The Minister's Maid (6 page)

"Sounds like a very dangerous game," she said as they started walking toward the camp. "But I would have been toast without you, so I'm glad you guys sort of trained for this."

"Me too," he said, playing the flashlight beam over the walls. "Do you still have the maps?"

"Oh shit," she said, stopping in place and pulling her hand away to pat the pockets of her jeans. "Uh, sorry. Damn. I mean, darn. Oh hell." She pulled a folded paper out of her back pocket and opened it up, chewing her bottom lip. Ian wanted to laugh as he watched her face contort, her lips mouthing a string of curses that didn't quite make it out.

"You know I only got ordained so we'd have a minister on site to do weddings, right?" he said lightly. Judging by the way her eyes widened when she looked at him, it was news. He nodded, taking the paper from her hand. "I'm no expert, of course, but I'm fairly certain God isn't going to strike you down for saying the F word now and then."

"Good. Because we only have the first half of the map. The other page must have fallen out somewhere. If I dropped it in the tunnel..."

"Then Derek probably picked it up," Ian finished, handing the paper back to her. She folded it up and stuffed it in her bra this time, an action Ian really enjoyed watching. Maybe she'd let him fish it out later. "Although you could have dropped it in the cavern, in which case it's definitely gone for good. But we won't know until we catch up with Derek, so unless you're ready to hop a plane and go hid out somewhere warm..."

She shook her head emphatically. "No way. I need to know for sure, either way. So come on." She started walking away from him, halting when she got to the end of the beam and looked back over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

He tried not to smile, really, but he couldn't stop the slightest grin. "The harem is this way," he said, pointing a finger in the other direction.

* * *

"Right." Betsy switched directions and tried to ignore the smirk Ian was trying to hide. Her impulsive nature often had her turned around and headed the wrong way, so it wasn't anything new. Ian had steered her back on track many times when they were younger, but it was a little embarrassing that she still had no sense of direction after all these years. "Why don't you lead?" she suggested, stopping beside him. It came out more snarkily than she'd intended, but Ian just laughed.

"How about we just walk together," he said, holding out his hand. "The tunnel is plenty wide enough for us both."

Betsy wasn't sure why she hesitated, but it felt weird, having him volunteer for her touch in any way. Almost like a trap, for some reason. His smile faded, and he'd started to pull away when she reached for him, lacing her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand gently and pulled her closer, leaning down for a quick kiss before he started walking again. She walked beside him, so many questions running through her head that she wasn't sure where to start.

"Why don't you date?" she asked, deciding to jump right in. "You dated in high school a little, and I have it on good authority that there were plenty of girls after you in college, but I haven't seen you with anyone since I moved back. Don't you get lonely?"

Ian chuckled. "Fishing for the competition, are you?" he teased, flashing her another smile. "You'd be surprised how many women act interested, but run the other way when they see the white collar."

She glanced at his profile, and even in the dim light sensed that he wasn't telling the whole truth. "Oh come on. You can't tell me you haven't played around a little in the back room on occasion. I mean, you're a guy. And I can't be the only woman on earth who gets turned on at the thought of shagging a preacher."

Laughing, he squeezed her hand. "Eloquently put. And I didn't say I've been celibate. You asked about dating, not sex."

"It's not the same thing?" she countered, suddenly wishing she hadn't started this. She didn't want to picture Ian making out with anyone else but her, and the thought of how many times she'd offered herself, how many times she'd been turned down...

She tried to pull her hand away, but he held tight and stopped, turning to look at her. "It's not the same thing at all," he said, coming closer. "Dating involves a lot more than just sex, don't you think?"

She shrugged, her eyes focused on his chest as he moved in another step. "I wouldn't know. Most of the guys I've been with just want to get me into bed. Dates are just an obligation, or that's how it feels."

"You've been dating the wrong guys, Bets," he said, lifting her chin up with a gentle hand. She stared into his eyes, mesmerized by the depth of feeling she saw reflected back at her.

"The right one didn't want me," she whispered, trembling against his body.

He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her tight to him. "He was an idiot," he replied, and then covered her lips with his own.

Chapter 6

The kiss didn't last nearly as long as Betsy would have liked, and she licked her lips when he pulled back, loathe to open her eyes. Ian's face in shadow, she couldn't make out his expression very well, but the warm hand caressing the side of her neck was comforting.

"We really need to go," he said, letting his hand slide down her arm to take her hand again. "The harem is just up ahead, and Derek had a big head start. Besides..." he turned the flashlight up so she could see his grin. "They have beds there. Very plush."

She faked a big yawn, and then laughed, allowing him to pull her forward. "Now that you mention it, I could use a nap..."

Five minutes later, Ian motioned for her to stay back while he carefully opened another wooden door just a crack. It seemed like forever that he just stood there, quiet. Finally he opened the door wide and played the flashlight beam around the cavern, the light bouncing off shiny objects and gauzy fabric as it moved. When he finally turned on the light switch, Betsy went to his side.

"This is the first underground guest room," she said, moving farther into the space as he pulled the door shut behind him and pushed a wooden crate in front of it. "It's almost finished, and I suspect there will be quite a lot of demand for something so...private." Smiling, she climbed up on the large round bed that dominated the sunken center of the room and patted the space next to her. "Care to join me?"

Ian frowned, looking past her. "What do those gold coins look like?"

She turned, surveying the back wall, draped with silks. "They're just average coins, like you'd get from a bank or at a coin shop. Sort of a dull yellow-gold color. What do you see?" She slid off the other side of the bed, walking closer to examine the low table and chairs a couple steps up.

"There," Ian said, waiting until she turned to point at one of the scarves hanging lower on the wall. The fringe was covered in gold coins, but as Betsy leaned closer, there was one that didn't quite match the others in tone.

She reached out to touch it, bumping the faux coins with her hand. The mismatched coin fell and she snatched it up, turning it over in her hand before grinning at Ian.

"This is it. We found the first one!" She jumped up and down, throwing her arms around Ian's neck and dragging his head down for a kiss. He grinned, but the expression was short lived as the box in front of the door rattled. Betsy looked toward the door, aware that Ian was doing the same thing and they watched as the door pushed against the crate, groaning under the stress.

"I know you're in there." Derek's muffled voice came through the door before he strained against it again. "I knew you'd find the first coin. And now you're trapped." He laughed, the sound sending chills up Betsy's spine.

Betsy pointed toward the narrow spiral staircase in the corner. Ian nodded, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. When they reached the metal stairs, she hurried up as fast and quietly as she could, not that Derek could hear. He was still pounding on the door and yelling, every thud moving the heavy crate just a little farther into the room.

When she reached the top, Betsy pushed open the trap door beneath the Sultan's Castle and pulled herself up, then waited for Ian to crawl out beside her. They lowered the door and looked around, Ian pointing to a large dresser across the room.

"That should slow him up for awhile," he said as they pushed it on top of the cavern entrance.

Betsy nodded as the floor beneath her began to vibrate with a dull thudding sound. "Just in time," she said, trying to catch her breath. she ran out of the small side room and into the large guest chamber where the mostly male guests in long togas reclined on creamy chaise lounges while staff dressed in authentic harem costumes served and doted on them. Staying to the side where hopefully no one would see them, she moved quickly along the wall until she found the office door and ducked inside, Ian close behind.

Collapsing on a distressed leather couch, Betsy pulled the map page out of her bra and unfolded it, scanning the clues as Ian sat down beside her.

"It says we need to go ten steps south, and then look behind the fabric wall." She frowned. "Which way is south? I'm horrible with compass directions. We should find a GPS."

Ian chuckled, taking the map from her. "You don't recognize the layout of the ranch?" He pointed to one of the crudely drawn squares. "This is where we are, I think. Ten steps south would be the salon, don't you think? Taking into consideration where the other buildings are located, anyway." He passed the paper back to Betsy and she peered closely at it.

"I guess," she said, folding it back up with a sigh. "Could it really be that easy?"

"She's your friend," Ian said, pushing to his feet and holding a hand out to help her up. "You said she was just hiding it for fun, right? So why would she make it hard?"

Betsy shrugged, following him to the door. "I just assumed it would be, I guess." She watched Ian open the door a crack, looking one way, then the other before motioning for her to follow. "Do you think he's strong enough to move the dresser?" she whispered, hugging the edges of the room again until they reached the main doors. She followed Ian into the hall and around the corner, nearly having to jog to keep up with his easy stride.

He shook his head as he led her down a short flight of stairs. "I doubt it, but he had a pretty big head start. I think the larger question is, why didn't he find the coin before us? And it seems awfully convenient that he showed up just when we found it, don't you think?"

"You think Derek followed us." Betsy stepped out of the building, blinking her eyes at the bright light. It felt good to be outside again, free from the stifling confines of the tunnels. The feeling was short-lived though as they counted out ten steps to the building next door and went inside.

"Yes," Ian said, almost whispering as he stopped in the narrow staff hallway. "But I doubt he got out of the harem fast enough to follow us over here, so we may have just bought some time." Somewhere down the hall a blower turned on, and the chemical stench of hair and nail products made Betsy wrinkle her nose.

"I have no idea why looking good has to smell so bad," she commented, falling into step with Ian as they went down the hall.

Ian shrugged, looking into various rooms as they passed. "I don't know, and I don't want to know. But we do need to find a wall of fabric. Any idea where that might be?"

Betsy motioned for him to follow her to the right through double doors near the end of the hall. "This is the only thing I can think of," she said, pointing to a wall where several rows of clothing hung floor to ceiling and side to side. "Alex is pretty proud of this - he bought an automated wardrobe system and turned it into this monstrosity."

"Wow," Ian said, his eyes wide. "I didn't know he was into that sort of thing. You wouldn't think a guy who does hair and makeup would be good with engines."

"It's all art," a deep voice said from behind them. Betsy jumped at the sound, her fear quickly turning to glee as she turned to see the subject of their conversation standing there with a smirk on his face. Running over to give him a hug, she smiled when he finally released her.

"Alex! I'm so glad you're here. Now that you are, maybe you can help--"

Ian cleared his throat, cutting her off. She looked over her shoulder to see him shaking his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Bets."

She stepped back as Alex's hands fell away, and placed her own on her hips. "Why not? He takes care of these clothes, and he knows what's where. Maybe--"

"No." Ian stepped forward. "Sorry Alex, but involving you in this could be very dangerous in a very short time. It would be better if you didn't know anything. No offense."

Betsy glanced back at Alex, who shrugged. "Something tells me that your presence here is a bad sign anyway, considering Harley told us you two were gone for awhile. So you might as well let me do what I can. There seems to be a lot of odd things going on around here the past few days."

"We're looking for a coin," Betsy said, not looking at Ian. "One a friend of mine told me to look for at the wall of fabric here. It was awhile ago, so I realize it might not still be here, but if you've seen anything like that..."

"A gold coin?"

Betsy nodded.

Alex grinned. "I found one awhile back, in the pocket of a pirate costume. I put it in my office safe when no one claimed it. I'll get it for you."

Betsy winked at Ian as they followed him, but he didn't smile. When they got to Alex's office, Ian made sure the door was locked behind them. Alex moved a file cabinet to the side, then bent down to work the dial on his safe.

"Do you remember if there was anything with the coin?" Ian asked as he watched the safe door swing out.

Alex took a small envelope out of the safe and locked it back up before he handed Betsy the package. "There's a note with it, I think. It was kind of cryptic, like a scavenger hunt clue."

Betsy ripped open the envelope and handed the coin to Ian. She unfolded the small piece of paper and read the clue aloud.