Her heart froze. “You told me you were looking for a map,” she recalled, finally putting two and two together. “Was it the same papyrus Soliman saw? The same one that vanished after the accident?”
“Precisely.”
“How did you know the Westons had it?”
“It’s complicated. But in short, I knew the Weston family. One day, I heard Mr. Weston talking about a papyrus on the phone. I made the mistake of mentioning it to someone at our excavation, thinking I was being clever. Then your father overheard me and practically interrogated me about it. Eventually, I said I could get it for him, and we came up with the plan.”
Leila held a hand to her mouth. The idea her father had been behind it all was like a punch in the gut. She couldn’t imagine him plotting to steal something. He had always been adamant about adhering to the rules. No wonder he didn’t want her going out that night. To keep her out of trouble. And he needed an alibi.
“But why did you ask me to come along?”
A sly smile came across Xander’s face. “Thought it’d be funny.”
“Sure. It was hilarious.” She rolled her eyes. “Have you told Neal all this?”
“I haven’t told him anything. I don’t trust the man.”
“He’s just trying to figure out what happened. It’s not his fault all the blame points to you. What if the Westons were involved? Neal has the resources to figure this kind of stuff out if you’d cooperate.”
Xander shook his head. “If you knew Christopher Weston, you’d know he wouldn’t be capable of murder. No way it was him. At the most, he’d have gone blubbering at our feet, begging us not to tell anyone about his hoard.”
“So why are you telling me this now?” she exclaimed and kicked at an empty soda can, sending it bouncing across the courtyard. “You think this is going to change my opinion of you? Are you trying to make me think differently about my dad?”
“Leila, I would have thought that after working together the last week, you would have figured out that we both have the same goal in all this. Maybe I’m not the most affable person out there, but I don’t have any ulterior motives.”
She crossed her arms. Soliman had admitted he did. Why wouldn’t Xander? “Prove it.”
“Right. If you don’t want me here, then I’ll step back. You can take over. Do it all yourself. You can help organize the excavation of the tomb. You and Soliman can take all the credit for the find. I’ll just stay in the background, disappear. I’m fine with that.”
She gave him a perplexed look. “Why?”
“Because it’s not worth fighting over. I wouldn’t lie to you.” His voice softened. “I’ve hurt you enough already. Causing you more pain is the last thing I want.” He regarded her intently, his gaze pleading for her to give him one last chance.
Yet her mind screamed he had deceived her once before. He sounded sincere, but there was always the possibility he would try to take advantage of her again. But if she didn’t take the risk, things would never get done.
Leila broke eye contact with a sigh of defeat, hoping this would all be worth it in the end.
“Okay. But only if you tell Neal what you told me about the papyrus. He needs to know.”
Xander gave her a sideways glance, the uncertainty written all over his face. Then he lifted one hand and held it toward her. “Very well. Do we have a truce, then?”
She gaped at his hand for a moment. A truce? After everything he said, it was worth one more attempt. Before she could convince herself otherwise, her hand slipped into his, his skin rough and cool against her palm.
“Yes,” she breathed as his fingers wrapped around her hand, sending a wave of heat up to her face. “We have a truce.”
He squeezed firmly, yet not too tight, and they shook. “Well, that is a relief.” A smile tugged at one corner of his lips.
He was still holding her hand. Or was she still holding his? She gave a tug and he released her.
“Well, I’m eager to see this new tunnel of yours. Soliman gave me the key so might as well. Care to show me the way?” He turned toward the stable.
Her mouth dropped open slightly. She wasn’t sure she was ready to trust him this much.
When she didn’t move or speak for a few seconds, he squeezed his lips together and stuck a hand in his pocket. Pulling his hand out, he took a step toward her and extended a flat palm. In it was a small, black canister.
She picked it up with a frown. “Mace?”
“Right. You know”—he pointed at his eyes with two fingers—“spray it if you feel threatened.”
As he headed for the barn, she silently pocketed the cylinder next to the dull knife. Something told her she wouldn’t be needing either of them.
Chapter Sixteen
Inside the tomb, the dust had settled, covering all surfaces with a layer of brown powder. Getting back through the collapsed tunnel proved to be a challenge. The rubble had shifted during the day, narrowing parts of the path they had dug out. With some strategic rearrangement of the debris, they managed to make enough room to squeeze through.
As they oriented themselves in the burial chamber, Leila clapped her hands together to rid them of the dust, hoping this wasn’t another huge mistake. There was no guarantee the tunnel wouldn’t cave in on them again. She could end up stuck in here with Xander for the rest of her life. Trying not to think about that worst-case scenario, she picked up the robe heaped on the floor. To her relief, her camera and toolkit were tucked inside the folds, undamaged.
“Blimey,” Xander said when the beams of their flashlights illuminated the gaping hole in the wall.
Avoiding the crumbled bits of wall, he approached the opening. He leaned partway into the hole and shined his flashlight down the staircase.
With a grin, he glanced over at Leila. “I’ve never been so excited about stairs before.”
“Wait until you see the passageway.” She offered a slight smile in return.
She followed as Xander started a slow descent down the stone steps.
“Anubis preparing the mummy,” Xander narrated as he shined his flashlight on the various wall paintings as they continued down the corridor. “The dead queen steering the barge with the gods Isis, Thoth, Ra, and Hu. Servants bringing her offerings. The details of her journey to the afterlife.”
