All the trepidation she was feeling vanished. “No problem.” She was pathetic.
“If we find the emeralds, I want you to know we will split them equally.”
She started freaking out. If they did find the emeralds, which was pretty doubtful, but if they did, and they somehow accomplish what no other person had been able to do, what was she going to tell Lucian? That her father owned the mine? “I really don’t think that will be…”
“I need to tell you something,” he said, cutting her off.
She tensed. “What?”
“When I said I left England due to family troubles. I wasn’t telling you the entire truth.”
“You weren’t?”
“No.” He sighed heavily, deciding to come clean. “Remember when I told you I came here because of a falling out with my family?”
“Yeah.” She was getting a bad feeling.
“That wasn’t altogether true.”
“It wasn’t?” she squeaked.
“No.” He tucked her hair behind her ears. “I owed some people some money.”
“How much money?”
“A lot,” he said. “So, you see, this will work out for the both of us. You can solve your money problems and I can get out of debt.”
“Oh, that’s…” Her throat clogged and she couldn’t seem to get any more words out.
“Are you upset?”
She felt like an imposter. “No.” She shook her head. “Thank you for telling me,” she managed finally.
“I normally wouldn’t have said anything, but with you, I feel like we are kindred spirits. Both down on our luck, both of us have been betrayed and it was like we were put in each other’s path for a reason, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, it does.” Double crap. The longer Molly stood there, the more anxious she became. What if Lucian found out she had been lying to him? Granted, it wasn’t a bold-faced lie, just a small fib but would he recognize the difference?
“We better go.” He released her and stepped into the boat, making it dip down in the water. He held out his hand and helped her on board.
Molly sat down. Shivering, she rubbed her arms for warmth while she waited for Lucian to untie the boat. She tried to squash her growing trepidation. It wasn’t like other people hadn’t tried to find the emeralds in the past; in fact, her father had encouraged it for a while, but after some of those same people went missing too, her father called it off.
Lucian sat down and started rowing towards the falls. “You never did tell me what you do for a living.”
His question caught her off guard.
Lucian frowned. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He knew that look all too well.
“Um, not much,” she covered quickly. “I work at a restaurant back in Lake Lure.” She didn’t mention that her father owned it or that she managed it. She was proud of what she had done with the place but she also knew that people always got a little weird when she told them that. And she didn’t want Lucian looking at her differently. She wanted him to like her for herself not because her father was loaded.
“What did you do…ah…?”
“Besides gamble, you mean?”
“I wasn’t going to put it that way.”
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “I’m kind of a free spirit. I roam around a lot. Or, I did, before I got into trouble.”
“Didn’t you work?”
“Not really. I tried to help Reed out with Ravenhurst but he was always such an ass, I usually ended up leaving.”
“Oh.” Molly looked down at a few ducks that were diving under the water, grabbing fish, while others were ruffling their feathers in the rain.
“I wanted to make Ravenhurst more self-reliant. Using rainwater for the crops and getting tank-less water heaters, that kind of stuff, but that costs money and …” he trailed off.
“Wow. I’ve told my father about that for the uh…” she stopped because if she said anymore he would know she wasn’t telling him the whole truth about the restaurant. “We’re almost there,” she said instead.
Lucian looked over his shoulder. “That was fast.”
“You’re a good rower.”
“At least I’m good at something.”
“You are better than good,” she said, remembering a bit too clearly how good he was in other areas.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, smiling.
“You.”
“What about me?”
“That I am glad you almost ran me over.”
“You mean you are glad that you ran out in front of me.”
“You say apples. I say oranges. At least we got to meet each other.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It almost seems like we were destined to find one another.”
“I think so too.”
They both stared at one another for a moment, neither one saying what they were really thinking.
“Molly, if this doesn’t pan out…” Lucian began.
“It’s okay,” she interrupted him, not wanting to spoil the moment. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?”
Lucian let out a pent-up breath. “Sounds good.”
He used the oar to push the boat over to a small outcropping, which was more of a path and tossed the rope over a rock. “Let me get out first and then I will help you out, okay?”
“Okay.”
Climbing out of the boat Lucian tied the rope over a large boulder and with one foot braced on the path and the other on the rock, he helped Molly out.
Once they were both standing on solid ground, they grabbed their gear and made their way down the path that led under the falls. “I never knew this was here,” she said, following behind, carefully stepping over rocks and debris.
“Yeah, it’s really hard to see unless you are over on this side.” He stopped and pulled out the map a few feet away from the falls and turned toward Molly. “I think it’s best if we look at this now, in case.”
“In case what?” Molly’s eyes widened.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but we are about to find out.”
Molly made a face. “That doesn’t sound very reassuring.”
His lips twitched as he looked at her over the map.
“What?”
“You’re cute.”
Heat flushed her cheeks as she smoothed her hair. “Thanks. You’re pretty cute yourself.”
“I know.”
Molly smacked his arm lightly. “Conceited much.”
“I can’t be conceited if it’s true.” He grinned.
He had her there. “Well, there is that.” She smiled back at him. It was the oddest thing. Even though they had not known each other that long, when she was with him she felt like she knew him forever.
Lucian glanced up at her again. “What are you smiling at?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because, I was just thinking…”
“About?” he prodded.
“That I may not have known you that long but I feel like I have known you forever.” She shook her head. “I know that must sound stupid to you.”
“Not at all,” he told her, his eyes turning serious. “I feel the same way.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Molly turned thoughtful for a moment.
Lucian lowered the map again. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”
“I wonder if it will always be this way between us.”
“Well, there is only one way to find out.”
Her brows creased. “Huh?”
He chuckled. “I guess we will have to spend more time together to make an actual assessment on the matter,” he elaborated.
“What if we don’t find the emeralds?” she hedged, trying to read him.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, are you?”
“Well, no, I live here.” She gave him a perplexed look.
“Then you have your an
swer,” he said, and then added, “at least for a while.”
“What if we find the emeralds,” she blurted, trying to cover all her basis.
“Then I guess we will be doing a lot more sightseeing… and other things.” He wiggled his brows.
She giggled at his unsaid innuendo. “You’re bad.”
“I thought you liked that about me.”
“Oh, I do,” she assured him as her gaze drifted down the length of his body.
“If you don’t stop making eyes at me, we won’t find anything tonight.”
“Why?” She played dumb.
“Because I will need to put you back in that boat,” he said as he tilted his head towards the aforementioned boat.
“And do what?” she fished.
“Anything you want and probably a bit more than you ever imagined.”
Molly fanned her face as her entire body heated.
“You are a bad girl,” he said, giving her a wicked look.
“Only with you,” she said and then widened her eyes in embarrassment not believing she had said such a thing out loud.
“Promise,” he said, turning serious suddenly.
“I promise.” She made a cross over her heart. He gave her such a warm sweet smile; she thought she might just melt on the spot.
“I’m holding you to that.”
“I can’t wait.” She made eyes at him like he did her, and then giggled.
“Molly,” he gasped, feigning horror, placing his hand to his chest. “Am I corrupting you?”
She nodded enthusiastically as she stepped up to him. “YES!” She pressed up on her tiptoes and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek.
Lucian lifted his hand to his face and touched where she kissed him, feeling unfamiliar warmth spreading throughout his body. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a very long time, a very, very, long time.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
Inside the cave was cold and damp. The stones underfoot covered with moss made taking even the smallest of steps difficult. Even though their hardhats had the lights on it did very little to dispel the dark gloomy interior.
The falls were rushing in front of them both and they stopped for a moment to appreciate the beauty, grabbing hold of each other’s hands.
In that moment, Molly suddenly wished that Lucian would kiss her, right here, right behind the falls. And then to her amazement, he did. But it wasn’t the toe-curling kiss she had hoped for but instead a platonic brotherly type of kiss, right on her cheek. Dang it.
“Let’s go,” he said, releasing her hand and picking back up the pickaxes again.
Molly barely took a step before she tripped over something and had to catch her balance before continuing onward, while Lucian had no trouble at all. This continued for about twenty minutes and then the rocks finally thinned out and the cave opened up so they didn’t have to keep ducking down.
Lucian stopped and turned around. “You okay,” he asked, his face mirroring his concern.
“Yep,” she panted. “Just trying to stay upright.”
“Do you want to wait here?”
Molly gave him a horrified look.
Lucian laughed at the look on her face. “I was kidding. Come on.” He turned and started down a worn path that led deeper into the cave.
She frowned at his back but tried to make sure she kept up with him better. Tried being the operative word. The damn light on her hard hat kept cutting out.
“Wait up,” she called but Lucian had already rounded another corner. Irritated, she pulled off the helmet and smacked it. The light flickered but shut off again.
“Stupid thing,” she grumbled, and whacked it again. The light came on at the same time the hair on the back of her neck rose and her skin prickled from the sudden temperature change. “Lu…Lu…cian…” she chattered out, suddenly freezing, which only added credence to the fact that she knew she was no longer alone.
♣
Lucian stopped abruptly. “What the hell was that?”
“Molly,” he called, noticing she wasn’t behind him when he turned.
He was reluctant to backtrack right now since he was had a gut feeling he was nearing the emeralds. It was the same feeling he got when he bet on the horses. Granted, they weren’t always winners, but they had been in the past, more than a few times, which had made him a very rich man, for a while. That is, he was, until that two-bit piece of shit screwed him out of most of his money. He had a bad streak for a while…everyone got them, especially people like him who gambled professionally. But instead of taking a break, that asshole Cuthbert, who worked for Bishop, the broker he used or what some would call a Shark, had egged him on, saying shit like, “you’re not so lucky”, or “you must have lost your touch.”
At the end of the day though, Lucian knew it was really his own ego that had done him in. But it still irked the shit out of him. Because if hadn’t been for that idiot, he would have taken a break, like he always did when his luck had run its course. He would go see Cecily or she would come and see him for a few days. They would go out, drink, eat dinner, have wild sex, and then repeat, until his magic returned.
Unfortunately, as with most things in life, at some point his luck had to give and give it did. After that he knew he had to get while the getting was good because men like Bishop didn’t take rain checks. And if Lucian didn’t have the money, Bishop would find another way to get his due, ways that would cause him permanent damage to his body and that was something he wasn’t going to wait around to happen.
After that, instead of waiting out his punishment for faulting on a loan he couldn’t repay, he decided to go to Ravenhurst and see his brother Reed, to ask for an advance on his inheritance.
If that didn’t work, he was going after the treasure he and Reed had hunted for as children against their father’s wishes. But of course, who cared what his father thought, he was, after all, an asshole. His mind wandered of its own accord back to memories of his father at Ravenhurst—the last person, and place, he wanted to think of right now.
Ravenhurst, Cabin in the Woods, Memory
“DAMN IT Cecily, where are you?” In irritation, Lucian pushed his hand through his long hair. The cabin was like a home away from home for him. He knew it well. Letting out a heavy sigh, he stared at the flames, licking out from around the edges of the logs in the fireplace. When he was younger, he had found this little secluded getaway hidden deep within the forest surrounding the estate. It was his refuge.
Ravenhurst was enormous but he never felt like he could truly be alone with the servants constantly milling about, watching his every move, and reporting to his father. Like he needed them blabbing what he was doing. He was already in trouble most of the time anyway while Reed, his precious other son, never got in trouble for anything at all.
Even the time Reed broke one of their father’s prized antiques, Lucian had gotten the blame for it even though it had been Reed’s fault. Reed being Reed had even confessed to breaking the damn thing, he may as well have been holding a smoking gun, too, but father had merely told Reed to stop covering for Lucian.
That day changed Lucian. He realized there was no reason to try to do the right thing when he would be blamed for the wrong thing regardless.
When Drake Scott, their father, was in residence he kept himself closeted in the library, searching the fragile pages of yet another acquired priceless illuminated book for hours, looking for yet another infamous treasure that would elude his grasp and suck more of his substantial wealth away into a vortex of a blackened abyss, never to be seen again.
It was always this way. He would dump exorbitant amounts of cash into yet another one of his expeditions; i.e. money pits. Oak Island had taken quite a bit of his wealth as well, but Drake Scott was sure he would find the Holy Grail or something comparable. It was another one of their father’s vain searches. Of course, none of them came to fruition and the wealth that was so great at one time had begun to dwindle away bit by bit, little by little, until
there was nothing more than a meager pittance left over for his sons.
At first, Lucian was just as enchanted, just as dazzled as Reed was with the stories their father relayed to them as they grew from children into teenagers, and then slowly became men. But as he grew, the dazzle that had been so bright growing up had dimmed considerably. The enchantment had also faded into resentment, and too soon, his gleaming outlook became just as tainted. And that golden ring he was ever reaching for, that was just always out of reach, became a stigmatized version of a broken childish dream of knights, treasure and happily ever after’s, turning into a bitter residue that hung heavily on his tongue…even to this day.
No, instead of enjoying the time on this earth with the very treasures the Good Lord had given him, Drake Scott never saw them as such. They were a burden, an afterthought. He wanted to yell, scream at his father to see them, to see him, but he never did and then it was too late.
In turn, their father had turned into a recluse, a hermit, who closeted himself away from the rest of the world and unfortunately, his sons fell to the wayside as well. For now, their father was gone. He took a walk one day and never came back.
Lucian scrubbed his hands over his face and then dropped them back to his sides. He looked upward. “How’s that going for you, dad?” he bitterly asked the empty air. “Asshole.”
Letting out a heavy sigh he stood up from the chair, walked over to the door, and opened it. The sun had slid further from the sky, and the moon was climbing its way up in its place, dragging the blanket of darkness with it.
“Damn it Cecily, come on!” he swore to the empty air, exhaling heavily. When Cecily had come clean about sending Raven out to the estate, at first Lucian was upset but at least now he knew she wasn’t sent out for other reasons, which would of course include his whereabouts. This was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
He lifted his phone again and tried to call her phone but there was still no damn signal. “Shit!” She was supposed to deliver the message to Reed and then meet him at the cabin. Did she get lost in the woods? Or did she even give the note to Reed yet? And if she did, what did Reed say? Would he even help? He wasn’t too sure if his plan would work but he was at his wits end. He needed to do something. The problem was he didn’t know if Reed would even take the bait.
His Wicked Ways Page 17
