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

Ian looked from the house back to Lucas again. “I’m not sure anyone’s home.”


“Probably not. They have a tendency to travel this time of year.”


If he owned a house like this, he’d never leave. But that still didn’t mean he was comfortable taking advantage of their amenities if they weren’t present.


Lucas trotted along a side path that wound around a group of flourishing bushes to a tall wooden fence, forcing Ian to follow as quickly as he could, though his ankle still twinged with every step.


“You’re not going to break in, are you?”


Lucas reached over the top of the fence and undid a latch. A door swung open, revealing a greenhouse on a covered terrace that opened up onto the lavish back garden.


“It’s not breaking in when I have a key.”


Chapter 26