"Aboriginal treasure?" he said. "Oh, Annie, someone's taken you for a galah again."
In the years Reece had known Annie, he'd learned she could be quite gullible when it came to practical jokes.
As he continued reading, however, his tune changed. "Baiame?" he said to himself. "I wonder if that's referring to the cave drawings."
He scratched his head for a moment then unconsciously took another sip of beer. He couldn't make much sense of the riddle at the bottom of the journal entry. Reece had a few Aboriginal friends, but they weren't around at the moment. They'd be of no use. And besides, if this thing Annie sent was legitimate, sharing it with one of the tribesmen might not be a great idea. They might not take kindly to someone like him poking around their heritage.
Reece racked his brain to come up with an answer to the riddle, but nothing clicked. He looked at his beer and realized part of the problem could very well be the alcohol slowing his brain. "Nah." He shrugged it off and took another swallow.
The television was still on in the background, and a commercial for a vacation to the United States appeared. The man was saying something about visiting the incredible countryside the States had to offer.
"That's it," Reece said. "The Americans. They'll know what to do with this. I bet ole Tommy will eat this up."
He pulled up a new email and started pecking away at the keys. Five minutes later, he had an email addressed to Tommy Schultz and sent it on its way. Reece was sure to include the bizarre attachment he'd received from Annie and asked his American friend what he could make of it.
Jokingly, he'd ended the email with a "Come on down and check it out if you've got time." Reece felt certain there was no way Tommy would just drop whatever he was doing and make the ridiculously long flight to Australia. The man was busy. Reece understood that, which is why he thought it was a funny joke.
His computer made a swooshing sound that signaled the email had been sent successfully. Reece shook his head as he stared at the other four new emails. "Not right now," he thought. "I'm enjoying my afternoon."
The wind chimes banged together again on the porch, drawing his eyes out the window.
Reece lived on the outskirts of the city. Some people called it the country, but he was barely beyond Adelaide's suburbs. Not far to the north of his property, oil had been discovered. The area was turning into a regular boomtown but luckily hadn't stretched as far south as Reece's property. Where he was situated, things were still quiet, which was why seeing the black Range Rover approaching down the long driveway was such a strange sight.
Reece set the laptop back on the couch where it was sitting before. He took another sip of beer and placed the bottle on the end table, keeping his eyes on the approaching vehicle.
"Who do we have here?"
He stepped closer to the window with his hands on his hips. "Looks like my luck is starting to turn around."
The black SUV was one of the higher-end models. He recognized that right away. With expensive cars came customers who had money to spend, money he needed.
He moved close to the window and stared out as the vehicle rolled along the gravel, kicking up a cloud of dust as it neared. Whoever they were sure seemed in a hurry. Probably Americans from the northeast of the country. Those types were always anxious to get things moving.
Reece crossed his arms and watched as the SUV rounded a short turn and headed toward the house. He was about to wave to the occupants when the vehicle ground to a sudden halt. At first his frown was one of puzzlement. It soon turned to one of panic as the back window opened and a gun barrel poked out.
The muzzle blazed, pouring an onslaught of hot metal through the windows, door, and walls. When the magazine ran out, the shooter immediately reloaded and fired again, repeating the process two more times until the home was a tattered shell of its former self. The driver stepped on the gas. The tires spun and kicked up gravel. As quickly as the SUV had appeared, it was gone.
Reece lay motionless on the floor.
Chapter 3
Sean Wyatt was done, and he knew it.
He'd faced his fair share of adversity and been able to escape every single time. More than once, the margins of his getaway had been narrow at best.
There'd be no escaping this time. His government training and years as a special operative in the elite Axis agency couldn't save him.
He stared into the dark brown eyes of his opponent with his icy grays. The enemy's orbs gave away no secrets and allowed him no mercy.
"I don't suppose we could just forget this happened and walk away?" he asked.
Sean knew he sounded desperate. At this point he didn't care.
"No," the opponent said.
How could someone make one word sound both sinister and sexy at the same time?
He looked down, hoping there might be some solution he'd missed, a move he could make. There was nothing.
He sighed. "Well, I guess this is it. I had a good run."
"No you didn't. It took less than thirty minutes."
"It's a figure of speech."
Sean lifted his right hand and placed his fingers atop the king on his side of the chessboard. "Anywhere I go, you've got me. You win."
The stone cold face across from him broke into a grin. "You really aren't very good at this game," Adriana said.
"Why do you think I never want to play?" He mirrored her smile and then grabbed his coffee cup. "Want a refill?"
"Always."
Adriana leaned back in her chair and glanced out the huge window of Sean's kitchen. The rebuilding of his home in Buckhead, which had been leveled by a fire, had just been completed a month earlier. Sean had barely escaped the attempt on his life. His home hadn't been so lucky.
Fortunately, he had other places to stay during the reconstruction.
He walked over to the coffee machine and poured two fresh cups. As the rich brown liquid filled each one, he savored the aroma for a moment before returning to the table.
He set Adriana's cup down in front of her and took his seat, still holding the cup. Her gaze fell on him, and the two simultaneously enjoyed a quiet sip in mid-stare.
"It's good to have you back," he said, breaking the silence. "I missed you."
The words must have been the right ones because they produced another smile. "I know you did," she said.
He guffawed at her reply and shook his head.
She laughed and eased his suffering. "I missed you, too."
"Thank you. And I know."
Her eyebrows went up a notch. "Oh do you?"
Sean shrugged. "Sure. What's not to miss? I'm cute, funny, dashing."
"You're not that dashing."
"Maybe not dashing. Charming?"
She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing again. "Yes. Charming, definitely. I wonder, are you so charming when I'm not around?" Adriana stared at him with a playful glimmer in her eyes.
"When you're not around, I'm usually running for my life. At least that's the way it seems."
"That's not entirely true. Your last two assignments with Tommy didn't involve anything out of the ordinary."
He nodded, thinking about the past month. "You're right about that."
Her expression changed to one of pity. "Aww. You almost sound sad about it."
"No," he dismissed the notion. "It was nice to not be chased. Don't get me wrong, there's something thrilling about the chase."
"Is that why you chased me?"
His lips creased. "As I recall, there was no chasing involved."
"You mean after I saved your life in the hotel in Vegas?"
"Right. You just kind of showed up."