Uncharted (Treasure Hunter Security Book 2) (3 page)

“Well, it
is
my line of work…”

“Right.”

“People usually find it interesting.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“But I can see it isn’t really working on you.”

“You security guys are observant.” She looked at her watch. “Well, look at the time. Unfortunately, I have someplace I need to be.”

His face turned serious. “Look, I was impressed with the way you jumped in to help that woman. And the way you brought that guy down.” He smiled again. “I’m used to being the one doing the rescuing.”

She made an
uh-huh
sound.

“And I have a meeting I need to get to as well, but how about we meet up later? I can buy you a drink…prove to you that all men aren’t out to steal your backpack.”

The guy was lethal. That smile, that face, the body.

Dani had seen her brother Joshua pull out the same smile, the same charm. God, her father was even more practiced at it.

She was immune to it.

“No, thanks.” She lifted her camera and then opened her backpack. She pulled out a different lens from the specially-designed slots in the bag, and then swung the bag back onto her shoulder.

The man frowned. “No?”

Had he never heard the word before? “That’s right.”

“Why?” His sexy, cajoling drawl was gone.

“Because I don’t spend time with men like you.”

He tilted his head. “Men like me…?”

“Yes. Ones who are interested in a drink or two, then a quick romp between the sheets. You’ll be all charm and sexiness until you spot the next pretty, shiny young thing that comes your way.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as everyone’s up-front with each other.”

“Right. And I’m being up-front.” Dani clipped the new lens on the Canon. “You could catch up with the woman we helped. You’d probably have better luck with her.”

“Clearly.”

The confused, annoyed look on his face caught her attention. It made her want to smile. Instead, she lifted her camera and snapped his photo.

He reached out and grabbed her camera. “It’s polite to ask first.”

She pulled her camera back toward her. He tugged it back toward him.

Dani tugged again. “I don’t really bother with being polite.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

She pulled a face. “It usually means I miss my shot. If people know I’m taking their photo, they get stiff and awkward.”

“I’d prefer if you ask me, first. And believe me, I was already feeling stiff and awkward before you took the picture.”

She yanked the camera back.

He shook his head. “Someone did a number on you, didn’t they?”

Dani’s stomach turned over.

The man gave her another long look. “Life’s too short to spend it all twisted up.”

Before she could think of a good comeback, the man turned and strode away.

She huffed out a breath.
Right
. Well, she was due back at the hotel to meet the rest of the team.

Time to leave the temples—and the people inside them—behind, and set to work capturing the discovery of a new one.

She didn’t stop to take any pictures as she headed out of the temple complex. Out the front, she jumped into one of the waiting cabs and held on for dear life as her driver tried to break the land-speed record on the way back to the hotel.

When they stopped, Dani shoved a wad of Cambodian riel at her cab driver—who grinned at her wildly—and stepped out of the battered vehicle.

The Heritage Hotel was really beautiful. Nestled amongst tropical walled gardens, the building was a neoclassical design of cream stone with lots of arches. Inside, the rooms were simple, but elegant, with dark wood accents and Cambodian art on the walls. She felt that familiar urge deep inside and lifted her camera.

She snapped a few shots of the hotel façade. While it may not have been the most luxurious hotel in the city, it had a charm and beauty about it. Plus, it was pretty darn comfortable. She’d stayed in a lot of interesting places while she was working—yurts in Mongolia, Bedouin camps in North Africa, even an ice hotel in Finland. The Heritage Hotel was getting no complaints from her.

As she took her shots, she noted a rugged four-wheel-drive parked in front of the hotel. A motorcycle was strapped to a rack at the back of it. Now,
that
was a vehicle made for adventure.

She hurried inside. The meeting with the archeologists was in ten minutes, and she didn’t want to be late. Inside, the air was cooler, and she took a second to enjoy it against her skin.

“Did you follow me?”

The deep voice had her glancing up…into familiar blue eyes.

“No.” She frowned. “Did you follow me?”

Tall-rugged-and-knew-it crossed his arms over his chest. “Sorry, sweetheart, I’m staying here. Actually, I’m meeting the team I’m working with in a few minutes.”

Security specialist. Her stomach turned over.
Great
. “Not the Angkor Archeological Project.”

His gaze sharpened, dropping to her camera then back to her face. “You’re Daniela Navarro.”

She frowned. “How do you know my name?”

“I know you’re the photographer for the AAP. And I’m the new security specialist.”

“Oh.” That was all Dani could manage.

“I’m Callum Ward. Treasure Hunter Security.” He held out a hand. “This is the part where we act politely and you pretend you can work with a ‘man like me.’”

“You were just itching to say that, weren’t you?”

“Yep.”

Dani settled her camera around her neck and held back a wince. Steeling herself, she thrust her hand into his. His palm was large and callused. After a quick shake, he just kept holding her hand.

“Well, Mr. Ward. Welcome to the adventure.”

His thumb brushed over her wrist, and the move sent a tingle up her arm.
Strange
. She tried to pull her hand back.

He refused to let it go. “Call me Cal.”

She gave her hand a hard tug. “And I’m Dani.”

“But Daniela is so much prettier.”

“And so much longer. Are you going to let go of my hand?”

He smiled at her. “When I’m ready. I can’t place your accent, Dani.”

“I was raised mostly in the US. But my father is Portuguese.”

“
Fala portuguese
?”

“
Sim
.” Curiosity winged through her. “Your accent is very good.”

Cal smiled. And damn if it didn’t make that already attractive face more compelling. “I speak five languages, thanks to my previous employment.”

She let her gaze drift down his body. “I’m guessing military, or an agent of some description.”

His brows winged up. “How the hell would you know that?”

“I take pictures of people for a living. I’m good at reading things about them from what they look like, how they move.”

He inclined his head. “Navy SEAL.”

Special Forces. He might be a handsome man with a good deal of charm, but it also sounded like he was no superficial player. You didn’t make the SEAL teams without a hell of a lot of skill and grit.

“But now, I do private security.” A faint smile on his lips. “Although I know that doesn’t impress you much.”

She blinked, connecting the dots. “Ward. I had the pleasure of meeting your mother once.”

Cal’s smile widened. “Oh. I bet that was an experience.”

It had been. Persephone Ward was a tiny woman with a huge personality. Dani eyed Cal, unable to believe the small, energetic treasure hunter with the big reputation had given birth to this hard, dangerous, sexy man. “It was on an expedition in Brazil. She was amazing.”

Cal’s face softened. “Mom has that effect on people.”

“Mr. Ward?”

The crisp British accent made Dani smile. “Here comes Dr. Oakley.”

They both turned and saw the archeologist hurrying into the hotel lobby.

He offered Cal a polite smile and held out his hand. “I see you’ve met Dani.”

Dani watched the men shake hands. They couldn’t have been more different. The older, reserved man of study, and the younger, edgier man of action. She wanted to take a picture of them, but ignored the itch.

“Welcome to Cambodia,” Dr. Oakley said. “Actually, Dani only arrived yesterday as well, and it’s a pleasure to have you joining our team. With help from both of you, we’re going to do something wonderful.”

Dani managed a smile. Now she was going to be trapped in a jungle with sexy Callum Ward. Lord help her.

Oblivious to her struggle, Dr. Oakley waved them across the lobby. “The others are meeting us in the bar. Shall we go?”

Cal turned to Dani. “Looks like I get to buy you a drink, after all.”

***

Cal sat down on one of the comfy chairs in the hotel bar, a bottle of cold beer nestled in his hand.

Dr. Oakley settled in the chair beside him. “The others should be here soon.”

Cal nodded and took a sip of his drink. As he did, he tracked Dani Navarro wandering around the room, camera in hand.

She was one prickly, annoying woman. Shame it was in such an attractive package. She was on the tall side for a woman, slim, small breasts and long legs. He’d always had a thing for long legs. He let his gaze trace down them. Even in simple cargo pants, it was far too easy to imagine them wrapped around his hips.

God, and that face and hair. Her face was damn near perfect, with lots of interesting angles. At Angkor, he’d noticed she had eyes that were different colors—one green and one brown. And it was hard to miss the hair. Long, black curls that she kept pulled back in a tail. It made him wonder what they would look like loose, particularly with his hands tangled in them.

Plus, she smelled good. She looked all businesslike in her sensible clothes made for trekking around a temple, and holding her camera. But the woman smelled like sin. Her perfume was something spicy that made him think of harems and hot nights.

The snarky words she’d thrown at him at the temple rang in his ears.

She wasn’t wrong. He liked to have fun with a woman. But he never lied, and tried not to hurt anyone. She didn’t have to act like he was a damned serial killer.

“Here they are.”

Dr. Oakley’s voice dragged Cal’s attention off Dani. Four others were settling into the chairs around them.

“Cal, I’d like to introduce Drs. Blake, Laurent, and Seng.” Oakley nodded at each. “And the final member of our team, Sam Nath.”

Cal studied the newcomers, recognizing them all from their pictures.

“Hello. I’m Gemma.” Dr. Gemma Blake gave him a wide smile and leaned in close to him. Her Australian accent added to the attractive package she made. “You’re a welcome addition to our little gang.”

He smiled at her. “Cal Ward.”

It took him about one second to note the annoyed look on Sam’s face. It seemed their tech guru had the hots for Dr. Blake.

“Jean-Luc Laurent.”

Cal shook hands with the French archeologist, and then with the Cambodian.

“Sakada.” The local archeologist’s English was near-perfect. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Happy to be working with you all.” Cal leaned forward. “So, Dr. Oakley, why don’t you tell me about this expedition?”

The man nodded. “Well, you know about the scans…”

Cal sipped his beer. “Right, the lost city that wasn’t really lost.”

Oakley laughed. “Right. The media sensationalized it a bit. But what the original scanning project allowed us to do was reveal the true extent of Angkor and Mahendraparvata on Mount Kulen.” The archeologist pulled out a tablet and set it on the small table in front of them. He swiped the display and scanning maps filled the screen.

“Mahendraparvata is where the first Khmer king was crowned,” Gemma said. “It’s really a fascinating and important part of Cambodian history. And the city has just been lying buried in the jungle all this time.”

Cal listened as the archeologists peppered him with information about the site. He leaned back in his chair, and while he absorbed the information, he watched Dani wandering near the windows. She moved with the liquid kind of grace that he admired.

But there was something…lonely about her. Like she wasn’t connected to all the people and places she was studying. She was an observer, separate from the action.

Gemma bumped her arm against him. “Would you like to hear about the coronation?”

Focus on the job, Ward
. “Sure.”

It was Dr. Oakley who answered. “It begins with the Hindu practice of devaraja—the cult of the god king. A ceremony was used to crown a king as a deity, a god king. Jayavarman II was the first to introduce the practice to this area. Prior to that, the country was all small warlord states, but he joined them all together.”

“A Brahman was brought in to conduct the devaraja ceremony,” Gemma said. “He used a sacred stone called a linga as part of the ceremony. It contains the essence of the Hindu god Shiva and conveys that power to the king, so he becomes the god king or the king of kings.”

“Linga?” Cal tapped a finger against his beer bottle. “I’ve done some work in India before, and I’ve seen linga there.”

Gemma smiled and leaned closer. “That’s right. A linga is a phallic-shaped stone that represents the energy and potential of Shiva.”

Cal got the impression that Dr. Blake was quite fond of linga.

“This linga used by Jayavarman was said to be a magical stone,” Sakada said.

Dr. Oakley leaned forward, his face eager. “We’ve been able to excavate some parts of Mahendraparvata, at least, what’s easily accessible. We uncovered mention of another temple located deeper in the jungles of Phnom Kulen. The Temple of the Sacred Linga.”

“I seem to recall linga shrines were fairly common,” Cal said.

“This one is unique,” Dr. Oakley said. “A temple dedicated to the linga used to crown Jayavarman.”

“There are several mentions of this temple in different sources,” Jean-Luc added. “Based on this, we got funding to carry out more lidar scans on an area of the mountain that we hadn’t looked at before.” He looked beside him. “Sam?”

The younger man grabbed the tablet and turned it around. He tapped the screen and then swiveled it so Cal could see the images. “These are the new scans. It’s an uncharted area of Phnom Kulen. It’s the thickest jungle on the mountain, and even the locals don’t go there.”