Chapter Three

 

 

 

Magda woke to the sound of screeching. She sat up quickly, gasping as her mind tried to get a handle on where the hell she was.

Screech.

There it went again, only louder and closer as whatever it was flew overhead. Memories of that same sound, jungles and running from bad guys flashed across behind her eyes.

“Great alarm clock, huh?”

And Vince. How could she have forgotten Vince?

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she squinted through the bright sunlight toward where Vincent stood, looking as relaxed as always and sexy as hell. Damn him. She took a quick breath and resisted the urge to brace herself. No point in giving him an advantage by giving him any inkling of how he affected her.

“I’m sure I only went to sleep for a few minutes. Where did the stars go?”

He laughed. “You have no idea what time it is, do you?”

She looked around for her watch, lifting the canvas bag that doubled as her pillow and shifting to check behind her on the mattress. She was sure she’d left it somewhere here.

“Looking for something?”

A blaze of light reflected off an object on the floor near her feet.

“Not anymore.”

She leaned forward and picked it up, taking a glance at the clock face as she sat back down on the makeshift bed.

“Holy shit! It’s ten o’clock. Why the hell did you let me sleep so late?”

Vince held up his hands in mock surrender. “Don’t blame me, I just woke up myself.”

Magda stood quickly but faltered as her head started spinning. Vince was beside her in a microsecond, his strong hands steadying her shoulders and easing her back on to the mattress.

“Take it easy, Mags. It’s the humidity.”

His eyes lingered on her breasts for just a few seconds longer than he needed to, and much to Magda’s disgust, she felt the start of a blush in her cheeks.

“Stop looking at my breasts, dick-brain.” She pushed off the bed again, more slowly this time to avoid a close encounter with Vince’s eyes again.

He gave her that wicked and sexy, naughty boy smile again. “Sorry, toots. I was just reminiscing about last night. You put on quite a show for me.”

The blush that before only threatened now created an inferno in her cheeks. What was it with her reactions to Vince?

I’m a free-spirited, sexually adventurous woman, and I do not blush!

“Hey, it wasn’t me who started that particular show. And we both needed some stress relief.” Stepping past him, she walked out of the front door of the hut and into the heat and humidity.

Vince followed to stand beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a slight smirk as he mirrored her position and stared into the jungle.

“And what lovely stress relief it was, although I can think of a few ways it could have been even better.”

She sighed, taking in a breath blowing it out slowly. “Get over yourself, Stone. We both have high sex drives, so a little self-play was inevitable. I’m not surprised we indulged sooner rather than later, because we both know any mutual play is out of the question. We’ve been there before and it didn’t work. Now that we’ve taken the edge off our needs, we can get down to the business of finding the relic.”

Vince’s posture stiffened as he turned at her with eyes blazing. “Jesus, Mags, do you have to be so business-like? I know I play the field as much as the other guy, but sex is more than just a release of tension to me. It’s more about the giving and taking of pleasure, not some contractual negotiation!”

“Business-like is what I do best these days, Stone. I make no apologies for that. I’m good at what I do because I focus and I work hard. If I have to kick you in the balls every now and then to achieve that, then so be it. We both need to get this wrapped up as soon as possible so we can get out of each other’s hair and on with our lives. There’s a beach in the Whitsunday’s with my name on it and I bloody well want to get there before the cyclone season hits.”

The scowl left replaced by his trademark mischievous grin. “Sounds like fun. Can I come too?”

Jeezus, didn’t Vince ever stay angry for long? What the heck was wrong with him? No one gets over a bad mood that easily, it was just…well, unnatural.

“No, you can’t come. I planned this trip for some peace and quiet, and let’s face it, Stone, when you’re around, there’s not a chance in hell it’s going to be peaceful, and quiet. You don’t know the meaning of the words.”

“And that’s what you love about me, Mags.”

Before she could protest, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her toward him, firmly kissing her mouth before letting her go and striding down the track and into the jungle.

Still slightly nonplussed, she somehow managed to call after him. “Hey, where are you going?”

Not even bothering to turn around he shouted back, “I’m following your lead and taking care of some pressing business.”

In less than the time it took to sneeze, he disappeared into the trees, leaving Magda alone and wondering what the hell had just happened. Was he pissed at her?

Does it matter?

She reminded herself that they had more important problems than getting snappy with each other. If they didn’t get killed first, they needed to find the relic so it could be placed with the proper authorities. If the type of person looking for this relic had no problem killing anyone in their way, just imagine what they would do if they actually got a hold of this relic. Even if the legends weren’t true, the power of suggestion was an amazing thing. In many developing nations, legends were taken very seriously and fear was a strong factor in attaining and maintaining power. That’s why it was so important to find this thing first. She wasn’t doing it for the money, even if Vincent was. It was never about the money. Every one of the ladies of The League of Amazing Women believed in paying it forward. It was their job to help save the world and this was a hairier situation than most. This was big, so she needed to focus and stop acting like a love-struck teenager.

Get over it, Mags!

She automatically reached into her pocket when her phone vibrated.

“Magda, darling. How’s it all going?”

“Joell? Aren’t you on vacation? I told Phoenyx not to contact you.”

The wonder witch laughed. “You know there are no secrets in this organization, girlfriend. But don’t worry. I’m still on my vacation. Just checking on you out there in the jungle. You’re missing a great party, but I’m guessing you’re having one of your own.”

Thinking of the Mansion parties, Mags smiled. Oh yeah, that was the real Mags. The one who lived and enjoyed every minute as if it was her last. Somehow she’d forgotten that. Trust Joell to give her back her perspective, although she couldn’t resist a little teasing of her friend. “Probably better fun than you married people!”

“Ha! You singles don’t let us couples have any fun!”

“All joking aside, Joell, how are you anyway? Are you happy?”

A dreamy sigh came over the line. “Mmm… Yep… Yep. I never thought having an exclusive relationship would feel so good. You should try it sometime, Mags. I can highly recommend it.”

A vision of her farewell scene two years ago with Vincent flashed before her eyes. She’d felt so close to him that night, and they’d had the best sex of their entire relationship. It was so real, even now she could feel the pleasure building in her body. But that had been before he’d betrayed her.

“Mags? Maa-aaags! Are you still there? Is everything okay?”

Shaking her head, she brought the phone back to her ear, not sure how her hand had ended up hanging loosely at her side. “Yes, I’m here,” she said breathlessly, desperately trying to sound normal. “I saw some strange birds flying past, but they’re gone now. What were you saying?”

Joell laughed. Damn, she didn’t buy it. “Birds huh? Sure, if you say so,” she giggled. “Don’t worry about it, Mags. Just know that if you need help, open an emergency channel and Crowe and I will be there in a jiffy. Oh, and before I forget, we voted to allow Stone to work jointly with you. As long as he behaves himself.”

Magda jumped at the sound of a voice behind her.

“Now where’s the fun in that?”

“Don’t tell me he heard that? Oh my goddess, he has a sexy voice, Mags.” Joell chuckled.

Magda almost choked as she felt the rising heat on her cheeks. Bloody hell, I’ve happily played in BDSM clubs before but here I am blushing over a man overhearing an innocent conversation.

She had to take a quick breath before she could reply and hoped Joell didn’t notice the gap. “Please don’t encourage him, Joell. His ego is large enough as it is.”

Vincent winked at her, grinning like he knew exactly what she was thinking. “The sexy voice thanks you, and yes, I did hear. Your phone is pretty clear, Mags, and your friend there has a loud voice. Thank the Ladies of the LAW for the vote of confidence.”

Magda tried her best to scowl at Vince, but the naughty boy grin had her stifling a smile. “Excuse me, Stone, but I was having a private conversation here. Do you mind?”

He walked the few steps back to the front of the hut and sat on an upturned crate near the door. He leaned back against the wall, his long legs stretched out crossed at the ankles.

“Don’t mind me,” he said.

“Yeah, don’t mind him, Mags.”

Doesn’t anyone show respect anymore?

Shrugging, she moved away from the hut toward the jungle and lowered her voice. “Thanks for the email update, Joell. If I need you, I’ll let you know, although I don’t think it will be necessary. You go back to that gorgeous hunk of man you have and let me worry about my own sex life, or lack thereof.”

What sounded suspiciously like a snicker sounded across the phone speakers. “No problem, and I’ll let you get back to yours.”

“He’s not my anything.”

Joell laughed again. “If you say so, sweetie.”

“Jeezus, Joell. Will someone please remember that I am on an important mission? I can’t afford to be distracted when there is a powerful relic out there that could get into the wrong hands!”

“Aw, I’m sorry for the teasing, Mags. You’re right, this is an important mission, but hey, you’ve never minded the ragging in the past. I guess I didn’t realize how stressful this situation is. You take care now, and you really must make sure you contact me if you need me. I’m not far away and can be there in a few hours.”

Mags sighed and lifted her hand to wipe off a trickle of sweat that was nearing her eyes. “I’m sorry I was snippy with you, Joell. If I didn’t know better, I would think the bloody PMS had struck again.” She thanked the gods it wasn’t that time of the month, thinking of what that entailed and how she really couldn’t do without her weapons in this situation. “Seeing Stone again has been a bit of a surprise, but I’m over it now and trying to focus on the job at hand. Don’t worry about me, I’m handling it.”

“Well, if you’re sure?”

“Yep, I’ll be fine. I’ll catch you after your trip. I promise it’ll be all wrapped up by then.”

“Okey dokey then. Now you be careful, hon!”

“I always am.”

Smiling to herself, she flipped the phone off and put it back in her shorts pocket. She was really lucky to have her LAW mates, but they never missed an opportunity to give her hell. Hopefully what she had said to Joell was true. They would wrap this up quickly and get the hell out of this insect-ridden, boiling pot of humidity called the jungle.

Looking over to the incredibly sexy man who tempted her more than she ever wanted, she sighed. If they were going to find the relic he had to regain some control, and fast, before they lost the chance of ever saving the world from whatever evil these bad guys were planning. She straightened and walked with purpose toward the hut. It was time to plan their next move.

 

Much as he could go for an all-day session in the sack with Magda—and from the blushes and the way she kept bringing up sex, he knew that if he put his mind to it they would be fucking like rabbits—Vince knew they had to get their acts together and find this bastard of a relic. Apart from that, they also had to make sure they stayed alive in the process. From the serious look in Mag’s face as she approached, he figured she’d shoved the sex to the back of the bus and was back to the problem at hand. Better let her know he was back to business as well before she blew his head off again. Then again, he loved it when she got angry. Her eyes lit with a fire that would make any dick harden, and his sure did when she showed her passionate side. Of course, she was pretty good at cutting through the bullshit, so he might as well be straight with her up front. She had that look in her eye, and if he didn’t get in first, things were not going to be pretty. He couldn’t wait to see her face when she heard what he had to say.

“Mags, glad you finally could join me for a war meeting. Give us your ideas for what we should do next about finding this bloody relic?”

Magda stopped in front of him, her legs apart, hands curled into fists and resting on her hips and an exasperated expression on her face. “What the fuck? So now that you’ve finished flirting with Joell you’ve decided to get serious?”

His face hurt as he tried really hard to stop a grin breaking out. “You said it yourself, Mags. We’ve got to get down to business.”

Damned if she didn’t look disappointed for a second there. He knew he shouldn’t do it, but he loved needling her. She was so damn cute when her eyes were flashing and her skin all flushed just like she’d looked after she’d had a third mind-blowing orgasm. Oh yeah…those were the days.

Somehow he got himself together enough to sound serious. “Give us what you’ve got from your LAW friends. Some of that legend hocus pocus stuff might give us a clue as to where to look.”

“That ‘hocus pocus stuff’, as you put it,” she said as her lips twitched, “has some well-researched historical facts behind it, Stone, so don’t discount its value.”

He grinned back at her, loving the fact that she was having trouble staying mad at him. “I don’t discount it for a minute, Mags. Most legends have some historical fact behind them. Look at how that helped Indiana Jones find the Ark of the Covenant.”

Magda started shaking, and he heard a snorting sound coming from her direction. Her hand went to cover her mouth, but it was no use. She burst out laughing, tears pouring down her face.

“You are an idiot, you know that, Stone?” she said, stifling a hiccup.

“But I had you going there for a minute, didn’t I? You were coiled so tight you were headed for an explosion so I figured pissing yourself laughing would be a safer option for my health. You have a mean right hook, if I remember rightly.”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled. “Thanks. I needed that. I’m sorry I’ve been so serious. I guess it was a reaction to yesterday, although it’s not as if I haven’t been in similar situations before. Just not all on the same day. It’s not every day you get shot at, forced to jump off a balcony and then followed into the jungle. I’ll be fine now.”

“No worries, Mags. Now I suppose we can get back to the problem at hand. Finding this bloody thing and getting the hell out of here.”

Magda pulled her tablet out of her pocket and turned it on, scrolling through a few pages with the stylus. “I had a look briefly last night and there’s a reference here to the Sultan of Kedah, who was the last traditional ruler of Penang before handing it over to the East India Company in the eighteenth century. He is the connection to Alexander the Great, so we need to concentrate on anything we can find about his connection with modern-day Penang.”

“Does it give the name of the sultan?”

Magda flicked through a few more pages and scrolled her stylus again, her eyes narrowed in concentration. “Here it is. His name was Sultan Abdullah Makarram Shah the third.” She looked up at him, her eyes alive with the anticipation of the game. “Does it ring any bells?”

Vincent stroked his chin, thinking hard. “Nope. Nothing familiar about that. Maybe we should go back to that village we were in yesterday. I am guessing you and I were both steered there for a reason.”

“I suppose it won’t hurt. As long as we’re careful. They weren’t very happy to see us before. What makes you think they will cooperate with us this time?”

Vincent smiled as an idea formed in his head. “Don’t worry, Mags. I have a plan.”

Magda’s brow furrowed. “A plan? Great! Why do I feel so much better now? Not!”

 

* * * *

 

I’m going to kill him!

Magda struggled to walk next to Vincent as they made their way to the middle of the village. Today the open space between the huts was a crowded marketplace, and unlike the quiet of yesterday, when the place had been deserted.

I have a plan, he said.

Don’t worry, he said.

Yeah right. Great idea of his trying to blend in with the natives. Not!

When word got out that a couple of Aussies had paid one-thousand Ringget for two sets of clothes, then the game would be up. Almost three hundred dollars for something that usually cost less than twenty. The whole village would be after them for a share of that if they found out, and the people that were after them, well, they would have to pretty stupid not to work out who the idiots splashing money around were. The hijab scarf she wore scratched her face where it wrapped over her nose and mouth, and the jilbab shift covering her body was sticky and uncomfortable. She scratched a particularly bothersome spot on her midriff and adjusted her clothing underneath. She swore there were mites nesting inside the nasty smelling material. Hadn’t these people heard of soap and water or deodorant?

She took a short look across at Vincent and caught him rubbing his neck. The only consolation to this situation was that he suffered in his garb as much as she did. Pulling on his sleeve, she slowed down their progress and leaned closer to Vincent. “Okay, Einstein. We’re here. What’s the next phase of your plan?”

He freed himself from her grip, his face unreadable as he distanced himself from her. “Don’t get too close,” he hissed. “The local women do not initiate conversations with their men in public.”

“Fine,” she whispered back through her teeth. “I won’t touch you again, but I need to know where we are going and what you hope to achieve.”

“There’s someone I want to see first, so just follow my lead.”

“So I guess you’re going to surprise me then.”

“It’ll work. Trust me.”

“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”

“And don’t forget to behave like the submissive female.”

A sound welled up in the back of her throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl, but it couldn’t be that. She didn’t growl.

Well, hardly ever.

“Mags—keep it down,” he whispered loudly as he turned from her and headed forward, leaving her seething under her scarf.

Looking at the ground, she saw a small rock and was so tempted to pick it up and throw it at his back, but even in her annoyance, she realized they had to at least try to blend in. So she continued to follow Vincent as he walked through the village almost to the end of the market stalls. He stopped, and since she wasn’t expecting it, she bumped into him.

“What the—?”

“Shhh…”

Turning left abruptly, Vincent walked down a short clearing between two mud huts, similar to the ones where they had met up yesterday morning. One of the huts had a door facing them and Vincent headed over in that direction.

“Selamat pagi,” he called toward the open doorway.

“Huh? I didn’t know you spoke Malay.”

“Shhh,” he whispered, turning his head back toward where she stood behind him. “Only a few words. All I said was ‘good morning’. Let me do the talking.”

Fine! She folded her arms across her chest. Let him shut me out of the action—again.

A short, stocky Malay man came out of the hut and smiled at Vincent. He walked toward them and stopped short in front of Vince, ignoring Magda.

“Awak apa khabar, kawan,” said the man.

Vincent turned toward the villager. “I am well, my friend. Boleh awak tolong saya?”

What the hell are they saying? Magda glared at Vincent’s back, hoping to fire enough animosity in his direction that he would get the picture.

Vincent glanced back at her with a contrite expression and shrugged. Turning back to the villager again, he started speaking in Malay again. “Awak boleh berbahasa Inggeris?”

The man nodded and smiled, his teeth surprisingly white given the several gaps in his gums. “Yes. I speak your language. I did not always live here in the village. I studied at the university in Kuala Lumpur.”

Hallelujah. At least she could now follow the conversation. Apparently boring your eyes into a person’s back did do something. Who would have thought?

“That’s great. My Malay is not so good, and my woman does not understand your language.”

The villager turned to Magda as if he only just realized she was there. What she saw in his eyes, however, was little more than contempt.

“What does it matter that a woman understands?”

Ha! Arrogant old bastard.

Vincent glared at her as she felt her hackles rising to boiling point. Okay, so she needed to control herself…and she was going to try really hard, but boy, did this guy push all her wrong buttons. Bracing herself, she cast her eyes downward. A good thing she had her face covered in a scarf. She was beginning to like this hijab scarf quite a lot, she thought as she scowled into the material scratching against her face, confident the arrogant villager could not see her scathing expression. Anyone looking would only see the bowed head of a respectful woman.

Fat lot of good trying to play along with Vince did her, because when she shifted her eyes upwards to see what was happening, she was just in time to see Vince disappear into the hut with the man. It nearly killed her to wait outside, but she knew what a patriarchal society this was and as much as she didn’t like it, if she walked in to that hut right now, she would ruin their chances of getting any information. But hey, that didn’t mean she couldn’t take a quick look around the village, did it?

Bowing down to the retreating men, Magda backed away. Once they were out of sight, she turned and made her way back to the market. Not really sure what she was looking for, she scanned the stalls on her right. The village stallholders looked up from their cross-legged positions on the ground at the chance of a potential sale, only to dismiss her outright when they saw her.

She tried not to be insulted. It was probably the outfit. If she’d been in her western gear, they most likely would have been falling all over her to buy, since these natives seemed to believe that all white people were rich. As if! A visit to the outer suburbs of Sydney where she’d grown up would set them straight.

Not finding anything remarkable, she moved to the other side. A stall offering various pieces of handmade jewelry caught her eye. An assortment of brightly colored stones attached to thin strips of cord lay strewn across the small blanket, but it was a carved statue that captured her attention. If she didn’t know better, she would think it was the image of Alexander the Great.

Being careful to avoid any of the men in the crowd, she made her way quickly over to the stall. A young couple distracted the male stallholder, so Magda inclined her head to catch the eye of the woman seated behind him and pointed to the statue. The woman nodded and she tentatively picked it up. There was nothing remarkable about it. It felt cold in her hand as she held it and turned it over, looking for some clue to the whereabouts of the relic.

On the base, there was an unusual symbol. It featured concentric circles with a pentagram in the center and a large eye in the uppermost point.

She gestured to the woman and pointed to the symbol, but the woman shook her head vigorously, pulling away and lowering her head.

What the—?

Maybe she was onto something here. She leaned forward and touched the woman’s sleeve. The woman shrank back in her place, her eyes radiating sheer terror. The man at her side turned to them, and seeing the statue in Magda’s hand, he grabbed it, shouting at the woman in Malay and slapping her face making her fall backwards.

Magda was horrified and leaned forward to assist the woman.

A firm hand took hold of her arm, preventing her from moving, and turned her around.

She met the blazing eyes of Vincent as he looked about to explode.

“I was just having a look—”

“Shut up!” he hissed as he pulled her clear of the crowd and behind one of the many huts lining the edge of the village. “I thought I told you to stay out of trouble!”

Magda rubbed her arm where his hand had held her. “I wasn’t doing anything. I didn’t even speak. I was just looking at a statue.”

Vincent took in a breath and let it out. “When I told you to act the submissive female, did you not get what I meant?”

“Again, I repeat—I didn’t say anything and I had my head lowered most of the time.”

“Are you out of your freaking mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“These women do not move around un-chaperoned. You brought attention to us both by defying that rule. How could you be so stupid?”

Mags winced at his harsh words. Of course he was probably right. She should have known better, but he didn’t have to make such a big deal out of it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

Vince turned and started pacing back and forth on the small pathway. “Damn right you didn’t.”

“I said I’m sorry, but I did find out some—”

“Sorry won’t do us any good if our cover is blown.”

Shit. Magda took in a deep breath.

He’s not even listening to what I am saying!

“I know, but we might have a lea—”

On his third or fourth pass in front of her, he continued the rant. “Don’t you realize how easily they can find us? If word gets out a couple of anglos have been hanging around this village, we’ll be history in a very short space of time.”

All right then, if that was the way he was going to be he could just stew in his own juices. Magda turned on her heel and started walking out of the village and back toward the track that would take them back to his hut.

Seconds later, a hand took hold of her arm, and before she could protest, she was swiftly drawn toward a hard body and held firmly in place. Warm breath tickled her skin and she shivered as Vincent whispered in her ear.

“Okay, I went a little overboard, but we have to be so careful, Mags, and your running away from me isn’t going to help things.”

Shifting a little in her place, Magda tried unsuccessfully to get out of Vince’s strong grip. Although he wasn’t hurting her, she definitely wasn’t going anywhere.

“Yelling at me isn’t going to help things either, you idiot!”

His hand hiked up and over the hijab to cover her mouth. “Keep it down, Mags. At least until we get out of earshot.”

“Fine,” she grunted from under his hand, aware only of his hard body continuing to press against hers, playing havoc with her senses. Her breathing stopped while she waited for him to make his move. The sound of his ragged breaths whispering heat into her ears sent a thrill through her body and her nipples tightened almost painfully against the roughness of the shift she wore. The seconds ticked by and he still hadn’t moved. What was his problem? He had to move soon before she did something really stupid, like sigh with pleasure. Nope, she definitely didn’t want to do that.

Clearing her throat to reminding him where his hands were, she gritted through the material. “Are you stuck?”

“Huh? Oh, right—” He slowly removed his hold on her body and stepped back. “You will behave yourself, won’t you?”

Magda narrowed her eyes and glared at him the best she could to let him know in no uncertain terms how she felt. “Oh ye of little faith. I don’t believe in the past I have ever broken my word with you, and I am not about to start now. Lead on, oh great Master!”

Vincent threw her a look that could have been either exasperation or humor, or possibly both. “You’ll keep,” he said as he led the way out of the village once more.