Gideon Monahan is a man dedicated to what he does -- recovering stolen art -- to the exclusion of anything else, including a personal life. There's a reason for that, something that happened in his past that he can't forget.<br><br>Cole Newell is an archaeologist with a problem. He needs to find out who looted a dig he worked the previous summer, after one of the artifacts shows up at his gallery. Cole calls on Gideon to lend his expertise, which, much against his better judgment, Gideon does.<br><br>When one of the looters is murdered, they set out to find answers, with the help of Detective Quint Hawk. In the process, Cole realizes he's attracted to Gideon, even though he's certain the man is straight. After he helps Gideon open up about -- and accept -- his past, can the two men become more than friends? Both Gideon and Cole hope so, once they overcome the myriad problems facing them.

It Takes an Archaeologist

“That’s what we decided. We narrowed the possibilities down to five people, but couldn’t prove which one it was, presuming we were correct in the first place.”


“I don’t suppose you have names and addresses for them,” Quint said, taking out his notebook.


“On my computer. Hold on while I find them,” Cole replied.


While Cole looked for the information, Quint told them, “It appears that Elliot was attacked when he got to his car. The driver’s side door was open; his body was on the ground a few feet away. The glove compartment had been rifled through, the trunk as well, and his keys were missing.”


“Obviously whoever killed him was looking for something,” Gideon said. “Possibly more of the loot from the dig.”


“Now that I know why he got in contact with Cole, I’d say that’s probably the case,” Quint agreed. “We have no way of knowing if he had anything in his car, but the fact the keys are missing makes me think the attacker—or attackers—needed them to get into his home.”


Chapter 4