The Relic Read Online Free Page A

“See that balcony two floors down to the right?”
    She looked over the side. It was a long way down. One little slip and she’d be splattered all over the steamy footpath.
    Holy shit, could she do this?
    She could. Really. She could .
    She’d better .
    She’d gotten out of stickier situations before.
    “O-kay, no worries,” she looked back at Vince and nodded.
    Piece of cake.
    Luckily for her, he missed her momentary lapse in personal confidence and continued giving her instructions. “It leads to a hallway. From there, we can use the fire stairs and make a clean getaway.”
    “I have no idea how you know that, but since I don’t have much choice…”
    She wrapped her hands in the scarf she’d grabbed on the way out of the room, took a huge deep breath and held it in. She bolted over the rail, quickly abseiling the short distance to the balcony below, before deftly swinging her body toward the ledge where she landed, giving Vince the thumbs up sign. He didn’t waste any time leaping over quickly and joining her. As she opened the door to the hallway, they both stood pressed against the wall to either side of the opening while Magda checked the corridor. She nodded and Vince led the way as they swiftly padded to the stairway then repeated the process so smoothly that any onlooker would think they’d been doing this together for years, and not a few hours.
    They raced down a flight of rickety stairs, ignoring the loud sound of their feet on the uneven wooden steps. Luck was on their side as they reached the car park, jumped in the jeep and drove off before, whoever was following caught up.
    Five minutes down the road, after avoiding several maniac Penangese drivers, a dozen or so pushbike riders and two rickshaw-type vehicles, Magda released the breath she’d held since jumping into the jeep. Okay, she hadn’t really been holding it for that long, but it bloody well felt like it!
    Vincent was checking out the rear, his eyes sweeping from side to side as Magda slowed down and pulled into a small market place at the side of the road.
    “Whoa, baby, that was exciting. Where to next, double-oh-seven?”
    Vincent grinned that million-dollar grin. “My place.”
    “Your place? Won’t the bad guys be watching it?”
    “They’ll be watching my hotel. This is my other place. Nobody knows about it except me.”
    “You have your own place here in Penang? You never mentioned it before.”
    He shrugged. “I haven’t used it for years. It’s probably a bit dusty, and possibly overrun with wildlife. Does that bother you?”
    Bugs? Spiders? She hated them all and he knew it. Just great.
    “I’m sure I’ll cope. Are you sure this place can’t be traced to you?’
    He smiled. “Yep, because it’s registered to Jacko, the bloke who used to own it. I never got around to transferring title. Anyway, we’re wasting time. Switch places and I’ll drive. It’ll be faster.”
    “I’m not sure about that. I know what your driving is like, Stone. Just give me directions and I’ll get us there.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Do you think I would volunteer to drive if there was any other way?”
    He was probably right. Acquiescing, she jumped out of the jeep and moved around to the passenger side. “I know I’m going to regret this, so prove me wrong and get us there safely.”
    Vincent jumped over the gear stick and took over the driver’s seat. For once, he didn’t have a snappy comeback, which made her a tad nervous.
    “I’ll do my best, Mags. It’s been a while, so I hope the local landmarks haven’t changed that much.”
    “So why haven’t you been here lately?”
    He screwed his face up and shuddered. “I hate jungles.”
    She laughed. “So why keep it then?”
    He hung a left and changed down the gears as the jeep chugged up a steep hill. “I always meant to sell it, but never got around to it. Good thing I didn’t, because it’s finally come in handy.”
    “Let me guess. You won it in a bet?”
    He