Chapter 9
Ace wanted to hold Jasmine so much longer, but they didn’t have much time.
“Athanasios could return at any moment,” Jasmine said, echoing his thoughts. She stepped free of his embrace. “We don’t want to be caught in his highly secure artifact room.”
“Agreed,” Ace said.
He led the way back to the staircase and down to the first floor. With no time to spare, he hurried down the corridor to the artifact room and shoved aside the painting of the Birth of Venus. After keying in the code Dmytro had provided, he held his breath, praying the code was still the same one Christos had used.
The heavy metal door slid slowly open.
Ace released the breath he’d been holding. As soon as the gap was wide enough, he slipped inside.
Jasmine rushed past him. “This way.”
Once they were both over the threshold, the door closed behind them.
“Where’s the scroll?” Ace asked, looking around at the large room full of so many things.
“Follow me. It’s at the far end of the room.” Jasmine led him to the back of the room, where a table stood with some kind of lamp hanging over the tabletop. A box lay on the table. It was there that Jasmine led him. She opened the box and showed him what was inside.
He stared down at several pieces of thin copper nestled in soft foam. “Is it all there?” he asked.
She nodded, quickly closed the case and slipped it into the satchel she found looped across the back of a chair. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Let me carry that,” Ace said.
Jasmine didn’t argue. She handed over the satchel and headed for the door.
Ace looked around for a doorknob and didn’t find one. “How?—”
“I think he waved his hand over this.” Jasmine lifted her palm and held it over a red light on the wall. It turned green, and the door slid open.
With Ace leading the way, they ran down the hallway toward the front of the mansion. As they neared the front entrance, voices echoed in the foyer.
Ace stopped short and glanced around. He found the door to Athanasios’s study, twisted the knob and pushed it inward.
Jasmine dove through.
Ace followed, his senses on high alert, sure the voices they’d heard belonged to the returning owner of the mansion. He closed the door softly behind him.
Once inside Athanasios’ study, Jasmine hurried toward long curtains hanging on a wall. She drew them back to expose French doors and reached for the door handle.
“Wait,” Ace whispered. “What if the doors are connected to a security system?”
“We don’t have much time,” Jasmine said, “and really no other choice.”
Ace nodded and braced himself, ready to run.
Jasmine twisted the lock, turned the handle, hesitated another moment, then jerked the door open.
A screeching alarm sounded, echoing off the shelves of books and the ceiling. Shouts sounded from down the hall.
Jasmine shoved the door wide and ran out into a garden.
Ace followed close behind her.
The path twisted and turned through rose bushes, manicured shrubs and other flowering plants and vines. When the path curved back toward the house, Ace stopped and looked around for a way out. When he didn’t see an obvious exit, he plowed through a small gap in the hedges, emerging onto a lawn.
Jasmine pushed through behind him. She paused only long enough to slip the high heels off her feet.
They ran toward what appeared to be a garage.
A black SUV stood outside the building, possibly the vehicle that had delivered Athanasios to his home.
If they could steal the SUV, they might be able to crash through the gate. Ace started that way.
He hadn’t gone three yards before Jasmine caught up with him, grabbed his arm and pointed to the side of that building.
Armed men came running out a door, possibly living quarters or barracks for the Greek crime boss’s army of thugs. Each man carried a rifle or submachine gun as they raced for the house.
Ace and Jasmine changed directions, heading downhill, moving from shadow to shadow across the carefully maintained landscape toward the wall and the gate.
As the wall came into view, Ace slowed to a stop in the shadow of a low-hanging olive tree and stared up at the wall topped with concertina wire.
Jasmine leaned close and whispered. “If they didn’t take things out of my satchel, there should be a pair of wire cutters in one of the pockets.”
“Wire cutters would take too long to get through concertina wire. There has to be a way to open the gate from this side.” He edged along the wall toward the gate, where he searched for a mechanism that would trigger the gate to open.
The deep-throated sound of large dogs barking sounded from the direction of the house up the hill.
Ace’s stomach clenched. “Fuck.” Getting caught was one thing. Being ripped apart by attack dogs was not an option. They had to find a way out before the dogs reached them.
The rumble of what sounded like a truck engine approached the gate from the other side.
As it neared, the engine revved and sounded as though it was speeding up rather than slowing to stop. The truck was coming toward them fast.
Machine-gun fire pierced the air.
Ace grabbed Jasmine up in his arms and leaped backward, away from the gate, seconds before a huge truck slammed through the metal gate, knocking it flat to the ground.
More gunfire sounded.
The driver’s door swung open, and the familiar face of poker player Jon Anders leaned out and yelled, “Get in!”
When Ace hesitated, Jon said, “Hank sent me.”
More machine-gun fire sent Ace, with Jasmine still in his arms, running around to the other side of the truck.
Jon pushed the passenger door open.
Ace tossed Jasmine up into the seat, threw the satchel into her lap and scrambled up after her.
“Stay down!” Jon cried. He shifted into reverse and slammed his foot onto the accelerator, sending the big truck backward out of the gate.
Ace pushed Jasmine low and covered her body with his.
As they cleared the gate walls, the truck was pummeled with machine-gun fire, shattering the windshield and sending slivers of glass flying through the cab.
Jon didn’t slow the truck as it careened backward down the hill. He kept going until they rounded a bend in the road, and they were well out of range of the gunfire. Then he slammed his foot on the brakes, and the truck skidded sideways, stopping in the middle of the pavement and blocking the road entirely. He killed the engine and yelled, “Get out!” Jon dove from the driver’s seat to the ground.
Ace pushed open the door and jumped down. He reached for Jasmine and helped her to the ground as she clung to the bag carrying the scroll. She slung the satchel over her neck and across her body.
Ace and Jasmine rounded the back of the truck. He stopped near a stand of hedges, searching the darkness for the poker player.
“Over here!” Jon called out from behind the hedges.
Ace ducked around the hedges to find Jon mounting a motorcycle.
“I hope you know how to ride a motorcycle,” Jon called out, tipping his head to another bike behind him. He started his engine and twisted the throttle, revving the RPMs.
Ace nodded, mounted the other motorcycle parked behind the bushes and started the engine.
Jasmine climbed on behind him, tucking the satchel between their bodies.
Jon glanced over his shoulder, goosed his throttle and leaped out onto the road.
“Hold on!” he yelled.
Once Jasmine’s arms clamped around his middle, Ace twisted his throttle. The motorcycle leaped forward with more power than he’d anticipated.
Jasmine clung to him as he steadied the bike on the pavement.
Ace briefly glanced upward.
Headlights glared further up the hill, coming down fast.
The truck stretched across the road would slow them down, hopefully long enough for them to reach Athens and blend into the city traffic.
Ace followed Jon’s taillight, racing down the winding road to where it intersected with the highway leading back into Athens.
Jon turned toward Athens.
Having no idea where the man was leading them, Ace followed. Since Hank had sent him, he trusted the man. He’d gotten them out of the compound alive; he had to have a plan to keep them alive.
Thank God for Hank and his network of friends that extended beyond the United States.
As they neared the city, traffic thickened. Jon weaved in and out of the stream of vehicles. Ace kept up, feeling more confident of the machine beneath him with each passing mile.
When Jon left the main road, Ace followed.
They zigzagged through a residential area into a more run-down district of older commercial buildings that had seen better days.
Jon slowed in front of what appeared to be an auto repair shop. The overhead door rolled up automatically as Jon approached. He drove in and parked his motorcycle beside an older model car.
Ace drove in and stopped beside him.
The overhead door lowered. As it touched the ground, lights blinked on inside the garage.
Jon dismounted and brought his bike up onto its stand.
Jasmine slipped off the back of the motorcycle, and Ace swung his leg over, pulled the bike backward onto its stand and straightened.
Jasmine stood behind Ace, holding the satchel close to her body, her eyes narrowing.
Jon grinned and extended a hand to Ace. “Fearghas Gordon,” he said, his accent completely different from the one he’d used during the poker game. With the way he rolled his Rs, he sounded... Scottish. “And you must be The Hammer. As I briefly mentioned, Hank sent me.”
Ace grimaced at the call sign he’d used as a member of his SEAL team. He gripped the man’s hand. “Ace Hammerson. Thanks for getting us out of the compound.”
“You’re quite welcome,” he said. “It was a wee bit of a challenge, but we made it.”
Jasmine’s brow dipped lower. “You’re not from the US.”
Jon nodded. “No, I’m not. Born and raised in Scotland.”
Ace dropped the man’s hand, a smile pulling at his lips. “You fooled me. How do you know Hank?”
“We met on a joint mission between the SAS and the US Navy SEALS. He saved my arse from the Taliban. I owe that man.”
“Sounds like Hank,” Ace said. “Are you still with the SAS?”
Fearghas’s smile disappeared, and he shook his head. “No. I tired of the politics and left a couple of years ago. I’ve been living the life of an ex-pat here in Athens ever since. As you know, when you’re a member of special forces, you have little time to spend the money you make. What I saved, I invested wisely. It allows me to live my life the way I want. When I get bored, I take on freelance work, similar to what Hank’s organization does.”
“Security, rescue, bodyguard?” Ace filled in the blanks.
Fearghas nodded. “I’ve been following Hank since he left the Navy SEALs. I must say, I’m impressed with what he’s done. The Brotherhood Protectors is getting quite the reputation. I’m surprised he hasn’t established an office in Europe.”
“I imagine it’s only a matter of time,” Ace said.
Fearghas nodded. “Likely so. When I left the SAS, he asked me to join him. At that time, I wasn’t ready. But I must admit, getting you out of the compound was a challenge. The kind of challenge I miss from my days in the SAS. I might reconsider his offer.”
Fearghas clapped his hands together. “Now, where are my manners?” He turned to Jasmine. “Miss Nassar, tis a pleasure to meet you. I believe I’ve met my match in poker.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You know who I am.”
He nodded. “Hank filled me in. Jasmine Nassar, former Sayeret Matkal before you were ousted for sharing secrets with an American, from what he said. One of your own blew the whistle on you after your vacation in Athens four years ago. From what Hank’s computer guy said, they could never come up with enough evidence to prove it, but they let you go anyway.”
Ace’s gaze met Jasmine’s. “Is that what happened? Is that the reason you were released from Sayeret Matkal?”
She shook her head. “That was an excuse. I was the real reason I was released. I was in line for a promotion. My commander didn’t like the idea of a woman being in charge of the unit. He blamed me for a leak in information that led to a botched mission he was responsible for. I took the fall; he got the promotion.”
“That sucks,” Ace said.
Jasmine shrugged. “It didn’t matter. I needed to get out at that time.”
Fearghas nodded toward the satchel looped over Jasmine’s shoulder. “I assume you retrieved the copper scroll?”
She nodded, her hand tightening around the satchel’s strap.
“It must be important for multiple factions to want to steal and kill for it,” Fearghas said.
“Jasmine was forced to steal it as a ransom for her small son,” Ace said.
Fearghas frowned. “And you still have no idea who has your son?”
Jasmine sighed. “No. They left a burner phone with my housekeeper when they took my son. I’m to wait for a call to arrange for the trade. I had forty-eight hours to retrieve the scroll from the time they called me the first time with their demands.” She glanced down at her watch. “If they wait the entire forty-eight hours to contact me, I have less than twenty hours left to keep it safe.”
“A lot can happen in twenty hours,” Fearghas said.
“I know.” Jasmine’s lips pressed together. “Especially since we know Demopoulos wants it.”
Fearghas’s brow creased. “And he owns the city.”
“And he’s probably pissed that we took it,” Ace said. “Why did you bring us back to Athens?”
Fearghas shrugged. “Demopoulos doesn’t own everyone in the city. I have some contacts that could get us out should the need arise. And it can be easier to hide in a city of over three million people than in the country where everyone knows when strangers pass through.”
Jasmine turned to Ace. “Christos mentioned his father became interested in ancient Egyptian artifacts when he went with a friend on an archeological dig in a king’s tomb. Apparently, the king had hidden a treasure. He dispersed clues in the form of gifts to leaders in different locations throughout his kingdom. One of those gifts was a mosaic with an image of Horace giving the king a scroll. That scroll was passed to a priest who lived near the Dead Sea. He was tasked with preserving the scroll.”
“You think the scroll was one of the gifts?” Ace asked.
Fearghas’s brow twisted. “The Dead Sea scrolls?”
Jasmine’s lips pressed together. “The Dead Sea scrolls are said to contain messages about treasures. The copper scroll dates back to 65 AD,” Jasmine said. “The king’s tomb dates back almost a thousand years earlier.”
“If the priest was tasked with preserving the scroll, he could’ve passed that task down to his successors,” Ace said.
“Scrolls fade,” Jasmine said.
“The successors could have transcribed the messages, thus preserving them,” Fearghas offered.
Jasmine nodded. “And the copper scroll could’ve been the medium they chose to ensure the preservation of the messages.”
“Tis all supposition,” Fearghas said. “It would help if we could ask Athanasios why he needed the copper scroll.”
Jasmine snorted. “That’s not an option.”
“Did Christos mention the name of his father’s friend?” Ace asked.
Jasmine’s gaze met Ace’s. “If we could find that friend, he might be able to shed light on Demopoulos’s need for the scroll. He might also know who would’ve taken my son.”
Ace’s hands curled into fists. “He might be the one who took your son.”
Jasmine pressed a palm to her chest. “It would be too obvious, but I had the same thought. Christos said the name of that friend was Louis...” Her brow furrowed. “Bertolli or Bertolini. I was too busy looking for the scroll. I should’ve remembered.”
“That might be enough of a name for Hank’s computer guy to look him up,” Ace said.
“This Louis Bertolli and Athanasios Demopoulos could be in competition to get to the treasure first,” Fearghas said. “Which puts you and the scroll in the middle of it.”
Jasmine nodded.
Ace pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Maybe Swede can figure that out.”
“In the meantime, Demopoulos will be eager to get that scroll back,” Fearghas said.
“If he knows who coerced me into stealing it in the first place, he’ll know where that man lives.” Jasmine’s face paled. “He has one step up on us.”
Ace nodded. “Demopoulos might be on his way to that person to take the scroll from him or to intercept you before you can make that trade for your son.”
“Tell your friend Swede to hurry,” Jasmine said.
Ace selected the number and pressed the phone to his ear.
Swede answered on the second ring. “Dude, I assume you made it out of the compound all right.”
“Thanks to Hank for sending backup.”
Swede chuckled. “I assume you met Gordon?”
Ace’s gaze went to Fearghas. “I did.”
“And all of you made it out all right and are safe?”
Ace nodded. “We did, and we are. I’m putting you on speaker with Fearghas Gordon and Jasmine Nassar.” He pressed the button and held the phone out for the others to hear.
“Did you retrieve the artifact?” Swede asked.
“We did,” Ace answered.
“I’m glad you made it out of there. I look forward to hearing the story,” Swede said. “I saw that emergency services were sent to one of Demopoulos’s warehouses in Athens due to an explosion earlier today. Was that you, Fearghas?”
Fearghas grinned. “It provided a good distraction, allowing me to borrow one of Demopoulos’s trucks for a joy ride.”
“How did you manage to get them out of the compound?” Swede asked.
Fearghas’s gaze met Ace’s. “I loaded a couple of motorcycles into the back of the truck and drove it out to the compound, stopping short of the gate. I unloaded the bikes, then drove the truck through the gate.” He grinned. “It seemed appropriate to sacrifice one of Demopoulos’s trucks to help retrieve what he’d stolen to begin with.”
Swede chuckled. “Well done.”
“Swede, with Demopoulos eager to get the scroll back, we might not have much time,” Ace said. “We need you to look up a Louis Bertolli or Bertolini. He was or is a friend of Demopoulos’s who got him interested in Egyptian artifacts to begin with. We think he might be the other person interested in acquiring that scroll.”
“He might be the one holding my son hostage,” Jasmine said.
“Louis Bertolli or Bertolini,” Swede said. “Got it. Do you have a place to lay low while I research this?”
Ace’s gaze went to Fearghas.
“They’re at my place in Athens,” Fearghas said. “Not many people know my place even exists. Hopefully, they’ll be safe for a while.”
“I’ll get back with you ASAP,” Swede said. “Out here.”
Ace ended the call and pocketed his phone. He looked at Jasmine. “What now?”
She shook her head and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I want to get my contact working on it as well. He might know people who know Demopoulos.”
She selected a number and pressed her phone to her ear, her gaze meeting Ace’s. “All I know is that Demopoulos is going to be furious when he realizes that scroll is missing.”
Ace nodded. The Greek crime boss would have all his people looking for them at the airports, seaports, and train stations. If they’d thought it was difficult to get out of Jordan, it would be even more challenging to leave Athens.
His gaze rested on the woman who’d turned his world upside down four years ago. He’d spent years looking for her. His jaw hardened. Now that he’d found her, he couldn’t lose her again.