Drawing Deep (9 page)

Chris shook his head. “No, Ria. There’s too many inconsistencies, too many variables for this to be a real find.”

She felt that anger rise up again, almost turned it on her boss. Harnessing years of experience, she channeled that anger into something much more effective. “Which begs the question, why would anyone go to this kind of effort unless they were hiding something?” She used Chris’s insatiable lust for treasure against him, her voice a calm lure, belying the dark storm that brewed inside. “On the surface we see what they want us to see. Nothing but a mishmash of stone, brick and etchings from several civilizations, creating a mildly interesting ruin, but one without much impact. But what if that’s what the builders wanted? What if this,” she raised her hands, palms up to encompass her surroundings, “was a facade? A nice painting that lay over the real treasure?”

She pulled that particular theory out of thin air, not believing for a second that it was plausible. But it worked.

A muscle over his eye twitched, a sure sign he was thinking of the possibilities
and
the ramifications should her idea prove true. After a long silence, Chris let out an aggrieved sigh. “Fine. You can stay here until Wednesday, but the rest of us will be leaving Monday morning for Alaska and meet up with Teri and Donald.”

Even as Ria let out a relieved breath, Lance cleared his throat. “Uh, unless you plan on providing me with some winter wear, I’ll need to head home first.” Lance, as did Ria, lived alone, while Chris employed a housekeeper and Robby lived with his girlfriend.

Eyes narrowing, Chris pinned Robby with a look.

Robby raised his hands as if under arrest. “I can call Missy, have her pack a bag for me and take it to Teri.”

Another moment of silence. “Fine. Lance can stay here and Robby will come with me.” Reaching into his pocket, he tossed a set of keys to Ria. “I’ll take the quad back. I have to make some phone calls and the reception is too spotty out here.” A slow curling of his lips that didn’t bode well. “However, the airport contacted me. Our luggage has arrived. You’ll need to go pick it up so we might as well call it a day.”

She bit off a curse. “But there’s still plenty of light to work.”

“Ah, but without the proper tools,” he said, turning her words back on her, “there’s not much more you can do.”

Since Ria didn’t have anything in her hands to throw, she flipped her boss the bird when he walked away.

“He’s certainly got his panties in a twist,” Lance said under the cover of a motor starting up, his expression full of irritation. “I’ll go with you.”

“Actually,” Ria said, her eyes bouncing from Robby to Lance, “it would be more helpful if you two remained here and checked out the debris piles.”

Robby nodded. “I can do that.”

Lance picked up another shovel to add to the broom still in his hand. “You sure?”

“Positive.” Ria slipped on her backpack, watched the others do the same. “You’ll be more helpful out there than riding shotgun. Time has now become our enemy.”

The trip back to the main house was a bit sullen, though they did take numerous potshots at their boss, which was always an enjoyable pastime. After parking the SUV in the front, Lance and Robby headed off to the maintenance room to drop off the borrowed tools Chris had left behind. Ria headed inside the house to change into clean clothes, gather her purse and take a bathroom break.

As she made her way back down the stairs, she detoured to the dining room to swipe a few snacks and a drink for the trip to the airport. At the threshold she paused, seeing the girl from yesterday morning stocking the baskets with individually wrapped cookies the size of Ria’s hand.

What was her name?

The girl straightened and glanced over her shoulder, spying Ria in the doorway. “Oh, hi.” She smiled. “Don’t mind me. Where you looking for something to eat?”

Why can’t I remember her name?

Something as simple as remembering someone’s name had never poleaxed Ria before. She hid her frustration by looking at the available snacks. “Something to take on the road, actually.”

The blonde looked surprised. “Oh? You’re leaving us already?”

“Oh, no.” Shaking her head, Ria stepped inside the room. “Just making a trip to the airport to pick up some lost luggage.”

The girl’s eyes flashed briefly over Ria’s shoulder. “By yourself?”

Sarah! That was it!
“Is that a problem?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that.” Sarah shook her head for emphasis. “It’s just a long drive. Kinda boring. That’s all.”

“True, but it’ll also give me plenty of time to work things out.” Ria pointed to the fridge Sarah was standing in front of. “Would you mind if I snagged a bottle of water and a Dr. Pepper if you have it?”

“Oh, sure.” As Sarah swung around to get Ria’s drinks, Ria dug through the basket of treats, trying to decide what she wanted. Everything looked so good she wanted them all.

“How are thing going at the dig?”

Ria picked up a bag of corn chips. Salty sounded good. “Confusing.”

“Oh?”

Or did she want a muffin? Hmm. No. Maybe one of those huge cookies. Sweet sounded good too. “The etchings are messing me up.”

“Etchings?”

“Hmm.” Chocolate chip, peanut butter or cranberry oatmeal?
Decisions, decisions.

“They’re strange. But I’m working on a theory. I think they...”

“Ria.” Chris’s sharp call had her looking over her shoulder, and then taking a second look. He appeared stunned. Distracted. Not a usual look for him.

Did something happen to his precious spider?

“I’m getting ready to go, Chris. Relax.”

“Where’s Robby and Lance?”

“At the debris site behind Santos’s place.” Picking up a cranberry oatmeal, she stuffed the treats in her purse, thanking Sarah for the drinks. “Figured that was the best use of their time at the moment.”

He grunted. “Forgot about that.”

When he remained where he was, Ria figured he was waiting for her to get a move on. “It’s probably a dead end, but it needs to be looked at. Shouldn’t take more than a couple hours, especially since the Felixes separated the materials in different piles.”

A slow blink. “That’s unexpected, and considerate.”

Yeah, it was. Which caused even more of her preconceived beliefs of shifters to come tumbling down. “It really is. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

Chris didn’t attempt to touch her as she walked past or say anything beyond, “Drive safe.”

Maybe he was finally getting the idea she wanted nothing to do with him on a romantic level. Wouldn’t that be fabulous? Of course she’d still have to deal with his attitude, which wasn’t exactly serene.

As she climbed into the SUV and headed for the airport, she realized that none of that mattered. She couldn’t possibly return to her life as she knew it, not with her daddy dearest gunning for her.

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel as she tried to figure out her options.

There weren’t many. She might have her passport on her, but without a job, her money would dwindle within months. Then add in the time and energy to find a blood supplier in a foreign country?

She clearly remembered those early days when she’d run from home, how sick she felt without enough blood, living on the streets until Dax had found her.

Dax. Maybe she could finagle a way to stay at the Orchards past Chris’s deadline. As he wouldn’t be there, he wouldn’t really know if she found something worthwhile or not. She’d have to get Lance to lie for her, but even as she drove on, a wicked smile curled her lips. He just might do it, especially as it would give him more time with his sister.

Getting to the airport was pretty straightforward, until she drove right past the large sign depicting an airplane and a right-hand arrow. Grumbling to herself, Ria made a u-turn. She decided to park the SUV at the far end of the lot and away from any other vehicles, with the idea of privacy while she checked her blood supply.

Following the signs to baggage claim, she entered a room that contained enough lost luggage it looked like a retail store. Already knowing the drill, she walked down makeshift aisles, giving a sigh of relief when she spotted her container. Two bags down was Chris’s. Strapping her purse across her torso, she picked up her boss’s bag and then slid up the handle on hers, rolling it along the floor to the front of the room where a young man behind the counter assisted a harried older gentleman.

After what felt like forever, it was her turn. She made small talk while the kid simultaneously checked her claim tickets against the bags and ogled her breasts. She might have thought him talented, except her eyes fell onto the pulse on his throat and she could almost feel her brain freezing up.

The rapid beating looked...
inviting.

Oh, God. She was worse off then she thought. No wonder she’d been so cranky, couldn’t remember Sarah’s name and had driven right past the turn-off for the airport. She needed to refuel.

“You need any help taking these out?” His grin was charmingly sweet, but Ria needed to get gone before she did something she would regret.

“No, I’m good thank you.” Beating a hasty retreat, she headed for the restroom right next to baggage claim. Finding it empty, she went into the largest stall, wasting no time in unlocking her case and pulling out the various smaller containers to reach the false bottom. That thin piece she set on top of the toilet.

She blinked. “Why’s the light off?” Dread filling her chest, she flicked the small switch hidden by the false bottom, and watched with a mix of relief and horror as the light turned on. She twisted the odd circle at one end until it popped up, giving her a hand hold to lift the top on silent hinges and reveal several bags of blood. Blood that had been sitting, unrefrigerated, for God knew how long.

Picking up one of the bags, it only took a small slash of the scissors that were stashed with the rest of her tools to realize the blood was bad.

She slid down the wall, coming to a hard landing on her butt.

She’d forgotten to turn the cooler on.

Her head thumped against the tile wall as her eyes filled with tears of frustration at her predicament. She couldn’t mesmerize anyone. She had to take from a willing or sleeping donor.

Shit, shit, shit. How could she have forgotten something so vital?

She had no idea how long she sat on the cold floor when her stomach cramped up. She was entering the danger zone, and as retched as it made her feel, she had no choice but to pay Lance a visit tonight.

Ignoring the guilt she felt at that thought, she stood and began to carefully cut open each bag, dumping the contents down the toilet. After wrapping the plastic in toilet paper, she disposed of them in the flip out trash normally used for feminine hygiene products.

It worked for her.

Once she’d repacked her case, she straightened her shoulders and made her way back out to the SUV. Five minutes later she slammed the rear door after stowing the luggage in the cargo area and walked to the driver’s door.

Maybe if she hadn’t been so blood hungry she would have been more aware of her surroundings. Instead, it wasn’t until someone wrapped a strong, male arm around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides, that she realized something was wrong. The cold bite of steel at her throat was the second clue.

“Scream and I’ll cut your throat.”

As the tip of the blade was already piercing her flesh, she believed him. She knew she should be terrified, and a part of her held some fear. But she’d lived through worse, and frankly, she was stronger than the asshole who held her. Unless he was a vampire or shifter. Then she was in trouble.

Not resisting, she allowed herself to be led to a white van parked next to her. One that hadn’t been there when she’d arrived.

At least she was almost sure it hadn’t been there.

Evidently the attack had been planned, as a male arm reached in front of her and slid the side door back. It hadn’t been shut all the way.

“You’re being very agreeable. I like it.”

Ria gritted her teeth. “You have a knife to my throat. Not like I have a choice here.” And didn’t that just piss her off. Not only was some male taking away her choice and manhandling her, he was causing her to lose precious blood. She could feel the warm slide of it down her throat.

A chuckle that only made her angrier. “Get in.”

Carefully, so the knife would cause no more damage, she entered the van, the man quite literally glued to her backside. The arm around her waist disappeared for a split second so he could slam the door shut. Far long enough for her to turn around and smash his nose into his brain, if the jolt hadn’t caused the blade to push in her tender flesh a little more.

Now she wasn’t just losing red, she was seeing red.

“Scared?” The man taunted, obviously feeling powerful with the ease he took her.

“Terrified.”

“Yeah? You don’t sound it.” His lips brushed her ears and it was all she could do to hide a shudder of revulsion. But with his breath so close to her nose, she took a giant sniff. Human. “But I’ll change that. No one told me I couldn’t have a little fun first.”

Her brows knit. “What?”

Spinning her around, he kicked her legs from under her, falling with and on top of her, never losing his grip on the knife. Plain brown eyes that blazed with lust stared into her own. “Someone wants to talk to you, but first I’m gonna fuck you until you beg for mercy.”

A blinding rage gripped her with its talons, narrowing her vision into pinpoints. Her fangs slide from her gums, sharp and deadly. Her eyes must have started to turn black as well, because the man tilted his head in confusion, not realizing just what he’d taken by force. “I haven’t begged since I was five.” With that guttural remark, she lifted her head from the van’s floor, heedless of the way the knife dug further into her neck, and struck, sinking her fangs deep into the man’s carotid artery, paralyzing him even as his blood began to flow eagerly into her parched system.

She might not be able to mesmerize her prey, but her fangs were as thin as needles and delivered a paralytic effect to both the body and brain. When she pierced right where a certain nerve was located, it also caused her victim to pass out after several seconds. Which was how she could keep a sleeping donor asleep. They’d wake a little achy, might remember something, but pass it off as a weird dream.

But this man didn’t deserve any consideration from Ria. He’d kidnapped her, threatened her, cut her and frankly just pissed her off. And because he drew first blood, she made him bleed.

A lot.