Free The Thirteenth Legion (A James Acton Thriller, #15) (James Acton Thrillers) by J Robert Kennedy Page B

demand?”
    “Not
yet, and there won’t be. It looks like it’s a breakaway sect of the Triarii
known as the Deniers.”
    Leather
frowned. “Christ, those bastards again?”
    “It
looks that way.”
    “Okay,
do we have any idea where they might be headed?”
    “No, but
my money’s on London.”
    “Why?”
    “Because
that’s where three of the skulls they want are located, and they’re the only
ones they don’t have.”
    “Okay,
I’m leaving inside of ten minutes. I’ll meet you in London, but it’s going to
take me almost a day to get there.”
    “That’s
fine. I’m getting on a plane now to go to Maryland to see if I can track down
any leads from that end.”
    “Understood.
I’ll contact you as soon as my team arrives.”
    “Good.
And colonel?”
    “Yes?”
    “Be
prepared for a firefight. These people are armed and dangerous and possibly
large in numbers.”
    “Understood,
we’ll be ready.”
    Leather
ended the call as he arrived in the camp, his men joining him.
    “Problem?”
asked his second-in-command, Warren Reese.
    Leather
grunted. “Isn’t there always?”
    Reese laughed.
“I love this gig.”
     
     

 
     

     
     
    Motel 6, Annapolis, Maryland
     
    Acton read the coded sequence on the back of the card Chaney had
given him, his chest tight, his stomach in knots as he was once again about to be
thrown into the fray against his will. Triarii business had tortured his life
and that of his wife’s over the past several years on too many occasions, and
after retrieving the thirteenth skull for them, he had assumed it was over.
    Until
the man across from him had disappeared.
    Then he
had known, someday, somehow, he’d be pulled back into it.
    It was
just the way his luck seemed to go.
    His life
had always been fairly routine, at least for an archeologist. He loved going on
digs, spending weeks or months on his hands and knees digging the dirt to
unlock the secrets of the ancient world. He loved shaping young minds, teaching
them about the past so they might better understand the world today and where
it was headed, as their leaders seemed to ignore the lessons learned at such a high
price, sometimes only decades ago.
    He had
never anticipated being in regular gunfights. He glanced at Laura as he heard
the call being put through, his code accepted. Part of him might link her to
his bad luck, though the discovery of the skull in Peru was before he had ever
met her. If anything, he was the unlucky one.
    She just
made it bearable.
    God I
love that woman.
    He gave
her a quick wink when a voice was finally heard. He tapped the screen, putting
it on speaker.
    “Professor
Acton, this is an unexpected surprise. Are you okay?”
    Acton
frowned, glaring at the phone. “Yes, no thanks to you.”
    “I’m not
sure what you mean.”
    Acton
shook his head. “Listen, I know what’s going on. Martin told us everything.”
    “Did he
now? And are you certain he told you the truth?”
    Acton
glanced at Chaney, suddenly wondering if putting the call on speaker had been
wise. “He had no reason to lie to me. Either way, I want out from under this.
He saved my life, you’re trying to take it.”
    “We’re
trying no such thing—”
    “Stop. I
don’t want to hear it.”
    “Then
what is the purpose of this call?”
    “I have
something you want.”
    “And
what is that?”
    “The
thirteenth skull.”
    There
was a pause. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. You have the thirteenth
skull?”
    “Yes.”
    “How,
may I ask, did you acquire it?”
    Acton
looked at Chaney, the man nodding with a smile, urging him on. “Martin trusted
us and showed us the skull. I realized that the only way to protect my life and
that of my wife’s was to prove to you that I’m not a risk, so I took it from
him.”
    “How?”
    “I’m
well-trained, so is my wife, you know that.”
    “Yes,
Colonel Leather has done an admirable job with you both. So what now?”
    Acton inhaled.
“I want to meet and give you this