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this covert branch of government superheroes we work for.”
    Brynn stared at Taeg for a long moment, and blinked. “I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me or not.”
    Keegan spoke to him in their language, and Taeg answered in kind. Even while she internally acknowledged that Keegan’s guttural speech was some weird sort of turn-on for her, it annoyed her she couldn’t understand the men.
    “English, please? And where are you from, anyway? I don’t recognize that language.”
    He toyed with the silverware next to his dinner plate. “A remote province of Serbia.”
    “Really?” Why did she feel like she was getting half-truths, at best? “Your English is excellent. You don’t even have an accent.”
    Keegan directed his gaze down with a small cough. “We’re well-studied.”
    There was a moment of marked silence, punctuated by the sound of Taeg’s fingers tapping on the tabletop. Brynn studied her clasped hands as she contemplated Keegan’s words. “So, if what you’ve told me is true, then this person named Mammon is after me because I’m related to an Egyptian priest who lived over three thousand years ago, right?”
    Keegan nodded. “Yes.”
    “And he believes I can lead him to the priest’s tomb, and to the book that was buried with him?”
    Taeg snorted.
    Keegan pierced him with a dirty look before saying, “That’s what he believes, yes.”
    “And you plan on, what? Protecting me until he’s caught?”
    Taeg and Ronin examined their empty plates while Keegan responded. “Yes.”
    “Well, how long do you think that will take?” she pressed. “And you don’t expect to keep me locked up here the whole time, do you? I mean, I have a life. A job. I can’t just stop showing up to my own gallery.”
    “You’re the owner,” Keegan said. “Couldn’t you close it down for a few weeks, or get someone else to run it? You could tell them you had some pressing business to attend to.”
    Well, her assistant Amanda realistically could take over for a week or two. Brynn didn’t have anything major going on. Still... it didn’t add up. Special gifts or no, why would the government go to all this trouble just to save her from a crazy man? Why, when they could just surround her with round-the-clock security to shadow her every move?
    The truth hit her full-on. She flew to her feet, and her chair scraped loudly across the wooden floor. “You want the book, too, don’t you? And you somehow think I’ll be able to lead you to it.”
    Taeg fired a startled glance at Keegan, who sighed and rested his chin on his knuckles as if he was thinking about what to say. “We do want it, but we don’t hold anything more than an optimistic hope that you’d somehow be able to help us find it.”
    Brynn bit her lip. On a fundamental level, she’d known there was more to the story than what he’d told her. But she was surprised he’d admitted it. She sat back down and scooted in her seat, taking her time to reply. “What’s so important about it? And don’t lie and tell me nothing.”
    Taeg garbled something in their language, followed by Ronin. Keegan made a staccato reply.
    “English, remember?” she said, keeping her voice purposely sweet.
    Keegan returned his attention to her, appearing hesitant for the first time since she’d met him. But after a brief pause, he said, “The book your ancestor created is referred to by many as the Book of the Dead .”
    Taeg groaned. “Come on, man.”
    “She deserves some truth,” Ronin said to him. “We’re asking her to trust us. Let Keegan tell her why.”
    Brynn ignored the two of them, keeping her gaze directed at Keegan. “The Book of the Dead ? You mean the Egyptian funeral rites?”
    He shook his head. “No, not those, but a true book of the dead. A book containing a magical spell with the ability to bring back those who have died. To resurrect them. Whoever used it would be stronger than any human—indestructible, but at a price. Those brought back