Defying the Relic Hunter (Coletti Warlord Series Book 11) Read online

  Defying the

  Relic Hunter

  Gail Koger

  Copyright © December 2019 by Gail Koger

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Gail Koger. Please do not participate or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized copies.

  Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  Cover Artist: Valerie Tibbs

  Published in the United States of America

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events, existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Books in the Coletti Warlord series

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my parents.

  Prologue

  The day the Tai-Kok fleet appeared in Earth’s orbit is forever etched in my mind. These malevolent ghouls turned our world into an all you can eat banquet. Every man, woman and child know how the Jones clan stepped up. Their psychic abilities gave the world an early warning system, allowing people time to get to the hastily constructed underground shelters, before the Tai-Kok and their ally, the Rodan, could chow down.

  Few people were aware the Dragos clan did their part to save mankind too. We’re a secretive lot and resorted to guerrilla tactics to fight the Tai-Kok and Rodan. My mother and half our clan were killed in the battle for Barcelona, Spain.

  Uncle Aldo literally snatched me from the jaws of death, and we joined the horde of refugees looking for asylum in the United States. We relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. Uncle Aldo raised me the best way he knew how. I mean dealing with a kid who could see dead people had to be seriously freaky. But he took it all in stride and loved me unconditionally.

  I was seventeen when Kaylee Jones decided to hook up with a Coletti warlord. Okay, Talree’s a hunk, but what a boneheaded move. Her stunt brought Earth to the attention of Zarek, the Coletti Overlord. Once he discovered the Jones family’s unique psychic powers, and their blood’s ability to heal cellular damage, he promptly seized control of Earth.

  The military geniuses at Central Command decided an alliance with the Coletti Empire was a Godsend. I’ll admit the Coletti warlords and their allies did a terrific job of wiping the Tai-Kok from existence. But their protection came with a price. Zarek demanded we turn over all psychic women to him. Seems he needed us as breeding stock.

  Big shocker, the Coletti warriors’ tendency to take things that didn’t belong to them started the Great Galactic War. Unfortunately for the females of the universe, chemicals used on the Coletti people in the war created a genetic anomaly, and only one female baby was born for every one thousand males. The Coletti women were going the way of the dodo bird and guess who got to pay the price for their men’s stupidity? Us.

  The second Zarek signed the treaty promising to protect Earth from alien raiders, Central Command arrested every Jones serving in the military. God help us if Zarek ever learned about our paranormal talents. Keeping our existence a secret, became a bit more difficult when Central Command began enacting new laws. Anyone with extrasensory abilities had to report to their local military base, fill out registration paperwork, and get chipped like a friggin’ dog. You faced fines and jail time if you refused.

  Not a single Dragos female has ever been chipped or mated to a Coletti. Why? Because Uncle Aldo developed an ENF shield that nullifies the Coletti warriors’ psychic powers. The Overlord would have never known about our devices if the idiots at Earth First hadn’t stolen a prototype. Central Command believed the discs were taken from Alliance scientists and went after Earth First with a vengeance.

  Uncle Aldo learned from Earth’s First mistakes and our shields are disguised in wrist communications bands and jewelry.

  My mother, Cassandra Dragos, was a powerful psychic. Confident that I would exceed her abilities, she named me after the formidable Greek Goddess Kassiopeia. Mom was a bit disappointed when I hit puberty and still hadn’t manifested any of her awesome talents.

  What special gifts did I receive? The ability to see dead people. Just shoot me now. I’m a thief and talking to dead folks is about as useful as a three-legged horse. The two practical talents I did receive from mom were projecting illusions and the ability to mesmerize men. Unfortunately, I can only hold the illusion for ten minutes before it goes poof. To bewitch a man, he must gaze into my eyes for at least sixty seconds. Sixty seconds is a freakin’ eternity, unless you’re a scorching hot supermodel. I’m not drop dead gorgeous, and the fact that I’m a teensy bit overweight, doesn’t help either. The sad truth is, I haven’t had a date in over three years.

  My clan is filled with accomplished conmen and thieves. The more loot you bring in the higher your status. To date, I’ve brought in five hundred and sixty credits. Uncle Aldo had faith in me. My clan not so much. They booted me out. The only way back in was to pull off a million-credit heist. Alone.

  I was twenty-two with no real job skills, no money and the realization I hated being a thief. To keep me from becoming homeless Uncle Aldo rented me a cheap apartment on the sly. After a month of searching, I managed to find employment as a roadkill collector. My job was scooping up the mangled furry bodies. I was ecstatic. It paid twenty credits an hour but working in 110-degree temperatures was tough. I lasted a month before I ended up in the emergency room from heat exhaustion.

  My second job was cleaning gross, fly infested porta-potties, which earned me another trip to the hospital for dehydration. The only upside of that nasty job was I happened to be in the right place, at the right time to rescue a three-year old girl from her kidnapper. Uncle Aldo had a fit when my picture was plastered all over the news vids. Being a heroine got me nada.

  Utter desperation drove me to become a research subject in an experimental drug trial. When I started babbling about seeing dead people, they abruptly showed me the door.

  Uncle Aldo took pity on me and got me work at the local cemetery as a groundskeeper. I managed to hang onto it for eight months until my boss caught me talking to the dead. My bad, but I was lonely. The jerk even called the police on me, claiming I was high on drugs and that’s how I ended up at the unemployment office.

  Chapter One

  The unemployment office was housed in a
beige, cinder block building that reeked of sweat and despair. The temperature hovered around 95 degrees. All the wheezing air-conditioner did was push the warm air around the packed waiting room. Add in hordes of flies, the ear-shattering wails of bored children and the place could double as hell.

  After standing in line for an hour, I was directed to a crappy, outdated computer to fill out the proper paperwork. Once I was finished, I was given a card with the number eighty on it. The electronic counter on the wall sat at ten. Oh yay, only seventy people ahead of me.

  Bored out of my mind, I flipped through a tattered Arizona Highways magazine. The article about Montezuma’s treasure caught my attention. I could really use some of that Aztec gold about now.

  Seems back in the early fifteenth century Cortez overran the great Aztec empire. To keep the greedy bastard from taking all his loot, Montezuma packed up his gold and with a small army guarding it, sent it north into what is now the canyon country of southern Utah. There, so the legend tells, his king’s treasure is still hidden.

  The story got even more interesting. In 1921, Freddy Crystal, an Indiana Jones type, showed up in Kanab, Utah and convinced the town folk that he had a four centuries old map that would lead them to the long-lost treasure. He must have given one hell of a speech, because gold fever hit the hard-working farmers with a vengeance.

  Kanab’s elected mayor and city council were the first all petticoat government of that time. The women decided it was plain foolishness to share the treasure with the outside world and fines were levied for even uttering the word treasure. The ladies organized the treasure hunt like generals commanding an army. Each morning Kanab would empty and each night the deserted streets would fill up again. Since the town was the most inaccessible city in the United States it was easy to keep their secret. This went on for two years and lucky for me, they never found the treasure.

  I gasped as the image of an emerald embedded in a large gold amulet suddenly formed in my mind. I instinctively knew the amulet was the key to finding the treasure. Was I finally coming into my powers? God, I hoped so.

  The amulet abruptly vanished, and I found myself staring at a large, heavily muscled man with amber eyes. His Hollywood good looks were marred by a small scar across his right cheek. My stomach clenched when he smiled. Were those fangs? I concentrated on the fuzzy image. Crapola. They were. Hollywood also had warrior braids and was wearing black battle armor. Was he after the treasure too? I sure hope not. Coletti warriors were persistent buggers. If you pissed them off, they would track you forever.

  My eyes snapped open when Granny Annabel stated calmly, “He’s the one.”

  I glared at her gypsy-like apparition. Granny always reminded me of an Italian Betty White. She refused to pass over until I found a strong man to protect me and she had been haunting me for four frickin’ years. “If you haven’t noticed, he’s Coletti. Not. Happening. Ever.”

  “Beware of the Serpent,” she intoned and vanished.

  Beware of the Serpent? What kind of mystical crap was that? I glanced down at the magazine and gold fever sank its claws into me. Ok, the fact that I was about to be evicted from my apartment and the only thing in my refrigerator was a moldy loaf of bread had a little to do with it. Finding the gold had to be easier than prying credits out of the unemployment office. Right?

  Chapter Two

  While watching the evening news vid, I discovered the gold amulet I needed to find Montezuma’s lost treasure was on display at the Phoenix Art Museum. I let out a triumphant whoop and did a little happy dance. My crappy luck was finally changing.

  Friday, the museum was sponsoring a big gala event to show off the Aztec artifacts found at the lost city of El Dorado. The Mexican government had kindly arranged to display the pieces for a sizeable donation. For only twenty credits the general public could tour the exhibit today. Damn, there went the last of my gas money.

  A picture of the badass Coletti warrior in my vision appeared on the screen. A giddy news anchor announced Ethan Jones was the Overlord’s official archeologist and he would be taking custody of the artifacts for further study.

  Like hell he was. Desperate times called for desperate measures. There was only one way to stop him. I had to steal the amulet before Jones got his grimy paws on it.

  The only person who could help me out of this mess was Uncle Aldo. He had been a gifted thief until he was injured fighting the Tai-Kok. Now he built gadgets to help our clan liberate priceless goodies and keep the Overlord’s goons from discovering what the Dragos women were truly capable of.

  Last year Uncle Aldo retired and moved to Sun City, Arizona where the old ladies are hot to trot. He now spends his time charming the ladies out of their panties. Hey, after all he’s been through, he deserves some fun in the sun.

  Hoping he wasn’t on a date, I called Uncle Aldo and to my surprise, he answered immediately. “Ciao.”

  I quickly explained the situation and asked for his help.

  “Si Kizzy, of course I will help you,” he replied in his heavy Italian accent. “It will be good to sharpen my skills and make fools of la Polizia.”

  “Grazie, uncle, I’ll meet you at noon.”

  Chapter Three

  My uncle had created his own version of the Coletti warrior’s bracelet. Mine was black and silver and equipped with all sorts of cool stuff. With one tap on the scanner icon, I had a three-dimensional view of the museum’s security systems. Not only had it been recently upgraded, they had added facial recognition software. This didn’t concern me since my cousin had deleted all the data Central Command had collected on the Dragos clan. To make my day even more exciting there was a Coletti warrior inside. I’d bet my last credit it was Ethan Jones.

  After forking over twenty credits to a middle-aged woman manning the box office; I trailed after the way too perky guide as she chirped on and on about the mysterious Aztecs and their blood thirsty ways. Her incessant giggling made me want to smack her upside the head. What the hell was funny about human sacrifices?

  I quickly ditched the tour by ducking behind a large stone artifact. How had that twit landed a job when I couldn’t even get hired at a fast food joint? Fate was an evil, twisted bitch.

  My attention was drawn to a nervous executive in a cheap plaid suit. He was escorting a big guy wearing a black cowboy hat around the exhibits. Making sure my electronic null field was working properly, I strolled over for a better look. Yep, it was Ethan Jones. His amber eyes swept over my size fourteen body, lingered for a minute on the cleavage exposed by my turquoise tank top and immediately dismissed me.

  Guess I wasn’t his type. You know, a bimbo? A Barbie doll look alike who wears a size zero and has breast implants bigger than her IQ? Hmm. Did Coletti warriors actual go on dates or did they just do the me Tarzan, you Jane routine?

  Ethan’s square chin was covered by several days’ growth of bristly black beard. His ebony hair brushed the collar of his horribly loud orange cowboy shirt. The man had to be color blind. I mean, my God, who buys something with big yellow cacti on it?

  My gaze skimmed over Ethan’s tight ass and the jeans that fit him like a glove. Hoo boy, the guy was ripped. Made me want to lick him all over.

  I smacked my forehead. What the hell was wrong with me? Ok, it’d been awhile since I had a date. A depressed sigh broke from me. So long, in fact, that I had probably forgotten how to kiss properly. I certainly wouldn’t mind practicing on him. Too bad he was Coletti.

  Shaking off my sudden longing for a little romance, I hurried over to the display with my amulet in it. I held my wrist scanner an inch above the case.

  Wham! Out of the blue, a flurry of images flashed across my mind. A small metal sign with Hieroglyphic Canyon etched on it. The ominous Superstitious Mountains loomed over a large Saguaro cactus covered in white flowers. One large spine pointed down a rocky path. Whoa! I was coming into my powers.

  A large, callused hand touched my arm. “Ma’am, you ok?”

  Ma’am? Did I
look old? I opened my eyes and blinked. A garish cowboy shirt filled my vision. Crap. It was Jones. Tilting my head up, I met his suspicious gaze and pasted an adoring smile on my face. “I appreciate your concern, sugar. Dinner would certainly make me feel better.” I stroked a hand down his massive chest. “Much, much better.”

  A dark brow shot up and his mouth tightened. “Some other time, sweetheart.”

  “Sugar, you don’t know what you’re missing.” I patted his fine ass.

  “Good God! Is she groping you?” The executive’s voice was full of horror.

  I turned my attention to him. “I can handle two fellas. Are you up for a threesome?”

  I grinned as Jones and the executive beat a hasty retreat. The big, bad warrior had forgotten all about questioning me. Fat girl, one. Warlord, zero.

  My dapper Uncle Aldo gave me a slight nod as he squired two beaming elderly women around the displays. His ivory cane was a work of art. It contained a super-duper spy camera equipped with a scanner that would pick up the frequency range of the museum’s security system. It also had a cool electromagnetic pulse feature that fried all electronic devices. With one press of a button, the alarm systems, cameras, lights and communication devices would be put out of commission, permanently. I loved technology.

  I watched the executive and Jones disappeared into an office. My plan for getting Ethan out of the way was right on schedule. This morning I robbed a jewelry store wearing his image. Now all I had to do was plant the jewels in his hotel room and call the police. Easy. Peasy.

  Chapter Four

  A short time later I adjusted my borrowed maid’s uniform. Who knew I could still squeeze into a size 10? I know I had put on a little weight. Ok, who was I kidding? I had gained twenty pounds. The stress of losing job after job had turned me into a chocoholic. It was the only thing that kept me sane.