Page 75

“Hey, so I’m with Indy. And, no, she didn’t know anything about this project.”

“Are you kidding?” demanded Callie. “Those assholes! This is so fucking typical.” There was a muffled sound while she transmitted the information to Nikos. “Can you put Diana on the phone?”

“Hey, Callie,” Indy responded numbly.

“Hey, Diana. It’s so nice to hear your voice again. I thought it would be under better circumstances though. We were sure you knew about the excavation.”

“No, I was told the artifact was an elaborate fake. It was even going to be featured on a new series called Incredible Hoaxes.”

“It’s definitely not a hoax, Diana,” came Nikos’s voice. “God, I’m so sorry I didn’t reach out to you earlier. Reginald Harris assured me that you knew and that you were working on another project.”

“What?” She closed her eyes. “Why would he lie about this?”

It seemed obvious to me. That bastard wanted to take all the credit and had made Indy feel like crap the whole time, so she’d doubt herself. He’d played on the fact that she looked up to him. Greedy bastard.

“I have no idea, but I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” said Nikos.

“No!” cried Diana. “Don’t let on for the moment. I have to figure out what to do.”

“We could sabotage the filming. Jump in there and call the bastard out!” Callie cried, and I could imagine her pacing in heels as she spoke. “Levi, you should get your ass over here. If ever there was a smug bastard who needed a right hook to the jaw, it’s him. This is your chance.”

I rolled my eyes. Callie and Liv were forever threatening people with ass kicking by me. I don’t know where they got the idea that I was such a great fighter. But, I had to admit, giving Harris a sucker punch to the gut was an appealing idea.

“You’re right, Cal. We’re coming.”

“We are?” Indy gaped at me.

“This slimy bastard needs to be outed in front of his History Channel cameras for the world to see.” Blood was pumping through my veins. I was ready to get him. “Whatever you do, don’t let him take off with anything.”

I hung up and immediately started looking for tickets to Rhodes, the closest airport to Lyra. Once there, we’d have to take a ferry to the smaller island.

“We missed the first flight.” The next one left in an hour. No way we were making that one and the only other one had a long layover in Athens that would make us arrive the next day. Too late.

“Levi, just forget about it. I hate flying anyway.”

“Come again?” I stared at her like she was speaking a foreign language. “Your father is a pilot. Your brother was a pilot. Didn’t you spend your childhood in a cockpit?”

“I used to like flying when my dad took me as a kid. But since Josh’s accident . . . I avoid it when I can.”

Another punch to the gut. I had an idea. “What if I flew us?”

“Right, because the Air Force is going to let you borrow a plane.” She snorted.

“No, but I know someone who would.”

Chapter 29

Levi

We arrived at the private airport near Venice in less than thirty minutes. I’d convinced one of my buddies, Massimo, an Italian businessman with a passion for aviation and a couple jets he rarely used to lend one me.

Massimo was waiting for us beside his Ferrari looking like an ad for Giorgio Armani in a dark suit, his dark hair silver at the edges. I felt sloppy in comparison with my unshaved jaw and faded jeans. My bomber rocked though. He’d offered to buy it off me once, but no way was I parting with this baby. He held out his hand and gave me a hardy embrace, slapping me on the back. Then he turned to Indy, and the appraising look he gave her made me want to shove him. How was it that I never noticed my feelings for Indy went far beyond brotherly affection when I always got so protective of her?

I’d never been that way with any other girl.

Just Indy. I smiled at how many times I’d used that phrase without knowing what I meant. What a dolt I’d been.

“Now, I see why you are so eager to help this young woman. Bellissima.” Massimo’s hands hung around Indy’s waist as he kissed her cheeks in greeting. And Indy had the nerve to blush. I cleared my throat and Massimo dropped his hands.