“And then I saw it as a way to get the best of both worlds,” Xander went on. “I could still do the undercover work while being an archaeologist. It would be a nice chunk of extra cash, which, let’s be honest, you don’t get from digging.”
Leila swallowed hard. Why did being together mean having to take such risks? Why did he have to lie? Why did she? Things could never go back to normal.
She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, then crossed her arms over her chest as if she were cold. He could have, should have, still told her. Just like she should have told him about the Medjay. Oath of secrecy or not, he’d deserved to know. Just like she deserved to know he was running around Cairo as a secret agent.
“Now what?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“Go to Sri Lanka and hide, I reckon.”
“What? And never come back?”
“Who knows. We just need to stay far away and let the authorities do their work. You had nothing to do with the bombing. They’ll figure that out.”
For one blissful moment, she considered the idea. With her eyes closed, she could easily imagine it. Crystal-clear water. Hibiscus flower in her hair. White sandy beaches.
But she couldn’t do it.
Her life was here. Wasn’t it worth fighting for? Her eyes snapped open, and she glanced up at Xander. “Even if I’m cleared, that doesn’t solve the problem with Faris. He’s kidnapped Mom and Sami. He’s not going to leave me alone.”
Xander scowled. “What, do you think you can find this scroll for him? Soliman’s vanished. And I hate to say it, but I reckon he’s dead.”
Leila sucked in her breath. “Why do you think that?”
“I reckon Faris got him out of the way so he can frame the professor and send you on this little quest. This would all be over pretty quickly if we could just ask Soliman about it.”
Leila swallowed. She didn’t want to think about Soliman being dead, but Xander was probably right. Faris had done everything he could to make the professor look guilty, and he did such a good job of it, even the SIS was convinced.
“Faris threatened to kill us both and set off another bomb.” She let out a shaky breath. “Can we really just… walk away from this? I need to get my family away from him.” She turned and gazed down the highway toward Cairo. The haze danced on the horizon, obscuring the distant asphalt from view. There was no going back. They’d be thrown straight into the interrogation room and the agents wouldn’t be nearly as gentle as they were the first time—if she could call that gentle. Looking over her shoulder, her gaze followed the highway east, ending with another watery mirage. But she knew the road went straight on before turning south, toward Sharm El-Sheikh. Maybe there was a way to find help. It wouldn’t be the most reliable source, but Leila didn’t know where else to start.
She turned back to Xander. “I need to find Drake.”
“And Drake is what… your trainer?”
“Yes.” She should have mentioned Drake’s name earlier. “She was with me yesterday when Faris had her dragged out of the villa. I texted her before I got arrested and she wrote back, so as far as I know, she’s gotten away.”
Xander furrowed his brow. “And where would we find this Drake?”
Leila licked her lips. Drake had randomly mentioned scuba diving during their conversation on the bridge yesterday. That had to mean something. Scuba diving, scuba lessons, turquoise. It still didn’t make any sense, but it was the only clue she had. “I think she’s in Sharm El-Sheikh.”
“You think?”
“She talked about going there. Look, she’s the only other Medjay I have a chance of finding. She probably knows more than I do.”
Xander raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Not in a sinister way,” Leila added quickly. “I mean, she’s a hacker and she just always seems to know everything that’s going on. Maybe she knows something about the scrolls. Maybe she knows what’s happened to Soliman. Maybe she can help.”
Xander ran a hand through his hair and turned in a slow circle. “I don’t know… Why should we go through the trouble with the scrolls, though? Why does Faris even want it?”
Leila swallowed. Another part of the story she hadn’t told him yet. “You know that mountain you found me on?”
“Volcano, you mean.”
“Uh… no. It wasn’t a volcano.”
“The thing erupted. Plain old mountains don’t do that.”
Leila sighed. “There was a bomb inside.”
Xander furrowed his brow.
“The bomb was developed in the fifteenth century by an alchemist, Lysias of Alexandria, who was experimenting with Greek fire. Things got a little… out of control. Lysias hid his experiments and writings, and they have been protected by the Medjay for six hundred years.”
“So, you think this scroll might have the formula for this Greek fire bomb?”
Leila nodded while Xander’s eyes showed a mix of disbelief, horror, and confusion.
“Blast.” He rubbed the back of his neck and scowled. “Sharm El-Sheikh. Right. Let’s just head in that direction. It’ll get some miles between us and Cairo.”
He picked up the backpack and started to shrug it over his shoulder, but Leila placed a hand on his arm. “Wait.”
Their eyes met, their gazes locked, and she forgot what she wanted to say. She saw the same fury she felt burning in her veins reflected in his. How her fingers itched to wrap around his neck and throttle him for the lies and deceit.
But she also wanted to kiss him. There was something so alluring, so audacious about it all.
“What about… what about the wedding?” she finally dared to ask.
Xander leaned in toward her, until their faces were inches apart, and paused as if he was going to say something. There was a hint of a whisper on his breath. She lost herself in his deep gaze and her heart jumped in her throat. She wanted to believe they would get through this; that together, they’d dig their way back out.
