The Prisoner's Gold (The Hunters 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

manners.’
    Sarah walked over to him and placed her hand on his forehead. ‘No, really. Are you okay? Maybe you have a fever.’
    He smiled and poked her in the stomach with a chopstick. ‘Just because I’m not being rude like Fernando doesn’t mean—’
    ‘The name is
Hector
.’ To emphasize his point, Garcia stood and pointed his fork at McNutt. ‘And I wasn’t being rude. I said thanks, too. Just not in Chinese.’
    McNutt continued to eat. ‘You called her the maid, nerd. That’s rude.’
    Garcia’s eyes opened wide, the full gravity of his faux pas suddenly dawning on him. His face turned bright red. ‘Wait! You said she was the maid!’
    McNutt looked like he’d swallowed a cockroach. ‘No, I didn’t!’
    Sarah watched the exchange in silence, trying to make sense of things.
Wow, that race must have messed with my mind more than I thought.
    ‘Yes, you did!’ Garcia argued as he stamped his foot like a three year old. ‘I said I was hungry when I got up, and you said, “Why don’t you ask the maid to get you something?”’
    McNutt rolled his eyes. ‘I was being sarcastic, genius.’
    Sarah caught movement out of the corner of her eye and jolted again. The Chinese woman was standing behind her. ‘Gah! I’m going to tie a bell on you or something.’
    A dark look fell over the woman’s face. ‘I’d like to see you try.’
    ‘Wait,’ Sarah said. ‘If you aren’t the maid, who the hell are you?’
    ‘I’m guessing she’s our new historian,’ said a new voice.
    All eyes turned to the doorway to see Cobb walk in, carrying a green duffel bag that looked like it had survived several wars. He dropped the bag on the soft rug covering the entryway and looked past the others, toward the far end of the room. ‘Isn’t that right, Papi?’
    All heads swung the other way to see Jean-Marc Papineau standing in the archway to the library. Garcia was sure the room had been empty a moment before. He made a mental note to search for a secret door when he had the chance.
    Papineau wore a light-colored linen suit with an expensive tie. His gray hair and mustache were perfectly styled as usual. ‘You are correct, Jack,’ he said as he stepped toward the woman. ‘Allow me to present Miss Maggie Liu of the People’s Republic of China. If you are going to find the next treasure, you will most certainly require her assistance. And while she is a first-class chef among other things, I can assure you that she is
not
the maid.’
    The focus of the room shifted to Maggie, who didn’t flinch in the white-hot glare of the spotlight. Instead, she remained composed and confident; two traits that Jasmine lacked when she had first joined the team. ‘It’s nice to officially meet everyone. I am truly honored to be here. Jean-Marc told me about your last mission. I am deeply sorry for your loss. Just so you know, I am not trying to replace Miss Park, but, if you’re willing, I want to become a part of this group.’
    Cobb studied his team to see how they took the news. Although three months had passed since Jasmine Park’s funeral – a somber affair where they had met her family and were forced to lie about her cause of death because of the secrecy of their mission – this was the first time the team had met in the house without their historian. He knew there would be some emotions early on, but he figured they would work through them together as they considered their options.
    Never one for subtlety, Papineau had wasted no time with the hire.
    Not only had he found an Asian woman to replace Jasmine, as if the team was made up of interchangeable parts that could simply be plugged in, but he had done so without consulting the team leader who would ultimately be in charge of the mission.
    In Cobb’s mind, it was a major misstep on Papineau’s part.
    Thankfully, the team took the announcement in stride. Maggie had already won over McNutt with her cooking skills, and Garcia was still so embarrassed about the maid