Broken Wings (18 page)

“
Get what?”

“
It’s her.” She smacked his
arm. “The girl Maggie told you about. She said she was coming
soon.”

He was quiet for a moment, and then he
shook his head. “No way. Besides...I don’t even think she likes
me.”

“
You’re kidding, right?” Rio
countered with a skeptical laugh. “She was ready to claw my eyes
out...till you told her I was your cousin.”

“
There’s no way.”

“
Okay.” She decided to take
matters into her own hands. “Next time you see her—and trust me,
you will see her again...I want you to ask her out. And I mean on a
real date, too. Take her out to dinner or something.”

~~~~

CHAPTER 35

Billy and Rio still had the little
matter of a couple of unwelcome guests they had to throw off their
trail. Hoping to do just that, they took a party of ten—which
included Billy’s parents and Janey—and headed up to Bennett Canyon.
The next stop on Billy’s snipe hunt.

Rio was alone, sitting on a big rock
and gazing out over the canyon. All she wanted, at this point, was
someone to tell her how she was supposed to carry on. How was she
supposed to live her life without Tajan? He’d told her she was
going to live a long life this time. If that were the case, it was
destined to be a lonely life, too.

Janey climbed up on the rock and sat
down beside Rio. She drew her knees up and draped her arms around
her legs. “So...” she said in a soft voice, “where is
he?”

Rio leaned her head to the side and let
her gaze journey toward the girl. “Who?” she asked.

“
The guy that’s on your
mind.”

Rio looked back out at the canyon. “I
really don’t know where he is.” She shrugged, staring straight
ahead. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.”

“
Well...I hope for your sake
that you do.”

Fat chance! Kind of hard to see a dead
guy—without the help of some seriously illegal drugs.

Janey shifted and faced Rio, saying, “I
want to apologize to you.”

“
Apologize to me?” Rio
rolled her eyes at Janey. “For what?”

“
Well, I wasn’t real nice to
you the other night.” Janey looked away, as if embarrassed. “And
I’m sorry about that.”

“
Don’t give it a second
thought.” Rio didn’t want the girl feeling guilty. She didn’t see
the sense in that. “So…” Her voice lightened with a friendlier
tone. “When’s the last time you saw my cousin Billy?”

“
Geez…” Janey paused,
thinking about it. “It’s been about eight or nine years now. My
parents moved away and I’m just now, finally, getting back home.”
She cleared her throat. “Does he have a girlfriend?”

“
No.” Rio shook her head.
“Nothing serious anyway.” She leaned in a little closer. “But I’ll
tell you…he sure likes you though.”

“
Really?” Janey’s smile lit
her eyes. “You wouldn’t shit me now, would you?”

“
Not about something like
that,” Rio said. “He’s a little bit shy, but he wants to ask you
out. Can I tell him you’re okay with that?”

“
Are you kidding me?”
Janey’s face beamed with enthusiasm. “I’ve wanted him to ask me
out...ever since I was like ten.”

“
Then it’s good as done.”
Rio smiled and nodded. There may be no way she could have a happy
ending, but that didn’t mean it had to be that way for Billy and
Janey. They could have a happy ending and she’d make it
happen.

Immediately, she started looking for
the opportunity to nudge Janey in Billy’s direction. It didn’t take
her long to find it. The guys had been digging as a pretense of
looking for the treasure. Finally, Billy took a break.

Well…it’s about time
. She looked
at Janey—who was staring at Billy. Rio went to Billy’s Jeep and
grabbed a thermos and then strode back toward Janey.

“
Hey, Janey.” She put the
container in the girl’s hands. “Billy’s been working really hard
over there.” Rio pointed her in Billy’s direction and gave her a
little push. “Why don’t you go offer him some water?”

Janey stumbled, but recovered quickly.
She stepped awkwardly toward Billy.

He looked up. When his eyes landed in
her direction, he smiled.

“
Hey...” She had the shyest
look on her face when she stopped beside him and leaned against his
Jeep. “I thought maybe you’d like something to drink.”

“
Thanks,” he said, taking
the thermos.

He drank and her eyes were glued to
him. Even from Rio’s distance she could see the perspiration
dripping down his face and splattering on his shoulders and
chest.

She hadn’t anticipated the high
temperatures or the heat that came with them. They should’ve
brought more towels.

Janey worked her arms out of her outer
shirt and removed it. Billy’s mouth crept open as he stared at her
snug t-shirt. She was well-endowed; a fact that hadn’t escaped
Billy.

She offered him the blouse.

He shook his head. “I don’t want to
mess up your shirt.” He raked his wet forearm across his
forehead.

“
It’s okay,” she said with a
one-sided shrug. “It’s washable.” She reached up and dabbed the
shirt over his brow.

He made no attempt to stop her, and
given the smile spreading across his face, he was enjoying the
activity. “Say, listen...” He spoke, and she mopped his neck, arms
and chest. “When this is over...you think you might want to have
dinner with me?”

“
Yes.” She dropped her arms
to her sides. “I’d like that very much.”

Rio tried to ward off the bittersweet
feeling washing over her as Billy and Janey flirted with one
another.

Go for it Billy
!
Don’t waste
a second
.
Grab hold of her and never let go
.

~~~~

CHAPTER 36

While Billy and Rio’s group pretended
to search for the treasure, Danny had another group looking for
something else. By the time Danny returned to the Tajans’ home—some
twenty-four hours later—Billy and Rio’s party had long since
abandoned their own undertaking.

Danny entered through the front door.
All eyes zeroed in on him.

“
Did you get it?” Rio
asked.

“
Got it,” he said with a nod
and sly grin.

“
Good.” Rio looked at
Billy’s father. “When you get your hands on the treasure, you take
it and you put it somewhere safe.” She sucked in a breath and shook
her head. “I don’t want to know where it is either.”

Billy made a noise, like he was about
to say something—something she could easily guess.

She stuck her forefinger out, directly
at him. “Remember...no questions.” She cut her eyes toward him.
“While your dad’s pulling the old switcheroo, you and I are going
to have to figure out a way of keeping dumb and dumber
preoccupied.” She laid her fingertips against her chin pensively.
“Or at least what they think is you and me.”

“
Well that shouldn’t be too
hard to pull off.” Billy laughed. “It’s been pretty easy to lead
them around so far.”

Rio looked at Bill and Carole. “Forgive
me...but this part I need to discuss with Billy and Janey.
Alone.”

Neither Bill nor Carole said anything.
They only watched as their son led Rio and Janey into the hallway
and on into what was once his bedroom.

Inside the room, Rio closed the door.
She hesitated, trying to figure out how to propose her idea to
them. She leaned against the dresser; Billy and Janey sat down on
the bed.

“
We all know we need to make
sure nobody gets followed out of town the day everything sets into
motion.” Her words rambled because her nerves had her rattled. She
wasn’t sure if they’d agree to the plan she’d concocted. Hell,
after learning of the implications they might toss her out on her
ear.

“
You sound like you already
have a plan,” Billy said.

“
Well, I do.” She nodded,
mustering up courage. “If it’s dark…” She glanced back and forth
between them. “And if Janey wears a red wig…then those lowlifes are
going to think she’s me.”

“
I think I see where you’re
going with this,” Billy said with an air of
understanding.

“
Well, somebody clue me in?”
Janey asked, looking a bit confused. “Because I’m totally lost.”
Her gaze landed on Rio. “Why do I have to dress up like you? Why
don’t you go with him yourself?”

“
Because I’m not going to
make out with my cousin.” Rio folded her arms together. “You are,”
she said with a mischievous chuckle. “We want them to think it’s
me. They’ll never break away from watching because that’s the kind
of scum they are. They’ll watch till the bitter end.” She shrugged.
“Or sweet, as the case may be.”

It was a great plan. Turner’s goons
would be so preoccupied with what they thought was Rio and Billy,
and they wouldn’t have the slightest clue about what was really
going on.

“
I’m game.” Billy looked at
Janey. “But it’s totally up to you.”

“
Oh…” Janey gave him an
eager smile. “I’m in.”

Now came the hard part. Since they were
all in agreement, they had to go back out into the living room and
explain it to his parents. None of them really wanted that
assignment, but both girls laid the task at Billy’s feet since they
were, after all, his parents.

The girls followed Billy out into the
living room and lingered behind him as he faced his
parents.

“
We have a plan,” he said to
them. “But it’s probably best you don’t ask.”

Carole pushed herself up from the couch
and pulled Billy off to the side. “You’re not going to hurt anyone,
are you?”

“
Mom, I wouldn’t hurt
anybody.” He charmed her with a smile. “You know that.”

“
I don’t mean in the
physical sense,” she said dryly. “You don’t hurt Janey, do you hear
me?” She whispered, “That girl has genuine feelings for
you.”

“
Calm down, Mom,” he
insisted softly, “I would never hurt her.”

She looked at him with that same look
she’d used when she easily guessed his thoughts—eyes that bore into
his soul and picked out his most intimate feelings. She crossed her
arms in front of her and smiled. “I’m pleased.”

“
About?”

“
About...” She gave him a
mocking glare. “Like you don’t know.” Her chuckling laughter filled
the air. “Janey.”

“
Janey?” Billy asked
innocently. “What about her?”

~~~~

CHAPTER 37

At one o’clock in the morning, when Rio
felt comfortable that Billy was fast asleep in his room, she
brought out her laptop and sent an email. The message
read:

Dear Uncle Gabe…The trap
will be set tomorrow night. The birdie will be caged day after
tomorrow…Your Loving Niece, Rio

~~~~

CHAPTER 38

At the elder Tajan’s house, Rio waited
in the living room with Bill and Carole. She wanted Billy and Janey
to hurry up and come out before his parents started asking her too
many questions.

When they finally emerged from his old
bedroom—Billy first and then Janey—Rio eyed Janey with a measure of
curiosity. She was wearing a red wig that looked very much like
Rio’s own hair.

Bill and Carole’s entire focus centered
around Billy and Janey. No one paid much attention to Rio as she
wandered off into the dining room.

She eased into a chair at the dining
table and stared up at the paintings of Maggie and Tajan. Mostly,
Tajan. Rio couldn’t understand why the details of Maggie and
Tajan’s life had been revealed to her. She hadn’t recalled a single
inkling of Maggie’s feelings for Tajan before she came here. But
now she knew all too well how much Maggie had loved him. How much
she—Rio—still loved him.

She couldn’t help but dwell on the fact
that she was here—now—and he wasn’t. That’s what the whole damn
thing boiled down to. No matter how she examined the situation, the
one thing that would never change was the fact that she was alone.
No matter how many people gathered around her, she would always be
alone.

Somewhere in the remote corners of
Rio’s mind, she knew Carole had even entered the dining room and
sat down beside her, but the news didn’t make it to her mind on a
fully cognizant level.

“
He’s very captivating,”
Carole’s voice, filled with intrigue, flowed toward her. “Isn’t
he?”

Rio tilted her head and cut her eyes
toward Carole, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks.

“
I’ve always thought so
anyway.” Carole gave the painting another quick scan and then
turned back to Rio, and whispered, “I think every woman who’s ever
laid eyes on that painting has fallen madly in love with him.” Her
reticence amused Rio. “But don’t tell your uncle I said
that.”