“I will of course give you time to think it over.”
“That’s very kind, Rich, but I don’t need any time. You can stick your job up your arse and fuck off round the corner while you’re doing it.”
Eden looked shocked, but before he had a chance to reply, Hawke put his drink down, stormed inside and picked up his kit bag.
Lea saw the look on his face and knew what had happened.
“Please, Joe — don’t be like this.”
“I can understand her not saying anything,” he jabbed his thumb at Scarlet who was currently fighting Lexi for the last shot of vodka, “but you?”
“I just couldn’t say anything, Joe!”
“So you put me on fucking probation like an office gopher?”
“That’s not fair!”
“What’s going on?” Ryan said, confused. Hawke looked at him and saw he was now squashed under Maria and had her lipstick all over his face.
Lea saw the glance. “And before you say anything don’t you dare say anything to Ryan — he never knew anything about it, either, and another thing — wait… where are you going?”
Hawke flicked her hand from his arm and walked over to Alex Reeve.
“Just calm down there, cowboy,” she said, pushing her wheel chair back a foot or two from the red-faced Englishman. “Whatever you’re pissed at don’t make it me because I don’t know what the hell is going on here.”
“I know you don’t,” he said calmly. He fished around in his bag and pulled a tiny vial of sparkling water from it.
“What the hell?” she said.
“Here,” he said. “This is the only remaining water from the source. I didn’t use it all on Lea. I want you to try and use it to repair your legs. It brought Lea back to life, so maybe it can help you to walk again. Obviously, just a drop of the stuff because we saw what too much did to Vetrov. It’s all that’s left of the elixir, Alex, so make it count.”
“I’ll give it a go, Joe. Thanks.” She held his hands firmly as Eden walked back into the room.
“Please, Hawke — why don’t you reconsider joining the Echo Team on Elysium? We could really use a man like you. No one can say you haven’t proved yourself a thousand times to all of us, and the island really has to be seen to be believed. We have all kinds of natural and manmade training facilities and everything you could wish for.”
Hawke saw they were all staring at him, waiting for his response. He knew what they wanted him to say, but he felt betrayed. He felt like a fool who’d been taken for a ride and dumped in the middle of nowhere. Part of him wanted to forgive them and say yes, but another part, the angry part, wanted never to see them again. Especially Lea — her betrayal had been the worst. He had told her his most private thoughts about his wife and her murder, but she had kept this to herself. Maybe he was being unfair, maybe it was just the shock of almost losing Lea not once but twice on the same mission — he didn’t know and at the moment he just didn’t care, not anymore.
“No,” he said firmly. “I don’t think so, not now. I need time to think. Time to myself.”
He slung the canvas sack over his shoulder and walked back out to the patio, leaping the balcony railing with a simple side vault and landing on the soft irrigated grass outside the suite. The air was still hot, and a little sweat trickled down into his eyes. He glanced up at the first stars of the new night for a few moments and then stepped out toward the desert, leaving the others behind him and walking toward nothing but the sunset.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Tomb of Eternity is the final part of the arc concerning the hunt for immortality which started with The Vault of Poseidon and followed on with Thunder God. These books were a lot of fun to write and I hope you enjoyed reading them just as much. I have left a few points unresolved, so who knows what Hawke might have to face in the future…
I’d like to take this moment to thank everyone who has read the series so far, and also to say to those who have enjoyed the stories that more Rob Jones books are planned for 2016, including, among others, a brand new rip-roaringly fast and furious standalone adventure for the increasingly beleaguered Joe Hawke. I will post new information relating to Hawke and the ECHO series on my website www.robjonesnovels.com and also on my Twitter and Facebook pages.
So, Mystery Reader, my sincere thanks to you once again, and as I’m writing this note in early January, here’s wishing you a Happy New Year for 2016!
Rob.
Other Books by Rob Jones
The Vault of Poseidon (Joe Hawke #1)
Thunder God (Joe Hawke #2)
The Tomb of Eternity (Joe Hawke #3)
The Curse of Medusa (Joe Hawke #4)
Valhalla Gold (Joe Hawke #5)
The Aztec Prophecy (Joe Hawke #6)
The Secret of Atlantis (Joe Hawke #7)
The Lost City (Joe Hawke #8)
You can find updates, information and all other news about my novels, including new book releases on my Facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/RobJonesNovels/