Wishing he had a strong cup of coffee, Edge settled in to wait.
* * *
They put King in one of the extra hotel rooms. Zuma sat in a chair near the door, while Abby perched next to her grandfather on the bed. She glanced over at Gage, who lounged against the wall, watching her protectively, like a lion guarding his mate.
She liked that about him, how protective he was. It was probably because of Cassandra, but Abby liked to think it was because she meant something to Gage, that she was someone special.
Her gaze returned to her grandfather. As much as she’d tried to persuade King to go to the hospital, he had refused. He was dying. He wanted these few precious hours of freedom before he passed. Abby noticed his color was even paler, though there was a tranquility about him that hadn’t been there before.
She cracked open a plastic bottle and poured water into a cup, lifted his head, and held it against his dry lips. He relaxed back on the pillow.
“I knew . . . you would . . . come,” he said, his voice raspy, little more than a whisper, yet stronger than before. “I was . . . ill when I called my . . . lawyer. I knew by then I was . . . going to die. I wanted you to . . . find the treasure.” He weakly squeezed her hand. “I was . . . selfish. I wanted you to prove I was right about . . . the Devil’s Gold.”
Her throat ached. “I’m going to prove it, King. We’re going to find it. We’re close. We’re almost there.”
He kept talking—as if he had very little time to get everything said. “I was . . . in Mérida when I . . . fell ill. I went to Zuma. We have been . . . closer than friends for many years.”
Abby’s attention went to the woman in the chair. Zuma was still attractive. Once, she must have been as beautiful as King was handsome.
He moistened his lips. “She found a . . . doctor for me . . . but he . . . betrayed us to Arturo Velásquez. I was . . . out of my mind, ranting about the gold . . . telling Zuma you would be coming. The doctor . . . told Velásquez, and his men . . . came for me.”
“Don’t talk. You need to conserve your strength.”
“He tried to . . . force me to tell him . . . about the gold, but there was . . . nothing he could do to a . . . dying man determined to keep his secrets.”
“King, please. You’ll make yourself worse.”
“I need to . . . tell you. I need you to know . . . how proud I am of you.”
Her eyes burned. She brought his thin hand to her lips and kissed the bony knuckles, her throat aching, along with her heart.
“You and Logan . . . he’s a good . . . man. I hoped you would choose him to be the one.”
Gage straightened, his eyes watchful.
“We’re . . . umm . . . very good friends.”
King’s mouth edged up at the corners. “More than . . . friends. I . . . see the way he . . . looks at you . . . the way you look at him.”
“Please . . . you need to rest.”
His thin hand squeezed hers. “You must go . . . with them tomorrow, Abby. Go with them . . . to find the treasure. Give it to Velásquez . . . if you must. The money . . . doesn’t matter. It never does.” His gaze shifted across the room to Gage. “Ask . . . him.” He gave her hand a final squeeze as his eyes slowly closed. Seconds later, he was asleep.
Zuma rose from her chair. “I will tend him, as I have done from the start. I will come for you if he worsens.”
Abby looked at King. His breathing was shallow, his chest barely moving up and down. “I’ll stay,” she said.
“You will need your rest if you are to find the treasure.” Zuma’s intense black eyes pinned her. “This you must do for King.”
Gage came forward. “It’s almost morning. We’ll get a few hours’ sleep, then head for the hacienda. It’s what your grandfather wants.”
“Staying will not keep him from dying,” Zuma added. “Give him his dream, his greatest desire.”
Abby swallowed past the tears in her throat. She nodded. She knew the way King thought, what he would want her to do. He wanted her to find the treasure, to prove he was the man people had once believed.
Gage reached out and took her arm, led her back to the room they shared. He took off his clothes and helped her take off hers. When they climbed into bed, he didn’t make love to her, just kissed her forehead and settled her against his side, her head on his shoulder.
“I’ll wake you when it’s time,” he said.
