Immortal Dynasty Read Free

short of a vicious bully. Back then, Darius had been a favorite target of Therion’s street gang.  
    “No. You are not an idiot. You have the smarts to get inside every major museum around the world!” Papa Shadi poked Darius’ left shoe with the tip of his cane. “And I believe the correct term is not thief but retrieval specialist .”
    Darius watched a security guard enter the tiny pub and approach the bartender. “Doesn’t matter how you sugar coat it, Papa. I steal things.”
    “Yes, but you steal from thieves. You return things to their proper owners.”
    “That still makes me a thief.” But a damn good one.
    “Like that English fellow, Robin.”
    Darius chuckled. “Okay. Maybe I am kinda like Robin Hood. I have been arrested by plenty of sheriffs.”
    Papa Shadi stroked his beard and shrugged. “A criminal record means nothing when you work for family.”
    After chugging down a draft, the security guard turned and headed straight toward them.
    Darius smirked. “As my employer, I wonder if that makes you just as guilty.”
    “Guilt by association? Probably.” Papa Shadi pointed his cane toward the approaching guard. “Looks like Artie is ready for us.”
    Finally escaping the sticky booth, Darius tossed a nice tip down for the perky cocktail waitress with the cute red thong under her mini kilt. Passing her on the way out, he easily read the smoky, suggestive look in her light green eyes. He did like green eyes.

    * * *

    “I can’t wait to see her.”
    Darius smiled at Papa Shadi’s unrestrained excitement.
    Within minutes, the security guard led them across the street, through a delivery door, and up to the eighth floor in a service elevator. As the doors swooshed open, big block letters announced the field office of U.S. Customs & Border Protection, the agency sworn to protect citizens from the illegal entry of people and goods.
    As he did anytime he entered a museum or federal building, Darius quickly slipped on a pair of gloves. The crack about sheriffs really hadn’t been off the mark. He’d been arrested or detained so many times he’d lost count. If any art or antiquities went missing, he was top on the list of suspects.
    Even though he was probably on a video camera, he still took the precaution of keeping his fingerprints to himself.
    Mr. Artie Johnson, he presumed, stood just inside the first door past the receptionist’s desk. This was definitely a government man: just shy of middle age, average height, slim but a slight paunch, standard issue black suit and boring tie.
    What was not average about the man was the sweat trickling down his neck and the shifty way his brown eyes darted between every corner of the room. He’s spooked.
    Without any introduction, he motioned for Papa Shadi to open a brown leather satchel on the desk. Darius kept his eyes on the nervous man who made a distinct effort to stay as far away from the desk as possible.
    A quick intake of breath told him that his grandfather had found the photo of the statue. “Yes. There she is. Isn’t she beautiful?”
    Darius dragged his eyes away from watching Mr. Artie. He had to see what his grandfather had been so obsessed with for all these years.
    Beautiful? That word didn’t give enough credit to the sculptor. She was…breathtaking. Even in a glossy photograph he could see the detail in her exotic features. She looked commanding in her pose, her knife gripped with determination. She also looked…
    Heavy. She appeared to be a typical life-sized statue plated with gold. That would make her extremely heavy. Always a challenging factor in retrieval.
    What was he thinking? He wasn’t going anywhere near the Troy Estate.
      “Artie, you found the sword, too?” A tone of reverence hovered in the old man’s voice. “Look, Darius. This sword belongs to the Lady of Flame. It was created for her.”
    Darius curved his lips doubtfully. “The goddess or the statue?”
    Papa Shadi’s eyes flickered with annoyance. “You