Page 5 of Defying the Relic Hunter

My com-link sprang to life with a wonky beep. “Hello?”

Ethan’s sexy, deep timbered voice asked, “Do you prefer Kizzy or Angel?”

The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. “How did you get my number?”

“I have resources.”

“Like access to a Central Command’s computers?”

Ethan countered with, “Robbing the museum is averybad idea.”

“Are you calling me a thief?”

“You’re a Dragos and your clan likes taking things that don’t belong to them.”

I scowled. “As do the Coletti and look where that got them.”

“Come back to the hotel and we’ll talk.”

I laughed, genuinely amused. “Talk? Do you think I’m that stupid?”

There was a steely edge to his voice when he promised, “I will find you.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

Ethan’s voice became a seductive purr. “Do you know what I find so fascinating about you?”

“Lose the charm, it doesn’t work on me.”

“Ok, Angel, let me spell it out for you. My exact double robbed a jewelry store this morning. The minute my double stepped out the door, he vanished, and poof! Guess who appeared? You. Your illusion was quite convincing and could have resulted in my arrest, but your plan had one fatal flaw. The local police can’t detain a Coletti warlord.”

“How nice for you.” It wasn’t my fault the saleswoman got the screaming meemies. I barely made it out the door before the image I was projecting evaporated.

“There’s one other thing you cleared up for us today.”

I didn’t like the gotcha note in Ethan’s voice. “What’s that?”

“There have been rumors circulating about the women in your clan being psychic. Your actions today proved that to be fact not fiction.”

“It was a computer-generated illusion. Nothing more.”

“Here’s another little-known fact. Central Command installed neuroimaging sensors around the city. When you drew on your psychic powers it showed up on their scanners and they have enough evidence to lock you up for armed robbery.”

Shit! I disconnected and hit speed dial. As soon as my cousin, Sebastian, answered I quickly filled him in on the situation.

“Don’t worry I’ll have Aldo out in an hour, luv, and any information the Coletti have managed to accumulate on us, will be deleted again.”

Utter relief filled me. Sebastian could hack any computer and his associates were experts at rescuing people from Coletti holding facilities. Breaking Uncle Aldo out the county jail would be simple. “Thanks, I owe you one. What’s with the English accent?”

“I’m impersonating John Seymour, the Duke of Somerset.”

“Hasn’t he been dead for like two hundred years?”

“My mark doesn’t know that.”

Horns honked and brakes squealed. I shot a worried look at my rearview mirror. A black Hummer weaved in and out of traffic.

Holy hell! It was Ethan. Gotta say he was a persistent bugger. I was surprised he hadn’t called one of his Coletti buddies out at Luke Air Force base to disable my car. Male pride being what it was, he probably wanted to catch me himself. I swerved around a Lexus and shot down a side street.

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