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group of teenagers bent over their phones. The cold and darkness
of those hours seemed like a lifetime ago, and he, a different
person.
He stole a glance at Lucas, walking alongside him. Certainly,
he got partial credit, for encouraging his freedom, his
contributions. But Ian suspected there might be more to it. He d
seen so much in the time since the dig had been attacked, lives
taken, lives lived. People from walks of life he would only have
read about, or seen on TV. Even if he had been a last minute
substitute, he d seen the dig as the means to push his boundaries as
an archaeologist, open a new door for him professionally. What
he d actually experienced surpassed any expectation he could have
had.
For all the fear and anxiety he d felt, equal measures of
satisfaction and excitement balanced them out. And now, he d be
able to finally tip the scales in his favor by contributing something
more valuable than a plan or an extra set of hands at the driving
wheel. He d translate those tablets, if he had to travel to Egypt and
175
ARIES: RIDDLE ME WICKED
excavate original texts to do it.
When they rounded the corner onto Great Russell, the queue
for the Starbucks stretched out the door and down the walk. Lucas
took one look at it and grimaced.
 Are you sure I can t just duck into a bathroom any time we
see a security guard? he asked.
 It won t be that bad. I ll be back before you know it. On
impulse, he caught the back of Lucas s neck and held him still to
lean in for a kiss. He saw the surprise in the other man s eyes the
moment before their lips met, but there was nothing reticent about
the hard kiss, or the way Lucas opened to him for the few seconds
it lasted. The tips of their tongues touched briefly, long enough to
make his taste buds pop, and then Ian was pulling back, matching
Lucas s smile as he let him go.  Think about where you want
dinner. I expect to be plied to the fullest tonight.
The sound of Lucas s laughter trailed after him as he jogged
across the street to the museum. The distant thought of, I did that,
carried him all the way around the building.
Working at the British Museum had never been a goal of his,
but when the position had opened a few months after he finished
his degree, it seemed inevitable he would apply. He d held few
illusions about actually procuring the assistant curator job, though.
The British Museum had some of the highest standards in the
country, and his father had been quick to remind him that
applicants from all over the world would vie for the honor of
working there.
 You re not competing against yourself, James Tunbridge had
said over a cup of tea on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Dinner at his
parents was a tradition he had never been able to shake.  Anyone
with a sense of respect will want this job. It s not every day the
176
ARIES: RIDDLE ME WICKED
British Museum casts a wider net like this.
 I want this.
 Do you? Or did you apply for the prestige?
Ian had resented the implication he was only in this for the
glory. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The very
next day, he d swallowed his pride, locked away his fear, and
taken the results of his Greek practical to the head of the museum
himself, lying to every secretary along the way until he stood face
to face with the man.
He d been offered the job that night. Later, he found out he d
impressed Mr. Ball with his proactivity rather than his CV. He d
worked doubly hard after that to prove his education and mind
were more than up to the task.
The employees entrance was hidden away from the street,
locked from the outside to prevent anyone from slipping in who
didn t belong there. There were two ways to get in the passkey
each employee received upon hiring to swipe over the lock, and a
keypad that allowed for a manual override for those people who
lost or forgot their card. That number was larger than the museum
would like to admit. They changed the code on the keypad at
regular intervals to keep it as safe as possible.
Ian had to hope the code hadn t been changed since his
departure. His passkey was locked safely away at his flat, and
neither he nor Lucas had wanted to risk going there to retrieve it. If
the code didn t work, they wouldn t have a choice, but they had [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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