Emerald Fire (32 page)

Okay, Finn was beginning to realize why Chloe disliked her cousin so much. How had she put up with this guy her whole life? He’d known him all of fifteen minutes and already wanted to punch him in the face.

Rather than act on that inclination, Finn leaned casually back against the front fender of his Ford, glanced around at their complete isolation, and wished he could get his hands on any sort of weapon. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Finn said to Owen. “The name is Finnegan Kane.”

“Couldn’t care less,” Owen replied. “You’re nothing but a problem.”

Finn gave him a nod of acknowledgement. “And here I’ve been on my best behavior. How about I try your girlfriend instead?” Finn asked. “Maybe she has better manners.”

Chloe gave a sharp bark of laughter from behind him. “The only time I’ve seen Lisa bother with polite manners is when she had something to gain.”

A loud boom shattered the stillness of the forest. Chloe let loose a startled squeak, Owen swore at his partner in crime, and Finn ground his jaw in fury. Lisa held the smoking gun high above her head.

“Shut up, all of you!” Lisa brought the gun back their direction. “This is getting us nowhere, and I’m tired of listening to insults. How about we get down to business?”

That was one bullet gone from a clip that could hold roughly fifteen. Maybe thirteen, since the pistol looked like a compact Beretta. But it was dark, and he was far from an expert on gun manufacturers.

“I’m not doing business with the likes of you,” Chloe said, indignant.

Flying bullets didn’t faze an angry Chloe. He should’ve known that after seeing her in action against the pirates.

“I wasn’t asking,” Lisa declared. “It’s a direct order. You’ve been nothing but a pill since the day I met Jonathan, and now you’re costing me a lot of money.” She waved the gun back and forth between Chloe and Finn. “Is the
Emerald Fire
at the bottom of the sea?”

“Sadly, yes,” Chloe sighed dramatically. “But the upside is that it’s well out of reach of your claws.”

“You are a fool,” Lisa snapped. “That was a ten-million dollar yacht.”

“Not anymore I’m afraid.”

Owen shook his head. “Why do you always have to interfere? Why can’t you just leave well enough alone?”

“Sorry,” Chloe said unapologetically. “Karma doesn’t reward thieves and murderers.”

“You never did know when to keep your mouth shut.” Owen shoved Chloe hard enough that she had to catch herself on the vehicle to keep from falling.

When Finn got his hands on the weasel, he was going to bleed.

“Enough,” yelled Lisa. “I’ll give you one last chance. Where are the emeralds?”

Chloe moved up to stand closer to Finn. “Told you she was money hungry,” she said to him.

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” he replied.

Another bone-jarring bang filled the air, followed by the sound of shattering glass behind him. Damn it to hell! The windshield had taken a direct hit. He’d just replaced it less than a month ago, even paid extra for impact-resistant glass that was apparently worthless. It couldn’t stand up to one lousy bullet.

But they had bigger problems. Lisa Banks was officially crazy and firing random shots in anger. You can’t reason with that kind of stupid. How long before one found him or Chloe?

“You haven’t answered my question,” Lisa said with a calm that should probably scare him. “The emeralds?”

“We’re a step closer, but it’s complicated.” This time Chloe tried to sound cautious, but her clenched fists belied the attempt.

“Either you found them, or you didn’t,” Lisa snapped. “Which is it?”

Chloe took a long deep breath before answering. “We found another clue.”

Owen was pacing, his flashlight weaving drunkenly on the grass at his feet. Every few seconds he’d stop and stare at Chloe, frown, and go back to pacing. Finn doubted his agitation was due to worry for his cousin. More likely it stemmed from getting his hands on enough money to flee the country before everything came crashing down. That made him just as much of a problem as the woman with the gun.

“Another clue?” Lisa’s laugh had more to do with scorn than humor. “You’re no use to me if you don’t know where the jewels are.”

Things were on a downward spiral, and Finn needed to change the status quo. “Don’t be so fast to pass judgment. Maybe you should ask what it is we discovered.”

Lisa shook her head. “You’re stalling. I don’t believe you found a thing.”

“Your mistake,” Finn said with a shrug.

The blonde stood silent so long that Finn started to worry she really didn’t care. Fortunately, they had Owen because he stopped pacing long enough to take the bait.

“If my cousin is out here”—he waved around at the wilderness surrounding them—“then there’s a reason.” He shot the flashlight beam at Chloe. “What are you looking for if not the emeralds?”

She lifted her hand, blocking her eyes. “The same thing I’ve always been looking for,” Chloe reasoned. “William Desmond.”

“Did you find him?” Sarcasm dripped from Owen’s voice.

“As a matter of fact, we did.”

“Really?” Lisa jeered. “What good did it do you?”

These two really needed to be taken down a peg, Finn thought with disgust. “That journal you tossed on the ground like its worthless?” Finn said to Owen as he pointed to the scattered contents of Chloe’s backpack. “The pages hold a key to the treasure.”

“Hardly,” Owen scoffed. “I’ve heard that too many times to believe you now.”

“That was before you met me,” Finn argued.

“And who are you?”

“I’m the man from NorthStar,” he said, liking the sound.

Clearly it meant nothing to Lisa and Owen because they just exchanged mystified glances.

“It means I’m the other half of a two-hundred year old puzzle,” Finn explained, though he barely understood himself. It was an unbelievable twist of fate that still had his head spinning. “It will take both of us, me and Chloe, to solve what remains.”

Lisa kept her gun steady, but didn’t speak. She was probably deciding whether to believe him or not. For a few heartbeats, the only thing Finn could hear were night sounds, an owl, the scampering of nocturnal creatures on the forest floor, and Owen kicking through the contents on the ground, his flashlight looking for the journal in the darkness.

“NorthStar?” Lisa finally asked.

He debated how much to tell her, but they were out in the middle of nowhere in the dark of night. Perfect location if you were bent on murder. His immediate need was to get enough interest for them all to walk out of here on their own two feet. “It used to be a shipbuilding outfit back in the eighteen-hundreds. Now it’s a boat restoration business.”

Lisa’s brows drew together. “I know what it is. You work for Sam Brady.” She said it like an accusation. “What I don’t understand is how that’s important to the emeralds.”

She knew who he was. This might be a problem. Insurance fraud and investigators didn’t mix. Not from the guilty party’s perspective.

“Where is my husband?” she asked, staring straight at him and ignoring Chloe.

Finn shrugged. “Don’t know.”

She leveled the gun his way. “Stop lying. Sam knows something, but won’t talk. He sent you to investigate.”

No use denying it, his presence here would be hard to explain otherwise. “I went to St. Lucia to find the
Emerald Fire
. I found Chloe instead.”

“You found the yacht.” Lisa said it as a statement of fact, and he didn’t contradict her. “I know Jonathan is alive. Where is he?”

“Somewhere safe to recover,” Chloe answered for him.

“You know, I’m getting more than a little tired of your interference.” She turned an angry glare on Chloe. “Making my life miserable isn’t enough for you, is it? You had to steal the
Fire
from thieves and cause everybody trouble.”

“Me?” Chloe asked incredulously. “You’re the one who hired them to begin with. You had Mike and Brett murdered, nearly succeeded with Uncle Jon, too. If the pirates are now after you, it’s exactly what you deserve.”

“Enough!” Owen stepped over, journal in his hand. “Jonathan Banks is a problem we’ll deal with later, so are the pirates. How about we finish with the right now?”

Chloe shrugged one shoulder. “I hate to break it to you, but Hosea is mad. And he’s coming for you.”

Lisa stilled, body language going wary. Owen’s head swiveled back and forth between his cousin and his accomplice. “Who is Hosea?”

“You don’t know the man your girlfriend hired to do the dirty work?” Finn asked.

Owen glanced at Lisa in question.

“I didn’t work with him directly,” she told him.

“But he wants the money you haven’t paid him,” Chloe pointed out. “We had a messy encounter with him while in the Bahamas. He said something about coming to Boston.”

Lisa paled, her face glowing chalky white under the moon. “I don’t know what you are trying to pull,” she finally spat, “but I’m not that gullible.”

Finn saw an opportunity to turn the tables and jumped on it. “She’s telling the truth. I don’t know how they found us, but they intended to do some damage. As threats go, I’d say they’re your biggest worry.”

“I thought you said it was all anonymous?” Owen asked Lisa.

“It was supposed to be,” she replied.

“That’s the trouble with hiring criminals,” Chloe said with a sigh of mock sympathy. “It’s so hard to find ones you can trust.”

Finn saw it coming this time and jumped out of the way just as another blast of Lisa’s gun took out his left front tire. Son of a bitch! Much more of this abuse, and his SUV wouldn’t survive. Their odds weren’t looking all that great either. The damn woman just killed their chances of a quick getaway.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Chloe snapped.

“Your smart mouth,” Lisa said bitterly, pointing the gun directly at Chloe. “Shut up or the next bullet is yours.”

Lisa Banks let Chloe get under her skin much too easy. There had to be a way to use that to their advantage. In the meantime, Chloe had a grip on his arm that, if any tighter, was going to break something.

“Can we stop shooting long enough to get back to the emeralds?” Owen snapped at Lisa. “If your friend Hosea is after us, we’re wasting time out here. We need to get ourselves lost.”

Finn appreciated the assistance, even if Owen didn’t realize it.

“They don’t know anything,” Lisa argued. “Why bother with them?”

This was about to get ugly, so Finn held up one finger. “We know the pirates are angry and probably in Boston.” Finn held up a second finger. “There’s the fact the two of you are probably already up on murder charges.” A third finger. “And three, we think we know where the emeralds are hidden.”

That got a moment of silence. It was a lot to process, being wanted for murder.

“Where?” Lisa demanded.

This was the trump card, and Finn desperately hoped it worked. “NorthStar.”

“Nice try, but we aren’t taking you home.”

That’s exactly what Finn had planned. The emeralds were there, maybe, but so was his dad, an armed and seasoned sailor well used to traversing rough ports of call. There was a wounded Jonathan to consider, but maybe that could work in their favor, too, if played right.

“How about some proof?” Finn said as he pulled out his phone. He scrolled to the photos, selected a picture of the chalice, and showed it to Lisa.

“A goblet?” Lisa scoffed. “You’ll need to do better than that.”

He widened the photo until the maritime star stood out strong. “That is NorthStar’s crest.” Finn turned his attention to Owen. “Look in the journal.”

“Toward the back,” Chloe offered. “Want me to hold the light?”

Owen shot her a dirty look. “Stay where you are.” He stuck the penlight between his teeth and started flipping the pages. He found the drawing and held the journal up next to Finn’s phone, shining his light on the identical image.

Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“Chloe and I share a historical connection,” Finn explained. “About eight generations ago her ancestor was an English nobleman who served a queen. My ancestor was Irish and served the nobleman. Long story short…the queen gave emeralds to the Englishman who gave them to the Irishman who hid them at NorthStar.” Not entirely true, but Lisa didn’t need the finer points.

Owen closed the journal with a careless snap. “If that’s so, why haven’t you found them before now?”

“We’ve only made the connection recently,” Finn said. “Can we finish this conversation in the car? I might’ve broken Hosea’s nose, and he’s not really the forgiving type. It probably won’t take long for him to make the connection and come calling.”

Sadly, that possibility was all too real.

* * * *

It was turning into the longest two-and-a-half-hour drive of Chloe’s life, despite Finn’s constant push for speed. They were in Owen’s Dodge Charger, a flashy muscle car he’d bought a couple years ago. Chloe saw it as classic overcompensation, a way to make up for his lack of stature. The fact that Finn looked like a natural behind the wheel probably had her cousin fuming. Good.

“I don’t understand you anymore, Owen. Why are you doing this?” Chloe shared the back seat with her cousin while Lisa kept the gun trained on Finn as he drove. “You’ve been offered plenty of opportunity, yet no matter what was given to you, it was never enough.”

The rear seats of the Charger were like hiding in a cave. Not even oncoming headlights penetrated the gloom of its darkened windows. The high-backed front seats blocked what little dashboard light there was, too, but enough dispersed around them for Chloe to see the resentment on Owen’s face.

“Your whole life has been a gravy train,” he bit off. “You’ve no concept of what it’s like to be constantly struggling for every scrap thrown your way.”

“That’s not true.” She grew up with the same family issues as everyone else. She also had the loss of her parents as a teenager. Being an orphan was no picnic, but she never felt the need to kill anyone over it. “So you had a crappy childhood. That’s not an excuse for criminal behavior.”

“Don’t judge me,” Owen snapped. “I’ve been living in your shadow my whole life, and I’m sick of it. No matter what I do, you win.”