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

“You mentioned a right direction.” Thoughts of Lucas had to wait. With the immediate threat gone, he needed to know what came next. “What’s that?”


“East. We have to pick up the rest of the Polaroids.”


He’d had another question already poised to ask, but the answer he got moved it down the list. “The rest? What do you mean, the rest? That’s not all of them?”


“And put all my eggs in one basket? How stupid do you think I am?”


Better not to answer that question. “How many baskets do you have?”


“Seven. Well, six now. Susanna’s basket is empty.” A dazzling smile. “Don’t tell her I said that.”


He was more interested in knowing where they were picking up the rest of them than Susanna’s good will. “Where’s the first one?”


“Outside of Phoenix.” Lucas adjusted his seat, leaning back and stretching his legs. “If we only stop for gas and bathroom breaks, we should hit the area sometime early tomorrow morning.”


Chapter 25