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“Where is he?” asked Major, looking at Pigsty and the others.
“We thought you would want to know,” smiled Spencer. “He’s teaching at Penn. That’s a university.” Hex laughed, shaking his head.
“We know, son.”
“Oh, okay. Well, he’s there for the summer, but he leaves in six days.”
“That’s okay,” said Major. “I’ll be seeing him before then.” Elena gripped his arm, pulling him back.
“Not without me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I love you, Elena, but listen to me, and listen good. You will not put yourself under stress, you will not get excited, you will not get near him without me.” Major stared at her seated beside him in the SUV. The jet landed at a private airstrip with Elena, Major, Brix, Sebastian, and Forrest. From there, they headed to Penn, knowing that Dr. Roderick Weathers was in a lecture hall for the next hour.
Elena was so anxious she wanted to leap from the vehicle as it was still moving. Sebastian opened the door for her, taking her hand and squeezing.
“Not without us, sweetheart. We will be between you and him at all times. Don’t run, don’t jump, don’t do anything without us.” He smiled at her, then kissed her forehead to let her know she had support.
“I understand,” she nodded. “I won’t risk me or the baby. Or any of you.”
“Fucking glad to hear that, but don’t worry about us,” frowned Major.
The campus of Penn was absolutely stately. The beautiful buildings, landscaping, and the feeling of being on historic grounds were nearly overwhelming. Any other time, it would have been a lovely little adventure for them. Not today.
Entering the building wrote down from the information they’d gathered, they walked the long hallway, Elena in the center of their protective ring.
They quietly opened the doors to the lecture hall, the asshole at the front of the room trying to charm his students.
“The excitement and utter pleasure of seeing something for the very first time that no one else has touched in thousands of years is quite liberating!” he exclaimed. Young women giggled, practically swooning at the silver-haired man. He looked up to see the strangers and waved for them to be seated.
“Please take a seat. I welcome guests,” he said with a British accent. Elena moved to the front, and the professor froze. His jaw dropped open, and they could see his face turning red from the back of the room. He was not pleased to see her.
“Don’t let him fool you, ladies. He’s not from England. He’s from Arkansas originally. He’s quite adept at fooling others. It’s a game he plays very well.”
“I-I think class is over,” he said calmly. “I’ll see you next week.”
As the room slowly emptied, the students made sure they went around the huge men and one very angry-looking woman. Whispering to one another, they were unsure of what the strangers were doing in their lecture, but they weren’t about to interfere.
“Elena. It’s lovely to see you.” He fidgeted with his papers, gathering them and organizing them into a neat stack.
“Don’t be any more of an asshole than you already are, Roderick. You ruined my career. Ruined it, and you very conveniently never bothered to tell me that you ran the dig that entered my father’s tunnel from the opposite side.”
He froze, closing his books and quickly gathering the rest of his things.
“If you think you’re leaving this room without giving an explanation, you’re dead-ass wrong,” said Sebastian. “I’ve been reading up on mummification. It would be horrible to be mummified alive, don’t you think? I mean, I’ll knock you out before I do it, but when you wake, you’re gonna be screamin’ at the top of your lungs.”
“I-I have another class,” he stammered.
“No, you don’t,” said Major. “Explain. Now.”
“Why did you ruin my career?” asked Elena. “I deserve to know.”
“I was paid. Don’t ask me who paid me. I don’t know. I was in debt, and I needed money to continue the dig. Someone sent me a letter asking me to divert you. To do anything to keep you away from the dig sites. They offered me five hundred thousand dollars.”
“You ruined my career for money?” she snapped, starting to move forward. Major never even looked down at her. Just grabbed her waist and lifted her off her feet, setting her back down behind him.
“Who was it?” asked Major.