Whispers in the Dark Read Free

you. I wasn’t expecting you yet, and....” He shrugged. “I’ve been noticing scuff marks in the ground, off the trail where tourists aren’t supposed to go. I figured someone was poking around, maybe looking for treasure.”
    “And you assumed I was your treasure hunter?”
    His gaze narrowed on my face, and I had to stop myself from backing away. He said, “Maybe you do have a right to look around, but it’s still a problem. If tourists see you down here, they’ll think they can do it, too. They’ll pick things up, move them around, take them home. Even if they bring their finds to us in the visitors center—and they do that all the time—it forever ruins our chance of finding an artifact in its proper place, maybe learning more—”
    “I know that,” I snapped. “They do teach us a thing or two in archaeology classes.” I stepped up to the path so he wasn’t looking down at me. He barely backed up, so I had to pass within arm’s reach of him, but I felt steadier once we were on the same level and I realized he wasn’t that tall. Well, everyone was tall compared to me. But he only had half a foot on me, so the towering effect had been a result of our respective positions and his scowl.
    I stood as tall as I could and put my hands on my hips. “So what do you expect me to do, study this place through binoculars?”
    Once again his smile vanished before I was sure I’d seen it. “We can do better than that. We’ll get you a uniform shirt so you look more official and a sign to put on the trail that says ‘Archaeologist at work.’ If you see anyone watching you, let them know what you’re doing and why, and that you have permission, but they don’t.” The half-smile hovered a second longer this time. “You could say it a little nicer than that, I suppose.”
    I could probably say anything nicer than this guy, but I decided I’d start by not mentioning that. “Great. When can I get a shirt?”
    He glanced over his shoulder toward the sun. That gave me a chance to drop my gaze from his face and notice that he was wearing running shorts and trail-runner shoes, with a T-shirt tucked into his waistband. He must’ve been jogging. That explained the bare chest and the glistening sweat, now vanishing in the dry air. I wished he’d put his shirt back on. All that bare skin was really distracting. If I dressed like that, I’d be accused of acting like a slut and have to put up with whistles and stares, but men—
    He turned back and I jerked my gaze to his face. “How about first thing tomorrow,” he said. “Jerry’s waiting for me and I’m already late. Come by the office a little before eight o’clock and have some coffee.”
    Now that was the nicest thing he’d said yet. But before I could answer, he said, “I’ll walk you back to the campground.”
    “That’s not necessary. I’ll just make sure I leave no trace and move along. You go on ahead so you don’t keep Jerry waiting.”
    We locked gazes. I felt like I’d gotten into some battle of wills, and I didn’t even know why. But Danesh obviously thought he owned this place and everything in it. If I didn’t stake my claim now, it would be that much harder later. I felt my heart thump five, six, seven times and refused to move anything. Not even my eyes. He’d get no placating smiles or soft feminine pleading from me.
    Finally he said, “All right. Be careful. You have a couple of hours of light, but it gets dark quickly and the temperature drops fast. Snakes come out at dusk, and it’s pitch black out here after dark unless the moon is out.”
    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I’ll be careful.”
    He looked like he wanted to say more, but he turned and jogged up the path. I watched him for a minute, admiring the way the evening sun bronzed his back as the muscles rippled. Too bad his personality was as hard and tough as his body.
    I sighed. It was just as well that I didn’t like Danesh. He was probably used to giggling