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

They were debating what to do about dinner as Lucas pulled into the hotel lot. As close as they were to Oakland Airport, the lot was surprisingly bare, giving a clear eye line to the front door. He only glanced at it. They wouldn’t enter through there anyway. But a familiar shape made him do a double take, and his hand shot out to grab Lucas’s arm.


Lucas’s startled cry was covered by Ian’s, “Stop!”


He didn’t let go until Lucas pulled into the nearest spot.


Ian’s hand trembled as he let Lucas go. “Look.” He jerked his head toward the lobby doors.


Lucas obeyed, and then hissed through his teeth. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered. Together, they watched Sultis and two men Ian recognized from the chase through the woods enter the hotel. “How the hell did he track us down?”


Chapter 23