like we think he did in this case because of a personal vendetta, but his association with their organization as a whole is wellknown and well-documented. We know from surveillance that Hanif Busir has been smuggling archaeological treasures out of Egypt for years—they’d be sold for a hefty profit on the black market, and a portion of the proceeds were funneled back into the pockets of the ELA, thereby funding their cause. What we’ve never been able to prove is the link between the artifact black market that exists throughout Africa and Asia and Europe, the SCA that governs archaeological research in Egypt and the ELA.”
“Until I came along,” Kat said quietly.
“Until you came along,” Agent Hawass repeated, nodding her way. “Which is why we took a backseat and monitored Minyawi’s movements these past few days here in the States. When it came to my attention that you were in fact alive, we hesitated to become involved, hoping you could provide the evidence we needed. However, when we realized Bertrand was operating on his own, we were ready to step in. The incident in the park was unfortunate, and had you not rushed out of there so quickly, we could have ended this then and taken you into protective custody. Of course, that didn’t happen.” She glanced between them. “So now it all boils down to evidence. And from what I understand, there is none.”
Kat looked at Pete with creased brow as Agent Hawass turned to Pete. “Because of the international implications of this case, Officer Slade has agreed to let me sit in on your questioning. Your cooperation will be noted when your case is prosecuted.”
“It’s about time, Kauffman,” Slade said. “We need to go.”
“Wait a minute,” Kat interjected. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I have proof—”
Pete’s chest tightened. Yeah, their happily ever after had just crashed and burned.
“Can you give us a minute?” he said to Slade and Hawass.
The two exchanged glances, then nodded and stepped back to the door.
Kat turned wide, confused eyes up to his. “What’s going on?” she asked with a hint of panic in her voice. “Pete, what questioning are they talking about?”
He took both of her hands in his and squeezed them, feeling the warmth of her skin against his own. “I want you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“When you leave here, I want you to go see my friend Rafe Sullivan. Hailey knows how to get in touch with him. He’s got something for you. In Florida. Trust him like you trust me, and don’t give him a hard time about this.”
“What do you mean by ‘this,’ Pete?” She tightened her grip on his hands and searched his face for answers to questions he guessed she was already figuring out. The blanket around her shoulders fell to the floor. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“Maria can’t find your necklace, Kat.”
“But—”
“I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life. I stayed ahead of most of it, covered up my tracks, didn’t care who was hurt as long as I got ahead. I was careful, and I was smart. And I made sure it wouldn’t ever come back to bite me in the ass. There’s never been anything in my life I’ve believed in enough to make me change my thinking. Not until you.”
She darted a look at Slade near the door, then back at Pete’s face. “What did you do?” she whispered.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb over her soft cheek. “I did exactly what you would have done. What you did. And I don’t regret it. Not even for a moment.”
“No, no, no,” she whispered. “Pete.” She didn’t try to hide the tears. They just spilled over her sooty lashes and slid down her cheeks. “Tell them you changed your mind. Tell them—”
“It’s already done, Kat.”
Her words fell silent at that revelation, but her tears continued to fall, and her hands tightened on his as if she didn’t want to ever let him go.
In the silence between them he fingered the medal at her chest. “You were wrong, you know. About this. You’re not a lost cause. You never were. And you were wrong about what happened. You didn’t ruin my life, Kat. You saved it. In the best possible way.”
He let go of her hands, cradled her face in his palms and kissed her ever so gently.
“Please don’t do this,” she whispered, grasping his forearms. “I can’t live without you.”