Dec sat on the small chair and edged forward, his knees bumping slim legs under the table. A harried waiter dropped off a coffee for Dec, and a mint tea for Dr. Rush. The tea was in a tall glass, rimmed with gold. Dec’s coffee was of the local variety—he’d picked up a taste for the strong coffee after spending a lot of time in the Middle East. He lifted the small brass pot and poured the coffee into his cup, the bold scent hitting him.
Dr. Rush sipped her tea. “So, you’re planning to investigate all of my team?”
“I already am. I have my team Stateside running checks. If anyone’s opened an offshore account or received a large sum of money recently, my tech expert will find it.”
The lovely doctor’s eyebrows rose. “He must be good.”
“She is.”
Rush’s fingers tightened on her cup. “What if this was just random—?”
“It wasn’t. You must know that a lot of digs in the area have been hit over the last few months. Especially high-profile ones.”
She nodded. “They did seem to know what they were doing.” She shivered.
He saw the shadows, recognized them. He wanted to reach out and place his hand on hers. Stupid. Dec was good at protecting, crap at providing comfort. “No one is going to hurt you again.”
She swallowed. “No. Because this time, I’ll be better prepared.”
He nodded. “And I’m going to help you with that. Once we get to the dig site, my team and I will do a security assessment and implement any recommendations—”
“Whoa, hang on, Mr. Security Expert. It is still my dig and I have work to do. Any recommendations, you run them past me first.”
Dec stirred his coffee. “Security matters fall under my control, Dr. Rush. Your bosses have already given the okay for me to do whatever I need to do to safeguard you, your team, and the artifacts.”
She huffed out a breath. “I’m not going to stop you from doing that, hell, I want you to do that. But can you guarantee your security team won’t hamper our work, or possibly endanger the integrity of our studies—?”
“Nope. Lives come first. Then the valuables. If I have to trample on your dig while I do that, sorry.”
She stared at him. “You like giving orders, don’t you, Mr. Ward?”
“It’s Declan. We’re going to be spending a whole lot of time together, so use it. Mr. Ward makes me think of my dad.” He sipped his coffee, liking the blush of heated color in her cheeks. “And yes, I’ve been giving orders ever since they gave me my own SEAL team.”
Rush looked upward. “A SEAL. I should have known. I knew you were Special Forces, but of course, you have to be one of the biggest and baddest of them all.”
He studied her. He was used to lots of reactions from women in regards to his former career. Some were intrigued in an “I’m going to drag you to bed” kind of way. Others were often intimidated.
But the lovely Dr. Rush was neither. She just absorbed the information as a fact and didn’t look particularly impressed.
“And don’t worry about your dig, Rush. We specialize in this kind of work…we know not to trample the archeology.”
“Okay, Mr. Ward…Declan. Once we get to the dig, I’ll listen to the security recommendations you have.”
She’d do more than listen. Still, he’d prefer they worked together, not against each other.
He leaned forward. “I also wanted to ask you about the attack. Any details you remember that might help me?”
She went tense and set her glass down.
He saw it—the horror, the helplessness—all over her face. He hated to make her relive it. “I’m sorry—”
“No.” She shook her head, visibly pulling herself together. “I’ll tell you what I can.”
Dec was impressed. She locked down her fear and memories, and was looking at him, face composed. A glint of steel in her eye. “Good, okay. How many thieves?”
A crease appeared between her brows. “Four, maybe five. I didn’t see them all. Especially after I got hit.”
Dec pulled out a small notepad and jotted some notes. “Locals?”
“I think so. They spoke Arabic. Except for the man in charge.” She shivered, her hands clenching together. “My cheek was hurting and I was having trouble focusing. But his voice… I’d remember it anywhere.”
This time Dec couldn’t stop himself. He put his hand on hers and squeezed. “You’re doing well. What about this guy?”
“He had a British accent. And his voice was cold, empty.” She gave a small laugh. “God, it sounds so cliché. The cold British bad guy.” She looked up and when she saw Dec’s face, her smile vanished. “You know who he is.”