Chapter 8
Flynn let her words sink in, then pulled her to him and stroked her hair. “You didn’t have any choice, if you hadn’t shot him he would have killed you too.” Flynn reassured her.
Tani felt a weight lift off her shoulders, she’d never quite been able to let go of the guilt she felt for taking a life, but telling Flynn had finally made her realize that she’d had no choice. It still didn’t relieve her of the guilt she felt for having brought David into their lives, but she’d take what she could get. But there was still more to tell, and it was time to finish the story.
Before she could go on thought, Flynn said, “That doesn’t explain the picture Tani.”
“No, that comes later. After I shot David,” A shutter ran thought when she heard the words come out of her mouth, “one of the crew burst into our tent and saw what had happened. The man had been with us since I was a small child and didn’t even question me, just helped me escape. When he dropped me off at the American Embassy he handed me a box and disappeared into the street. I never even got to thank him. If he hadn’t helped me, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Tani got out of bed and pulled an old box out from under the bed and placed it at the very end of the bed. “I told my story to person after person at the embassy until they finally put me on a plane to America. When I got back here, I had to tell my story again and by that time I was so emotionally damaged it all seemed like a dream. I’d just lost both my parents and been taken from the only home I’d ever known.”
Flynn pulled Tani back against him, ignoring the box she’d put at the end of the bed. “What happened to the tomb?” He hated to ask but thought that she needed some prodding, he was beginning to understand what the picture had been about.
“As far as I know it’s still sitting there. The people in the state department dismissed my claims as being ridiculous, especially when I couldn’t produce any proof, so they sent me here to recover and I’ve never left.” Tani finished with a big sigh, glad that the worst was over.
Flynn was beginning to get a clear picture of what Tani had been through and what she was still going through. “You know where the tomb is, don’t you?” Flynn asked, pulling the box toward them, “And this is the proof they wanted.”
Tani touched the box with shaking hands, then lifted the lid releasing a smell that could only be described as old. “When I got my things back, the box was with them and apparently no one bothered to look inside.” She said, lifting the white cloth that was on top out to reveal a beautiful gold statue that even a novice like Flynn could see was priceless.
He reached out to take the statue then pulled his hands back, “I take it there’s more.”
“Yes, and a map to the tomb.” Tani said, putting the statue back in the box and covering it again. “I shouldn’t have these things, they belong to the people of Egypt, but right now they’d just end up on the black market.”
“Isn’t there someone you could trust with this?” Flynn asked, pointing to the box.
“I don’t know who to trust.” She said, shaking her head, the last thing I heard the Ministry of Antiquities was being run by a friend of the President and he knows nothing about archaeology, it’s just a front to steal artifacts and sell them on the black market.
Flynn was silent for a long time. “Whoever sent those pictures thinks you know where the tomb is and they’re right. I think was can assume it was a threat. You have to talk to Cooper and Sabrina about this.”
“They already know about most of this and I guess you showed them the picture.” Tani said, sorry that she’d brought everyone she cared about into this. “Now you’re all in danger, these are bad people Flynn, they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want.”
“I think the Terrell’s can handle themselves. You feel up to going downstairs and talking to them? It might be a good idea to eat something too.” Flynn said, getting out of bed and holding his hand out to her.
Tani took his hand and got to her feet a bit shaky, but ready to face what lay ahead. “Thank you for understanding Flynn. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the guilt of causing my parents death, but talking to you helped.”
Flynn pulled her into his arms and hugged her, “I’m just sorry it had to happen that way. You did what was necessary to stay alive. Hopefully, someday you can forgive yourself. David is the one to blame in all this not you, you were as much of a victim as your parents were and I’m sure they’d want you to move on with your life and be happy.”
She’d heard those same words many times before, but this time it felt different when she heard them, it felt like maybe someday she might just be able to forgive herself. She let Flynn dress her and lead her downstairs to the kitchen where Cooper and Sabrina were waiting for them. They fussed over Tani until she was fed and began to perk up, then they all took a piece of Sabrina’s famous berry pie and coffee to the study to talk in private.
“It looks like you’re going to have to make a move Tani. Someone out there wants you and the information you have. I haven’t been able to track down how the information that you were here got out, but I’m working on it.” Cooper got right to the point for which Tani was grateful, she needed to get everything out in the open for once and all.
“Cooper, there’s something I haven’t been telling you all.” Tani said, then looked to Flynn who understood what she wanted and quietly got up and left the room.
While he was gone, she told the story again from the beginning, finally telling them about the box and its contents just as Flynn came back in the room. She opened the box and began to spread the contents on the desk, marveling again at the beauty she’d had hidden under her bed all these years.
“These are the real thing.” Sabrina said, awestruck.
“There’s more.” Tani said, and lifted an old book out of the box and shook it. A thin sheet of paper fluttered out and landed on the desk.
No one touched it for a long time, but finally Flynn picked it up and opened it. “It’s a map, a well-drawn map, even I could follow this and I’ve never been to Egypt.”
“My father must have drawn that right before he died, we’d already covered up the entrance and I guess he was afraid we might not be able to find it.” Tani said, tears running down her cheeks. “He knew that something bad was going to happen.”
Flynn folded up the map and put it back in the book, then said, “Now that we’re all up to speed, what are we going to do? We can’t let those people come looking for Tani here.”
“No, we’re not going to let that happen. We have to get this to someone who knows what to do with it.” Cooper said, drumming his fingers on the desk.
“It can’t just be anyone.” Tani said, “I don’t want my father’s life’s work to be sold on the black market. These pieces need to be in museums where everyone can enjoy them, that’s what he would have wanted.”
By the time they left the study, Tani was exhausted. Cooper had assured her that with the extra guard they were safe for the time being, then he called his brother Calvin and scheduled a family meeting. It had been a long time since they’d had a crisis in the family, but everyone was ready to help and as Flynn helped her to their bedroom, she realized just how lucky she was to have such wonderful people around her, but a little part of her was afraid that it might just get someone killed.
When they met in the study the next morning after breakfast, Flynn and Tani were both shocked at the progress Cooper had made in only a few hours. He’d found the source of the leak that had led to her location being downloaded onto the internet. It had happened when a government computer had been hacked and the information sold.
“What this tells us is that someone has been looking for you for a long time.” Cooper said after he’d shared the information he had. “Now we must figure out how to keep you safe from them, and Calvin and I both agree that the only way to do that is to get that tomb found in a very public display, then the artifacts can be properly catalogued and treated with the respect they deserve.”
“That might work, except that you have to get permission to excavate anywhere in Egypt and that permission isn’t easy to get.” Tani said, having already thought of this herself. “It takes a lot of money to run a dig, even a small one can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“Well then it’s a good thing we’ve got more than enough money between us to fund a dig.” Cooper said, pulling out a sheet of paper and sliding it across the desk to Flynn. “This document makes you and Tani investors in the newest Terrell industries humanitarian project. We’re going to fund the dig ourselves, between my brothers and Flynn I think we can manage to dig up a tomb in the Egyptian desert and not empty our bank accounts.
Flynn picked up the contract and looked it over quickly, then got out his phone and made a quick phone call. “The money will be in the account by the end of the day. Now what? Are we going to Egypt?”
“Wait, you still have to get the permit and I don’t think they’ll ever issue a permit to dig there, not when there’s any chance that they could get it themselves.” Tani wanted to believe that Copper and Calvin could fix this, but couldn’t see how they’d pull it off.
“They will if the permit is issued in your name.” Cooper said, sliding another sheet of paper across the desk, “You have the right to petition the Ministry for a permit since your father never finished his allotted time.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Tani said, doubting Cooper.
“Oh, it’s a law. You just have to know where to look. Calvin’s an expert at finding the right people to get us information, if he says it’s true you can believe it.” Cooper said, handing her a pen.
We can’t use Tani as bait Cooper, it’s just too dangerous.” Flynn objected, but Tani had already begun to fill out the paperwork.
“She’ll be perfectly safe, our plan to have guards everywhere and cameras recording the entire thing. The only tricky part is going to be getting her to the dig site. I can’t seem to get permission to land our private planes anywhere in Egypt, that means we’ll have to fly commercial which makes security that much more difficult.” Cooper seemed to have thought of everything and Tani knew that it was now or never. She had to put this part of her life to rest and exposing the location of the tomb was the only way to do that.
“It’s okay Flynn, I need to do this.” Tani said, putting her hand on his arm, trying to convey to him how important this was to her.
Cooper cleared his throat, “Tani, the only problem with our plan is that we won’t be able to go with you. We’re trying to make this look like you came to the Terrell Foundation to get funding to go on your own and we picked up the humanitarian side of things.”
“You can’t send her over there alone. I’m going with her, fix it so I can or she’s not going.” Flynn was on his feet ready for a fight.
“I was hoping you’d say that, but I have to warn you that the only way you’ll be able to go with her is as her husband. The Egyptian government has implemented strict control over who comes into the country. As Tani’s husband, you’ll be able to travel with her wherever she goes.” Cooper said.
There was silence in the room when Cooper finished speaking, “You want us to get married now?” Tani finally asked, the room beginning to spin. As much as she cared about Flynn marriage was a huge step, one she hadn’t thought she’d ever take.
“I think it’s the only choice we have. Besides allowing Flynn to travel with you, it offers another layer of protection if they know that she’s got someone right there who would be looking for her if she suddenly disappeared. I know it seems like a radical solution but I think it’s our best option. When this is all over we can petition to have the marriage annulled, the courts will approve once they understand why it was done.” Cooper said, not able to hide the little smile that crept up on his face, even he could see how strong the feelings between Tani and Flynn were and knew he was only pushing the inevitable.
Flynn took Tani’s hand in his and squeezed it, “I don’t know Cooper, that’s a lot to ask of us. I mean marriage is a big step.” Flynn said, secretly pleased with Cooper’s suggestion but not wanting to scare Tani.
Tani’s heart sank a little at Flynn’s words, a little part of her thinking that marrying him wouldn’t be the end of the world. “Isn’t there another way?” She finally asked, when she knew she could control the trembling in her voice.
“Not unless Flynn can come up some good reason to join the dig.” Cooper said, leaning back in his chair. There was silence in the room again after he spoke, everyone feeling a little uncomfortable.
“How about we give Tani and Flynn a few minutes alone.” Sabrina finally said.
Once everyone had left the room Tani and Flynn sat in silence, Flynn was the first to break the silence, “You can’t go over there alone Tani. If this is the only way I can go with you then we have to do it. It won’t be that much different than the way things are now.”
“But it will be different Flynn, it’s marriage.” Tani said, then sighed and sat back in her chair. “Until a few months ago I’d planned to live my life alone, now we’re talking about getting married. I’m not even sure I want you to go to Egypt, if something happens to you I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”
“I can take care of myself Tani, and you need someone who knows the whole story with you. I know this is a lot to take, but I promise if you want the marriage annulled when we get home I won’t fight you on that.” Flynn hated to say the words but he knew that Tani felt pushed into a corner.
Tani was confused, a part of her was relieved to hear his words and another part of her was disappointed that he’d give her up that easily. “I guess that’s okay.” She said, sadness in her voice.
“I know this probably isn’t the way you imagined your wedding day, but we can make it nice.” Flynn said, misinterpreting her sadness.
Tani wanted to tell him that what she wanted more than anything else was for him to be marrying her because he wanted to, but she could never tell him that, it would only complicate things. Even having those thoughts confused her, she cared about Flynn but she didn’t think she loved him, after all they’d only known each other for a short time. She’d thought that she loved David and look how that had turned out, she just couldn’t trust her feelings and once they’d done this it would change their relationship forever.
“It’s okay, I know we have to do this.” She said, resigned to the fact that she’d have to marry Flynn, in love with him or not.
Flynn’s heart sank, he’d thought that he and Tani had begun to build something real, but now he wasn’t so sure, she seemed sad to have to marry him and if he was honest with himself it hurt a little that she wasn’t at least a little bit excited. But considering everything she’d been through with David, he reasoned that she was probably still afraid to trust him completely, only time would heal that wound. He briefly wondered if he should tell her how he felt, that he’d been thinking about marrying her since the day she left Coldwater Canyon.
His talk with Marissa had shown him that love wasn’t always something that came with time, occasionally it happened in the blink of an eye, and his love for Tani had come that way. Of course, at the time he hadn’t realized that what he’d been feeling was love, he’d just felt desperate to fix things with her. Now he understood that the desperation had only been a symptom of his fear that he’d lose her forever, but now he had a way to keep her with him until she loved him as much as he loved her.
He’d joked with her about going to Vegas to get married, and they could certainly do that if she wanted, but suddenly he wanted a wedding that would make this marriage seem real to Tani. He wanted her to remember the day for the rest of her life, wanted to see her in a white gown, flowers in her hands as she came down the aisle to join him. He wanted to dance with her at their reception and then whisk her away for a night she’d never forget, but that might be difficult to arrange on such short notice.
When they let everyone back into the study, Flynn announced their decision, then turned to Sabrina, “I’m hoping you can arrange everything.”
Sabrina grinned, that was just what she’d been hoping she’d hear. “Leave everything to me. I’ll need a list of people you want to invite. I’ll have to get on the phone to Marissa right away.”
Tani groaned and wished they’d talked about the ceremony before they let everyone back in. “I thought we’d just go to Vegas and get married.” She said, looking at Flynn. “You told me that’s what you’d do.”
Flynn didn’t answer for a second, afraid that if he told her the truth it would scare her. “Well, I think for appearances we should make this look like the real thing. Invite everyone, have a big wedding.”
Tani narrowed her eyes at him, “What difference does it make?”
“Well, if they see that we got married in Vegas it might raise a red flag.” Cooper jumped in to save Flynn, he too could see that Flynn and Tani belonged together; otherwise he never would have suggested the wedding.
"Well, okay but I’m not wearing a white dress.” Tani said resigned to her wedding being an even bigger charade than it had to be. “I’m tired and I think I need a few minutes alone.”
Flynn watched Tani go, hoping that she’d come to realize that they were meant to be together. It had been a long twenty-four hours and he could understand her reluctance. Again, he cautioned himself to be patient, in time she’d come to love him the way he loved her.