Is she a suspect or a target?
A year after the chilling death of her mentor, criminologist Harley Frasier is still rattled. Secretly sheâs suspected murder all along. Now the unveiling of the Amenmose exhibit is triggering a series of unexplained attacks, and she has only one man to trust.
FBI special gent Micah Fox is used to charging into dangerous territory to solve a case. Working with a civilian is new ground, especially when sheâs as irresistible as Harley. He canât say no to her sharp instincts and sexy smile. And with a threat closing in, thereâs no way in hell heâll leave her unprotected.
The Finnegan Connection
Harley wondered how she could feel someone so completely when she wasnât even touching that person.
âI have to go,â Micah said. He walked to the door. Harley followed, ready to lock up when he left. She stayed a short distance behind him. She felt as if her flesh and blood, muscle and bone, had come alive, as if neurons or atoms or other chemical entities were flashing through her system with tiny sparks of red-hot fire. He had to leave, otherwise sheâd embarrass herself.
But she didnât really care.
Still, he was right. They needed time. Just because they could hook up didnât mean they should forget that there were consequences to any deed, even if neither had any expectations.
At the door, he turned to her.
She walked forward, her eyes on his, until she was touching him, and when she did, he backed into the door. At the same time, his arms came around her.
She let herself touch his face. Stroke his cheek, feel the power in his arms as he drew her close. She shuddered with delicious abandon as she felt the heat of his body, the texture and strength in his muscles. And then she felt his mouth, crushing hers, and she returned the kiss with equal passion.
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author HEATHER GRAHAM has written more than a hundred novels. Sheâs a winner of the RWAâs Lifetime Achievement Award and the Thriller Writersâ Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.
For more information, check out her website, www.theoriginalheathergraham.com, or find Heather on Facebook.
Prologue
The Mummy
A Year Ago
âSir!â
The word was spoken softly and with respect.
Dr. Henry Tomlinson, renowned Egyptologist, turned. One of the grad students had just slipped through the inner flap of the air-controlled prep tent and was smiling benignly, awaiting his attention.
He hadnât actually taught in about five years, but he still loved itâand working with students. Heâd retired to spend all his time in the field, and heâd recently been hired by Alchemy, an Anglo-American sponsoring company, to head this dig. Alchemy was into all kinds of tech and had become a Fortune 500 company. Every year, they sponsored an exceptional archeological event, followed by a public exhibit. Recent ones had been centered around the Amazon River, central Chinaâand now ancient Egypt. Their resources were phenomenal and Henry still couldnât believe his good fortune. But no matter what monetary resources had been offered, he was thrilled about having grad students involved.
This one was Harley Frasier. Just twenty-six, she was tall, shapely, honey blonde, with a face crafted in perfect classic symmetry and enormous green eyes that seemed to take in everything. She was serious and brilliant and could nail the crux of information with laser-like acuity. She also had a sense of humor and the most delightful laugh he had ever heard.
Of the five specialty graduate candidates, she was, beyond a doubt, his favorite. He often felt like a grandfatherly mentor to herâand the idea made him happy. Heâd had no children of his own. Heâd never even had a wife. No time for a family. He hadnât intended it be that way forever, but there was always so much to do. If heâd had the chance to be a father, he wouldâve been pleased and proud to have had Harley as a granddaughter. She seemed to feel the same closeness to him.
Perhaps their bond was odd since, of the five grad students, she was the one who was different, the only one not majoring in Egyptologyâthough she was minoring in it. She had no plan to go into Egyptology or even archeology or history for her lifeâs vocation.
Harley was with him, first of all, because of her knowledge regarding the field and her love for it. But she was also there because her work was going to be in criminal psychology and forensic science. Henry had been baffled when he was approached by her university. Professors at the Maryland college Harley was attendingâwhich was arguably the top school for criminology and it also offered majors and minors in Egyptology and archeologyâhad explained to him the importance of having a student like Harley on this expedition. He had been on the hunt for the tomb of Amenmose for nearly a decade; for that entire decade, heâd been finding more and more clues about the locationâand, of course, with the permission and blessing of the Egyptian governmentâfinding other ancient tombs and treasures in the process. This allowed for his continued excavations. But the discovery of the tomb of Amenmose was the main focus of his work.