Kimberley Scott could not believe her eyes or ears! After six straight hours of questioning, she’d finally managed to convince the scary, but good-looking, DPCA agent that she had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing artifacts.
She supposed he was being professional with his curt questions and cold demeanor—never mind the fact her life’s work had been stolen and her professional standing was on the line. Emotions rolled through her like a freight train on greased rails. She felt numb. Her bones were aching, and her brain was still in denial.
Were there stages of grief for losing your reputation?
She supposed there were. After all, her whole life just went to shit. Breathing in through her nose, Kimberley tried to keep a bit of her self-control, but it was not easy.
It was all she could do to not completely break down. Tears filled her eyes, and anger over the entire thing had tremors racking her body. Sniffing loudly, she counted to three and focused on the agent in front of her. The fucker looked bored.
Everything she had ever worked for was on the line, and he looked like he could not wait to get the hell out of there.
“Do you understand, Miss Scott?” he asked in a bored voice.
“No. I don’t understand any of this,” she returned.
She had to fight this thing with everything she had. Kimberley might be a lot of things—a dedicated professor of archeology with a penchant for junk food and coffee, a hopeless romantic who’d failed at her first attempt at marriage, a dreamer, and a total bibliophile who loved to disappear between the pages when reality got too gritty—but she was no thief.
“It is best you come clean now, Miss Scott,” the agent said for the tenth time.
“I. Did. Not. Do. This.” Kim repeated for the umpteenth time.
Why was this happening to her? She was a hard worker. Damn good at her job, too. Why someone would pin a robbery on her was beyond her ability to understand. She was a firm believer in the scientific method, a dreamer, sure, but logical all the same.
Her parents had been devoted to academia, and logic ruled her childhood. They had only ever responded to well thought out plans or explanations whenever their daughter wanted something.
Kim developed a knack for research early on. Oh yeah, she knew how to google with the best of them, though her methodology had gotten more advanced as she got older.
The point was, Kim never got anywhere by pouting or throwing tantrums. Even though she felt like it, she could not give into the desire to start now. She’d have to use her substantial training, and a big chunk of that epic patience she was known for, to find a solution.
Kimberley had to find the culprit behind this huge mess. Learning how to uncover secrets, determine motivation, and eek out hidden agendas had been a huge part of her education and job experience. Kim was good at it, and furthermore, she loved it.
What other kind of person spent their life digging into the past, literally, and figuratively? She’d devoted her whole life to studying the past. Had spent many a month traveling the world to downright hostile environments just so she could dig up the hidden secrets of ancient civilizations.
Kimberley could figure this out. Not like she had another choice. Agent Sanchez, with his black eyes and laser-like stare, was not going to intimidate her into confessing to a crime she did not commit.
“It will go easier on you if you just confess—”
“I’ve done nothing wrong, Agent Sanchez.”
Exhaustion crept up on Kimberley, seeping into her very marrow. But there was no time for rest. Proving her innocence was more important than getting some much needed sleep.
Thank goodness she was a certified packrat. She’d saved every piece of paper, every receipt and photo she’d had accumulated during this expedition. Two months of her life documented in an accordion-style folder.
“This is everything I have done during the past two months, agent,” she said and pointed to the folder with its slots of neatly stacked paper. “My entire trip, sixty days in Giza, including copies of my signature with dates and times when I checked into the dig site, and in the university library. I printed out GPS locations from my service provider for my smart phone when I was passed out in my tent room from exhaustion.”
“That’s very interesting, Miss Scott, but hardly definitive proof. Anything can be faked,” he grumbled.
“Well, that is a skill set I simply do not have. I am telling you the truth. I never met with any of the people from the list you showed me.”
“But of course you would deny any knowledge of your contacts—”
“Are you serious? This is libelous!”
“Actually, it’s not. This is just an interview that you agreed to.”
“Well, maybe I shouldn’t have,” she snapped.
“Miss Scott, why don’t you just take me through it one more time?”
Kimberley heaved out a large breath. For fuck’s sake, she’d gone over her entire travel itinerary three dang times already. She’d shown the agent her passports, tickets, all of her notebooks, the photographs she took, spreadsheets, documenting every step of the Giza dig, not to mention personal emails and texts with the DPCA Agent—short for Department of Paranormal Creatures and Activity.
Kim was already in the know about the paranormal world. She was aware of the existence of Shifters, Witches, and more. How did she know about all sorts of supernatural beings and goings-ons? Well, that was a loaded question.
Suffice it to say Kim was okay with it. Really. Well, as okay with it as anyone could be. Having been put up for adoption as a baby, Kim had to work to track down her biological family tree.
She’d done all the research without help and had never done more than call. When she did finally find where she came from, she’d discovered a possible connection to a supernatural secret in her lineage. She had no real evidence of it yet, but maybe someday.
Born human, it was still part of Kim’s genetic makeup. After years of keeping that secret, her very best friend, Carolina Moore, had recently confessed another doozy to Kimberley. Recently divorced, Kim had invited Caro to Giza, where she met and had been subsequently hunted by a Demon.
It all turned out alright though, and Carolina was now mated to her very own Wyvern Shifter. Yep. Her mate was an honest to goodness Dragon—sorta.
Anyway, Kim had a complicated past, and a wide understanding of the world. But none of that explained why this was happening to her.
Why me? Ugh. How pathetic am I?
“Look, Miss Scott, I have something you need to see,” Agent Sanchez said, pulling her attention back to him.
She exhaled a deep breath, not entirely sure if she was ready for whatever the man wanted to show her, but what choice did she have?
Buck up, Kim. It’s only your life on the line.