Page 62 of Fighting for Mallory

Luca pointed toward one of the exits. “That’s a dead end.”

“Okay, we’ll head into one of these other tunnels.”

“Should we split up?” Hutch asked.

“Good idea. Luca, you’re with me. Hutch, the compass should work as long as there aren’t any iron deposits in the area. Let’s meet back here in two hours.”

River picked up a rock. “Here’s my old-fashioned technology.”

The guys laughed and headed in opposite directions into the tunnels.

Luca and Clayton followed a tunnel as it wound its way through the hills. In a little less than two miles, they approached a fork and decided to choose the one to the right.

“You’ve never been down here?” Luca inquired.

“No. As I said before, a lot of the caves in Tennessee are unchartered.”

“When we find the Cave of Osiris, maybe it’ll be named after you.”

“Wemys’ Cave does have a nice ring to it, though it’s redundant.”

“Because your last name means ‘cave’ in Gaelic.”

“Right.” Clayton paused. “I admire you, Luca.”

“You don’t like me.”

Clayton chuckled. “About as much as I like a root canal. You’re too rash and impulsive to suit me, but I admire your tenacity for the sake of love.”

Luca cocked his head. “Funny you should think that. River and Hutch would tell you that I’m the calm, rational one of us, in spite of my Italian heritage. Except when it comes to Mallory. We Martinelli men are cursed with loving only one woman for life.”

“So, if Mallory’s husband hadn’t been murdered, you would live like a monk the rest of your life?”

“Not like a monk. Just without marriage. I won’t marry a woman who doesn’t own my heart.”

They paused to examine interesting markings on a small cavern wall. “Have you ever been in love, Clayton?”

“Me? I’ve always shied away from it like a nest of yellow jackets. Not in any hurry to get stung.”

“It’s both exhilarating and frightening when you’re that vulnerable to another human being. When I met Mallory and my heart settled on her, it was as if I’d been sleeping and suddenly awakened. Life took on a whole new meaning for me.”

“But she married someone else.”

Luca’s heart twisted a little having a stranger point it out to him. “True.”

Clayton diverted his attention away from the painful truth of Luca’s relationship with Mallory. “What do you make of these intricate symbols?”

Luca swept his flashlight across the drawings. “They appear Egyptian to me.” Excitement over the discovery rushed through him.

“To me, too.”

“Can you decipher them?”

“No. But I know someone who can.” Clayton snapped several pictures with a digital camera. “Let’s return to the blue cave. Hutch and Miguel should be there by now. It’s been longer than two hours.”

The men reunited and compared notes. Hutch and River found several small caves but nothing as interesting as the Egyptian symbols that Luca and Clayton had discovered. Topside, Clayton sent the photographs to a colleague, an archaeologist well-versed in Egyptology. While they waited for a response, Judd, Faith, Maverick, and the other members of the team rejoined them in small groups of two and three.

“Did you find anything?” Luca asked the others.

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