“Evan, some psychopath is going to blow this entire mine off the side of the mountain in about…” He checked the timer on his watch. “Fourteen minutes.”
“This is the rock that was in the gold box we found,” she explained.
“Okaaay.”
“It's not a weight.” She grinned.
“Tell it walking, beautiful.” Cam grabbed her free hand and pulled her toward the hole. A hole now filled by Joseph Nabeel's slim frame. His Ruger trained on Cam. He climbed through, never taking his eyes off his target.
“Go ahead, dear,” Joseph said. “Tell him the story of my diamond.”
Cam moved Evan behind him.
“Joseph, what are you doing?” she asked over Cam's shoulder.
“More than half my life I’ve been looking for that diamond. And you, you stumble upon it like a child finding a euro in the street.”
Cam glanced at his watch. Eleven minutes. He couldn’t call for help; the team couldn’t get in and out in time.
“Joseph,” Cam said calmly, “we need to get out of this mine.”
“I’m not leaving without The Panther's Eye. You are not leaving at all.” Joseph aimed the gun at Cam's chest.
“You want it? Go get it.” Evan whipped the object in her hand over her shoulder. It flew through the air and plopped into a tidal pool.
“No!” Joseph shouted.
Taking advantage of Joseph's distraction, Cam nailed him in the chest with a sidekick. He collapsed on the ground, the gun spinning from his hand. Cam grabbed Evan by the waist and practically threw her through the hole into the storeroom. “Run, Evan! I’m right behind you.”
“But…” she protested.
“No buts, Evan. Go.”
He turned back to the room, then checked the time: four and a half minutes. It took at least three just to navigate the mine. They were out of time.
Joseph scrambled over to the tidal pool and plunged a hand into the water.
“Joseph, this mine is full of C4. You’ll be strip mining this mountain tomorrow.” Cam tried to reason with him.
“I don’t care. Go ahead. I saw where it went into the water. It's right here.” He plunged his hand into the pool again and again. “It's so close. I’m so close.”
Cam knocked the older man out cold with a well-placed punch. He backed out of the cave pulling Joseph through the hole.
Two delicate hands grabbed the older man and heaved.
“Damnit, Evan, I told you to run,” Cam snapped.
“I’m not leaving you, Miguel,” she calmly replied.
Cam growled his frustration, hoisted Joseph onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and moved to the door.
“No.” Evan stood by the original hole Cam had made with the sledgehammer when he first caught her in the cave. “This way.”
She was right. It would be tricky in the dark, carrying a body, but the distance to the beach was much shorter. “Go. I’m right behind you.”
Together they made their way through the darkness, dragging Joseph through the tight openings, moving as quickly as the enveloping rocks would allow.
When they emerged into the large entry cave, Cam yelled, “Get to the water!”