Leila decided that was her cue to leave. She whirled around. Where did the camel wander off to? She spotted it several yards away, tucked behind a boulder. Unsure if she could reach it before the horsemen noticed, she glanced back at Xander. He nodded.
Leila ran. She reached for the reins and a gunshot rang out. The camel trotted off, low grumbles coming from its chest. She stumbled after it, only to be blocked by a giant black horse.
With a loud, shaking cry, the horse reared up, front legs flailing. Holding an arm over her face, she lunged into a run. Something wrapped around her ankle and yanked. She landed on a patch of rocky ground with a thud.
Near her feet, a man’s face full of snot and sand appeared. His eyes were red and puffy, phlegmy breaths coming from his throat. He clawed at her until her foot met his face. The man rolled away with a gurgle. Leila scrambled onto her hands and knees but before she could get anywhere, a pair of battered riding boots stomped in front of her.
Leila stopped. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to see a man towering over her, everything but his eyes covered by his black garments. In his hand he gripped a knife, the tip of its lengthy, curved blade waiting above her.
Her eyes widened in recognition as she studied the knife. He was the same man following her through the streets earlier.
He gripped her upper arm. As he leaned forward, a chain slipped out from underneath his scarf, a pendant dangling from the end. A cluster of hieroglyphics had been carved into the golden pendant. The symbols were the cartouche of Pharaoh Sneferu, the builder of the Bent and Red Pyramids located a few miles south of Saqqara. In Dahshur.
Leila furrowed her brow and met his gaze. “You… you’re that grave robber.”
Black Robe’s dark eyes narrowed and he laughed, just as another gunshot echoed across the desert.
Not caring to find out what he found funny, she pursed her lips and threw a fistful of sand into his face. He flinched and jerked his head to the side. His grip loosened enough for her to pry herself away and scramble to her feet.
She stumbled as each step sank into soft sand, her sights now set on the man’s stallion. An arm wrapped around her neck and squeezed. She squirmed and flung her arms until the cold metal of a pistol pressed against her temple.
Chapter Seventeen
There was a gun. Pointing at her head. Now she was really going to die. She stood ramrod-straight, not daring to breathe.
The man in black seized her forearm and propelled her back in the direction where Xander tried to ward off the sniffling thug. The other horseman lay motionless on the ground.
Black Robe shouted at them in Arabic, commanding them to stop. They broke apart and Xander held the gun in front of him, ready to shoot.
“Put your weapon down!” Black Robe bellowed.
Xander’s eyes locked on her captor, and he slowly bent at the knees to place his gun on the ground, not blinking once. Once he was unarmed, his attacker snatched up the discarded weapon and jammed it against Xander’s back.
“You can have our money,” Xander offered, holding both hands in the air. “Take it and go.”
“We’re not after money,” Black Robe jeered, his English lightly accented with Arabic.
“Then you will have to be more specific.”
“You’ll tell me where Neferkheri’s tomb is.”
Leila cringed. How did he know about the tomb? The man twisted the barrel of the gun against the side of her head.
“What makes you think I know the answer?” Xander said. Leila wondered how he could sound so calm. Her heart pounded so fiercely her head swam.
“We’ve kept a close eye on you. My sources have told me all kinds of interesting things.” Although Leila couldn’t see him, she could hear the boastful smile in the man’s voice. “You’ve been seen sneaking out at night with the professor. Very odd behavior, indeed. And sneaking out again, even though the professor is in hospital. A moonlight rendezvous between lovers, or something else?”
Xander smirked. “It is romantic, isn’t it?”
The man was silent for a moment. Then he clicked his tongue. “All right. So you won’t cooperate. I’ll give you one last chance. Just give me the papyrus.”
Leila’s heart stopped. The man was asking for two things they could never give him. He wanted them to fail to meet his demands. He wanted a reason to shoot.
“I don’t have it,” Xander said evenly, keeping his eyes on the bandit.
“Is that so?” Black Robe rammed the pistol harder against her temple. “That would be a shame.”
“Come on,” Xander said, his voice strained. For the first time, worry flickered in his eyes. “If it’s the papyrus you want, fine. I know where it is. I’ll even go get it for you. Just leave her out of this.”
Leila tried to catch Xander’s eye. What was he doing? He shouldn’t make stuff up like that. He was going to get himself killed. Or her.
Black Robe chuckled softly. “How noble. Of course, you’d do anything to save the lady.” He released Leila with a shove and pointed his gun at Xander. “But would she do the same for a lying murderer like you?”
Bewildered, Leila sat in the sand, studying the man who had just been holding a gun to her head.
“Yes, you heard me correctly,” Black Robe addressed her. “He’s a murderer, a liar, and a traitor.”
Xander’s gaze flitted toward her, panic flashing across his eyes. He mouthed a no.
Her mind whirled with questions, leaving her speechless. Who was this man? How would he know?
“So, you have two choices,” the man said, turning to Leila, “either bring me the papyrus within a half hour. Without informing anyone.” His eyes narrowed in a smile that was hidden by his scarf. “Or feel free to stay home. I’ll deal with this dog.”
Her mouth dropped open as his words registered. He was more or less giving her a free pass. Memories flashed through her mind—reaching up the fence, crying for help, Xander disappearing behind it, leaving her to get caught. Her father in a hospital bed, broken beyond recognition.
A chill went down her back as she met Xander’s eyes. The panic had left, replaced by an expression of resolve. He wasn’t going to beg. It was her decision to make.
She had already made her choice. It didn’t matter what Xander had done eight years ago. It didn’t matter what this man was accusing him of. There was no way she could run away from this and wait to hear the news of Xander’s body being found ten miles down the Nile.
