Hell. Cal’s gut went hard. She was right. That meant his brother was unlikely to back off and Anders was a dangerous psychopath.
“I’m going in,” Cal said. “Where’s Coop?”
“Ronin’s on a job in Canada.”
“Damn.” Cal rubbed his forehead, running through logistics in his head. He had to get to Egypt…fast. “I know who to call. Get me flights to Cairo. When we land, I’ll call.” He pulled his sister in for a hard hug. “Keep trying to contact Dec.”
She nodded. “Cal, I have a bad feeling. I’m scared for Dec.”
“He’s tougher than titanium.” Cal cupped her cheek. “I’ll find him.”
She released a slow breath and managed a nod.
Cal strode out to his bike, tugging his helmet on. It was only then that he let his worry show.
Layne woke up warm and snug.
She blinked, focusing on the hard arm wrapped around her waist. She shifted and realized she was clutched tightly in Declan’s arms, her back nestled to his hard chest, her butt snuggled to his hard—
He was stroking her arm slowly, seemingly relaxed.
Then it all crashed in on her. The sandstorm. The raid.
She shot upright, bumping the top of the tent and dislodging a rain of dust. She started coughing and felt her goggles resting around her neck.
She felt Declan move.
“Either we survived, or the afterlife is dusty as hell.” She turned toward him. “It’s morning, and it feels like the sun is getting pretty warm. I can’t believe we fell asleep!”
“I wasn’t asleep.”
She eyed him. The dark stubble on his cheeks just made him look sexier and more dangerous. But he was alert. She realized he’d been watching over her during the sandstorm, protecting her as always.
She didn’t let herself think, she just leaned down and kissed him.
His arms clamped around her and yanked her down on his chest. Layne cupped his rough cheeks and poured everything into the kiss. He groaned, then bit her bottom lip, making her moan. His hands slid down her sides.
“When we’re safe, I’m planning to strip your clothes off and fuck you,” he growled. “Every way I know how.”
She pulled back, staring into his glittering gray eyes. She licked her lips, savoring the taste of him. “Oh? What happened to your ‘I’m too dark and brooding for you’ speech?”
He sank a hand into her hair and tugged her head back. “You are such a pain in my ass.”
“Good. You need it. So you’ve decided I’m not too sweet and innocent for you?”
His thumb traced her lips, the air charging even more. She nipped at the hard pad of his thumb and something molten flared in his eyes.
“I never said you were sweet.”
She nipped again. “Good. Because, Declan Ward, I can be very not-sweet when I want to be.”
He groaned again. “I’m going to make you pay for giving me a damn painful hard-on. Especially when we need to get moving and there is nothing I can do about it.”
Reluctantly, she pulled away and sat on the layer of sand that had infiltrated their tent. She patted his chest. “Poor thing.”
He sat up. “Careful, payback is a bitch.”
Layne grinned cheekily at him. Considering thieves had raided her dig and she’d just survived a sandstorm, she was feeling pretty good.
They packed up their meager belongings and climbed out of the tent.
The morning sun was rising in the sky and the temperature was getting warm. She turned around, taking in the view, her stomach dropping.
“What the hell?” she murmured.
Beside her, Declan cursed.
Everything looked…completely different.
They were still in the desert, but the rolling dunes of golden sand were gone. Ahead was a white salt flat. There were some strange rock formations in the distance. Everything was shades of bleached brown.
There was no sign of the dig.
“Nothing looks familiar.” Layne swallowed.
“Shit. Powerful sandstorms can move vast quantities of sand around.” He scanned the area around them. “I don’t see Logan and the others.”
He cupped his hands and called out.
No response.
“Rush, can you pack up the tent? I’ll take a look for the others. They can’t be far away.”
By the time Layne wrestled the tent into a neat pile, Declan came back, his face the grimmest she’d ever seen it.
“No sign of them. And my satellite phone is completely dead.”
“How can they not be here?”
“I don’t know. But they’re trained soldiers, they can take care of themselves. I can’t worry about them right now. We need to work out our plan.” He studied the rugged watch on his wrist and she peered at it. He tilted it in her direction. “It has a built-in GPS tracker. I think our best bet is to still head northeast. Toward Dakhla.”