Shadows and Ruins Read online

  father, she'd found happiness with Gregory.

  He took a deep breath. "I'll need to see how things go. It's crazy around here right

  now. Can I call you next week?"

  Her deep sigh penetrated the miles of phone lines until it sounded like she stood

  next to him rather than in New York.

  "Is everything all right there?" she asked.

  Mothers. They knew when something was wrong. It seemed to be in their genes.

  "Everything is fine." He hated to lie to her, but he'd lied for so many years, it came

  easy to him. With that ability to fib, though, came a price.

  Shane felt the pain start at the base of his skull. It tightened his shoulders and burst

  over the top of his head in a painful arc. He rubbed his neck to release the knots.

  "All right," she said as if resigned. "I'll wait to hear from you."

  When they hung up, Shane closed his eyes and tension slowly drained from his

  bunched muscles.

  He made his way out to the truck. Charlie followed him and jumped into the

  vehicle, happy to go for a ride. Shane climbed in and started the engine. He sat for a

  moment and let the truck grumble and sputter in the cold morning air.

  "This isn't going to be easy, girl." He reached to scratch behind one of Charlie's

  floppy ears. She grinned again and barked.

  He frowned. "You're no help."

  * * * * *

  The blades of the small fan sitting on the kitchen counter of Grant's RV rotated

  slowly, barely stirring the dry, hot air. Emma shifted and her thighs stuck to the plastic

  seat. Hot didn't begin to describe the day. Blazing was more like it. Grant's matching

  temper caught her off guard.

  "You're kidding?" Grant said as he almost choked on his hot black coffee. As he

  lowered his mug, he stared at her over the small table. "Why the hell didn't you tell me

  last night?"

  "I would've but you were out." She'd wasted precious sleep time when she'd

  driven to the campground at nine o'clock the previous evening and discovered Grant

  hadn't returned from Cortez.

  He fiddled with the handle on his mug, rubbing it absently with his right thumb.

  "There must be some way to get him to change his mind."

  Emma sighed. "No. He's giving us one more week to clean up and get out."

  "Someone ought to give that man a good ass-kicking." Grant rose from his bench

  seat to toss the rest of his coffee in the sink. "We just negotiated everything to

  satisfaction with his uncle."

  Idly Emma wondered if Grant thought he could kick Shane's ass. She knew he

  wouldn't stand a chance against Shane's superior strength. She'd felt that barely

  leashed force when Shane held her in his arms last night. Heat flooded her face and

  body as she remembered how she'd felt wrapped in his powerful arms and the erotic

  needs that came with his embrace. No, don't think about that. If you do, he'll haunt you all

  day.

  He'd popped into her dreams with disturbing regularity last night. Half-formed

  dreams featuring them naked, writhing together in a sexual ecstasy that remained foggy

  and out of her reach. She'd awakened with her pussy wet and her lower belly throbbing

  with the need for release. She'd thought about relieving her desires with her own hand

  then decided against it. If she didn't take the self-relief, she could pretend that Shane

  didn't turn her on and hadn't brought her to this screaming, edge-of-a-knife arousal.

  Besides, she had to be twisted ten ways to Sunday to desire Shane. He was rude,

  uncompromising, and didn't like her.

  She sipped her coffee and winced. The bitter black liquid tasted like someone made

  it hours ago rather than a few minutes before. She took another bracing swallow.

  "We negotiated with his uncle. We can keep on working on Clement's land. We

  have less than a week to finish on Shane's land," she said.

  Grant sauntered to the bathroom and came back out with a leather tie for his hair,

  yanking the tangled mass back out of his face and securing it tightly.

  She'd never seen him this riled before. Spearing him with her sharpest glance, she

  slapped down her mug and coffee sloshed over the side. She went to the sink to grab a

  paper towel. She reached over to wipe off the table.

  Grant sat down at the table, anger etched into a hard face. "Well, I'm going to find

  out what the hell's going on. First I'm calling his uncle again—"

  "That's not going to make any difference."

  "How do you know?"

  "Because I get the impression Shane doesn't do things just because his uncle tells

  him he should."

  "How would you know?"

  She opened the cabinet beneath the sink and threw the paper towel in the trash.

  "That's the type of man he is."

  "You're sure he didn't give you any indication of why he won't let us finish up on

  his land?"

  She sank into the booth seat across from him, feeling tired and a little achy. "No.

  But now that I'm going to be camping on site, I'll be able to spend more hours there

  without time wasted through travel."

  Grant's expression softened as he reached over to touch her hand. "I'm sorry. I

  shouldn't have gotten so upset. I seem to be doing that a lot lately."

  She pulled her hand out from under his. "I think right now we should concentrate

  on finishing the excavation as quickly as possible. If we really press it, we can get done

  in a week."

  He nodded. "I'll follow you out to the site. We're late as it is."

  As Emma made her way to the door, he stepped in front of her. "When I'm not

  around, I want you to take care if O'Donnell shows up."

  Before she could say a thing or move back, his lips came down on hers. She was so

  startled that she didn't move for several seconds. His lips were cool and touched her

  lightly, but the moment she recovered, Emma recoiled.

  "Grant—"

  His mouth came down on hers again, and this time he put his hands around her

  waist as he immediately plunged his tongue between her lips, pushing, prodding.

  Panic sliced through her. Horrific memories pushed at her mind. Her heart

  pounded, her breath hard as she recoiled. Repulsed by his sudden carnivorous kiss, she

  attempted to yank back from him. He tightened his grip. As his kiss deepened, she

  twisted her head to the side.

  "Grant, stop it." She pushed against him once more. This time he released her and

  she quickly moved to the door. Fright pumped through her blood. Her breath came

  quickly and unsteadily as she opened the door and stepped out. She didn't give him a

  second glance as she ran for her car.

  * * * * *

  As early morning sun poured across the site, Emma sifted through soil she'd

  poured into the sieve. Perspiration dotted her brow and she paused to wipe her arm

  across her forehead. She pulled the bill of her baseball cap a little lower on her forehead

  to block out the hot rays.

  For the past half-hour she'd experienced a prickling sense of being watched and it

  distracted her from concentrating. Was it Shane? If so, why?

  She'd pondered Shane's change of heart and his refusal to explain why he wanted

  them off his land so quickly. She wanted to chalk it up to plain meanness. But intuition

  told her there must be more to the situation than that. Much more.

 
; An engine reverberated in the distance, and trepidation made her stop work. She

  looked down the road approaching the site. She glanced over at Grant and noted he

  worked in the pit and painstakingly removed a metallic object from one corner using a

  dental pick. Take it easy. You're not alone, Emma. Even with Grant there she didn't feel

  comfortable, her nerves jumping at every sound. After Grant's unwanted kiss, she felt

  awkward as hell around him.

  Besides, his sudden aggressiveness had her seriously rethinking her position with

  Grant Wilder Archaeology. Clearly, if she wanted to press the issue, she could accuse

  Grant of sexual harassment. She hadn't led him to believe she wanted a physical

  relationship with him, yet he'd pounced on her with clear forcefulness. She decided to

  carve out some time to speak with him about what had occurred.

  Several moments later the vehicle that had been speeding in their direction came

  into view. Great. An ugly green truck. It was Shane.

  Damn.

  Grant rose from his crouch and stepped out of the pit. The grim slash of his mouth

  and his flushed face screamed defiance. No, she wasn't looking forward to this at all.

  She peeled off her gloves. As a wave of weariness passed through her, she closed

  her eyes. Maybe if she kept them closed long enough, Shane's truck would disappear

  and him along with it. She opened her eyes slowly.

  Nope. Not only was he there, he'd climbed from the truck and an unusually large

  black Labrador trailed behind him. She stiffened. Was the dog friendly or had Shane

  brought the animal for leverage? Shane headed directly for the pit. Today he'd pulled

  his hair back with a leather tie. Somehow, though, Shane's thick, glorious hair shone

  beautifully in the sun, whereas Grant managed to look anemic. Shane also wore a

  nondescript red T-shirt, worn jeans and hiking boots. He presented a casual

  appearance, but every time she saw him now, her heart started a silly patter and her

  belly fluttered.

  Shane glanced in her direction and for a second she thought she detected a

  softening in his eyes. This idea evaporated as quickly as it came when he stopped in

  front of Grant and lowered a hard stare on the smaller man. Emma walked toward

  them, ready to take up the banner of negotiator if the situation warranted.

  "I didn't expect to see you here," Grant said flatly, taking off his baseball cap.

  "I was invited to visit the site anytime I wanted," Shane said, looking at Emma as

  she approached. "Unless of course, you've decided I can't be on my own land."

  "We did invite him to observe the dig, Grant," Emma said.

  Grant nodded and gazed up at the taller, far larger man in front of him. He smiled,

  but the grin held pure insolence. "We have a lot of work to do. We don't need you

  making things difficult by hovering around and distracting us. Considering the

  shortened timeframe you gave us, I'd think you'd understand that."

  Oh, Grant. I can't believe you said that. Was he nuts, antagonizing Shane?

  Shane stood with feet spread apart and crossed his arms in a pose that demanded

  compliance. "Emma invited me. Since you're on my property I don't need your prior

  approval."

  "Emma was wrong. When she discussed it with me this morning, I told her so."

  Grant's lips twitched, a fleeting, sarcastic smile that vanished almost instantly. "I have

  some serious problems with your tactics."

  "For a man who has a business hanging by a short tether, it would seem to me

  you'd try a little more diplomacy." Shane's glance landed on Emma and stayed.

  "Maybe you'd better let Emma handle all people contact. She has tact and business

  sense. She's handled me so far."

  Grant stiffened as if someone had rammed a poker up his back and he glared at

  Emma.

  She hadn't expected the compliment, especially not from Shane. Suspicious of his

  agreeable words, she kept a mental distance and a wary watch. Grant looked ready to

  explode, his face reddening.

  Emma's heart beat faster. This situation was going south fast.

  Grant tilted his chin up in resentment. "I don't think you should lecture me on

  diplomacy. Are you here because you want to see what we've found and the progress

  we've made or are you here because you're sniffing around Emma?"

  Shocked by Grant's statement, Emma's mouth dropped open. "Grant!"

  Grant glanced at her. "Let me handle this."

  The patronizing asshole. How dare he?

  Shane's gaze latched onto Grant like a guard dog on a burglar's leg. "Right now,

  Wilder, I'm holding back because I know my uncle wants you to stay here and work. If

  it weren't for him, you wouldn't have been here in the first place, and you wouldn't be

  here now." He took a deep breath, as if restraining himself. "I'll observe for a short time

  and then I have work to finish. I won't be here long."

  Grant's jaw clenched. Weary of the testosterone level, Emma intervened. "I can

  show you what we've found so far and answer any questions you have."

  Shane nodded, his clear eyes warming enough to take her off guard. "I'd like that."

  Immediately Grant turned on her with a firestorm in his eyes. "Jesus, I can't believe

  this. Are you trying to cozy up to him too? Is that what this is all about? Maybe I ought

  to just let you go now."

  "Let me go?" Her stomach lurched with a sickening jolt. "What are you talking

  about?"

  Grant put his hands back on his hips. "You've let your hormones get in the way of

  your judgment. By inviting him here you've jeopardized the integrity of the site and our

  ability to perform our jobs."

  Shocked into silence, she didn't speak. She'd never seen him this irrational. Could

  he be acting this way because she'd rebuffed his kisses?

  Shane took a couple of steps toward them. "Don't get crazy on me, Wilder. This

  isn't her fault. She's been trying to work with me. Which is more than I can say for

  you."

  Grant swung back to Shane and put his hand up to keep Shane from approaching

  closer. "Keep the hell out of this. She works for me."

  Looking down at the hand Grant had placed on his chest, Shane's fists clenched at

  his sides. His eyes went as cold as the ocean at the North Pole. Danger rippled off him

  in almost palpable waves. She glanced at the dog. The Lab's ears twitched and the

  animal shifted on her agile legs, expectant, and sensing the high tension between the

  men.

  "Back off," Shane said softly, glaring at Grant.

  "You back off," Grant said. He gave Shane a little shove and Shane took a step back.

  The dog growled, and Emma expected the animal to launch itself at Grant any

  minute, but it remained steady, watchful.

  Emma kept an eye on the dog. "Grant, stop it."

  Grant shoved Shane again. Shane stumbled back slightly. The dog growled again.

  Primal anger coiled Shane's muscles and she caught a feral gleam flashing through his

  eyes. How much longer before his bestial side erupted? She didn't have long to wait.

  With surprising speed Grant swung his fist, aiming for Shane's jaw. Shane ducked.

  The dog jumped into the fray, grabbing Grant's pant leg and pulling, her teeth bared,

  growling low in her throat.

  "Grant! Stop it!" Emma reached for Grant's arm. Ignoring the dog, he swung


  backwards with the arm she gripped, shoving her so hard she landed with a hard

  thump against the unyielding earth. The air whooshed out of her lungs and her head hit

  the ground. For a blinding second, her past from five years ago returned with sickening

  intensity. She recalled the mad rush to escape, the way her breath hissed from her

  throat as the man had launched a punch straight at her chin.

  She shoved the disjointed memory away just as the world swirled around her and

  threatened to go black.

  * * *

  Chapter Five

  Emma's thoughts swirled and dipped, her senses rattled.

  She heard a grunt, a curse and the sound of feet shuffling. With effort she pulled

  herself up onto her elbows and watched as Shane reached for Grant and twisted the

  neck of his T-shirt up with one hand.

  "Charlie, down!" Shane's voice echoed in the wilderness.

  The Lab immediately retreated but remained watchful, baring her teeth and

  growling.

  Grant struggled, swinging out, aiming for Shane's stomach. Shane moved away

  with a grace almost as entrancing as that of a ballet dancer or a boxer. He doubled up

  his other fist and landed a sucker punch to Grant's midsection. She heard Grant gasp

  and he dropped to his knees, his eyes wide. Shane stood over him, his feet planted

  apart, his stance rigid and ready for action.

  "Don't you ever, ever touch Emma again, you son of a bitch," Shane snarled, his

  chest rising and falling with deep breaths. The deep, unmistakable threat convinced her

  that if Grant touched her again, Shane would disable him without hesitation.

  Grant sucked in air like a floundering fish, hands on his thighs, his head hanging

  low. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out but a gasp.

  Emma stared at her boss, stupefied by the events of the last few seconds. The dog

  stopped growling, and Shane turned away from Grant and came toward her. Deep

  concern reflected in his eyes. He crouched down by her side as she pushed her way into

  a sitting position. He placed one warm hand between her shoulder blades.

  "Are you all right?" he asked softly, glancing at her and then at Grant, who

  continued to gulp for air.

  She nodded, well aware of the pitching and rolling in her stomach but unwilling to