“Pretty much,” he said.
Only when he saw the disappointment in her eyes did he realize where he’d gone wrong. Jada had been hoping he had also come along because of her-because he didn’t want to say goodbye to her just yet. The look in her eyes lasted for only a second before she hid her reaction from him, but he had seen it, and she knew he had seen it.
“Uncle Vic said you like the mystery, too,” she said.
“What do you mean, ‘the mystery’?”
“History. Digging up bits of the past that have been hidden for ages.”
Drake smiled. “Yeah. That, too. Archaeologists think they’ve got it all figured out. They write books and papers explaining the ancient world as if there’s nothing more to learn. It’s arrogant and foolish, and every time we find something that proves them wrong-proves there are things about the past they don’t understand or never imagined-that makes me happy.”
Jada curled up a bit tighter in her chair. “It is kind of exciting. I’ve been hearing this sort of thing from my father all my life. And it was his-well, his last mystery, really. I want to know what it was he discovered, and I like that you want to know almost as much as I do.”
This time Drake said nothing. The urge to touch her cheek, to push back her hair, was almost too much to resist, but he did. It wasn’t meant to be. He wasn’t here for that, and his life was way too complicated and unsettled to get involved with Jada Hzujak.
But damn, she was beautiful.
“Plus, there’s the treasure,” he said.
She narrowed her gaze, looking both amused and irritated all at once. He often had that effect on women.
“Yeah. The treasure. Whatever it is.”
6
Drake stepped off the cargo plane onto the tarmac of Cairo International Airport, stiff and parched from the long flight. He had slept at least seven hours, more than half the journey, but he still felt tired. Though he had been there multiple times, Egypt had not lost its magic for him. Its cities were modern, full of car exhaust, loud music, and stressed-out people just like everywhere else, but you could feel the ancientness in the air. There were places just miles outside of any city-Cairo included-where it felt as if he’d stepped back in time.
He dropped his duffel on the tarmac and stretched, glad to be off the plane and able to breathe fresh air. The reasons for the journey were grim, but it felt good to be in motion and trying to do something to solve the puzzle of Luka’s death. He figured it would be nice if they could accomplish that before someone started shooting at them again.
“I need something to drink,” Jada said, hefting her duffel as she followed him off the plane.
Sully had been the first one off. He had walked around, doing a visual reconnaissance of the little corner of the airport where the cargo plane had taxied to a stop.
Now Sully turned at the sound of Jada’s voice and arched an eyebrow.
“I like a drink as much as the next guy, but don’t you think it’s a little early? It may be past noon here, but it’s barely sunrise back in New York.”
“Water, Uncle Vic,” Jada said, smirking. “Just a bottle of water. I’m dried out from the flight.”
Drake grinned at Sully’s chagrined expression.
“Yeah,” Sully said, pulling a cigar from his jacket and pinching it between his teeth. “I could use some water, too. Flying always makes the inside of my mouth feel like steel wool.”
When Jada went to thank the pilot for the ride and for delivering them safely to Egypt, Drake sidled over to Sully.
“Maybe you want to dial down the protective parent vibe a little.”
Sully gnawed on his cigar. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you, Romeo?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Drake waved him away with both hands. “Look, Sully, I don’t have any interest in romancing this girl. But I’d like to keep us all alive, and if you keep thinking of her like she’s some kid you have to protect, you’re liable to get us all killed. She seems capable of taking care of herself. Let’s focus, okay?”
Sully’s expression turned to stone. “I’m reading you loud and clear. I’m not her father. You think I don’t know that? But Luka is dead, and I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Jada.”
“The best way for you to make sure that doesn’t happen is to stay alive yourself,” Drake countered, lowering his voice as Jada strode back toward them. “Just try to stop worrying about her long enough to not get shot, okay?”
A thin, humorless smile touched Sully’s face. Whatever retort he might have come up with-and Drake had no doubt he had been formulating one-he let it pass and turned to face Jada.
“You done playing Little Miss Sunshine with the flight crew?” Sully muttered.
Jada smiled. “Don’t be such a cantankerous old man. I know you didn’t sleep well, but when you’re trying to travel without anyone knowing you’ve left the country or thinking you’re a terrorist, you take whatever accommodations are available. Maybe if you speak up, they’ll give you a nice soft pillow next time.”
Sully seemed about to bark at her, but then he just muttered something under his breath and marched off toward a small hut outside the cargo terminal. Beads of sweat already had popped out on his skin, and Drake watched him wipe a hand across his forehead.
“He hates Egypt this time of year,” Drake said, hefting his duffel.
“Yeah?” Jada said as they fell into step side by side, leaving the plane behind. “What time of year is better?”
“He doesn’t mind the second week of January. Usually the Wednesday, around three in the afternoon, you can actually breathe for a minute,” Drake said.
Jada laughed. “Actually, I don’t mind the heat. Better this than winter back home.”
“Don’t let Sully hear you say that,” Drake replied.
“What about you?” she asked. “What’s your take on Egypt?”
“Sultry and mysterious. I need a little of that in my life.”
She shook her head. “Listen to you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a romantic instead of a sarcastic.”
“I could be a sarcastic romantic.”
Jada arched an eyebrow. “I like that. I think I’m going to steal it.”
“I give it freely and of my own will.”
“Aw, it’s no fun if it’s not stealing.”
They both faltered then. Drake figured they had taken their flirting to its natural conclusion and any more would be strained and awkward, so he let silence fall between them. Jada didn’t object. Their shared quiet was comfortable, as if their brief encounters years ago had built a foundation for a friendship now. Getting shot at had contributed to their budding friendship, too. Drake knew all too well how quickly a bond could form between people who were in danger.
“So, what is it with you and Uncle Vic?” Jada said, switching gears. “You guys have friends everywhere.”
A pair of cargo trucks rumbled past, their engines almost as loud as the planes coming in and out of the airport.
“Not friends,” Drake said. “Connections. We know who to call when we need something: information, equipment, transport-”
“A new identity,” Jada added.
Drake nodded. “And weapons when we need them. But knowing who will take your money to do something that might not be strictly legal isn’t the same as having friends. A connection who’ll sell information about a treasure hunter to me is just as likely to sell info about me to the competition.”
“I thought you were an ‘antiquities acquisition consultant,’ ” Jada said.
“That, too,” Drake replied.
“So you trust your friends not to sell you out?” she asked. “I mean, everybody has a price, right?”
“Almost everyone. As for friends-I choose carefully.”
Jada nodded, but a cloud seemed to pass over her face, and he knew she must be thinking about her father.
“What is it?” Drake asked.
“My dad always gave advice like that,” she said. Switching the weight of her duffel from one hand to the other, she gazed off into some middle distance, as if she could peer into her own memory. “He always had these great quotes about choosing your friends wisely and all that, but I guess he was a pretty crappy judge of character, considering he married Olivia.”