Deadly Promises (Tracers #2.5)(70)

Kelsey and her college kids, parked out here with all their SUVs and computer equipment, were sitting ducks. Gage found it amazing they hadn’t had more than a few break-ins. Of course, the fact that the students headed into town each night, back to the relative comfort of the lodge they’d taken over for the summer, made the dig site less of a target for thieves. But the setup left Kelsey and the geriatric Dr. Robles alone with a crapload of computers and equipment.

For a woman who worked at one of the world’s top crime labs, Kelsey showed a remarkable lack of street smarts.

Gage hauled his zillionth bucket of dirt and emptied it onto a large wire screen for sifting. Kelsey’s beanpole assistant Aaron gave him another one of his sullen looks.

“Thirty minutes, people.” Kelsey’s voice rang out across the site. “Then we’ll call it a wrap.”

Gage cut a glance at his principal. She was sweaty and sunburned and her skinny legs were dotted with scrapes and old bruises. A lock of that fiery red hair had come loose, and she stuffed it back inside her Padres cap as she meted out instructions to one of her underlings. Gage watched her work. She was bossy and annoying and promised to be a royal pain in his ass for the next seven days.

And yet there was something about her that made his blood hum. He had no idea what it was—she was the polar opposite of his usual type. And yet he felt it, just beneath the surface, the steady thrum of lust coursing through his veins.

Gage needed a woman. Soon. Didn’t it figure that the one woman to stir his interest after months and months of celibacy would be the niece of his CO, a woman completely off-limits for some quick-and-dirty fun?

But “fun” hadn’t been part of Gage’s vocabulary in months. And that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. He’d come here to work, not play, and the last thing he needed was to get tangled up with a woman guaranteed to make his life an even bigger mess than it already was.

Gage trudged back into the cave for another bucketful of dirt.

KELSEY FOUND AARON working on the ossuary at the back of the cave, where a battery-powered lamp illuminated a jumble of prehistoric bones. Besides being a brilliant scholar, her field assistant was one of the most meticulous diggers she’d ever known, and she watched with admiration as he worked his roped-off patch of earth. He lay flat against a fence slat that spanned the pit. The makeshift brace enabled him to reach down and remove soil without causing unnecessary disturbance to the burial site.

“Only two centimeters to go on that skull,” she said.

Aaron glanced up at her and lifted an eyebrow. She’d made major progress this afternoon.

“Where’d you get the beefcake?” he asked.

She cocked her head to the side. She hadn’t expected such open hostility.

“Mr. Brewer is a law enforcement colleague visiting from California.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. “He’s interested in our dig, and I told him he was welcome to lend a hand.”

Aaron got to his feet and wiped his hands on his jeans. He glanced over Kelsey’s shoulder, where at the mouth of the cave Gage had been making himself useful hauling dirt. He’d been at it two hours, and by Kelsey’s estimation he equaled about six of her anemic grad students.

Aaron crouched down and began dropping tools into a canvas bag.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” she said, “I thought you might give him a brief tour before you pack up for the day.”

Aaron snorted. “No trouble at all. Although I’m not sure ‘tour guide’ falls within my job description.”

“Fine, I’ll do it. You can type up the notes for Dr. Robles.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. Just don’t expect me to teach him Archaeology 101. He can crack a book like the rest of us.”

Kelsey swallowed a bitchy comment. She didn’t really want to bicker. She’d had enough aggravation convincing Dr. Robles to allow a newcomer on the project at this late date. Maybe he would have been more cooperative if she’d told him the truth about Gage’s purpose here, but Robles was a lifelong pacifist and she didn’t want to risk a negative reaction if he found out Gage was a Navy SEAL. So she’d come up with the law-enforcement-colleague spiel, which vaguely resembled the truth. It was the only way she could think of to explain Gage’s obvious cluelessness about archaeology and the SIG Sauer plastered to his hip.

“Thank you,” Kelsey said. “I’m going to type up my notes. If I don’t see you before you leave—”

“Dr. Quinn!”

Kelsey whirled around to see a pair of students picking their way around the cave’s stalagmites. They stepped into the lamplight and she saw that it was Dylan and Jeannie, a couple who’d hooked up over the course of the summer.

“What is it?” Kelsey asked.

“We found something,” Jeannie gushed. “Something you need to come see. It’s a mandible.”

“Human,” Dylan added. “We found it in the creek bed just south of the mine shaft.”

“What were you doing at the mine shaft?” The old mercury mine was almost a mile south, along the same stretch of roadway where that woman had been shot.

And the sudden flush of Jeannie’s cheeks told her exactly what they’d been doing at the mine shaft.

Kelsey huffed out a breath. “You guys, come on. Did you listen to anything at all I’ve said about safety? That area’s not even part of our dig.”