The CRV bounced and jostled along the rutted dirt road. Dima’s GPS had lost its signal about a mile back. As far as she knew, she was on the right road. Archer’s house should be somewhere close by.
Her cell phone vibrated, making her jump. “Sure. Now you get a signal.” She glanced at the caller ID. It was Addie.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“What’s up?” Addie scolded. “Seriously? You leave me a message telling me I have to take over all your classes for the rest of the semester and you want to know what’s up?”
“The semester’s over in two weeks, Addie. I’ve already made up the exams. You can handle it.”
Addie let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m worried about you, you idiot. You’ve never taken a day off of work, and now you take an indefinite leave? What’s going on?”
Dima bit her lip. She wanted to explain to Addie, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Suddenly this trip to meet Archer felt foolish in the extreme. She was freaked out, to be sure, but the stronger motivating factor was her desire to follow the clue Robert had sent her. Her fascination with Noah and the flood myths had taken hold, and this legend of a Noah Stone seemed the best way to start, at least until Robert showed up again. If he showed up again.
“I’m okay, I just need some time to myself,” she lied. “It’s a long story and I promise I’ll tell you as soon as I can, but it’s not a phone conversation.”
The silence on the other end of the line lasted so long that she thought the call had dropped.
“Addie, are you there?”
“I’m here. I just wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.”
“Don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll be okay. I just need a long-overdue vacation. When I’m back in the swing of things we’ll have another night out and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Up ahead, the drive opened up into a clearing. A tiny, well-kept house stood on the other side. This must be the place.
“All right,” Addie said. “Stay safe and keep in touch.”
“I will.” She was about to end the call when a sudden thought occurred to her. “Say, do you remember that Tyson guy that stopped by the office?”
“Tall, dark, and handsome? Of course I do.”
“That’s him. Listen. If he shows up again, be wary of him.”
“Really? Why?”
“I can’t explain. Just trust me.”
Addie didn’t like it but she agreed with just a hint of reluctance. Dima pocketed her phone, pulled up close to the house, and stopped. She took a deep breath. Archer wasn’t expecting her, and she wondered if he’d consider her sudden appearance an intrusion. It suddenly occurred to her that the man might not even be home. If not, she’d just have to wait for him. She had to see this thing through.
She cut the engine and stepped out into the humid South Carolina day. It wasn’t as bad as Atlanta, but still the damp air felt like a steam room after the blast of her car’s air conditioning. The scent of pine hung heavy in the air and it made her nose itch. Just her luck to discover she had a pine allergy only after moving to the Southeast.
Footsteps from somewhere nearby caught her attention and she turned, expecting to see Archer. Instead, her eyes fell on a hook-nosed man, a Saudi by the look of him, striding toward her. She wondered where he’d come from, but the question was answered when she spotted a white Toyota 4Runner parked in the shelter of a leafy dogwood. She’d been so immersed in her conversation with Addie that she hadn’t even notice.
“Dima Zafrini?”
Alarm bells rang in her mind. Who was he? How did he know her name? How did he know he would find her here? This was all wrong. She was halfway back into her car when a hand clamped over her mouth and a strong arm snaked around her waist.
“I need you to come with me.” The man’s breath smelled of clove cigarettes and his oily tone soured her stomach.
She tried to scream but managed only a muffled groan. Her hands grabbed for the steering wheel, but he yanked her out of the cab and dragged her, thrashing wildly, toward his waiting vehicle. She fought like a cornered cat, kicking and scratching for all she was worth. She jerked her head to the side and managed to utter a weak, “Help” before he muffled her again. She bit down on his finger and heard a satisfying curse, but her efforts were too little. Dima knew how to defend herself, but the man was too strong.
“We want the three stones, and I think you know where to find them,” the man snarled.
Somewhere within the terror coursing through her, she became aware of the crunch of tires on the drive. Her captor released her just as a silver Hyundai Santa Fe skidded to a halt. The doors flew open, and two men leaped out.
Everything happened in a flash. Shots rang out, an engine roared to life, more shots, and then a crash as the Toyota driven by the man who had just attempted to capture her clipped the back of the Hyundai. By the time the dust settled and Dima regained her composure, the man was gone.
She looked at her rescuers, if that was, indeed, what they were. One was a stocky blond man of above-average height. The other was a huge Native American with a ponytail. Both held handguns at their sides and stared in the direction where the Toyota had gone.
“Unbelievable,” the blond man said as he kicked the rear passenger-side tire. He clipped us just right and knocked it off the rim.”
“That was one of the guys, wasn’t it?” his friend asked. “Ahmed.”
“Looked like him. The nose.” The blond man holstered his pistol and turned, his eyes falling on Dima. “Are you all right?”
Adrenaline coursing through her, all her fight or flight responses firing at once, Dima managed only three clipped words. “Who are you?”
“I’m Maddock. This is Bones.” Maddock paused, as if she was supposed to recognize the names. “Look, I know you’ve got to be freaked out about what just happened, but I promise you’re safe now. We’ve already had one run-in with that guy.”
Dima bit her lip. If these two were planning on hurting her, there was nothing she could do. For the first time since moving to Atlanta she wished she’d allowed herself to get caught up in the Southern gun culture.
“I just want to leave.” She hated the quaver in her voice.
“We won’t stop you,” the big guy, Bones, said. “But if he’s lying in wait somewhere down the road, you might find yourself in another hard place. You want to call the cops?”
That eased her concerns a bit, though she was still on her guard. “You said you’ve met him before. Have you had dealings with Trident?”
The way their jaws dropped, almost in unison, would have elicited a giggle from her in almost any other circumstance.
“You know about the Trident?” Maddock asked.
“I don’t know about the Trident, but I know about a company called Trident that deals in antiquities. I’ve got a card from a guy named Tyson.” She returned to her CRV, fished around in her purse until she found the card, and brought it back to show them.
Maddock glanced at it and passed it over to Bones. “Tyson and the guy who tried to kidnap you work together. They attacked Bones’ grandfather trying to get information.”
“Are you serious? What kind of information?”
“The same information you’re looking for — the Noah Stone.”
She saw sincerity in Maddock’s eyes and knew he was telling the truth. She wasn’t completely comfortable with these two just yet, but she was beginning to think maybe she could trust them.
“Everything calming down out here?” said a gruff voice from the direction of the house.
She turned to see a wizened old man standing on the front porch, aiming a rifle in their direction. This must be Archer.
“We’re fine,” she said. “Someone tried to kidnap me and these men chased him off.”
“I saw the end of it,” the man said. “I watched long enough to make sure these two didn’t try anything. I would’ve shot you both if you had.”
“I don’t blame you,” Bones said. “Are you Archer?”
“How about we continue this conversation after you fellows have handed your guns to the young lady?”
“No problem,” Bones said. Slowly, he and Maddock reversed their pistols and handed them to Dima.
“Are the safeties on?” She hoped the answer was “yes.” She didn’t actually know where the safety was on either of these weapons, though she could probably figure it out.
“Mine’s a Glock,” Bones said, as if that answered the question.
“No external safety on that one,” Archer called, apparently seeing her bemusement. “Lock them in your car for now.”
She complied, and the three of them slowly approached the house.
Archer let his rifle dip, but didn’t lower it completely.
“I appreciate the trigger discipline,” Maddock said.
“I’m a veteran,” Archer said simply.
Dima had no idea what they were talking about, and it pissed her off. She made a quick mental note to fill in this gaping hole in her knowledge base, and then interrupted the budding boys’ club. “Mister Archer, we’re here about the Noah Stone. We didn’t come together, but that’s what all three of us are researching. Ben Street from New Echota said you might be willing to talk to us about it.”
“Ordinarily I would be, but this is hardly an ordinary circumstance. You need to convince me real quick why I should talk to you.”
“How about we show you?” Bones slowly opened his leather jacket, reached inside, and withdrew an oddly-shaped black object. “We found the stone.”