anything. Give it up, Emily.'
'Your approval rating has just gone down five points. Be quiet and just look.' She didn't blame Joel for being reluctant to waste time here. This job had gone wrong from the time they had arrived in Afghanistan. They were supposed to have been sent to Iraq again but had been diverted to Kabul. Then there was the snafu with the military escort, and when they arrived here, the museum had been deserted and the supposedly priceless artifacts as disappointing in value as Joel claimed. Well, all she could do was do the job and hope the next one went better. She turned on her own flashlight. 'I want to get out of here, too. But I need to leave knowing that I didn't miss anything.'
'Yes, boss,' Joel said. 'It's only fair to tell you that I'm rethinking the hard-bitten shrew.'
'I'll live with it.' She started going over the walls, first visually, then with the tips of her fingers. 'I'll just watch a DVD of Casablanca when I get back to town, and maybe I'll remember that some men are willing to sacrifice what they want now and then.'
'That hurt. When you were down with flu, didn't I do your paperwork on that job in Chevnov? I'd say that was a gigantic sacrifice.'
'You only did it because you wanted to use it to blackmail me for the rest of my career.' It was a lie. Joel had been as caring as a mother with her child when she had been ill. He had found her a decent doctor and finished the job in Chevnov himself. No one could be a better friend than Joel had proved to be. She'd be devastated both personally and professionally if she lost him. 'Check those walls.'
twenty years old and had probably been used in the garden in the back. The few wooden storage boxes piled across the way had already been searched and deemed not worth transporting. 'You check that wall. I'll do this one. If you see any cracks, any thickness that might conceal a compartment, give a shout.'
'I know the procedure.' Joel moved toward the wall and turned on his flashlight. 'But we're not going to find anything. Give it up, Emily.'
'Your approval rating has just gone down five points. Be quiet and just look.' She didn't blame Joel for being reluctant to waste time here. This job had gone wrong from the time they had arrived in Afghanistan. They were supposed to have been sent to Iraq again but had been diverted to Kabul. Then there was the snafu with the military escort, and when they arrived here, the museum had been deserted and the supposedly priceless artifacts as disappointing in value as Joel claimed. Well, all she could do was do the job and hope the next one went better. She turned on her own flashlight. 'I want to get out of here, too. But I need to leave knowing that I didn't miss anything.'
'Yes, boss,' Joel said. 'It's only fair to tell you that I'm rethinking the hard-bitten shrew.'
'I'll live with it.' She started going over the walls, first visually, then with the tips of her fingers. 'I'll just watch a DVD of Casablanca when I get back to town, and maybe I'll remember that some men are willing to sacrifice what they want now and then.'
'That hurt. When you were down with flu, didn't I do your paperwork on that job in Chevnov? I'd say that was a gigantic sacrifice.'
'You only did it because you wanted to use it to blackmail me for the rest of my career.' It was a lie. Joel had been as caring as a mother with her child when she had been ill. He had found her a decent doctor and finished the job in Chevnov himself. No one could be a better friend than Joel had proved to be. She'd be devastated both personally and professionally if she lost him. 'Check those walls.'
'Okay. Okay.' He shined his beam on the walls. 'But I bet Humphrey Bogart wouldn't have wasted his time. There's no drama in this. Boring.'
'But Ingrid Bergman would have done it in a heartbeat. She knew about duty.'
Joel sighed and repeated, 'Boring.'
'I'M DONE,' JOEL SAID. 'NARY a cache in sight. Do you need any help?'
'No. I'll only be a few more minutes.' She moved a few feet, her gaze narrowing on the wall. 'You'd just get in my way.'
'If you take any longer, I'll build a bonfire of those trunks.' He blew on his hands. 'We've only been down here ten minutes, and it's like an icebox.'
'A few more minutes,' she repeated absently, her fingertips probing the rough stone wall. Joel leaned back against the wall, watching her. She probably didn't even feel the cold, he thought. Once Emily focused on a project, nothing existed but the work at hand. That was the reason she was admired and respected by military and diplomats alike in this part of the world. She was brilliant and dedicated and had credentials out of the stratosphere. She was only thirty, but she had been working for the U.N. since before she had gotten her degree. At first, she worked under Oxford Professor Cordwain, but she had taken over after he opted out eighteen months later.
More power to her. He wouldn't have her job on a bet. He didn't mind being on the team, but he liked his personal life, and Emily had none. Every time she started to have a tentative relationship, she was sent to another part of the world.
Why hadn't he tried to get her into bed? They worked together with a closeness that should have lent itself to a more sexual intimacy.
God knows, she was attractive. Maybe not in the usual sense. She was tall and thin, but with a grace and strength that were kind of sexy. Her brown eyes were wide set and slanted, giving her a faintly exotic appeal. She wore little makeup, but her skin was baby soft and clear, and her short blond-brown hair was always clean and shiny. So why hadn't he hit on her?
Because he'd sensed the fragility beneath the strength. In spite of what she faced every day, she was a dreamer, and dreamers could be hurt. She wanted to believe in a better world that had all the beauty of the past, and ignored the fact that the past had been as violent as the present.
No, she didn't ignore it. But she refused to dwell on it. Maybe that was why he liked her so damn much. She wanted the world to be good and was doing something about it. She was right, he only wanted the adventure, the excitement, and the friendship that Emily gave him.
And occasionally, when he was on leave, a roll in the hay with Maggie Nevowitz, who was cute and bawdy and not at all fragile.
'Nothing.' Emily took a step back. 'I didn't really expect it.'
'Then will you tell me why I'm freezing my balls off down here?'
Her smile lit her face. 'Because it could have been.' She started for the stairs. 'The most magical words in the language.'
He followed her. 'No, the most magical words are heat, food, and sex.' He turned up his collar as they went outside. 'Brrr.' His gaze went to the mountains. 'It's coming fast. Look at those clouds.'
'Then let's get going.' She jumped into the passenger seat of the truck. 'At the speed you drive, we should be out of the province before the storm catches up to us. And the military escort will meet us long before then. It should be okay.'
'Yeah.' He didn't move, his eyes on the roiling gray-black clouds. He was feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. His chest was tight, and he was experiencing a weird panicky sensation. It was as if those threatening clouds were alive and stalking him.
Stupid.
'Sure.' He tore his gaze away from the approaching storm. 'It'll be okay.'
'THEY'RE COMING.' BORG FELL down beside Staunton on the side of the hill overlooking the road. 'Just a few minutes away.' He lifted his rifle. 'Shall I blow out the tires to make them stop?'
'No, they'll stop.' Staunton lifted his binoculars. 'They have a reason. We don't want to damage the artifacts in the back if they skid off the road.' He focused his glasses on the front seat of the approaching truck. 'Yes, there she is in the passenger seat. Emily Hudson. She's smiling and talking to the man next to her. What's his name? Levy. No sexual relationship, but they're friends of long standing. And her attitude toward him leads me to believe our reports are accurate.'
'They're going to see it soon,' Borg said. 'We should be ready.'
'I'm ready.' Staunton said. 'I'm always ready.' He put the binoculars down. 'Stop worrying, Borg.'
'We can't delay that escort any longer. They're going to be right on top of us within thirty minutes.'
'Thirty minutes can be a long time. I've prepared everything. It will all go well.'
'Sure.' Borg clenched his hand on the stock of the rifle. Staunton had ice water running through his veins. The bastard was always cool and certain of everything. 'Do you think she has it in that truck?'
