At least it would be harder for anyone to slip past them with two people watching. He turned to tell Jess what areas to keep an eye on and found her staring into space with a frown puckering her forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m just frustrated by my dad’s story. The rabbit and the wolf—I get that part, that’s us. And the vase—we figured that out, too. But the beaver lodge in the middle of the river…it doesn’t make sense. What are we doing out here in the desert?”
His stomach tightened. “That’s what Kyle said. Do you think we’re on the wrong track?”
“We can’t be. I’m sure there’s an undiscovered tomb out here, and our courier will lead us to it. I just don’t know if the hostages will be there.”
He nodded, accepting it. It was too late to change their plans. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” He pulled her close and wondered if Wally had been wrong about relationships, too, because having Jess beside him calmed some unsettled part deep inside him, yet didn’t distract him from his job. “You watch the north branch of the wadi, and I’ll watch the one that runs off to the west.”
They settled into their roles. It was fifteen minutes later when she spoke without taking her eyes off the valley. “How do you think they found out who my father was?”
The question stabbed like a knife, simply because answering it would mean he could no longer deny the possibility that one of his team members had sold Wally out for money. But she had a right to know. His jaw felt tight as he forced the words out. “Evan and I suspect an informer inside Omega. A mole.”
She whipped a startled glance at him. “Who?”
“I can’t be certain.”
Her eyes were on the wadi again, but her body was rigid beside his. “But you have a good idea. Who is it?”
He let his breath out slowly. “Mitch. Maybe.”
She was quiet for several seconds, then spoke so quietly he had to strain to hear her. “Tyler, that night you told Mitch he couldn’t go out, I’m pretty sure he went anyway.”
His scalp prickled exactly as it did when suspenseful music thrummed in a horror movie. “How do you know?”
“I got up to take something for my headache about three a.m., and I saw him walk through the living room, fully clothed. He could have fallen asleep watching TV, so I didn’t say anything. But…”
“Yeah.” Coincidences were suspicious.
“If it is him, can he screw this up? Can he keep us from finding the tomb?”
“No, Jess. I won’t let him. I’m watching him, and he doesn’t know it. If he tries anything, I’ll be ready.” Big talk. But he’d never meant anything more.
They stared into the wadi, each consumed with their own thoughts. “I like Mitch,” she said finally, her voice small and plaintive. Not wanting to believe the betrayal.
“I know.” He did, too. Or, rather, he had. If Mitch was responsible for Wally’s death, he couldn’t find a low enough category for him and didn’t value his life any more than the scorpions that scuttled through this godforsaken wilderness of sand and dead pharaohs.
He would know the truth soon enough. If Mitch had gone bad, he would either side with his Egyptian friends and turn on his Omega teammates, or he would try to take out the bad guys so they couldn’t rat him out. Donovan would be watching for either move.
For now, all they could do was wait.
The last of the sunlight winked out behind the rugged hills. Stars gradually filled the sky, with a quarter moon high in the west. A cool breeze kicked up, and they huddled together, watching and listening.
…
Jess stared into the darkness, her senses on high alert. She put all thought of Mitch aside. It was too disconcerting to think about now, and she believed Tyler when he said he’d handle it. She had other concerns. This had been her father’s final mission, the most important one of his life. She would see it through for him.
Wind whispered past her, stirring sand and brushing tiny granules against rock. Her ears strained toward the sound and whatever other sounds it might hide. She would have thought this part of Donovan’s job would be lonely, especially in this barren wilderness. But her adrenaline surged and she knew his did, too. They watched from their vantage point, waiting to pounce.
Down there somewhere in the rock-strewn canyons of the wadi, modern-day tomb robbers were holding two students hostage and plundering a treasure that belonged to the ages. A treasure that should be in the custody of the people of Egypt, to be studied by scholars and admired by all of humanity.
And robbers who should be in prison. She would see that they got there. Her body nearly sang with excitement from being on the edge of capturing them and turning over a tomb full of riches to the Egyptian government.