I close my eyes. My mind has been working on a solution, and I think I have one. It’s only half a betrayal of my family, but if it means finding my father, I’m all for it. I take the last swallow of my beer and toss the bottle to Lucas. He catches it out of thin air like he hasn’t had a shitload already to drink. Both he and Wyatt watch the standoff between us, gazes flicking back and forth. “My answer is…” The air seems to settle, draping over my shoulders like a weight. The only thing you can hear between the four of us is our collective breaths and the insects chirping just outside the perimeter of the truck. “I told you before that if you wanted what my family had then you needed me.” I can’t even open my eyes while I say this. If my dad’s dead and watching from above, I can imagine the pain he’ll feel in about two seconds. But if he’s alive…and I have the chance to find him, I have to take it. It’s a fine thread, but I have to keep pulling at it and pulling at it until I find the truth. “You guys can’t have my father’s papers, but you can have me.” I swallow. “I’ll help you search for the treasure.”
Stone takes a deep breath, letting it out between us like an exorcism. An expulsion of what? I don’t know. Eventually, he says, “Fine.”
“No,” Lucas blurts.
I turn my head to face him. I guess I wasn’t seeing through all his exterior bullshit. He is his exterior bullshit.
“Stone…” he says in warning, panicked eyes meeting his.
There’s so much going on here that I don’t understand, but I’m still getting my thoughts in check. I just agreed to partner up with our rivals. The fucking Jacobs. “Your father backs off of me. He leaves my college status alone. And if he sent that letter, I’ll kick his fucking ass.”
Stone shrugs. “We’ll start tom—”
“We’ll start when I say,” I demand, cutting him right the fuck off. “You’re not running the show. No one knows more about the treasure and those mountains than me, so we work on my schedule and my timeline. You understand?”
It’s Stone’s turn to look pissy. “Maybe you don’t understand what a partnership means.”
“Listen here,” Wyatt says, jamming his hands into his pockets. “There’s something you don’t know.”
I glance over only to find the brim of his cowboy hat. I swear he wears that thing on purpose. Not that it doesn’t look sexy on him, but he also gets to keep his expressions guarded.
“Shut up,” Stone growls.
“She has a right to know.” Lucas chucks my beer bottle wherever he threw his. For the first time, I hear the slur in his voice. “And you know it.”
Stone’s eyes shutter closed for a moment. In the light of the moon, they appear way darker than they do in the sun. I guess that’s only fitting since we’re not having the happiest of conversations right now. Stone straightens his shoulders, his hard gaze on mine. “There’s someone else looking for the treasure,” he says simply.
I scoff. “There are always people looking for the treasure.”
“Yeah, well, we have reason to believe that these people might be a tad bit dangerous,” Wyatt says, speaking up.
I smirk. What? Do these guys think I’m new? “Do you know how many skeletons are populating the Superstitions right now? There are always people searching for the treasure and about half of them you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. The other half are split between worse than that, and families who want to take home pictures of their adventurous vacation.” I make finger quotes in the air. “First rule of treasure hunting with me, boys, is that you realize I’m not the girl everyone at Saint Clary’s thinks I am. I don’t roll over. I don’t play dead. And I’m sure as fuck not scared of a little competition.”
I walk to the edge of the truck and jump down. I smile into the moonlit landscape, my limbs afire. I’m closer to my dad. I’m closer to feeling more me than I have in a long time. Just talking about the treasure reminds me of who I really am.
“I told you I liked her spunky,” Wyatt says, his voice pitched low.
I smirk at his words. Not only did commanding those assholes feel awesome, but I also can’t