When William entered the space, tears blurred my vision. I dashed to him and threw my arms around his neck. “I thought I’d never see you again.” He staggered, embracing me. I drew back for an instant to confirm that I was looking at his handsome face. I hugged William tight again. He shouldn’t be here, but damn it if I wasn’t happy to see him.
“Why are you here?” I leaned away to peer at him, not ready to let go of him.
“It wasmyidea to join Andrew on a treasure hunt, right? I’m sorry I told them the location coordinates.” He smiled, but it was a weak attempt. He winced. “You might not want to put too much pressure on me. My foot is killing me.”
A fresh swell of rage rose in me, and I faced Dickhead. “My brother is hurt. Why did you make him hike?”
The abundance of light chased the blackness, and the area came into full view. It resembled an old underground mine with two wood-framed passages about ten yards away. Four hefty beams with symbols carved into the wood propped a timbered ceiling. The bare stone walls had clusters of shimmering quartz and garnets.
Richard looked over his shoulder and then shrugged. “Extra collateral.”
“It was you last night in the jungle,” Andrew said in a terse tone.
Richard strolled to the closest post and studied a ship carving.
“No. It was Igor and Vitali.” He pointed at the pole. “Have you already figured out the meanings of these marks?”
Andrew bent and reached for his hat. “For once, you can do your own work instead of taking advantage of mine.”
“It’s easier this way.”
Andrew stepped in Dickhead’s direction, but the neckless Tweedledee directed a gun at him. A fear pushed through me. I had no doubt the dumbass wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
“No need for a confrontation.” Brie placed her hand on the gun, lowering it. “Andy, we tried to be nice. We offered a cut of our share. But you didn’t want it.” She sashayed to Andrew and placed her palm on his abdomen, then it slid down, her finger hooking over his belt buckle. His forehead furrowed. My stomach hardened with jealousy. “How about we make a different deal? You help us find Augustine’s loot, and we divide it. Your precious museum can have some; our client will have the rest. Simple.”
Andrew breathed heavily, his nostrils flared, as he gripped Brie’s wrist and pushed her hand away from him. “How about a hard no?”
Brie tilted her head, her lips pulling into a pout. “Oh, Andy, don’t be that way.”
“Stop fucking calling him Andy,” I bit off and snatched the flashlight off the ground.
She gawked at me first, then snorted a dry laugh, showing off a row of pearl-white teeth. “I can call him whatever I want. Don’t forget, he was mine before he was yours.” Her chin thrust forward, and she pushed her enormous boobs out. The haughtiest expression took over her face. “I told Andy ‘I love you’ in six different languages. Can you do that?”
Earlier anger at them being here and having taken William hostage turned into red fury. My face flooded with heat, and my fingers tightened over the metal in my hand. I had never been in a fight, but there was always a first time for everything. Yet the better half of me understood that Brie’s flirtatious behavior was primarily her trying to provoke me, pushing my buttons, wanting me to show my ugly side. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
“It doesn’t matter how you said it because you didn’t show it,” I said, trying to sound irate and not wounded.
“That’s enough, Brie,” Richard snapped. “Let’s focus on the important things.”
“Fine.” Andrew pointed at the two passages. The light reflected off a small golden statuette on the wall at each entrance. “We divide and conquer. Whoever finds it first keeps the most. Which way do you pick? Left or right?”
What was he doing? I approached him and arched an eyebrow, silently asking what the actual hell. Andrew’s eyes searched mine, his lips curling up. Had he figured out something but couldn’t share?
“Andy, what game are you playing?” Brie crossed her arms.
“I’m being fair. There are two ways to get out of here.” He walked to the second torch on the ground and picked it up. He cleaned the grit of the glass lens. “And Brie, it’s Dr. Jones to you, not Andy.”
She rolled her eyes.
I looked at Brandon. “Will you stay here with my brother, please?”
“No,” Brie snapped. “He’s coming with us.”
I swirled around. “He’s hurt. He shouldn’t be here in the first place.”
“He made it this far just fine. He can continue for a while more.”
“Briana,” Brandon spoke, and I noticed a few days-old purple bruises under his right eye. “With all due respect, this is not the best idea. He’ll slow you down. We’ll wait for you here.”
