She felt all eyes on her, assessing. She got the feeling these people spent all their time assessing, calculating, and planning to attack. “Hi.”
“Rush, this guy here is Logan O’Connor.”
The big man, with his long hair and scruffy beard, raised a hand. He appeared to be relaxed, draped over a chair, but Layne knew it was just for show. Instead, he made her think of a predator, ready to explode in a fighting rage at any moment. If she had to pick one word to describe him, it was wild. He looked like he should be living in an isolated cabin, wrestling bears or wolves, or something else with sharp teeth.
“This is Hale Carter. Man is a genius with anything with an engine or electronics. You need something fixed, he’s your man.”
“Nice to meet you.” Hale’s smile was wide and charismatic. “Sorry to hear you got hurt.”
“Thank you.” A bit of a charmer, this one. He had a handsome face and dark brown eyes, along with broad shoulders and muscled arms. She was sure he was as deadly as the rest of them.
“And this is Morgan Kincaid.”
Layne nodded at the woman and she returned the gesture. She was seated, cleaning a hand gun on the table in front of her. From her moves, it looked like she’d done it many times before. The woman looked like she had tough and badass down to a fine art.
“Well, I welcome all the help you’re bringing to keep my dig safe,” she said.
Declan shifted. “That’s not what you told me. You started bitching about us getting in your way.”
“That was because you were being a pain. Issuing orders and getting all bossy.”
Declan’s gray eyes darkened and Layne heard Morgan snort.
“She’s already got your number, boss man,” Morgan said.
Declan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, everyone strap in. We’re about to take off.”
Layne settled in her seat. Before she could do anything, Declan dropped down beside her and reached over and fastened her belt.
Even though they’d been pressed together already once before, this time, she was able to get the scent of him. Man with a hint of perspiration. Something told her Declan Ward didn’t bother with fancy colognes. Warmth poured off his hard chest.
His fingers brushed her belly and she felt a tingle of heat. She sucked in a breath. His eyes whipped up to hers.
Shit. He felt it, too.
“I can do my own belt up, Ward.”
“Your safety is my number-one concern now, Rush. Just doing my job.” He sat back in his chair.
Layne’s stomach did a funny flip-flop. She’d lost her parents when she’d been in her teens. Since then, she’d only had herself to depend on. No one else had ever worried about her safety.
He’s getting paid for it, Layne. Don’t get mushy. She looked away from him and felt the rumble of the jet’s engines.
A man was not in her plan. Evan had made her swear off men for a few years. She had more to achieve in her career, more adventures to go on, and then she’d think about finding the right man.
Plus, she owed it to her parents to do the best she could in her career.
It was the two people who’d created her who’d stirred and fed her love of history. As an only child, she’d been a little spoiled, but not by things, instead by the unconditional love and attention from her parents. They’d been poor by most standards, but she’d never felt the lack growing up. Her father had spent every Sunday afternoon snuggled up with her watching history documentaries. Her mother had taken her to museums every month.
They’d been the best family, despite having cheap clothes and no fancy things, until the day it had all come crashing down.
She owed them. And Declan Ward, for all his dark, sexy looks, was not the right man for her.
“I hate the desert.”
Dec turned, his boots sinking into the golden sand of the dune, and eyed Logan as his friend joined him. “You’ve sure spent a hell of a lot of time in them, O’Connor.”
Logan crossed his arms. “Well, when I joined the Navy, I didn’t expect fucking sand all the fucking time. It itches, it’s scratchy, and it gets into places where you really don’t want it. Now that I’m not a SEAL anymore, I was hoping for no sand.”
“Quit your bitching,” Dec said. “You’re being paid far better than the Navy ever paid you.”
Logan let out a gusty sigh. “That is true.”
Dec let his gaze drift over the archeological dig. They were deep into the Western Desert, and the sun was bright and hot in the clear blue sky.
Local laborers were hard at work, moving buckets of sand and lowering ropes into the large hole in the ground. Many were dressed in the lightweight jellabiya robes. Here and there, it was easy to spot the archeologists and their student assistants. They were all wearing wide-brimmed hats, and light-colored trousers and shirts.