“I should have brought a gun.”
And here, at the dig, now he had no way of defending himself or his colleagues. He’d never forgive himself if one of them got caught in crossfire. He had no choice but to allow himself to be seen and lure the stalker away. Good thing he knew every nook and cranny in the Saqqara necropolis—and had a shovel.
His hands tightened around the shovel’s handle, holding it horizontal, like he would a rifle. He waited until feet scraped on the gritty walkway on the other side of the wall.
Then, he ran.
Sprays of sand flicked into the air as each foot thumped against the ground, dodging the ancient yellow stones outlining ruined buildings. His breaths escaped in heavy puffs, his pursuer’s footfalls pounding behind him. He focused straight ahead and raced past a wall lined with cobra statues, aiming for the dark entry of temple ruins at the base of the step pyramid.
With one last burst of speed, he ran through the entry. Sandstone columns flashed by on both sides. He was well ahead of his pursuer, so he took a sharp right and climbed a staircase that took him to the east side of the crumbling pyramid.
The sandy terrain stretched out before him, dotted with trenches and ancient tomb walls. Being a bit off the main path, this area was free of tourists and archaeologists. Perfect. He wound his way through the rocky maze for thirty seconds, then checked over his shoulder to make sure his follower was still behind him.
The dark figure jumped into a pit twenty yards away. Xander narrowed his eyes. There was something familiar about him.
Interesting.
He glanced around the ditch he’d ended up in and walked down the narrow trench that connected it to another. They were far enough away from any of the ongoing excavations. This would have to do. Xander tossed the shovel to the side—he wouldn’t be needing it, after all. He pressed himself against the dirt wall and curled and uncurled his hands into fists. If this bloke was going to follow him all the way out here, he might as well have some fun.
A thud came from the other pit, then footsteps.
Xander spread his feet, anchoring himself into position. Fists went up. His heartbeat thrummed in his ears as the dark figure came into view. Xander’s elbow met the man’s jaw with a crack.
The man recovered quickly and aimed a kick at Xander’s stomach. Xander turned and jumped back just as a fist flew toward his face. Xander caught it and held on with an iron grip. Even though he was familiar with the steely eyes glaring back at him, Xander didn’t let go.
“Nice block,” Robinson said. His nostrils were lined with red.
“Thanks.” Xander released his hold. “Not bad defense, yourself.”
The redhead stepped back and folded his arms over his chest. He was the same height as Xander, but rail-thin with a nose too big for his face. Even though Robinson could usually be found behind a computer screen, he could still put up a fight, a theory Xander had just put to the test.
“This better be important,” Xander said as he picked up the shovel. “And I mean, really important.”
Robinson’s eyebrows knitted together in his perpetual look of anger. “There was a bombing in Cairo. We need you at the station.”
Xander’s breath caught in his throat. “What was the target? Are there any casualties?”
“The Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square.”
It felt as if Xander had been punched in the gut. Not the museum. He stiffened, keeping his composure neutral, though his heart fell. Dr. Yousef. James. Khaled. They would have all been there.
“At least six people killed, more feared dead. That’s all the information I have so far.”
Xander swallowed. Six dead. Why? There was no way to make sense of it. With every passing second, his blood grew colder.
“Any idea who could be behind it?”
“No idea as of this moment,” Robinson muttered with a twitch of his lip. “It just happened an hour ago. The fire is still being put out. But we’re already working with the Mukhabarat and Central Security Forces. It’s hard to say right now where this will lead.”
“All right.” Xander nodded once. If the Egyptian intelligence agency, Mukhabarat, was getting the British Secret Intelligence Service involved, then there must be more to the story. “Give me an hour to wrap things up here. I’m sure once word gets out, everyone will be heading home, anyway. I’ll be there soon.”
“You should turn on your phone sometimes,” Robinson muttered as he walked away. “Jones was having a fit not being able to get a hold of you.”
“I’m working,” Xander reminded him.
“Right. Bully for you.”
He watched the man jog off. At least Robinson had been discreet instead of dragging Xander away in front of the others. But then, discretion was what they were good at. He stole a glance at his watch. Eleven-hundred-thirty. Leila would still be at the lab—
Wait.
She wasn’t working today.
His heart stopped. She was with Aisha. And she’d said something about going to the museum. But hadn’t she also said they’d first meet in a café? Had she meant the one in the museum or one near it? Gut twisting painfully, he climbed out of the trench and broke into a run.
The blazing sun raged above as he ran, sweat blinding his eyes. He raced on, around the pyramid and down the concrete walkway, until he burst into a trailer on the west side of the necropolis. Ignoring his colleagues gathered by the cooler, he marched straight for his locker. His hands shook as he spun the lock and yanked the door open. The phone took forever to start up.
“Hey, Xander,” Mohamed called over to him. “Did you hear the news?”
“Yeah, I heard,” Xander panted. His phone lit up and jingled. There was a string of messages from Leila.
LEILA: I did it again. I blew a gasket. I yelled at Mom. In public. Sami was right there too.
LEILA: She keeps saying that it’s complicated. She just won’t tell me how.
LEILA: She seemed worried about Sami.
LEILA: If Faris has threatened her, or Sami, or someone else, why won’t she tell anyone?
