and his friends about.

In fact, it was this particular discovery that was killing her to withhold from them. But it was far too sensitive to disclose without the proper measures being taken. Sure, she probably could have told Matthew on the way out here, but that wouldn’t have been fair to the rest of his team. It was also certain to distract him from setting up his tent, and that needed to be taken care of.

She traced her finger along the outside of the photograph. She took in the hieroglyphics, mostly understanding what they meant because Jasper had worked through them with her already. The symbols dissected and pulled apart were a different story. Her mind could only store the details of the interpretation, not identify the meaning of each image.

Jasper crossed his arms over his chest. “Why don’t you just be honest with me as to why you called him here?”

“Why are you being like this?” she snapped, growing more exasperated by the second. He apparently knew exactly why and was trying to bait her into saying it out loud.

“I want you to be honest with me about this.”

“Honesty? That’s rich coming from you.” While she’d known Jasper for years, she knew very little about the man’s personal life, aside from the fact that he’d been orphaned when his parents died in a car accident while on holiday in Greece. And as far as orphans went, Jasper had gotten lucky. He had been taken in by a wealthy aunt and given the best education money could buy. This still left a lot of gaps in Jasper’s life, though, and here he was, insisting on honesty from her.

“He brings something to the table you don’t have,” Jasper said.

Her chest was burning with fire, and her breathing was quickening. She clenched her jaw.

“Why don’t you just say it, Alex? He’ll bring you fame. He’s high profile, and he’ll bring attention to you, to this dig, to your discovery. He’s here to make a name for you.”

She raised a hand to slap him, but she stopped short. To do so would only confirm that what he was saying touched on the truth, and she didn’t like how despicable that made her feel.

Jasper looked at her hand and raised his brows. “Yep, I’m right on the nose.”

Her gaze fell to the table next to the whiteboard, where the two stone bricks that had been pulled from the tunnel were on display. The moment she did, she regretted her silence and aversion to eye contact. It would only cement his accusation. She was beyond damage control, but she could still defend any honor she had left. She raised her head and looked him in the eye. “He and his team bring unique abilities to this expedition.”

Jasper shook his head, reeking of smugness. “Tell yourself what you want—”

He stopped short as Matthew and his friends walked into the tent. Robyn was holding a laptop under her arm.

“Hey.” Alex set her water glass on the table and gave Jasper a heated glare, hoping the others wouldn’t catch it. She plastered on a smile and went to meet them. “You get everything set up okay?”

“We did,” Matthew answered. “We even took a quick look around and found the washroom and shower.”

“The bathroom, you mean,” Alex teased, remembering how fun it was to have a Canadian or two around.

Matthew rolled his eyes. “Don’t you start.”

She laughed. “Ah, so this is—” she gestured around the space “—our main hub. Not that I really need to point it out, but we have a small kitchen at this end and our workstations are at the other end. And we eat at these fancy tables.” Not that the two picnic tables just inside the door needed explanation.

Robyn adjusted the laptop under her arm. “Do you have Internet access?”

“We do, but it’s through satellite, so it’s not the best.”

Robyn narrowed her eyes at Matthew. He held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t promise it’d be top-of-the-line.”

“I told my boss at the museum that I would be available if he needed to reach me.” Robyn was staring Matthew down. “It was part of his agreeing to let me take off for so long and at the last minute.”

“Well, as I said, we have it. It’s just a little spotty.” Alex’s gaze traced over Matthew and Robyn. Her posture was rigid, and if looks could kill…

Matthew seemed oblivious.

“I guess I’ll have to make it work.” Robyn set her laptop on a picnic table, pulled an elastic off her wrist, and swept her hair into a ponytail. She had such a beautiful face, and her cheeks were flushed from heat.

“It’s nothing like Canada here, is it?” Alex wasn’t sure what propelled her to initiate banter, but it was too late now.

Robyn shrugged. “It gets hot there, too. It’s just a different kind of heat.”

“Yeah, despite the stereotypes, we don’t all say eh, live in igloos, and play hockey,” Matthew added.

“Some of us don’t even like hockey,” Cal chimed in. “Myself and my fiancée included.”

“Yet, I’m still friends with them.” Matthew smiled, but Alex sensed a restlessness coming from him. In fact, Alex sensed it coming from all of them. It probably had to do with the fact that they were eager for more information about the expedition.

“Well, if you want to help yourselves to a glass of water or something to eat, please feel free,” Alex said.

“I’ll speak for all of us when I say we just want to see what you’ve found. Do we need to wait for Reda?” Matthew asked.

Alex shook her head. “He was out here last night, and he’s been filled in already.”

“Thank God.” Matthew’s posture relaxed. “I’m not sure I can wait any longer.”

Cal took off toward the cooler, though, and Robyn followed.

“Guess we’re getting something to drink first.” Matthew left to join his friends.

“I’ll be down at the other end,” Alex said.

A second later, Cal rushed out, “The water is warm.”

Alex stopped and turned around to see Cal’s face scrunched up in disgust. He maneuvered himself so he could see behind the cooler. “It’s not even plugged in.”

“Room temperature or warm water is better for you out here,” Alex explained.

“I get that, but it was in a cooler, so I figured…” Cal puckered his lips.

“In this case, the cooler is just the dispensing method.” She spun to continue heading to the workstation area.

“You should really warn people,” Cal mumbled.

She reached the worktable and turned back to see Cal pulling on the fridge handle.

“Tell me the fridge is plugged in,” Cal said.

“We do have a generator,” Alex replied. “You might have heard it or seen it when you were around back setting up your tent.”

Cal stuck his head inside the fridge. “Aw, now that’s what I’m talking about.” He straightened out and put his glass of water inside. “I’ll just put this in here—cool it off a few degrees.”

“As I said, warm water is better for you.” There was no helping some people, but she had to try. “In the desert heat, even cool water will make you hotter.”

Cal regarded her skeptically. “That’s possible?”

Alex held up a hand. “I don’t make the rules, but it’s a fact.”

Cal looked at Matthew as if seeking a second opinion.

“She’s right,” Matthew assured him.

“Oh man.” Cal opened the fridge door, carrying on almost incoherently about things not being able to get any hotter out here. It was only when he pressed his glass to his lips that he went silent. Everyone’s eyes were on him. He took a sip, albeit hesitantly. He lowered the glass, his cheeks puffed out from a mouth full of water, and he crossed his eyes.

Alex started laughing, and Matthew and Robyn joined in.

Cal gulped it down. “As long as you are all amused.” He was flicking his tongue out like a cat with hair on its tongue after cleaning itself.

This friend of Matthew’s was certainly good for entertainment, but it was time to get down to business. “If you guys would join me over here, I’ll share our discoveries.” Alex stood next to the whiteboard. Jasper, who had ended up sitting at a computer, came up next to her with a sideways glance that had guilt ripping through her again. But she had to get a grip. She had her reasons for bringing Matthew here—so what? She wasn’t the first person to work another’s prestige to her advantage, and she certainly wouldn’t be the last. Surely Matthew would understand if she told him. At least, that’s how she was pitching it to herself.

Matthew, Cal, and Robyn came over.

“I’ll start from the beginning,” Alex began. “I’m sure Matthew filled you in on the basics, and so you know that we discovered a tunnel. We also found a cartouche that mentioned the son of Khufu, leading us to believe his tomb is nearby.” She let her gaze trace over the three friends. None of them looked lost so far. “And you also know that we found a grouping of hieroglyphics that testified to the Emerald Tablets, as well.”

Matthew stepped toward her and the whiteboard. “And these are pictures of those hieroglyphics?”

Alex nodded. “They are.”

Robyn and Cal huddled in on each side of Matthew.

Alex pointed to a few printouts that were also on the board. “These are readouts from ground-penetrating radar. Now, the tunnel is about eleven hundred meters long. About forty feet from where we entered the tunnel, we’ve found a staircase.” Alex smiled. “That’s one of the new discoveries I wanted to share with you.”

“A staircase? Interesting,” Matthew said. “It’s certainly not an aqueduct.”

“Now, the readout indicates a void,” Alex said.

“That could be where the pharaoh’s tomb is located,” Robyn jumped in, her voice ticked up with excitement.

“It’s possible. It’s definitely large.”

“How large?” Robyn asked.

“At least five thousand square meters.”

“At least? So you don’t really know how big it is yet.” It was clear that Robyn was the most serious of the three friends.

“No,” Alex confirmed.

“All right, so it’s probably not all a tomb. What do you think it is, then?” Matthew raised his eyebrows.

“We know some of it’s water because we’ve been to the edge of it. That’s another recent finding,” Alex started. “But there’s more…” She looked at Jasper, who snatched a photograph of hieroglyphics from the whiteboard.

“What is that?” Matthew nudged in closer to Jasper.

“That is an ancient Egyptian treasure map,” Alex said, a smile curving her lips. “And according to Jasper’s interpretation, it should lead us straight to the pharaoh’s tomb and the Emerald Tablets.”