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

On second thought, she and Lucas seemed to have a great deal in common. He’d certainly appeared in Ian’s life with a bang, not a whimper.


Though Ian’s assessment was too harsh. Lucas had done everything to try and fix what he had broken. That was hardly the same as his friend’s.


The friend who had bailed them out in record time.


Ian sighed and sank into the water, bending his knees so he could rest his head on the rim and close his eyes. He didn’t know if he was coming or going these days. His thoughts were a muddled mess, his body not far behind, and the order he so desperately needed in his life vanished without a trace.


A crush. For both of their sakes, he sincerely hoped not. They hardly needed that added complication.


He jerked at the quiet knock on the door. Water splashed over the edge as he sat up and immediately dropped his hands back to his lap. “Yes?”


Chapter 15