“Where is that tea?” Joe barked.
“I hurt Alice. I did it. Me.” She rocked harder.
Strong arms tightened around her.
“Stop it!” A barked order snapped through her rising panic. Her eyes shot to Joe.
“Joe?” she whispered.
His hand clasped in her hair. “This wasn’t you.”
She tried to shake her head. “My plan. It was my plan.”
“No.” His grip tightened, bringing her focus to him, forcing her out of her mind. “This is all on Esteban. Not you. Your plan is good. This is all on him. Do you hear me?”
She felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she clung to Joe—her lifeline.
“We should have given him the mummy.”
“He would still have hurt Alice. It’s what he does. You know that. You did the research. Think.”
“Her finger, Joe.” Her voice was a trembling mess.
“I know, baby, I know. But if we’d given him the mummy, he would have come after your gran and Alice would have died. At least now, she’s still alive and there’s a chance of saving her. This isn’t on you. It’s on him.”
Julia buried her face in his chest and sobbed as his words penetrated. She knew he was right. But it hurt so bad.
Chapter 20
“Here, drink this.” A cup was pressed against her lips. “Julia.” Joe’s voice was firm. “Sip the tea.” She did as she was told.
She didn’t know how long she sat there, cocooned against Joe, while he soothed her pain. Eventually she became aware of voices and Joe’s firm chest under her cheek. The images in her head had faded, as though a gauzy veil was hanging between her sanity and the horror she’d witnessed. Self-preservation. Her ever-efficient mind was protecting her.
She felt wrung out. Her throat ached and her eyes were gritty and swollen. Deep inside there was acceptance. And guilt. Joe was right, this was on Esteban, but she’d played a part too. And she wasn’t sure she’d ever get over it.
“You doin’ okay?”
She looked up to find Joe’s focus entirely on her. It was intense and comforting at the same time.
“Yes.”
“Good girl.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re too strong to be knocked out by this.”
She wasn’t sure about that. “Gran?”
His arms flexed, but his voice was soft. “We had to sedate her. She’s sleeping.”
A million thoughts flitted through Julia’s mind, ordering themselves, formulating a plan. “We can’t decode the rest of the textile without her.”
She glanced over at the mummy sitting on the coffee table in the corner of the room. Shouldn’t it smell? The only scent coming from it was one of dusty old books. She made a mental note to ask Gran about it. Later. On some level, she was aware that her brain was focusing on the bizarre details around her to stop from thinking about Alice. For once, she was grateful for her weird ways.
“She needed sleep.” Joe stroked her arm, making her melt into his strength. For once, she was completely uncaring that they had an audience for his affection. She needed it. His touch grounded her, reminding her that she wasn’t helpless. She had her mind, her team and Joe.
“It could take days for her to decode the textile. Longer even to find the treasure.” If the treasure was still there after all this time. “Gran seemed confident we would be able to get to it by tomorrow night. She said, from what she’s decoded already, it’s somewhere in the Sacred Valley. That isn’t far from here.”
She already knew what Joe was going to say, and prepared herself.
“Tomorrow might be too late,” he said gently.