Treasure Hunters Read Online Free PDF Page A

out her hand, he took it without hesitation. He was not a romantic guy, but Sam brought out what tiny bit of romance he had in him. His mouth quirked in a half-smile. Better face the facts head-on—he’d been tamed by a librarian.
    The going got a little tougher as they climbed, but they made good time and before an hour had passed, they’d traveled the distance between his shuttlecraft and the top of the small mountain on the planet Cerridwen.
    “Okay,” she said when the trail ended. “Now we need to find a rock etched with this symbol.” She pulled a folded piece of paper out of the small bag she carried.
    “What is that?” He studied the design over her shoulder. “It looks like a circle on top of a cross.”
    “On Earth it was called an ankh. It means eternal life.”
    “Huh. Well, that’s appropriate for those databases, I guess.”
    Nodding, Sam handed him the picture and began to peer closely at the rocks in front of her. He did the same. It took almost a half-hour to find the marker, but once they did, things began to move quickly.
    Beneath the rock was a switch, which opened a small door in the side of the mountain. Rick led the way, his blaster at the ready, but all they found inside was a lift.
    “You trust that thing?” he asked, eyeing it skeptically. “It’s been here forever.”
    “Are you afraid, tough guy?”
    “For you, yeah.” Leaning over, he looked down the shaft. “Looks like this goes a long way down. I’ll go alone and if works without a hitch, I’ll come back and get you.”
    “There’s no way you’re going without me.”
    Shooting a scowl over his shoulder, he said, “You’re not getting in this thing until I’m sure it’s not a total piece of shit.”
    “Rick.”
    He hated when she took that cajoling tone of voice with him, he never ended up being able to say no. “Don’t do this to me, Sam. Okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.”
    She gave him that soft melting look that made him crazy for her. “Whatever happens, I want you to know that what you’ve done for me these past weeks has changed my life.”
    “Huh?” That sounded like the start of a Dear John speech. His scowl deepened. “Before I met you, I didn’t think I’d ever be important to someone. Thank you for making me feel like I was valuable to you.”
    “Was?”
    A throat cleared behind them and they shot each other a knowing look “Curt,” Rick said. “What a surprise.”
    “This is really touching,” Curt said snidely while aiming a blaster at Sam. “But don’t you think we should find our treasure now?”
    “
Our
treasure?” Sam snapped.
    “Yes, ours. I’ve spent just as many years looking for the e-books as you have.”
    “So have a lot of other people. So what? We’re supposed to divide it amongst everyone who’s ever looked for it?”
    “No, just me will suffice.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not getting anything, Jerk. Nutbar.
    Asshole. And put that blaster away before you hurt someone.” Curt fired a warning shot at her feet.
    “She gets hurt, you die,” Rick growled, his heart thumping madly. He had no idea what this idiot was capable of.
    “Get over here, Sam,” Curt said softly. “Or lover boy gets blasted.”
    Sam walked over with hesitant steps, her only thought being to protect Rick in whatever way she could. When she got close enough, Curt caught her by the throat and waved the blaster at Rick. “Call the lift.”
    “Let Rick go,” she said, willing to do whatever was necessary to get Rick out of there.
    “Don’t be dense,” Curt muttered. “He’ll notify the authorities.”
    The tension in the air as they waited for the clanking, whining elevator was palpable.
    “What the hell are you going to do, Curt?” Sam asked, her stomach clenched in a knot. She looked across the small space to where Rick waited for an opening to strike. “What’s the plan after this?”
    “Well, once we find the database, I’ll stun you both and take