Page 2 of Defying the Relic Hunter

Chapter Two

While watching the evening news vid, I discovered the gold amulet I needed to find Montezuma’s lost treasure was on display at the Phoenix Art Museum. I let out a triumphant whoop and did a little happy dance. My crappy luck was finally changing.

Friday, the museum was sponsoring a big gala event to show off the Aztec artifacts found at the lost city of El Dorado. The Mexican government had kindly arranged to display the pieces for a sizeable donation. For only twenty credits the general public could tour the exhibit today. Damn, there went the last of my gas money.

A picture of the badass Coletti warrior in my vision appeared on the screen. A giddy news anchor announced Ethan Jones was the Overlord’sofficialarcheologist and he would be taking custody of the artifacts for further study.

Like hell he was. Desperate times called for desperate measures. There was only one way to stop him. I had to steal the amulet before Jones got his grimy paws on it.

The only person who could help me out of this mess was Uncle Aldo. He had been a gifted thief until he was injured fighting the Tai-Kok. Now he built gadgets to help our clan liberate priceless goodies and keep the Overlord’s goons from discovering what the Dragos women were truly capable of.

Last year Uncle Aldo retired and moved to Sun City, Arizona where the old ladies are hot to trot. He now spends his time charming the ladies out of their panties. Hey, after all he’s been through, he deserves some fun in the sun.

Hoping he wasn’t on adate, I called Uncle Aldo and to my surprise, he answered immediately. “Ciao.”

I quickly explained the situation and asked for his help.

“Si Kizzy, of course I will help you,” he replied in his heavy Italian accent. “It will be good to sharpen my skills and make fools of la Polizia.”

“Grazie, uncle, I’ll meet you at noon.”

Chapter Three

My uncle had created his own version of the Coletti warrior’s bracelet. Mine was black and silver and equipped with all sorts of cool stuff. With one tap on the scanner icon, I had a three-dimensional view of the museum’s security systems. Not only had it been recently upgraded, they had added facial recognition software. This didn’t concern me since my cousin had deleted all the data Central Command had collected on the Dragos clan. To make my day even more exciting there was a Coletti warrior inside. I’d bet my last credit it was Ethan Jones.

After forking over twenty credits to a middle-aged woman manning the box office; I trailed after the way too perky guide as she chirped on and on about the mysterious Aztecs and their blood thirsty ways. Her incessant giggling made me want to smack her upside the head. What the hell was funny about human sacrifices?

I quickly ditched the tour by ducking behind a large stone artifact. How had that twit landed a job when I couldn’t even get hired at a fast food joint? Fate was an evil, twisted bitch.

My attention was drawn to a nervous executive in a cheap plaid suit. He was escorting a big guy wearing a black cowboy hat around the exhibits. Making sure my electronic null field was working properly, I strolled over for a better look. Yep, it was Ethan Jones. His amber eyes swept over my size fourteen body, lingered for a minute on the cleavage exposed by my turquoise tank top and immediately dismissed me.

Guess I wasn’t his type. You know, a bimbo? A Barbie doll look alike who wears a size zero and has breast implants bigger than her IQ? Hmm. Did Coletti warriors actual go on dates or did they just do the me Tarzan, you Jane routine?

Ethan’s square chin was covered by several days’ growth of bristly black beard. His ebony hair brushed the collar of his horribly loud orange cowboy shirt. The man had to be color blind. I mean, my God, who buys something with big yellow cacti on it?

My gaze skimmed over Ethan’s tight ass and the jeans that fit him like a glove. Hoo boy, the guy was ripped. Made me want to lick him all over.

I smacked my forehead. What the hell was wrong with me? Ok, it’d been awhile since I had a date. A depressed sigh broke from me. So long, in fact, that I had probably forgotten how to kiss properly. I certainly wouldn’t mind practicing on him. Too bad he was Coletti.

Shaking off my sudden longing for a little romance, I hurried over to the display with my amulet in it. I held my wrist scanner an inch above the case.

Wham! Out of the blue, a flurry of images flashed across my mind. A small metal sign with Hieroglyphic Canyon etched on it. The ominous Superstitious Mountains loomed over a large Saguaro cactus covered in white flowers. One large spine pointed down a rocky path. Whoa! I was coming into my powers.

A large, callused hand touched my arm. “Ma’am, you ok?”

Ma’am? Did I look old? I opened my eyes and blinked. A garish cowboy shirt filled my vision. Crap. It was Jones. Tilting my head up, I met his suspicious gaze and pasted an adoring smile on my face. “I appreciate your concern, sugar. Dinner would certainly make me feel better.” I stroked a hand down his massive chest. “Much, much better.”

A dark brow shot up and his mouth tightened. “Some other time, sweetheart.”

“Sugar, you don’t know what you’re missing.” I patted his fine ass.

“Good God! Is she groping you?” The executive’s voice was full of horror.

I turned my attention to him. “I can handle two fellas. Are you up for a threesome?”

I grinned as Jones and the executive beat a hasty retreat. The big, bad warrior had forgotten all about questioning me. Fat girl, one. Warlord, zero.

My dapper Uncle Aldo gave me a slight nod as he squired two beaming elderly women around the displays. His ivory cane was a work of art. It contained a super-duper spy camera equipped with a scanner that would pick up the frequency range of the museum’s security system. It also had a cool electromagnetic pulse feature that fried all electronic devices. With one press of a button, the alarm systems, cameras, lights and communication devices would be put out of commission, permanently. I loved technology.

---