Riley (Erotic Romance) Book 3 (The MacKenzie Brothers Quartet) Read online

  RILEY

  By Liliana Hart

  Copyright 2011 by Liliana Hart

  Amazon Edition

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  Chapter One

  Riley MacKenzie wrapped his scarf around his neck, slipped on thick leather gloves, shrugged on his heavy wool coat and pulled his fleece-lined toboggan down low over his ears. He grabbed his worn leather satchel—ignoring the stack of books that slid off the chair and onto the floor—and didn’t spare a second glance at his overly cramped, disorganized office. In fact, he slammed the door behind him and locked it with what might be misconstrued as glee.

  School was out for winter break. Finals had been taken. Grades had been given. And he was a free man until January. Well, almost free. He still had one thing to do before he could go home to Surrender, Montana and spend the holidays with his family.

  He had no idea why he’d agreed to meet Margaret Lawrence, other than the fact he was simply curious. Not about the woman. She’d told him in her email she was the director for the Library of Antiquities in Washington, which in his opinion meant she was nothing more than a highly paid babysitter to dusty relics.

  He figured by the terse and direct tone of her email that she was probably a relic herself. Deep lines would be carved into her face from the perpetual scowl she probably used to chase away those who lingered in her hallowed halls too long. But old Mags didn’t concern him in the least. What she had in her possession did.

  She’d been very withholding of information in her emails other than to tell him her colleague, Dr. Jonathon Scott, had recommended Riley to her. Since Riley was considered an expert in Egyptian Artifacts and he was friends with Jon Scott, he could only assume she wanted him to identify something for her.

  Her email had said it was urgent, and the tingles of excitement that ran up and down his spine told him she had something he was going to be very interested in. It was the same feeling he got just before he unearthed a priceless treasure while on a dig.

  The cold Montana wind slapped against his face as he left the Archaeology Building at Declan College and headed to the faculty parking lot. The smell of snow was heavy in the air, and he hoped he could satisfy Ms. Lawrence’s curiosity and get home before it started. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped in a blizzard.

  It was already as black as pitch outside, though it was barely six o’clock in the evening. No stars blinked in the sky and the moon was just a hazy glow behind the thick snow clouds. Riley unlocked his dusty 4x4 and slid in, tossing his bag to the back. The engine coughed and sputtered as it warmed up, and he turned the stereo up to teeth shaking volume in hopes it would get his mind off the cold.

  Margaret had agreed to come to him. She’d seemed desperate behind her written attempt of vibrato, which would have made a normal person hesitate before going into the meeting, but his curiosity and excitement had overridden his internal warnings. Not that throwing caution to the wind was anything new for him. Of the four MacKenzie brothers, he was known as the most reckless.

  He headed in the opposite direction of Surrender, to a little coffee shop just down the road. Myrna Springs was a small college town, and Declan College was its main means of support. Riley loved teaching there—as much as he was able to love teaching. He’d much rather be on constant digs and delving into piles of research and writing academic papers that would get him noticed by colleagues all over the world. But something had to pay the bills.

  Declan College was a private school with a well-funded endowment, good pay and some of the best professors the country had to offer. He was close to home, his class schedule was full but manageable, he was dean of the archaeology department and he had plenty of time to work on his research papers and plan his next dig. So he wasn’t complaining.

  The parking lot in front of The Coffee House was mostly deserted except for a smattering of a few cars. No doubt everyone was at home getting ready for the storm. He pushed through the glass door and a warm rush of heat greeted him. He stuck his hat and gloves in his pockets and hung his coat and scarf up on the rack by the door.

  The interior was suited to the college crowd. Art deco posters framed with thick black wood hung on light colored walls. The lighting was dim and cozy. Overstuffed red chairs sat grouped around a coffee table in the corner, and a fireplace tiled with hunter green marble took up a good bit of the back wall. Riley found a booth closest to the fireplace, taking a moment to warm his hands in front of the fire.

  “Hey, Dr. MacKenzie,” Tyler Whidbey said from behind the counter. Tyler had been one of his intro archaeology students last spring. “I’ll have coffee out for you in just a second. Do you want food?”

  “You bet, Tyler. Thanks. I haven’t had a chance to eat today. Whatever you’ve got handy is fine.”

  “Good,” he said with obvious relief. “The manager closed the kitchen about an hour ago, so all we’ve got is stew on the stove and some bread.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  Riley looked at his watch and frowned as he saw Ms. Lawrence was late. If she wasn’t there by the time he finished his meal, she’d have to find another expert or come all the way to Surrender. Spending the holidays with his family was the one thing he never missed. It was important to all of them, and this was the first Christmas they’d be spending at the MacKenzie house since his brother Dane had left Surrender more than ten years before.

  While Dane had been under his self-imposed exile from Surrender, the brothers spent their Christmases at different locations, usually the beach, where they had the sun, sand and their pick of willing women. But this Christmas was going to be different. It was going to be special. Especially now that two of his brothers had their own families.

  Dane’s wife, Charlie, as well as their son Jayden would be there, and come spring they’d be adding another MacKenzie to the family. His other brother Thomas had been head over heels in love ever since he’d laid eyes on his girlfriend Cat. It had taken a lot of persuasion of Thomas’s part, but Cat had finally agreed to marry him on New Year’s Eve.

  Yes, things were good for the MacKenzies. Better than they had been in a long while. They’d all been a little lost after both their parents had died too young, but the brothers were still closer than most of the families he knew. Family was everything.

  Riley’s thoughts shifted as the door of the coffee shop opened with a cold rush of frigid air. His breath caught in his throat as the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen walked through the door. He was suddenly as warm as he’d ever been, and his black sweater suddenly seemed like one too many layers of clothing.

  He watched with fascination as she pulled her hat off and a long fall of white-blond hair cascaded down her back. She unwound her scarf slowly, and he felt his cock swell behind the zipper of his chinos. Layer after layer of her outerwear came off, giving him a torturous strip tease that had desire coiling in his gut.

  Every inch of the woman screamed class. She wore a black turtleneck, stretched taut over generous breasts and tucked into skin tight jeans. Expensive low heeled boots covered her feet and a gold watch flashed at her wrist. Riley wanted to get on his knees and whimper.

  The woman glanced around the coffee shop, passing over the few cus
tomers that sat scattered around. And then her gaze locked onto his, and he was lucky he was able to keep his tongue from rolling out of his mouth like a cartoon character.

  Geez, MacKenzie. Man up. It’s just been too long since you got laid. She’s as beautiful as any woman.

  His subconscious protested the lie, and he purposefully made his expression one of skepticism and disinterest. He’d had plenty of practice at not letting government officials of other countries read his thoughts. He’d negotiated countries into loaning their precious artifacts to the United States on several occasions. It was high stakes poker at its finest, and he was a champ.

  Riley raised a brow in question as she started towards him with purposeful strides.

  “Are you Doctor MacKenzie?”

  “Riley,” he said, holding out a hand. “I take it you’re Margaret Lawrence?”

  Dimples fluttered around a lush, amused mouth. “Call me Maggie. Do you care if I sit down?”

  Definitely not old, he thought. “Have a seat. Do you want some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. But hot tea would be lovely.”

  “I’ll have it right out,” Tyler called out, obviously eavesdropping.

  Riley kept silent as their drinks were served, waiting for her to get her thoughts together and say what she wanted. Despite her composed face, her hands were in constant motion, stirring her tea and crumpling the sugar packet between her fingers. She was obviously nervous, and every time headlights shone in the windows from the parking lot she turned her head to see who it was.

  He’d thought when she’d first come in she might be the age of some of his graduate students, but seeing her up close he put her age closer to thirty. Her eyes were a clear gray and her thick sculpted brows were a darker shade of blond. It made him wonder if she was truly blond all over. That thought didn’t help with the fit of his slacks, so he tried to think of something else.

  “Thank you for meeting me.”

  Her voice was soft and husky, and he could only imagine how it would sound when he was buried deep inside of her. Somewhere between the time she’d walked in the door and spoken her first word, he’d decided he was going to take her to bed. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this badly.

  “I realize this is unorthodox, but I needed someone very quickly. I appreciate you seeing me so soon. I’m afraid this is a bit of a delicate situation, and I was afraid it might be too…late if you waited until after the holidays.”

  “Too late how?”

  “Just be patient with me. This has been a difficult week.”

  Riley nodded and found his interest growing. Just what kind of artifact had she come across?

  “Before I can show you anything, I need to make sure you will be discreet. This knowledge in the wrongs hands could make things even more difficult than they already are.”

  Riley didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “I don’t gossip to tabloids, Ms. Lawrence. I work in an occupation that often requires discretion.”

  “It’s Doctor, not Miss.”

  “I beg your pardon.” Riley couldn’t help but smile at her narrowed gaze. Color had washed into her cheeks and he had the sudden urge to trace his finger over the gentle curve of her jaw.

  “And I’m well aware of your reputation. You’re considered something of a renegade in academic circles. A man who likes to pick his own teams and call all the shots when excavating new locations. You can hold your own with grave robbers and government officials alike, and your interns have a tendency to leave your digs in tears because you yell at them if they mishandle the finds.”

  “The good interns don’t leave in tears, Doctor Lawrence. The good interns usually end up getting a call the next time I put an excavation team together. I don’t put up with mediocrity.”

  “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I feel the same way. I’m just stating the facts. Your insistence on not playing the political game and kissing certain asses has held you back somewhat, but your work is solid.”

  “I’m glad you approve.”

  “I wouldn’t bring something this important to you without checking the facts. Lives could depend upon it.”

  She pulled a photograph out of her purse and slid it across the table. He didn’t look at it until her gaze met his in question, letting her know he wasn’t as anxious to see what she had as she wanted him to be—though in truth he was practically salivating with what could be waiting for him.

  He pulled a pair of wire rimmed glasses from the neck of his sweater and slipped them on, bringing the photo closer with the tip on his fingers. The sight before him made his chest tighten and his fist clench with anger in his lap.

  “Is this some kind of a joke, Doctor Lawrence?”

  “I wouldn’t be here on a joke. Tell me what it is? I wasn’t able to find any information or match a description from my own resources.”

  Riley grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, so they were nose to nose across the table. “Do you have it with you? Who else knows about this?”

  “I didn’t bring it with me. It’s in a safe place. And I’m not sure who else knows. That’s part of the problem.”

  Riley took a moment to think. This was a find that could make a career or get someone killed. Most likely the latter. They’d have to be very smart how they played this out.

  “This is a dangerous game you’ve decided to play. If this is the real deal and not an imitation then you need to be very, very careful.”

  She let out a long breath he hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Looking at her a little closer, Riley realized he’d been mistaken about the nervousness he thought he’d seen. She wasn’t nervous at all. She was terrified. And she had every reason to be.

  “Believe me when I say that I didn’t know the rules of the game when I was thrown into it. Please,” she said softly. “Tell me what it is. And then tell me what to do with it. This is way out of my area of expertise. My field of study is the Renaissance.”

  Riley looked at her steadily, trying to decide if he was the one being taken for a ride by a clever seductress. If he made the wrong decision, the good reputation she’d talked about earlier would be gone in a heartbeat. He’d be a laughingstock in the academic world.

  “If the item in the photograph is the genuine article, then you have in your possession The Tear of Nefertari. It’s a pearl of the highest quality, more than 254 millimeters in size. It’s supposedly flawless. And the reason you weren’t able to find any information on it is because there’s less than a dozen documented descriptions of the pearl.”

  “Oh, no,” she said, her eyes big and round as comprehension dawned.

  “I’m glad you understand the mess you’re in. Ramesses the Great gave it to his consort, Nefertari after the birth of their first son. The same son who died in childhood as a result of the plagues of Egypt during Moses time. After their son’s death, Ramses and Nefertari hid the pearl, afraid it was the true cause of their gods’ anger.

  “The last person to see it and claim he’d held it in his hands was a grave robber who looted several of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings in 1817. He wasn’t exactly a reliable source, but there was a newspaper article written about it that described the pearl in great detail. The grave robber was found dead with his throat slit barely a month later and the pearl hasn’t been seen since. The Tear of Nefertari is considered a curse for all who touch it. Its name is synonymous with death. So I’ll ask you again. Where did you get it?”

  She didn’t hesitate to answer this time. “Jonathon sent it to me in the mail with a letter to contact you if I didn’t hear from him within three days.”

  Riley narrowed his eyes at the way she’d said his friend’s name. There was a familiarity in the way she used it that told him they’d been close.

  “You and Jon were lovers?” he asked.

  She blushed slightly at his bluntness. “We were lovers. But we are still colleagues. As you know, our world is small. I couldn’t very well disassociate with him completely
without hurting my own career.”

  Riley knew exactly what she was talking about. It was the reason he made it a point to never start an affair with someone he worked with on a frequent basis. He hated awkward entanglements.

  “Jon said you and you alone could be trusted, and not to even mention that I’d gotten a package from him to anyone else. He said things were tangled and that there were countries and collectors alike who always kept their ears to the ground about rare finds like this one.”

  “So what you’re telling me is that Jon got in some hot water, and to draw the heat away from himself, he sent you a priceless artifact that dozens of people would kill for. You two must have had a hell of a break up.”

  She lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “It wasn’t exactly amicable.”

  Riley would have liked to hear the details, but he had bigger problems to think of. “So where did my good buddy Jon go, and why hasn’t he come back?”

  “I don’t know. I started searching for him as soon as I got the package. I called his phones and stopped by his office. I checked my messaging service at the library and even called his mother to see if she’d heard from him. He just vanished.

  “I knew the pearl was something dangerous as soon as I took it out of the box. But no matter how badly I wanted to be rid of it, I couldn’t just turn a piece of the world’s history over to anyone who wanted it. Though it would have served Jon right if I had. I started seeing shadows around every corner, and I was jumping at every sound.

  “I waited for his call on that third day, sure he’d come by to pick it up a laugh about the entire incident as if it were some kind of joke. But he didn’t call. So I got in the car around ten o’clock that night and drove back to his apartment. The police were there, and when I went to see what had happened one of the neighbors said there’d been a burglary.

  So I sent you an email from my phone, drove back home and packed a bag. I think someone followed me from Jon’s apartment. I saw the same black car before I got home and then again on the highway after I left. I think I lost him when I crossed the state line. I’ve been living out of a suitcase in different motels for the past couple of days. Until you could meet with me.”