Javier forced the group to walk quickly through the forest. He had overheard Shawn’s discussion with the authorities, so time, he understood, was running out. With frantic haste bordering on obsession, he hiked through the undergrowth. He growled and turned his head left and right every time a twig broke under someone’s foot.The Russian, too, looked nervous, making sure he covered a 360-degree area with his pistol as he whirled it around wildly.Shawn’s thoughts drifted to Catherine. He wished that the police would come fast enough to get her medical treatment. The wound hadn’t looked good, and his wife must have lost a tremendous amount of blood in a short amount of time.After a few more moments of marching through the trees, the group entered what Shawn had seen earlier. Dave stared at one of the most outstanding Buddha shrines he had ever seen. Loose ground encircled it, indicating that the enormous thing had been largely concealed and buried, if not totally underground for hun

Shawn remained by Hugh’s side, staring at the man he figured to be the one calling the shots. In his mind, he chuckled at the pun. He hoped whoever he was wouldn’t actually call for shots. Dying in an ancient chamber somewhere in Thailand wasn’t what he had planned for this mission. He and Catherine had a plan to go to the Maldives on their honeymoon after another wedding; dying here was unnerving. He hasn't even proposed to her yet. Hugh gave a nod, and a firm hand grasped Shawn’s by the shirt and hauled him up, propping him on his knees. The smartass in him couldn’t be held back any longer. Shawn turned his head and looked at Hugh, who’d picked him up. "Hey! Come on, you have to improve your trash. Let that be a lesson to you. Don’t shove people unless you’re going to help them up after." Hugh raised a brow; he appeared shocked by the statement but mumbled nothing, taking a step back and pointing his gun at Shawn’s head. "Talk, and I will kill you!” "Good to see your sense of hum

"Fuck! What is the problem now?" Hugh demanded very irritably. Ignoring the query, Shawn removed the genuine ring from his pocket and placed it on top of its duplicate to give it more weight. The ground began to tremble again, and the ancient stones' grinding sound resumed at full volume. Instead of ascending, the ground began to descend this time. "Oh, my bloody hell... I hope this isn't the end of us, Shawn! I want to see more of the world and its wonders!" As the massive apparatus continued to glide downward, Dave shouted above the din. "Good!" Hugh and Elizabeth looked at each other, then smirked, while Eddie looked worried. Shawn was suspicious, but he was eager to see where the lift would take them. As they sank into a shaft cut neatly into the sandstone, the ground above was gone. Then, along the border of the moving surface, a gap appeared, growing wider and wider until the old elevator came to a standstill with a thud. The passengers' gaze carefully probed the dark reces

One year later, Chicago The laughter of Shawn and their four-year-old adopted daughter from the orphanage, Mathea, was the sweetest sound in the world to Catherine Richmond. It had been a long trip for the two of them, and after their third wedding, friends gathered to celebrate her coming back into the world. Chelsea was the one who was overjoyed to learn that she was alive, and since then, Shawn vacation house has been tormented by their gifts almost every week, and because Catherine was three months pregnant, they decided to take a long holiday in the Maldives, as Shawn had promised. Everyone had been kept in the dark about Anthony's riches and their travels to Scotland and Thailand. Catherine paused and listened to their antics. Soon, Catherine strolled into their bedroom. "What’s all the laughter about?" she asked, zipping her suitcase. Shawn responded with a smile on her lips. "I helped Mathea close her case and lift it to the floor. It was so heavy I told her I’d better chec

Inside Alfonso's mansion, Chelsea held her composure until she had reached her private quarters on the mansion’s second floor. Once inside, she leaned against the closed door and let her revulsion leak out of her in a shudder. At least she was getting better at the charade. She doesn't have any choice but to play this game if she wants to know about the sudden death of her step-dad. Yes, the man was not perfect, but he raised her enough to know that he didn't just die for some unknown reason.There was a time when she might have had to bite back a scream because the revulsion of Hermano touching her was too much. It had been a year since the old man’s death, but still, she was at a loss of what really happened to him in Thailand, and she knew Hermano was the one to blame.Her skin, however, crawled everywhere Hermano touched her. His strong fingers were still on her body, on her breast. His harsh smack to her backside wounded her dignity as much as it did her ass. She despised being