by J. A. Huss
My father lost our land in that game. But just as the rowdy group started to celebrate his loss and their gain, I spoke up.
“I have something worth a lot more than that land,” I said.
No one heard me. No one paid me any attention. No one stopped drinking, or laughing, or celebrating.
My father had walked out, minutes before, calling for me to follow him or he’d leave me here with the bastards who’d just cheated me out of my inheritance.
I didn’t really know what that meant. I just knew that the land was mine too. And I had just lost it.
My father did leave me behind. He never called for me again. Just had the crew shuttle him over to his boat and drop him off.
By the time I thought to go looking, the boat was gone.
But I didn’t need him by then, anyway.
I had struck a new deal.
*******
“You found that treasure?” Tori asks.
I look over at Pax and wait for the laugh.
But he doesn’t laugh. Which means he really might know what comes next.
“I found the underwater cave while I was setting lobster traps that summer. And I found the first gold coin about two weeks into my little business adventure. I kept one in my pocket. I never showed it to anyone, I was smarter than that. But I kept it in there. No one was going to rob a dirty little kid. But that night on the boat I flicked it on the table while the men played. And I said, ‘Give me back my land and I’ll show you where you can find the rest.’”
“Did they?” Oliver asks. “Give you the land back?”
“Not quite,” I say. “But I got a promise from Liam.”
“Liam,” Tori says, with equal parts sadness and disgust.
“What kind of promise?” Pax asks.
“I show them where the rest of the coins were and Liam would hook me up with a better family than the one I drew in the genetics lottery.”
“Better family?” Tori asks.
I nod, unable to look at her.
“They killed my dad as soon as the land transfer went through. And I got sold to the Conrads. Liam kept my land. Oh, it was developed a long time ago. It’s gone for good. Like it never even existed. Like my childhood never happened. But I have something they still want. Very badly.”
“You never told them where the coins were,” Five says.
I look at him and nod. “Hell the fuck no, I didn’t. I took those crooks to another underwater cave. Similar to the one I found. The entrance was too small for a grown man, so I had to be their diver.
“It was not an easy dive to the cave where the treasure was. It was small, and cramped, and there was no air chamber once you were in there. It wasn’t a scene from Goonies, you know?”
Pax and Oliver both shoot me a smile. I was obsessed with that movie as a kid. It felt like a movie about me. My life. I watched it a lot in the frat house. They watched too.
“It was dangerous and I only did it twice. Once, I took a single coin, just to look at it once I got back to the surface. It was fucking…” I stop talking for a moment, reliving that memory. My heart was beating so fast I thought I was dying. My hands were shaking with excitement then fear. My head was spinning, trying to wrap my thoughts around what was happening. “It was fucking gold, man.” I laugh, and when I look over at both Pax and Oliver, they’re smiling. Like they can feel what I’m feeling as I go back in time. “It wasn’t crusted with crap, like you see on copper coins. It was fucking gold.”
God, even if I wasn’t a little kid with a big dream, I’d still feel the same way if I found it years later.
“I didn’t go back down again for a few weeks. My dad was constantly drunk and pissed off. He was gambling like crazy. And losing. So I needed to work so I could eat.”
I glance over at Tori and she’s got a deep, deep frown on her face. I want to say, See, I told you I knew what it was like.
But I don’t.
“And part of me thought… it can’t be real, you know? I’m not the kind of kid who gets a lucky break. But my dad had been talking about that big poker game all week. The one with Liam. He was a regular on Nantucket. He had a huge mansion and a big yacht. He invited my father out to play. And I know now that Liam was planning that game all along. To take our land. So every day my father was going on and on and on about getting rich off Liam Henry in the next poker game. But my gut knew better. I knew something was wrong. And I imagined things going down a hundred ways, and each one of them ended up with me hungry and homeless.”
“So you went and got more,” Tori says.
I nod. “I dove down again, only this time I didn’t dare bring them up to the surface. I knew of another cave nearby. I got lobsters out of it often. It was small too. Not big enough for a man to fit. So I took about a few dozen coins and stashed them there, just in case I needed them quick.”
“A few dozen coins?” Oliver asks, stunned. “How many were there?”
“Hundreds,” I say. “Hundreds, you guys.”
“Go on,” Five prods.
“I took them to the second cave. I came back up with the stashed coins and I handed them over. That was the end of the treasure as far as I was concerned.”
“Did Liam believe you?” Oliver asks.
“No.” I laugh. “No, not even a little bit. They beat the fuck out of me for two weeks. But it was my first taste of power, you know? My first glimpse at what information gives you. And there was no fucking way I was gonna tell them anything. The Conrads intervened. They just wanted to adopt me. I was handed over with my eyes swollen shut, two broken fingers, and three cracked ribs. They took care of me, nursed me back to health. We left the island and all the memories behind and settled into a place in upstate New York. I stayed there for a few years, studying for the entrance exams that would get me into the right schools, and, well, you know the rest. I owe the Conrads everything. They’re not bad people.”
“They bought you,” Tori snarls.
“They took care of me. Sent me to good schools. Bought me cars and shit. I can’t complain about that transaction. And they saved my life back then. They believed me. And Liam owed them a favor. So they won. They got me out. They saved my ass.”
“Liam owed them what kind of favor?” Pax asks.
I shrug. “Who knows. Something big enough to steal a smart kid from a poor family and not get caught.”
Mysterious looks at me hard for a few seconds. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not fucking lying. Everything I just told you is true.”
“Then how the fuck does Stewart Manchester fit in?” Oliver asks.
“Oh,” I say.
“Yeah. Oh,” Pax says, mocking me. “Let’s keep this shit real, Corporate. We know about Stewart.”
“How?” I ask. “I’ll tell you, fine. Fuck it. But I want to know how the fuck you found out. Because if I need to cover my tracks—”
“Liam,” Pax says. “He knew about that, West.”
“Fuck,” I say.
“Yeah, fuck,” Pax echoes. “So continue, motherfucker.”
I glance over at Tori and let out an exhausted sigh. She squeezes my hand in encouragement. “I’m not leaving, West. Don’t worry. Whatever it is, I’m not leaving.”
I look down and start talking at the same time. “Stewart Manchester was a summer kid on Nantucket. He knew me before the Conrads. I didn’t come back to the island for years. It’s like my parents wanted to forget I wasn’t theirs, so we never came back. But I was in my senior year at boarding school and all my friends were going to Nantucket for summer break. So I went. I figured no one would remember me.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t count on Stewart’s long memory?” Pax says.
“He knew, man. He knew I was adopted. He said I had my father killed.”
“What did you do?” Tori asks.
“I fucking denied it,” I say. “What the hell was I gonna say? Yeah, all true?” I laugh. “But then he says, ‘I know about the coins too.’
”
“Shit,” Five says out of nowhere. We all turn to look at him.
“Shit,” I say, agreeing.
“Did you kill him?” Pax asks.
I shrug. “He wanted the coins. I can’t even fit inside that fucking cave anymore. And I wasn’t going to just hand them over, anyway. So I made a deal. I’ll go get them, we split them, and then we go our separate ways.”
“So how did he end up dead?” Oliver asks.
“He and I met in international waters. He was alone on his boat. I was alone on my father’s boat. And… it got ugly.”
“You killed him?” Tori asks in disbelief.
“I didn’t… technically kill him. We fought, he went over the side of his boat. He never came back up. I left. I never got the coins. They’re still fucking down there in that cave for all I know.”
“And that’s it?” Five asks.
“That’s not enough?” I ask back.
“It just doesn’t explain what’s happening now.”
I stare at Five. “I don’t know what’s happening now.”
“You’re leaving something out,” Pax says.
I’m leaving a lot out. But he can’t really know that. He can’t, unless Liam told him what our second deal was, and he didn’t. I know he didn’t. He can’t afford to let people like Mysterious—people who treat secrets as a commodity—in on something like that.
“I told you the truth,” I say, adamant enough to make it sound final.
The room is silent as we all think this over.
“And now?” Pax asks. “Where’s this all stand now?”
I throw up my hands and sigh. “Here, I guess. With Liam double-crossing me and you guys looking for a scapegoat.”
“That’s not what this is,” Oliver says quickly.
“No?” I ask. “Then what is this?”
“What’s going on with your banks accounts?” Five asks. “That’s the last piece of your puzzle.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Your money, Corporate. What the fuck are you doing with your money?”
“What I do with my money is none of your business, asshole.”
“It is when millions of dollars in assets in your name are liquidated overnight.”
“What? I didn’t liquidate anything. I’ve got most of it stashed off-shore.”
“You did, you mean,” Pax says.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask back.
“If you didn’t move it, then they stole it, Weston,” Oliver says. “They stole all your money while you were stuck on that island. You’ve been cleaned out.”
“And that leads us to little Miss Arias. Right on cue,” Pax says. “She was part of that, West. You should know that up front. She was part of it.”
Chapter Forty-One - Victoria
“That’s not true!” I say. “How dare you accuse me! I was stuck on that island with him, you jerks. I have nothing to do with any of this.”
“You’re wrong,” Oliver says. “You’re the whole reason we got set up in the first place.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I look at West, who stays silent. “West?” I ask. “You cannot believe them! I am not a part of this.”
“OK,” Five says calmly. “Let’s just take a deep breath and start from the beginning with you, Miss Arias.”
“No,” I say, stomping my foot down on the tiled floor. “No. My past is none of your business. I’m not rehashing this with complete strangers.” I look at Weston. “Please, West! Don’t let them do this. I told you. That was hard for me. You have to understand that. It was hard for me. I’m not sharing these very personal things with your friends. No.”
I feel the panic rising in me. I can’t talk about this to them. No. My heart is racing, and my legs are trembling. I hold my hand out in front of my face and find it shaking so bad, it scares me.
“Tori,” West says, pulling me into him. “Just take it easy. I think there’s a connection here, babe. And I think we need to know everything in order to put all the pieces back together.”
“I didn’t steal your money. It’s not my fault. I just answered the phone, that’s all!”
“What’s that mean, Victoria?” Pax asks.
But West hold up his hand and says, “Just hold up for a minute. OK? Just hold up.” He stands, taking my hand and pulling me with him. “We’re going upstairs—”
“Fuck that,” Pax says, standing up and pushing West back with a flat palm to his chest. “Fuck that. Do you have any idea how fucking serious this shit is, Corporate?”
“If what you guys are saying is true, then I just lost everything I’ve been working for the past ten years, Mysterious,” West says, eerily calm. “So yes, I’m pretty fucking sure I know how serious this is. I’m taking Tori upstairs to talk and we’re going to figure it out together. And after we do, I’ll let you know.”
I can’t look anyone in the face as West leads me upstairs. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. I keep chanting it over and over, willing it to be true. It wasn’t me.
It can’t have been me.
The stairs lead to a catwalk lined with wire cables instead of a railing. And the catwalk overlooks the living room, so I don’t have to move my head at all to see three sets of eyes staring at me from down below.
West leads me past them and into another part of the house. He goes by a few bedrooms and bathrooms, and stops in front of a set of double doors that open into an office.
He closes the door behind us, then twists the lock.
I meet his eyes. “What are we doing?”
“I just need a minute, OK? And I didn’t want to leave you down there with those assholes, so just let me have a fucking drink and we can decide what to do next.” He walks over to a large cupboard, opens the doors, and pulls out a sliding tray set for drinks. “Want one?”
“Yes,” I say. “Make mine a double.”
West takes the ice bucket and opens another cabinet, where a small freezer is hidden. He fills the bucket as I look around the office and try to breathe.
“Nolan and I used to meet up here every now and then. After a while I just came for the ambiance, you know?” West looks at me as he picks up the small ice cubes with the silver tongs and places them carefully in our glasses. He lets out a small laugh. “When I was a kid I used to watch Conrad take meetings at home. This is how he had it set up too. I can only assume Delaney senior had something similar at his place. Powerful men all have decanters of Scotch in their office. Ice buckets, and tongs, and crystal glasses are a requirement for staying sane.”
“Are you going to get me drunk?” I ask. “To make me talk?”
“I’m going to have a drink with you, yes,” West says, still concentrating on the drinks. “And I’m sure we’ll do some talking. But I didn’t bring you up here for a lecture, Tori. I just need to get the fuck away from them for a minute. OK? I just need a drink, and a beautiful woman, and a nice view, and an office that probably cost more than my car to furnish. Because if they’re not lying and I just lost everything, it’s gonna be a hell of a long time before I ever get to do this again.”
He turns to face me with two glasses in his hands. He holds one out to me, I take it, and then he touches his to mine, making the ice clink and the crystal sing. “To better days,” he says, and takes a drink without waiting for me.
“I didn’t do it,” I say again. How can he be so calm? How can he be so together? Why isn’t he angry?
West grimaces as the Scotch burns its way down his throat, then lets out a breath and heads back to the decanter and pours the dark liquid back over his rocks.
He’s smiling when he faces me the second time. “I don’t care, Tori. I don’t care what you did. I don’t even want to talk about it right now. OK? I just want you to have a drink with me.”
I look at my glass, scowling.
West gulps down his second and heads back for more.
I sigh, decide I proba
bly need this drink more than he does if what happened over the weekend was my fault, and let the entire thing slide down my throat.
It burns like fuck. My throat is fire, my stomach is warm, and when I exhale, I feel better.
West is smiling.
I smile back. “It’s good.”
“Have another one,” he says, taking my glass, refilling it, and giving it back.
“You’re trying to get me drunk. You’re hoping whatever it is I know will come pouring out with that bottle.”
“I wouldn’t mind it, Tori, but I just told you why I’m doing this. If I lost it all, I want one last chance at enjoying it.”
“To better days,” I say, touching my glass to his.
“We could probably both use some of those.”
We drink together this time.
All the way down. One long gulp of confidence and sympathy in the form of a drink. And then I set the empty glass down on the desk and look at the man I love so much, it hurts. My chest is constricting and my heart is fluttering. And I might die if I find out I hurt this man by mistake.
West waves me over to the long leather couch on the other side of the room. I sit and he sits next to me. I cross my legs and his hand slips into place along my thigh.
“I can rebuild, you know. So fuck it. If he got my money and my assets, then fuck him. I can always make more.”
“Who?” I ask. “Who would take it?”
“Liam, I guess. He was never happy about how I got away with what he wanted.”
“The stupid coins?” I laugh. “This is really about those stupid coins?”
“They’re worth two billion dollars today.”
“They are not!” I laugh.
“But there’s a problem.” West smiles as he turns his head to look at me. “They don’t belong to me any more than they belonged to the people who lost them in that wreck.”
“What do you mean?”
“They belong to the Spanish government. So if I get them—and that’s a big if, Tori—if I get those coins, then I have to turn them over to the Spanish government. It’s their historical wealth. Liam knows this, but he’s got people in the private market who will buy. I don’t. I can’t ever sell those coins.”
