Read A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1) for Free Online Page A

fight. Even though my hands trembled, my
mind remained surprisingly cool. I took a steadying breath. The flashlight
dropped to the ground as I tore down the path, twigs snapping beneath my feet. I
didn’t think, didn’t slow down to see whether the man gave chase, just ran
until I reached the car and dropped to my knees a few feet away, shaking, my
heart pounding hard.
    The door opened and Dallas stepped out. “Where’ve
you been? I’ve been waiting for ages.”
    “Get in the car. Go, go, go!” I could
barely speak. My lungs sucked the cold air in, making a whistling sound.
    “We’re not leaving until we have the
stones,” Dallas said.
    I grabbed his shoulders and shook. “Listen,
idiot! Someone armed is following me. Either you move now, or I’ll drive
without you.” For a moment he just stared at me, then opened his mouth to
speak. I cut him off, “Get in, Dallas. Don’t tick me off. From all the stupid
ideas you’ve ever had this was by far the worst.”
    He mumbled something that sounded like, “I
don’t believe it,” then held the passenger door open for me, got in and started
the engine. I peered out the window into the darkness stretching behind me,
only then realizing the full impact of what just happened. My heart started to
race again. I could only hope my pursuer didn’t see my face inside the shed.
    Dallas switched on the overhead light. I
spun toward him. Why wasn’t he driving?
    “You’re sweaty and look like you’ve seen a
ghost. Tell me what happened,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere until you do.” I
could see the stubborn line between his brows.
    “You and your stupid ideas,” I shouted. “Only
you could get lost going to the bathroom.”
    He glared. “You had the flashlight. I didn’t
see the way back from all the trees. When I returned you were gone.”
    “I called your name. You didn’t reply.” I
took a deep breath and dropped my voice a notch.
    “I didn’t hear you. What happened?” Dallas
prompted.
    I pushed my trembling hands underneath my
thighs to stop them from shaking. “I found the hut.”
    He shot me a disbelieving look. “You did?
Did you get the gemstones?”
    “Yes.”
    “Woo hoo !” Dallas
laughed, then stopped when he registered the expression on my face. “What?”
    “I told you someone followed me. We might
end up dead any minute if you don’t drive soon.”
    “What? Did they see you?”
    Moistening my lips, I shook my head. “Don’t
think so. It was too dark, but I had the flashlight switched on inside the hut.
He could’ve peered through the window. He followed me to the clearing where you
disappeared—” I glared at him “—and asked me to drop the backpack.”
    “How did you get away?” Dallas asked.
    “I took off like the wind.” I let out a
long breath.
    The lines around Dallas’s mouth smoothed a
little. “He didn’t follow you to the car, so we’ve nothing to worry about. At
least he didn’t carry a gun. No one could ever outrun a bullet, not even a
cheetah like you.” I shot him an irritated look. How could he be joking when I
just escaped sure death? Dallas squeezed my hand reassuringly as he continued, “Listen,
I’m sorry. I won’t ask you to do anything like this ever again.” He grinned. “Come
to think of it, I won’t have to because we’re rich. We’ll be sipping tropical
drinks on a white sand beach in Mexico soon. I’ll get a giant Margarita with
one of those fancy umbrellas.”
    I rolled my eyes. I had just added jewel
thief to my résumé and almost got killed by some thug, and all my brother could
think of was fancy umbrellas and tropical drinks on a beach. I wasn’t convinced
the thug wouldn’t be able to identify me, but Dallas’s confidence didn’t fail
to rub off on me. It felt good to have someone else in charge now. “What’re you
going to do with the stones?”
    “I’ll have them inspected and then put them
up for sale. I may be gone for a while until everything’s sorted out.