STEEL: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 3) by Samantha Leal

demanding answers. All the doctor seemed able to tell them was that something terrible was lurking down there, and he had assembled so many people because he knew a lot would not want to take part in the expedition once it had been explained to them. Not all of the men and women around them were archaeologists; some were scientists, astronauts, astronomers and physics experts. For the first time in her career, Melissa felt truly intimidated. She didn’t know exactly what was happening, but she knew she wanted to be involved. Luckily, Jake looked like he was backing out. He got to his feet and walked to the end of the aisle, and Melissa watched him.
    “Come on Mel,” he called after her. “This is all crackpot shit.”
    She watched him as others hushed around them and waited for her reaction. There was no way she was going to miss out on something this big, and it wasn’t her fault that Jake was too stupid and inexperienced to understand the significance of this discovery.
    She shook her head at him and watched as he stormed out towards the main doors. Dr. Quattro lowered his head and raised his palms high towards the sky…
    “Now is the time to follow if you don’t want to be involved,” he said, motioning after Jake as the doors swung lamely behind him.
    Around twenty other people got to their feet and made a dash for the exits.
    “Enjoy the rest of your time here in Bordeaux,” Dr. Quattro called after them.
    Melissa looked around her and realized she was one of only a handful of people who had stayed.
    “Right,” Dr. Quattro continued. “Now that we have separated the men from the boys, it looks like I have a team.”
    Melissa smiled at him and at the others around her.
    “Tomorrow is going to be a defining moment in your careers,” he said. “I can’t wait to introduce you to the caves.”
    Melissa’s blood ran cold with anticipation, and as she walked back up to her room with an official secrecy document in her hands, she knew she was on the verge of something amazing. Whatever the day ahead was going to bring, she was sure that it was going to change her life.
     
     

4.
     
    The next morning as Melissa boarded the bus that would take her to the excavation site, she was full of so much hope, fear and anticipation she didn’t know what to do with herself. She and the other members of the team all sat in silence as Dr. Quattro led them into the French countryside and out into the hills. She didn’t know where they were going or even how long it had taken them. Quattro had taken all of their cell phones, watches and electronic equipment in case they somehow interfered with what he thought may be some sort of electromagnetic field.
    Melissa found herself skeptical. She had heard of people going missing on excavations like this. The terrain was unpredictable and who knew what the architectural state of the cave would be? In the back of her mind, she just kept thinking that surely Quattro’s colleague had fallen into a break in the rocks and either became covered or fallen so far down there would be no hope for recovery. Quattro however, was adamant this wasn’t the case.
    As they disembarked the bus in the middle of an open field, Melissa shivered and she looked around her, realizing how totally alone out there they were.
    “This way,” Quattro said as he marched ahead.
    Melissa noticed a break in the ground and what looked like it could easily be a badger sett was the ground crumbling away and opening into a hole of about three feet wide.
    “We need to start from here,” Quattro said. “Travel about a hundred meters down and then the rocks open up and reveal the entrance to the cave.
    Melissa couldn’t even speak. This was her last time to back out, but she knew she wasn’t going to.
    “Let’s do it,” Quattro said as he strapped on his helmet and began to crawl into the tiny space before disappearing out of sight. Melissa wasn’t far behind him, and as she maneuvered her body down into the