The Reckless Oath We Made - Bryn Greenwood Page 0,102
and pull out a stack of bills. He passed it to Zee, who handed it to the bearded guy, who flipped through the bundle of money and nodded. When he passed it back to Zee, she returned it to Gentry.
“All right. So here’s the deal.” The guy reached into his back pocket and pulled out an actual paper road map. He unfolded it and laid it on the dresser. Zee’s uncle stayed where he was, but Zee and Gentry went to stand next to the guy.
“There’s an old cabin here, back up in the woods. Originally belonged to Craig’s grandparents. Here about ten years ago, his ex-wife sold it to some people who put it in a trust. It’s complicated, but the folks who own that trust are friendly with the wizard”—I swear he said wizard—“who supports Craig. On paper, it don’t look like it’s connected to him. That’s where they are. And it’s pretty far out in the country, not easy to get to, and not many folks around.”
“That’s a pretty big circle,” Zee said.
“Yeah, well, I’ve only been there twice, so it’s not like I can give you coordinates.”
“I bet a satellite map would help,” I said.
Zee shot me a glare.
“Like he said,” the bearded guy said. “You look at satellite maps, you’ll be able to find it. It’s the only thing for miles around.”
“You sure that’s where they are?” Zee’s uncle said.
“They’re there.”
“How do you know?” Zee said.
I’d been trying to keep an eye on the big picture, but I kept coming back to where everyone’s hands were in relationship to their guns. Zee’s uncle had his hands down at his sides. The bearded man kept his arms crossed, so that he was like Gentry’s mirror. Zee had her thumb in the pocket below where the gun was tucked into her waistband. It made me nervous, but I guess I was the only one.
“Because I spoke to a man who’s with them. And he seems to think they’d be better off without your gal. Save themselves some trouble. Now, I’m not about to get in the middle of this, but if you go there, I bet they’d talk to you for the right amount.”
“What’s your friend’s name?” Zee said.
“Same as mine. None of your business. Now, I think I’ve done what I agreed to do.”
Zee looked at her uncle and, when he nodded, she held out her hand to Gentry. Just like he had before, he took the wad of cash out of his pocket and gave it to her. She gave it to the bearded guy, and he walked out, leaving the map behind.
After he was gone, Zee took the gun out of her waistband and set it on the dresser. For almost a whole minute her uncle coughed, and then he said, “I wish I could do this for you, girl. I truly do.”
“I know. It’s okay,” she said.
“You take care of her, son,” the uncle said to Gentry. “I know you can handle yourself in a fight, so I ain’t worried about that, but you tread careful.”
“I shall, sir.” Gentry put out his hand and they shook.
After the uncle left, Zee and Gentry stood next to each other looking at the map.
“Am I allowed to talk now?” I said.
“If you have to,” Zee said.
“What the hell was that?”
They didn’t answer and, before I could ask anything else, Edrard came back with lunch. Zee folded up the map, and he put the pizzas on the dresser.
“How fareth Dame Rosalinda?” Gentry started passing around pieces of pizza, so I guessed we weren’t going to talk about the bearded guy.
“Well, she wasn’t very happy about Edrard coming here,” I said.
“Understatement. I suspect my name will be mud when I get home,” Edrard said.
“I’m sorry,” Zee said around a bite of pizza. “I didn’t think you two would come.”
“All for one and one for all, right?” That’s what I said, but I was seriously disturbed by the whole thing. Ever since I got the diversion for my DUI, I’d been keeping my head down, being extra careful. This wasn’t anything like careful.
“I thank you, my brothers,” Gentry said.
We ate our lunch talking about jousts and armor upgrades. Zee sat there eating, listening to us. When Edrard went to get another piece of pizza, he finally noticed what I’d been thinking about all along.
“Why is there a gun here?” he said.
Zee picked it up and set it next to her backpack. Like that solved the problem.