Provided I lived to see tomorrow.
The scene before me was a horrifying tableau. The room had opened up considerably, and farther down, the canal came into view. Three spouts poured water, the noise thundering. It seemed to me we were on the outskirts of the library. The light coming from dozens of torches showed everyone clearly.
Three Egyptian workers sat on the floor with one of my father’s menguarding them with a rifle in his hands. There was one man who had been shot in the head. He lay sprawled on the floor, his blood staining the wood.
He must have been the guard Mr. Graves had mentioned.
The rest of my father’s men had their weapons trained on two people, standing side by side. Mamá and Mr. Fincastle. A pile of knives, two pistols, grenades, dynamite sticks, and a rifle with a leather strap lay in front of his feet. I spotted Whit, still in disguise, directing a look of fury at Papá. It chilled my blood. He would risk his life to save mine. Fight tooth and nail, despite his recent near-death experience.
Slowly, I let my gaze fall on the one person I had been searching for ever since she had left me standing on the banks of Philae.
Mamá.
WHIT
The bloody idiot had brought dynamite down here. No, not just dynamite, but also grenades. I wanted to run toward Inez, but I forced myself to stay still, the gun steady in my hands. The men flanking me were restless, sweat dripping down their faces.
Nervous.
Painful memories pushed their way into my mind. Friends who had been just as nervous the moment before the first shot had been fired.
How thehellwere we going to get out of this alive?
I was going to throttle my wife when this was over. Right after I kissed her senseless. If we made it out alive, I was never going to let her out of my sight.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Lourdes shifting her feet, and my attention flicked over to her. She met my gaze coolly. A sudden tension in her jaw revealed that she had recognized me. She dropped her gaze to the grenades and then flicked her eyes back to mine.
I gave her an imperceptible shake of my head. We were surrounded by water, the ground was rotting beneath my boots, and any blast would topple the columns.
It was ludicrous to consider it.
Then Mr. Sterling spoke, yanking Inez forward, his weapon lodged underneath her delicate chin. Anger burned through my body, as if I were lit from within, an inferno moments before an explosion. My hands shook from it.
Inez looked between me and Lourdes, unerringly seeing past my disguise—cap low on my head and a jacket that didn’t fit properly. My wife would know me anywhere.
And in the second our eyes met, I could see everything she couldn’t say out loud.
Fear for my life. Hope that we would survive the night. Trust that I’d stay by her side, no matter what happened. Love for me.
My hands stopped shaking, my entire being focused on one thing: I would not let her die. I would burn the world twice over to save her life.
CAPÍTULO VEINTISIETE
Mamá’s hazel eyes latched on to mine. She kept her face rigidly composed, but I sensed her frustration and anger. Some of it was directed at me. In her way, she had tried to save me, time and time again. But I had refused to be saved by her.
“Hola, Lourdes,” Papá said, dragging me forward. His tone sounded almost conversational. It was only because I knew him that I could hear the subtle stab of anger. “¿Espero que estés bien?” Then he let out a queer little laugh. His breath tickled my cheek. “But I’m being rude speaking in Spanish. I trust you have been well?”
“Why don’t you say what you came down here to say, Cayo?” Mamá said. “We can skip the pleasantries; I know you don’t mean any of them.”
“Where have you hidden her?” he asked softly. “If you tell me, we can avoid any more unpleasantness.” He indicated the dead guard. “I will, of course, keep Inez with me to verify that you’re telling me the truth.”
Mamá’s attention flickered back to me. “I know you received the tickets I sent you.”
“Don’t answer her,” Papá said. “Lourdes, recall that I am not patient.”
Her eyes flashed. “Oh, I remember.”
“Where is Cleopatra?”
