Page 38 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Aaden double clicks the final file. A document with strange symbols fills the screen, and Duncan leans away, exhaling sharply. I narrow my eyes. “What?”

“It’s the Septuagint.”

I stare at Duncan, waiting for him to elaborate, but he looks lost in thought, so I prompt him. “The what?”

He blinks. “It’s a page from a manuscript written around 300 BC. Essentially, it’s the Old Testament written in Greek. Scroll down, please, Aaden.”

Aaden moves the page to a photo of another ancient-looking paper. Duncan scrubs his hand down his face. “Shit.”

“What?” If Duncan’s nervous, I’m terrified.

“This is a page from the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Jewish religious manuscripts… some dating four hundred years before Christ. Can you send me a copy of these?”

Aaden attaches the files to an email.

I fold my arms across my chest. “What the hell is going on?”

“Whatever it is, it’s bigger than some disappearances, Locks.”

“How much bigger?”

“Think biblical style.”

My mouth forms a soundlessoh.

Aaden sighs. “We have missing people, a mysterious artifact, a man named Pan, and ancient religious documents. I’m all ears for how this story plays out.”

“Don’t forget the bunch of unidentified powerful beings in the middle of all this,” I mutter.

“And a shadow demon,” Duncan adds.

I groan. “So not complicated and confusing as hell?”

“Don’t mention hell—that’s the last thing this situation needs,” Duncan mutters. We sit for a few minutes, assimilating the information.

Aaden breaks the silence. “We need to talk about last night… about what happened with Archan.” I stiffen; Duncan puts a hand on my shoulder, centering me.

I twist my hands on my lap. “He questioned me about leaving New York to work for Uncle Charlie. I think he bought my reasons, but his men drilled down into what my job is.”

Duncan frowns. “What men?”

“He brought three of his men along. Barney, his head of intelligence. Zac, who I’ve already met; he’s head of security and an ass. And Nathan, who’s head of acquisitions. That seemed strange at the time, but now we know they’re searching for an artifact, it makes sense.”

Aaden scratches his left ear. “What did you tell them?”

“That I protect people from bad things.”

Duncan winces. “You slipped up. Did they notice?”

“Yes. Nathan zoned in on the word ‘things.’”

Duncan runs his hand through his wavy hair. “Shit. He’ll keep going until you break.”

“I know.” I put my head in my hands, exhausted, but not admitting Archan glimpsed my memories of Lawrence. “It’s done now. I just need to be extra careful with my shields. He asked why we stole the files. I told him it’s because I wanted to know what he is. Which he thought was amusing.”

“So we keep going?” asks Aaden.

“We have no choice. He’d come looking for me anyway. At least this way, we have some control.”

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