Read Fireworks: Riley for Free Online Page B

see.
    “What the hell?” Sam asked from the back seat.
    “Good question,” Riley said.
    He hopped out of the Jeep before it had come to a complete stop, looking over the tented area where they’d been cataloging artifacts. And then he breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw Dr. Bekhit looking intently in one of the journals Jay had been making notes in.
    He looked up absentmindedly when he heard the car door slam, and he waved, shutting the book and standing to go greet them.
    Where is everyone?” Riley asked.
    “Your friend Walker became ill during the night. I sent all the guards with him to ensure he made it to the hospital safely since it was well after curfew. And I didn’t feel it was wise to wait until sun up to move him. His fever was quite high. I knew the other Jeep was returning with you, so I decided to wait here and ride back this morning.”
    “Shit,” Riley said, scrubbing a hand across his face. “I need to go back and check on him.”
    “With all due respect, there is nothing you can do for him there,” Bekhit said. “And there is much you can do here. I am happy to go to the hospital and check on his progress for you, but your time is running short here and I feel there is much still to be found.”
    “I’d appreciate it very much,” Riley said. “But I must insist you come get me if things take a turn for the worse.”
    “That is a deal, my friend. You look quite healthy this morning. I believe a good night’s sleep agreed with you.” Bekhit laughed at himself and then gestured to the book he’d left on the table. “These hieroglyphs are very exciting, but I want your professional opinion to see if I’m on the mark.”
    Riley knew what Bekhit was going to ask before he opened the journal and pointed to the hieroglyphs that very few people in the world would recognize.
    “Is this what I think it is?” he asked, pointing to a passage in the journal. Jay had made crude sketches of the interior walls of the tomb, but Jay hadn’t recognized the hieroglyph depicting the Book of Souls. The giddiness in Dr. Bekhit’s eyes exclaimed that he knew exactly what it meant.
    “I believe so,” Riley said. “But I’m not sure it’s worth getting our hopes up at this point. We have yet to find any sign of it, and I’m afraid with the remains we found upon opening the tomb that it may have already been looted some time ago.”
    “But this is proof of its existence,” Dr. Bekhit exclaimed. “If there is proof then we will keep searching for it until we find it. Do you realize what a find of this magnitude will do for my country? Not to mention your reputation. I insist that you focus all of your efforts on its discovery.”
    Riley nodded. “Believe me, I want to find it as much as you do.”
    “I know you do,” Bekhit said, satisfied. “I had a feeling this discovery would be big. It’s why I insisted that you head it up. I will go check on your friend and be back when I can. You know the importance of keeping a discovery such as the Book of Souls quiet. There are many who would kill just at the mention of the possibility of its existence.”
    “I know,” Riley said. Bekhit spoke the truth. There were fortune hunters and thieves everywhere. And they had no law except the law unto themselves. They were the most violent kind of criminals.
    It wasn’t long after they all watched as the Jeep disappeared over a dune and they were once again stranded with no one to call on except each other. Riley trusted Sam and Jay, but the only person he trusted enough to tell about the Book of Souls was Maggie. Greed had a tendency to turn even the best of men into something they weren’t.
    “You’re hiding something,” Maggie said after Jay and Sam had gone back to the jobs they’d been doing the previous afternoon.
    “You know me well, my love. Let me show you something.”
    She was dressed almost the same as she’d been the day before, but he wanted her armed. Just in case. So he went into