She looked at her rescuers, if that was, indeed, what they were. One was a stocky blond man of above-average height. The other was a huge Native American with a ponytail. Both held handguns at their sides and stared in the direction where the Toyota had gone.
“Unbelievable,” the blond man said as he kicked the rear passenger-side tire. He clipped us just right and knocked it off the rim.”
“That was one of the guys, wasn’t it?” his friend asked. “Ahmed.”
“Looked like him. The nose.” The blond man holstered his pistol and turned, his eyes falling on Dima. “Are you all right?”
Adrenaline coursing through her, all her fight or flight responses firing at once, Dima managed only three clipped words. “Who are you?”
“I’m Maddock. This is Bones.” Maddock paused, as if she was supposed to recognize the names. “Look, I know you’ve got to be freaked out about what just happened, but I promise you’re safe now. We’ve already had one run-in with that guy.”
Dima bit her lip. If these two were planning on hurting her, there was nothing she could do. For the first time since moving to Atlanta she wished she’d allowed herself to get caught up in the Southern gun culture.
“I just want to leave.” She hated the quaver in her voice.
“We won’t stop you,” the big guy, Bones, said. “But if he’s lying in wait somewhere down the road, you might find yourself in another hard place. You want to call the cops?”
That eased her concerns a bit, though she was still on her guard. “You said you’ve met him before. Have you had dealings with Trident?”
The way their jaws dropped, almost in unison, would have elicited a giggle from her in almost any other circumstance.
“You know about the Trident?” Maddock asked.
“I don’t know about the Trident, but I know about a company called Trident that deals in antiquities. I’ve got a card from a guy named Tyson.” She returned to her CRV, fished around in her purse until she found the card, and brought it back to show them.
Maddock glanced at it and passed it over to Bones. “Tyson and the guy who tried to kidnap you work together. They attacked Bones’ grandfather trying to get information.”
“Are you serious? What kind of information?”
“The same information you’re looking for — the Noah Stone.”
She saw sincerity in Maddock’s eyes and knew he was telling the truth. She wasn’t completely comfortable with these two just yet, but she was beginning to think maybe she could trust them.
“Everything calming down out here?” said a gruff voice from the direction of the house.
She turned to see a wizened old man standing on the front porch, aiming a rifle in their direction. This must be Archer.
“We’re fine,” she said. “Someone tried to kidnap me and these men chased him off.”
“I saw the end of it,” the man said. “I watched long enough to make sure these two didn’t try anything. I would’ve shot you both if you had.”
“I don’t blame you,” Bones said. “Are you Archer?”
“How about we continue this conversation after you fellows have handed your guns to the young lady?”
“No problem,” Bones said. Slowly, he and Maddock reversed their pistols and handed them to Dima.
“Are the safeties on?” She hoped the answer was “yes.” She didn’t actually know where the safety was on either of these weapons, though she could probably figure it out.
“Mine’s a Glock,” Bones said, as if that answered the question.
“No external safety on that one,” Archer called, apparently seeing her bemusement. “Lock them in your car for now.”
She complied, and the three of them slowly approached the house.
Archer let his rifle dip, but didn’t lower it completely.
“I appreciate the trigger discipline,” Maddock said.
“I’m a veteran,” Archer said simply.
Dima had no idea what they were talking about, and it pissed her off. She made a quick mental note to fill in this gaping hole in her knowledge base, and then interrupted the budding boys’ club. “Mister Archer, we’re here about the Noah Stone. We didn’t come together, but that’s what all three of us are researching. Ben Street from New Echota said you might be willing to talk to us about it.”
“Ordinarily I would be, but this is hardly an ordinary circumstance. You need to convince me real quick why I should talk to you.”
“How about we show you?” Bones slowly opened his leather jacket, reached inside, and withdrew an oddly-shaped black object. “We found the stone.”
Chapter 17
Archer invited them inside and offered them coffee. The last thing Maddock wanted on this humid afternoon was a hot drink, but he and the others accepted out of courtesy. After the way they’d started off, manners were essential. If Archer had anything of interest to tell them, they didn’t want to give offense. While the old man busied himself in the kitchen, Maddock, Bones, and Dima made small talk. She was clearly frightened, but seemed to be warming to them. The revelation that he and Bones possessed the Noah Stone, had gone a long way toward convincing her they were legit. By the time Archer served the coffee, she seemed eager to hear their story.
Archer pulled up a rickety kitchen chair and faced his three guests who sat arrayed on a sagging, overstuffed sofa. He took a sip of his coffee, grimaced, and sat it down on the coffee table that stood between them. “Mixed it too strong. That’s the problem with instant. Hard to get it right.” A fat, gray cat hopped onto his lap, turned, and cast suspicious eyes on Maddock.
“All right, you two. “How about you explain yourselves?”
Bones quickly recounted the events of the past few days, emphasizing the attack on his grandfather and their desire to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the Noah Stone, not for their own gain, but to hopefully foil whatever plan the Trident might have and to protect his family.
Archer listened intently, nodding his head at appropriate times. Dima stared at Bones, her expression unreadable. When Bones finished telling the story, Archer gazed at the ceiling for several moments before speaking.
“How do you know the stone is real?”
Maddock looked at Bones and waved his hand in a “go ahead” gesture. They had agreed to keep the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the stone a secret, but otherwise to be open about things. Besides, even if Archer repeated the tale, who would believe him?
“Because it works.” Bones took out the Noah Stone, pressed the sharp edge to his palm, and dragged it across his flesh.
Dima let out a little gasp, but Archer’s expression remained stolid as Bones let a few drops of blood trickled onto the stone. He then looked at the cat and said, “Jump.”
The cat immediately sprang off of the old man’s lap and onto the coffee table.
“Sit.”
The cat sat down and stared expectantly at Bones.
“Roll over.”
Maddock snatched up his coffee cup just in time to keep the enraptured feline from upending it.
“I don’t believe it.” Awe and wonder filled Dima’s soft voice. Then her eyes narrowed and she looked at Archer. “Your cat doesn’t know any tricks, does she?”
Archer chuckled. “She’s never followed an order in her life until just now.”
“Would it work on wild animals?” she said to Bones.
“It already has. I’ve done it.” Bones handed the stone to Maddock. “Your turn. I don’t feel like cutting myself any deeper. Besides, this is the hand I use to brush a lady’s hair back before kiss her.” He flashed a smile at Dima.
“I just narrowly avoided being kidnaped and you choose now to hit on me?” She folded her arms and gave him a stare like a disapproving schoolteacher.