Broken Wings (20 page)

* * *

Rio stood off to the side, distancing
herself from the others. It was almost over now. Soon she’d be
going home—back to Vegas. Considering the circumstances, that was
probably best. Maybe the quicker she got away from this place, the
better off she’d be. Around here, everywhere she looked all she
could see was that this was where she’d found and lost
Tajan.

She gazed out over the canyon, wishing
she could somehow make the loneliness go away. Her soul felt like a
shell of her normal spirit. The only things left were the raw sores
of her aching heart.

“
You okay?” Billy asked.
Somehow, he’d snuck up on her.

“
Yeah.” She cleared her
throat, knowing she didn’t sound convincing.

“
You don’t look
okay.”

“
I’ll be okay.” She forced a
nod. “I’m not sure how…but I will.” Rio sucked in a breath and then
looked at Billy. She really needed to change the subject. “You’ve
got the treasure tucked safely away, don’t you?”

“
Yes.” He kicked his foot
against the ground but it was too hard to do much damage. “But I
still don’t understand why you don’t want to know where it
is.”

“
I don’t want anything to do
with it.” She turned away, to hide her disgust.

“
You think we should turn it
over to the authorities?”

“
No.” She whipped around to
face him. “That’s not it. The treasure and everything it stands for
is the reason Maggie and Tajan died. The tribe can have it. Maybe
something worthwhile can come from it...otherwise, they died in
vain.”

Several hours later, after the faux
treasure had been dug up, two chests were brought to the surface
and the entire party had started to celebrate. But it was only for
show. A façade while they waited for the bad guys to
arrive.

The party was interrupted by a group of
men converging upon them with guns. Turner Atkins led the
way.

Rio was thrilled to see Turner leading
the pack, but she hid it. For now.

“
Ahhh…” Turner waved his gun
at Billy. “I see I’m right on time.” He eyed the chests. “I really
can’t tell you how much I appreciate you digging these up for me,”
he said, downright sarcastic. “And you, Rio…” His glare shifted to
her. “Unfortunately, that hundred grand is all you’re getting out
of me.”

All eyes turned on Rio like she’d been
hit with some sort of magnetic field. Billy gave her one of those
looks that said he understood what all the secrecy was
about.

“
Get the chests!” Turner
squawked out the order.

More men with more guns emerged from
the shadows.

“
FBI…” the apparent leader
of the group called out. “Drop your weapons and raise your
hands.”

The next couple of minutes probably
happened quickly for everyone except Rio. It played out in
agonizing, slow motion for her.

Turner’s goons ducked for cover and
began firing at the Feds. A shootout commenced between the two
groups. Rio and Billy’s party members began to scatter and run for
cover. This turn of events wasn’t something any of them were
prepared for, and now Rio realized her mistake.

Like a little weasel Turner scampered
behind a tree. He peeked out from time to time. Rio knew he was
looking for her. She had news for him. She wasn’t about to make
herself an easy target.

But then his sights zeroed in on Billy,
as if he were a worthy consolation prize. He raised his gun and
pointed it at Rio’s newfound cousin.

He was aiming to kill, and Rio wasn’t
about to let that happen. Without thinking about the consequences,
she ran between them as Turner fired off multiple shots.

An excruciating pain spiraled out from
her back. Her legs failed her and she slumped to the
ground.

Fear pounded against Billy’s temples as
he stared at Rio lying lifeless before him. Another shot rang out
and he frantically searched for its target.

The bigmouthed guy that had called out
Rio, the obvious leader of the first group, slid down the tree he’d
been hiding behind and crumpled to the ground.

Gunfire was still flying, but Billy
didn’t care. He ran to Rio and dropped to the ground, cradling her
in his arms.

The gunfire slowed. Billy scanned the
area. The first set of guys scattered.

One of the Feds used his cell phone and
started barking out orders. “I need a chopper up here now. We have
an agent down. She has multiple gunshot wounds.”

Billy felt the wetness of Rio’s blood
soaking through his clothing. “Rio…” He called her name with
frantic intensity. “Talk to me!”

She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
“My friend…” her quivering voice trailed off. She took a deep
breath. Her eyes closed and her body went limp.

“
Rio? Wake up, Rio…” Despair
poured out in his voice.

Rio’s spirit rose from her body. She
watched with vague curiosity as federal agents rushed to her side.
They forced her away from Billy and started CPR.

One of the agents looked up at his
senior officer who was still on the phone. “Sir.” He shook his
head. “She’s not breathing.”

Billy yanked her away from the agent
and starting performing mouth-to-mouth. Between breaths, he yelled
at her, “Don’t you do it, Rio...damn it. Don’t you
leave.”

Rio felt no pain, no loss, no remorse
as Billy tried with desperate fervor to revive her. All the while,
a helicopter hovered overhead and landed on the hilltop.

“
One, two, three…” Billy
continued to perform CPR on her. “You wake up, Rio. Do you hear
me?”

Paramedics emerged from the helicopter
and scrambled down the hillside.

“
Billy…” Janey called out
softly, but Rio heard her loud and clear.

Janey took a couple of steps toward
Billy and Rio’s body.

Bill clutched Janey’s shoulder with a
gentle, yet firm, touch. “Janey, he’s got to try and save her,”
Bill said. “Otherwise, her death will forever be on his
conscience.”

Rio looked at Billy. Her death on his
conscience was not what she wanted.

Involuntarily, she slammed back into
her body.

Rio gasped for air.

“
Rio…” Billy hugged her.
“Thank God!”

~~~~

CHAPTER 42

Inside the hospital waiting room, the
Tajans waited for some news about Rio’s condition. Their friends
were scattered about. Everyone sat in silence. No one was talking.
A downhearted veil seemed to have been cloaked around the group. It
was as if, in their anguish, they’d forgotten that she’d been
accused of deceiving them.

But Rio had paid her dues. And in the
end, she’d proven where her loyalties lay.

Billy sat quietly beside his parents.
Janey was at his side. He wished someone would come out soon and
give them an update.

The senior FBI man from the site
charged in. Scanning the room, he caught sight of Billy. “Is there
any news?”

“
No,” Billy stood and met
him face-to-face. “Who are you? Why were you calling Rio an
agent?”

A smile tried to curl on the fed’s
lips. “Rio and I are FBI.” He took an empty seat across from
Billy’s parents and waited for Billy to return to his seat. When he
did, the fed said, “she’s been investigating Turner Atkins for a
long time. Five years.”

A doctor, an older man with balding,
white hair emerged from behind the double doors leading into the
ER’s treatment area. He paused and surveyed the room. His attention
landed and stayed on the Tajans and their support group.

Seeing the doctor looking their way,
Billy stood and moved toward him.

“
The family of Rio
Laraquette?” the doctor inquired.

“
Yes. We’re her family,”
Billy said, and read his name tag.
Dr. Edward
Sharp
.

“
Well...” Dr. Sharp shook
his head. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“
I’ll give it to her,” Billy
said without hesitation.

“
Her type is
rare.”

“
Let me guess,” Billy said.
“A-B negative.”

“
How did you know
that?”

“
Because that’s my blood
type.”

“
Of course,” the doctor
said. “You’re family.”

Billy donated his blood, and once
finished, he massaged his arm and left the lab. He headed down the
hospital corridor. He’d had lots of time to sit and think about
what had happened while they were retrieving his blood. He made up
his mind before finishing in the lab—as soon as he was done helping
Rio, he was going to find Turner Atkins.

Locating Turner’s room was easy. Billy
walked inside and stood over him.

Turner’s eyes popped open. Uncertainty,
and then fear bulged his eyes.

Good.

Billy backed into the chair beside
Turner’s bed. “If you’re wondering about the guards...” He propped
his feet up on the bed. “They’re not going to help you.” He shook
his head and flashed Turner a wicked grin that he could’ve been
proud of had he not been on the receiving end. “They know I’m in
here…and they really don’t care.” Billy latched his hands behind
his head. “I have connections with the FBI, you know.” He couldn’t
help smirking. “So I guess, when you hired her…the thought that she
might actually be my cousin never crossed your mind?”

Turner didn’t say anything. He looked
petrified.

“
Funny how that works. You
hired her to pretend to be someone she already is.” Billy laughed
at the irony. “But you know what the best part is...you ended up
with a bunch of fool’s gold.”

Turner gave a pained sigh.

“
Yep. That’s right. Fool’s
gold.” Billy snickered. “I don’t think the FBI’s going to let you
keep it though.” His tone grew serious. “But I can guarantee you
this...I personally will be right there to testify against you in
court. You better pray they convict you, too,” his voice was filled
with resolve. “Because if they don’t, I’m going to hunt you down
and kill you myself. And that’s not a threat...it’s a
promise!”

~~~~

EPILOGUE

Las Vegas

Six Weeks Later

Time passed, and Rio’s wounds had
almost healed completely. But the pain in her heart hadn’t lessened
a bit. She’d taken home an emptiness that would never heal. One
she’d never be able to fill.

She knew the only thing that could ever
help her mend her broken soul was Tajan.

But that story had played out a long
time ago. It was a tale about Tajan and Maggie. But she wasn’t
Maggie. Not anymore. Now she was Rio. And she didn’t understand how
or where she could possibly fit into Tajan and Maggie’s
story.

She sat alone on the snack bar in her
kitchen. For the first time in a long time she wore a pleasant
smile as she read Billy’s letter.

Dear Rio:

I’m happy to hear that
you’re recovering so well. I wish you would’ve stayed up here for a
while during this period. But I can understand that you needed a
change of scenery.

Everybody up here is doing
well. My father, your uncle, says to say hello and that he sends
his love. We hope that you understand, Rio, you were born a part of
this family and you always will be a part of it.

You were right about that
guy you hooked us up with. He did get us a fair price. Now, in the
end, we’re an extremely wealthy tribe.

I do have some excellent
news. Janey has agreed to marry me. Yes, can you believe it? I
guess Maggie was right, huh? But you knew that all along, didn’t
you?

The wedding is in August. I
know it’s short notice but Janey and I both want you to be here.
So, we’re hoping that you can get the time away.

Rio, I hope that someday
you’ll find the means to be as happy as I am with Janey.

Your friend and
cousin,

Billy Tajan

Tears soaked Rio’s eyes as she folded
the letter up neatly and laid it on the counter. “Well…” she said,
“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen for me,
Billy.”

The telephone rang. It stopped Rio from
dragging herself down, even further into the pit of despair which
she seemed to be so friendly with these days.

She grabbed the receiver and looked at
it, making sure it wasn’t her old friend Michelle. She wasn’t quite
ready for her brand of digging just yet. Instead, thankfully, it
was Michelle’s dad—Rio’s boss, and the man she’d been emailing
while she was in Carson City.

Rio propped the phone against her ear.
“Hello.”

“
Hey, Rio,” Gabe Dalton said
in a friendly tone. That in itself set Rio’s nerves on edge. Gabe
was never this pleasant unless he wanted something. “How are you
feeling?”