Caught

“Dead,” he said.

“How can every single phone in the place be out?” she fumed, picking up a receiver only to slam it down.

He snapped his fingers. “Not every phone,” he said, spinning toward the book repository.

“Wait.” Julia scampered after him.

Alex snatched his jacket from the floor. “I am such an idiot. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.” Digging into the breast pocket, he pulled out a slim silver cell phone. “Ladies and gentlemen—” he flourished it “—we bring you rescue, courtesy of your local wireless network.”

“That’s not your regular phone.”

“I upgraded,” he said with relish. “I’ve got half of my CD collection loaded in this baby, plus it’s got a high- res camera and it’s Web-enabled.”

She gave him the same look his mother had given him in fourth grade when he’d listed the many attributes of a new Transformer he absolutely required. “Does it tie your shoes for you, also?”

“When I need it to.” A succession of images flowed across the screen as it booted up. “But the best part is that it gives me serious connectivity.” He punched up the number and held the phone to his ear.

“For a mover and shaker like yourself, a must.”

“Hey, you never know when Blaine Trump will be calling to donate a few hundred grand.” His brows drew together as he studied the screen.

“What?”

He walked out into the main lab, holding the phone in front of him and watching the display. “Just trying to get a signal.”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get it,” he said, trying different areas of the room.

“And security’s going to be by any minute.”

“They might,” he said reasonably. “Sometimes the signal comes and goes.”

“And right now it’s mostly going, right?”

They stared at each other.

“Maybe in a little while,” he said, setting it down on one of the tables.

“Don’t set that down and forget where you put it,” Julia said. “We might need it later. Why don’t you have a belt clip?”

He sent her a revolted look. “You’re joking, right? Only tech-support dweebs at Computers R Us wear belt clips.”

“Which you are not.”

“Which I, most definitely, am not. My phone’ll be just fine here,” he said, setting it on the table. And then he stared beyond it. “What is that?” he asked warily.

“Where?”

“There. On the table.” He pointed to a long form lying on a wheeled table behind the sarcophagus and shrouded in translucent plastic.

Enjoyment glimmered in her eyes. “That’s Felix.”

“Felix?”

“Our new mummy.”

Alex pressed his lips together and walked over closer to it. “A mummy. You mean like a four-thousand-year-old dead-guy mummy?”

“Thirty-five hundred in this case, we think, but yes. We just got him in a few days ago.”

“Can I look at him?”

“You might not want to,” she cautioned, but he’d already pulled up the plastic.

“Jesus. You didn’t tell me he was unwrapped.”

“Only partially. Felix has had some challenging times.”

“So I smell.” It was faint but distinct. Now that he’d lifted the plastic, there was the sweet scent of decay. Still, curiosity overcame his initial surprise, prompting him to raise the sheet again. “Dressed for casual Friday, huh, Felix?” He dropped the sheet back down and focused on the problem at hand. “Okay. So let’s see…locked door, no windows, no phones, no one coming when we call, and a thirty-five-hundred-year-old mummy. This is beginning to get entertaining.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” Julia tucked the plastic back in place. “Personally, I’ve got plans for this weekend. I can’t stay here.”

“Not even to keep Felix company?”

“No.”

“Not even to keep me company?” He stepped up behind her to rest his hands on her hips, those deliciously slender, surprisingly flexible hips, and leaned in to nibble on her earlobe.

“Alex.” She twisted away. “This is serious.”

His mouth curved. “Don’t worry about it,” he said easily. “The only place people get locked in for days is the movies. Security will be by in a while to let us out.”

“Let’s hope it’s soon.”

“Anyway, there’s got to be another way out of here.” He began to prowl the room. “No extra doors in the book room, right?”

“Right.”

“What’s this room in here?” he asked, opening the door next to the repository.

“The scientific lab.”

He reached inside to flip on the lights and blinked. “Christ. What are all these gadgets?” The room was as modern as the rest of the lab was retro, with shining white walls and gleaming chrome-and-black equipment.

“Oh, a scanning electron microscope, a laser, a Fourier—”

“Okay, I get it.” He scanned the room and ducked back out. “If we’re bored later, you can teach me how to use them.”