Gunshots waken Ian Tunbridge, an assistant curator of classical antiquities at the British Museum, on his first day on a dig in California. The only way to save his life is to run for it, but luck is not on his side. At least, not until he meets Lucas Arpini, the brash American photographer who seems to have some sort of clue what’s going on. Together, they’re supposed to be the tools in finding an artifact nobody believes is real -- nobody, that is, except Lucas and the man kidnaps them both.<br><br>Ian doesn’t know what to believe. His colleagues are dead, he’s injured, and he has no choice but to put his faith in a gorgeous stranger. Their escape should lead them straight to the police, but when Lucas shows him pieces of the puzzle they were meant to solve, Ian is too intrigued to walk away. He wants to solve the riddle as badly as Lucas does.<br><br>Unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones ...

Riddle Me Wicked

“The Blood of Sheol will get you the recognition you deserve,” Lucas said. “Yes, I did my research on you. I memorized your records, your resume. Call it stalking if you want, though that wasn’t what it was. But the one thing I learned is that you’ve gone too long bending to other people’s whims. It’s time you started thinking of number one. We find this, and you can write your own ticket. You can tell everybody who tried pushing you into some little box you didn’t want to be in, to fuck off.”


A hint of a smile appeared at the last. “Aren’t you trying to bend me to your whims?”


Chapter 12