emma_hillman_hired by Emma Hillman Page A

Layton looked at the woman sprawled in
his passenger seat and let out a heavy breath. Trust his First Man to send him
off on a wild goose chase. Jessica James might be the only ancient Greek expert
in the region, but she wouldn’t even contemplate his job offer. Just one phone
call with her had made him realize no amount of sweet talking would do the
trick. He had a mission however, so he’d gone to the library where she did her
research to talk to her directly. That one hadn’t worked quite as planned.
    She mumbled something and moved as if she was
looking for a more comfortable position. Good luck with that , he thought
as he turned his gaze back to the darkened road. She was a bit too wide for the
seats in his sports car, her generous hips squeezed tight.
    It wasn’t too far to the compound now, and he
hoped she wouldn’t wake up before they got there. All he had to do was to get
her safely to their library, show her the document they needed translated, and
lock the door. Of course, she wouldn’t be too happy, but hey, these were
difficult times. And he hated not getting a job done. He had a reputation to
uphold after all. He smiled, pleased with the conclusion he’d come to, and
pressed his foot down on the pedal.

 
    Chapter One
     
    “The Age of Reason will come for all
Immortals, and none other.”
    Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)
     
    She’d been at it for two days. Two days of
deciphering, two days of transcribing, two days of trying to make sense of the
ancient Greek parchment she’d been kidnapped to translate. Two days. It was
such a short period of time, and yet so much had happened. She’d met their
leader and his wife, had been told the reasons behind her presence. She’d seen
the love in their eyes, had felt so touched by Faye’s story, that she had
agreed to help them. Even if it meant being stuck in one room for hours on end
with Drake, the man who’d forced her here.
    When you thought about it, it sounded so
far-fetched like one of those Fantasy novels her brother used to read. A race
of Immortals, men and women stuck in this lost compound, living apart from
civilization so that no one could notice they never aged. She wouldn’t have
read some of their basic textbooks, she’d never have believed it. Okay, so
maybe their First Man’s attempt at mind-control had had something to do with it
too. He’d told her to sleep, and she’d woken up two hours later feeling
strangely refreshed…and in altogether different house.
    It had brought back to mind that first night,
when Drake had managed to put her in his car and drive her here without her
even knowing. Drake… Just thinking of him made her look up, her eyes blinking
in the semi-darkness only to find him gazing at her from across the room. He
held her eyes for a fleeting second, then looked back down at the business
magazine he was holding. Jessica bit her lip and looked down too…at the words
she had yet to translate. Damn it! She was usually much better than this!
    She shook her head, stretched her arms out in
front of her, made her wrists pop and her neck crack. All right, she was ready.
    “Time for a break?”
    She felt like screaming, but it wouldn’t do
any good. Instead, she looked up, sent him a small smile and nodded. “Sure.”
    He stood up, the chair scraping on the old
wood floor as he reached out for his leather jacket. “Put your coat on. I want
a coffee.”
    Rolling her eyes at his commanding tone, she
albeit did as ordered and met him in front of the main doors. “The usual then,”
she finally commented as they stepped outside, a violent gush of wind wiping
her hair across her face. She watched him nod through her dark strands and
sighed, wondering if he would ever talk to her for more than a second. One
could hope, right? Her feet leaden, she followed him to the small coffee shop
further down the street.
    He ordered a double-shot Americano. She
ordered a Latte. She eyed the pastries on display, her stomach