Undiscovered(34)
They hadn’t gone far when he heard voices raised in excitement. Dec turned. The headlights of one car perfectly illuminated Aaron Stiller’s skinny form. He was pushed hard by the thug holding his arm and the archeologist fell to his knees.
“No,” Layne said, pressing a hand to her mouth.
Then a tall, broad figure appeared.
Everything in Dec’s body went still. Ian Anders.
He had a clean-cut face for such an evil person. He was wearing all black and staring at Stiller with calculation. Then he held out his hands.
Dec heard Layne gasp. Anders was holding the scroll and the set-animal amulet.
“Can Stiller translate the scroll?” Dec asked.
She nodded. “Without a doubt.”
“Shit.” There was nothing they could do. Dec chewed it over and realized he needed help. He pulled out his satellite phone and thumbed in Darcy’s number.
His sister, reliable as always, answered on the first ring. “Declan?”
“Darcy, I don’t have long. Anders has raided the camp. He has the scroll and one of the archeologists. Rush says the guy can decode the scroll.”
“The map to Zerzura,” his sister said grimly.
“Yes. I need you to call in Callum. Tell him to come in with help.”
“I’m on it. What else—”
The scream of static filled his ear and his phone went dead. With a curse, he turned it off. Next, he touched his earpiece. “Logan? You there?’
Nothing.
He yanked his earpiece from his ear. “Dammit to hell.”
“What?”
In the starlight, he could make out Layne’s pale face. “They’re jamming our comms.”
There were more loud voices from the direction of the camp. Dec glanced over his shoulder…and saw flashlights heading in their direction.
“Dammit. Run, Rush.”
They sprinted through the sand. Layne tripped, but Dec grabbed her arm. She righted herself and kept running.
The wind grew stronger and Dec felt the whip of sand against his skin. He scanned ahead. The vague outlines of the dunes were all he could see. There were no good hiding places.
Suddenly, a large shape loomed over them. Dec’s pulse spiked and he brought his gun up.
“Dec.”
Dec lowered his weapon. “Shit, Logan. I almost blew your head off.”
Logan snorted. “Come on.”
Dec grabbed Layne’s arm and soon they reached the bottom of the dune. “Logan, plan?”
“Bury ourselves in the sand.”
“Hey, boss man.”
Dec heard Morgan’s voice but didn’t see her.
“Down here.”
Dec just made out the two bulges in the sand that he guessed were Morgan and Hale. He nodded. “Let’s do it. Rush, lie down.”
She did, pressing her belly to the sand. Dec quickly covered her with sand.
“Stay still and quiet.”
She nodded but he knew she had to be scared. He touched her head, then quickly set to work burying himself right beside her.
The voices got louder.
Under the thin layer of sand, Dec stayed very still. He’d had practice at sitting quietly, waiting, on missions. Patience was a hell of a valuable skill, along with calm under fire.
Someone was shouting in Arabic.
From just meters away.
He kept his breathing calm and waited. He felt something shift right by his hand…then slim fingers slid into his under the sand. Layne. He gently tangled his fingers with hers and held on.
Dec willed these guys to move on. To go somewhere else. If these goons shined their lights down, they might notice Dec’s and the team’s hiding place.
After what felt like an eternity, the voices drifted away.
Soon, all Dec could hear was the whistle of the wind.
Finally, he sat up and shook the sand out of his hair. He heard the others doing the same. He helped Layne up.
“Nice work, Rush.”
“I thought I was going to faint. They were practically on top of us.”
“Come on.” He saw the glow of flashlights not far away. “They’re still looking for us and something tells me they’ll be back.” He hauled her to her feet. “Time to go.”
Together, they all set off, trudging through the sand.
“I managed to get a call into Darcy before they jammed us,” Declan said to the others. “I called in Cal.”
“Good,” Logan said.
“For now, we make our way to Dakhla—”
“Boss?”
He frowned. “Yes, Morgan?”
“I think we have a problem.” Morgan was pointing ahead of them.
Dec looked up and drew in a sharp breath. “Oh, shit.”
“What?” Layne’s voice was shaky.
“Look ahead.”
“I see sand dunes.”
“Above them.”
“I see the black night sky.” There was confusion in her voice.