Closing his eyes, he nodded. “How did Christine get the gun? Her hands were behind her back.”
“Yoga, I think,” Paige said.
He opened his eyes and squinted at her. “What?”
“Kinley said she did yoga. I figure she was able to slip her hands under her ass then slipped her legs through her arms. I haven’t been able to do that since I was nine.”
“You found yourself tied up a lot as a kid?”
“My brother was a shit when we were growing up.”
The corners of his mouth turned up briefly. “Is she dead?”
She nodded. He nodded back and closed his eyes again. He was seriously tired, but he had more questions.
“Where’s Kinley?”
Paige brushed at the edge of her skirt. “As far as I know, she’s back in North Carolina.”
“What do you mean, as far as you know?”
“When we evacuated you out, she was transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City. From there, she was sent to D.C. to answer questions from the Guatemalan government. We felt it was better for her to be back on U.S. soil before answering any questions about bodies and priceless treasure.”
“Jesus,” he said. “You had her do that on her own?”
She scoffed. “Of course not. We sent Jocelyn Gantry to act as her lawyer.”
That was something at least. He would have rather been there with her, but that obviously wasn’t possible.
“Right. On to business,” Paige said. “This has been an expensive vacation for Leonidas. Thankfully, the International Archaeological Foundation and the Government of Guatemala have contracted with us for site security of the excavation of the ruins.”
That got his attention. “Who’s leading the dig? From the Foundation?”
“I’d have to look it up, but I think it’s a Dr. Bright or Bart. Something like that.”
“Biert?” he asked.
She nodded. “That might be it.”
“That’s bullshit. Kinley should be the lead on the dig—she found it! It was her research that led to the discovery. She deserves the credit!”
“You need to calm down before you pull something,” Paige said. “I don’t know how the decision was made or who else is on the team. All I know is he is the person we were given as the point of contact for coordination. You might also be interested to know that both you and Kinley are receiving a quarter of a percent finder’s fee.”
“A whole quarter of a percent, huh?” Not that he wasn’t interested, but he doubted that would be any consolation to Kinley. She wanted to be part of the discovery. She wanted the credit, not the riches—not that a quarter of a percent sounded like a lot anyway.
“The overall worth of the treasure that’s been foundso faris estimated to be around half a billion dollars.”
His jaw dropped.
“Yeah. Congratulations. You’re a millionaire and everyone gets bonuses this year. Except you. As soon as you’re well enough, you’ll take over as security site lead.” She cocked her head. “Unless you’d prefer to do something else and not return to Guatemala.”
Shane was still gaping at her when she dropped that second bomb. “No. I want the site lead.” If there was any chance at all of Kinley returning to the site, he wanted to be there. And if she wasn’t invited, he’d make damn sure she was.
“Good. I’ll leave you to rest.”
* * *
Three days later, Shane shuffled down the hall holding on to the handicap rail like a ninety-nine-year-old man. The physical therapist said to walk, so he was walking. So much, the nurses yelled at him after his third lap around the hall.
