Molten Gold (7 page)

Adelaide glanced at Jared, but he seemed riveted by the
story, studying Brett carefully. When Adelaide turned back to Brett, he’d
paused and was looking at her.

“I almost wish I had a photo to show you to prove I’m not
embellishing the story,” he continued. “There were four pallets loaded with
gold bars, almost as high as the roof of the truck. The roads over there are
miserable, so the mountains of gold had moved slightly—they leaned into each
other like drunks. Jerome had this enormous grin and had climbed most of the
way up one like some damn monkey. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing, even
after all the stories we’d heard. News like that makes the rounds in places
like that, where telling tall tales is how you spend half of your spare time.”

“Whose idea was it to take the bars?” Jared asked quietly.

Brett shook his head.

“War does strange things to you,” he said, not answering the
question directly. “I’m ashamed to say we took two bars each. It’s not
something I’m in the least proud of and it’s weighed on me ever since. Mark
talked to the driver, convinced him to find a connection and get rid of the
gold, to funnel the money back into his tribe. The driver appeared so relieved
it was nearly comical. I assume that’s what the man did—I certainly never heard
otherwise.”

“So you each took only two bars?” Adelaide repeated. It made
a strange kind of sense. Everything she knew about her uncle screamed what an
honorable man he was. She could imagine him deciding that two bars from Saddam,
who had already stolen it from his people, might make a difference over here,
but that returning almost all the money to its rightful owners—the people of
Iran—would be the right thing.

“There was so much gold in that truck that the chassis
almost touched the ground,” Brett said. “We all knew it wasn’t right to take any
of it, and maybe that’s been the curse we’ve had to bear. I think we truly
believed we could do some good over here with it, make things easier or help
our families. I sincerely hope the Iranian people benefitted from whatever that
driver managed to get from it. But clearly we took the wrong path.”

Brett stood. Jared started to follow him, but he held out a
hand.

“No,” Brett said. “I’ll be right back.” He left the room.

Adelaide turned to Jared. “I’m getting a strong vibe of
honesty from him,” she whispered. “You?”

“He seems a little too forthright,” Jared admitted. “But
that could just be because the secret has been burning away inside him for over
a decade. It must be a relief to get it off his chest. I can’t find any places
where I think he’s lying, but I’m trying to reserve judgment. We’ll see.”

Brett returned a minute later, a gold bar in each of his
hands. Adelaide widened her eyes, surprised. She’d never seen bullion before
and it was breathtaking. Immediately she understood how and why people could go
crazy over such a thing. Brett handed the two bars to Jared. When Brett sat
down, he heaved a huge sigh.

“I had no idea how much of a burden this was, that I still
carried it with me,” Brett said, nodding to the gold in Jared’s hands. “Only
now I’ve let go of it can I truly appreciate how difficult keeping it has been.
Do you really think this old secret has leaked?”

“Steve’s widow only found one bar,” Jared said. “Which
certainly strengthens the suspicion that someone is after these. Has anyone
asked you questions? Or seemed overly interested in your old war stories?”

Brett chuckled. “No one at all is interested in my stories.”
He seemed amused by the thought. “But no, there isn’t anyone who sticks out in
my mind as being over interested in myself or our team. I can ask a few
questions, if you think that will help?”

“I appreciate that,” Jared said. He shook his head. “But
that might draw more attention to you. Even though you don’t have the gold
anymore it might still be dangerous. Are there any relatives you can visit?
Some friends you can hang out with for a while until we clear this up?”

“If you really think someone is chasing this, then I
probably should go traveling for a bit,” Brett agreed, though he seemed reluctant.
“I’ve got family over in California. My sister and her kids. I always said I’d
do a road trip someday, see more of this land after seeing so much of other
countries. Maybe this is the nudge I needed.”

“Here’s my card, if you think of anything further,” Jared
said. “Please don’t hesitate to call me, day or night. If you give me a number
you can be reached on, or an email address you check regularly, I can keep you
apprised of any progress we make.”

“Well, that’s mighty kind of you,” Brett said. He crossed
over to where an old-fashioned landline phone sat on the cramped counter. There
was a pen and paper next to it for messages. Brett jotted down a few things,
tore the sheet off the pad and handed it to Jared.

“I have a cell phone,” Brett said, “but I often don’t carry
it with me when I’m at home or visiting. I check it frequently, though—certainly
more than I check my email. I’m retired, supposedly, so email is mostly for
keeping in touch with friends and family. But the details of both are there.”

“The fewer people who know exactly where you’re heading, the
better,” Jared cautioned.

Brett nodded. “I know the drill,” he said. “I’ll let my
sister know I’m heading over, but will warn her I’ll be driving and taking my
time. That way no one, probably not even me, will know when I’ll be in any
exact location.”

Jared stood, and Brett and Adelaide followed suit.

“Can we put these in your handbag?” Jared asked Adelaide,
holding the two gold bars out to her. “I don’t really want to be holding these
while we’re on the sidewalk outside. I’ll put them in my satchel when we get to
the car.”

“Oh.” Adelaide blinked, having actually forgotten about the
bullion. “Sure. Golly, they’re heavy, aren’t they?”

Jared put the bars in her handbag and when she lifted it she
was shocked by how much weight was in the pieces. And if the articles she’d
read were accurate, they were only approximately twenty percent pure, not even
close to proper grade like at Fort Knox. It boggled the mind.

Jared and Brett shook hands, then Brett turned and held his
hand out to Adelaide. She took it and they shared a smile.

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Miss Adelaide,” Brett
said.

“And you. Please stay safe,” she returned warmly.

He chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”

Brett escorted them to the door and watched as they returned
down the footpath. Jared unlocked the car, then he and Adelaide climbed in.
Brett waved once more, and when Jared turned the engine over Brett returned to
his house.

Her handbag weighed very heavily on her lap. As soon as
they’d left the street, she turned in her seat and reached into the back. She
pulled Jared’s satchel into the front.

“I’m getting these out of my purse and into your keeping
right now,” she said. “While they’re mighty pretty to look at, I do not want to
carry them around with me. Besides, they’re seriously heavy. I don’t need the
workout.”

“So what did you think of Brett?” Jared asked.

Adelaide sighed. “Brett struck me as fairly genuine. I’ll be
able to think more clearly when I’ve written some of it down, but he didn’t
strike me as a man hiding anything. I don’t want to think he’s involved, but
that could be my emotions talking. How about you?”

“There was one stage when something struck me as off,” Jared
admitted, “but it escapes me right now. Overall, though, I have to agree. He
seemed quite up-front and honest.”

Adelaide looked out the window and watched the scenery flash
by.

“I guess that means we’re back to square one again.”

Adelaide looked up from the notes she’d been making while
Jared drove silently. She didn’t recognize where they were, but when they
passed a sign she realized they were almost back at Jared’s place.

“Why wouldn’t Brett lie?” she asked.

Jared glanced at her, then reverted his attention to the
road. “Lie about what?”

“The gold,” Adelaide explained. “The rest of his team is
dead and he’s still sitting on these two bars of gold. Why give them to us? Why
not lie about it? He’s kept the secret all this time and the bars have to be
worth an awful lot of money. Why not keep them?”

“He only admitted to having them after we told him Steve’s
widow had found one,” Jared pointed out. “Maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment
thing. He knew we knew about them and he couldn’t deny what they did.”

“Of course he could have denied it,” Adelaide insisted.
“He’s the only one who
could
deny it. He could have told us Steve found
the gold before or after they worked together. Maybe Steve took it from a raid
on some locals. I can think of a dozen or more believable stories of how Steve
came into possession of the gold, none of which involves the truth.”

“Well, you saw how Steve’s death weighed on him, how he was
quite upset about being the last remaining man,” Jared postulated. “Maybe he
didn’t see a reason to lie anymore. He seemed genuinely distressed to be the
only one. Perhaps he’s thought a lot in recent years about coming clean, but
couldn’t because there was more than his personal feelings on the line.
Teammates to protect. Now it’s just him, he only has his own conscience to
answer to. I’m guessing he wanted to expose the truth and make amends.”

“That could explain why he returned the gold to you,”
Adelaide agreed. “I don’t know, maybe I’m looking for a conspiracy where there
isn’t one. But who else could be involved?”

“Well, there’s clearly someone in my office,” Jared reminded
her.

Adelaide made a note of that and circled it. “Okay,” she
changed tack. “There’s someone in your office feeding data to someone outside.
Do you have anyone in mind, someone likely to do that?”

“My boss is looking into that quietly,” Jared said. “It has
to be someone with access, and that’s a limited number of people. I’m not
worried about the mole—there are too many safeguards in our system for there
not to be a trail. I’m just worried that even when we find the person responsible,
they won’t talk. Likely they’ll end up a dead end.”

“Won’t they want to make a deal?” Adelaide asked, curious.

Jared shook his head. “Doesn’t really matter what we offer—they’ll
be out of a job and dishonorably discharged. That’s almost certainly the only
thing that will matter to them, and it’s the one thing I can’t change,” he
explained.

He pulled up in front of his house and parked the car. They
both sat there in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

“So what do we do now?” Adelaide asked. She turned to Jared.

He grinned and stroked his hand down her hair. “I don’t know
about you, sweetness, but I’m starving,” he said. “How about we agree to shelve
this until tomorrow? Our minds will be clear when the sun comes up. I’d guess
we only have an hour or so until twilight, and I grill a mean steak.”

They got out of the car and walked into the house. Jared
went to the fridge and pulled out a container full of marinating meat. He
placed the dish on the counter and popped the lid open. Adelaide studied the
remaining vegetables in the fridge.

“There’s some corn cobs here—do you grill those too?” she
asked, her mind still on Brett and her uncle.

“Sure do, and plenty of onions too,” Jared replied.

Adelaide pulled out some lettuce, tomato, cheese and
cucumber. She placed them on the bench and rifled through the fridge for more,
planning a salad. Slowly she began to unwind and relax. Jared opened the patio-style
doors and fired up the grill. The scents of freshly mown grass, the dry heat
that was dissipating from the day and cooking food mingled to make her mouth
water.

After tossing the salad and making an easy vinaigrette,
Adelaide poured some iced tea. They sat and looked out into the backyard. The
ease between them lulled Adelaide into thinking they might really be a couple,
well used to each other’s presence and comfortable with the silence between
them.

The sun slowly sank into the horizon and the sky darkened.
Jared rose periodically to check the meat, then add the corn and finally the
onions. Adelaide brought the bowl of salad to the table, then set it with
plates, cutlery and their drinks.

All the while a thought niggled in the back of her mind.
Something Brett had said or done. For the life of her she couldn’t remember
what. She didn’t want to go back and review her notes—they’d agreed to leave it
for the evening. But it persisted. When Jared brought over a tray with the
grilled food, the smell made her mouth water.

She hadn’t realized it, but she was starving.

Adelaide forced herself to push the niggle aside, to focus
on this night and enjoy herself. Jared served her, then she put a healthy
amount of the salad on each of their plates. Eagerly she cut into the steak and
took a bite. It was delicious.

“This is fantastic,” she commended him. “You must give me
the recipe for that marinade.”

“It’s a bit of this and a whole lotta that.” He grinned and
took a few more bites. Adelaide also continued to eat.

Jared became more serious. “I’ll try to point out the herbs
and seasonings I used, but to be honest I always have something stashed away
marinating. Half the time a friend or an Army buddy will pop around
unexpectedly, and I don’t mind reheating food the following evening if I’ve
prepared too much. I just let it sit for a day, soaking up the spices, and make
the sauce half-asleep every other morning.”

Adelaide nodded. “That’s how my mama used to cook. She’d
have learned the recipe correctly, but then over time she’d get so used to it she’d
just take a pinch of this and a slug of that and make it without even looking
half the time.”

“Do you miss your folks?” Jared asked.

Adelaide sat back, her belly full. She looked into the
gathering darkness. There was an intimacy as night crept over the sky, as
neighborhood lights were turned on and people closed their curtains and houses
became refuges against the inky darkness. It was a time for shared secrets and
baring your soul.

“Not as much as I did those first few years,” she admitted.
“Uncle Mark moved in with me for a while, when I was at college after he
returned. That helped me settle a lot. Uncle Mark was very close with my daddy
and our family. In my youth he spent most of his free time and leave living
with us, so it harked back to those days. It helped the house to feel more mine
as an adult. I still think of my parents—most days, actually. But it’s not
painful anymore. Just sad that they’re gone.”

When Jared reached out and took her hand, she glanced at
him, surprised the night had fallen so swiftly. She couldn’t make out his
features properly in the darkness, but she recognized the line of his jaw and
the silky fall of his black hair. His eyes glinted with reflected light from
somewhere out in the neighbor’s yard.

She twined their fingers together and squeezed gently. Jared
leaned closer to her and cupped her jaw. Adelaide tilted her head, her heart
pounding. She wanted him, right now.

Jared closed the distance between them and bent his head.
She raised her chin and kissed his lips. It started out so tender that she
wanted to sigh happily. He moved his lips over her mouth, caressing her as if
she were some delicate flower. Adelaide opened and the heat from his tongue
touched her wetly. She closed her lips around his tongue and sucked him inside
her mouth.

He groaned.

Adelaide lifted her hands and drew his head down. The kiss
built slowly. They each moved to the edge of their seat, Adelaide leaning so
far forward she nearly lost her balance. Her nipples tightened with need and her
pussy flooded damply.

Jared kneeled on the floor before her, then took her by
surprise. He threaded an arm under her legs and lifted her into his embrace. He
carried her onto the carpet beside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Adelaide gazed up from the floor in wonder. The sky wasn’t
really dark at all. Stars shone brightly, twinkling like tiny pinpricks in the
sky. The moon was the thinnest sliver imaginable out on the horizon, slowly
rising into the air.

It was sensual and romantic, perfect for this secret, hidden
moment between them. Jared pressed his body against hers and their lips met
once again.

This time they exploded passionately.

Adelaide ran her hands over his body, eager to remove his
clothing. Jared’s warmth urged her on, and his dexterous fingers started
tugging her chinos off and her T-shirt up over her head. Within seconds they
were both naked. Adelaide spread her legs invitingly, the cool air delicious
against her skin.

Jared reached down and cupped her breasts in his palms.
“Perfect,” he murmured, “you’re such a perfect size in every way.”

“I think we’re perfect together,” she said softly. “It’s not
just me, it’s us, plural.”

She reached a hand down, intending to stroke him, but Jared
shifted out of her reach. She pouted, about to complain, but he lowered his
head and licked his tongue out over her labia.

“Oh!” Adelaide cried out, surprised but pleased. She widened
her legs.

Jared lightly pinched her nipples and tasted her intimately.
Adelaide canted her hips up. He used his shoulders to spread her fully open,
then plied his tongue all over her pussy. He licked a long, hot trail from her
anus up over her lips and then circled her clit.

Tingles exploded everywhere. Her nipples ached and she
struggled to breathe properly. The world narrowed down to her weeping pussy and
her sensitive breasts. She arched her back, pressing her mounds harder into his
hands.

“More,” she pleaded. He rolled the nipples skillfully and
pinched them just strongly enough to drive her wild. His attentions to her cunt
also stoked her fire, and all too soon she was ready to come. Adelaide groaned,
not wanting this over so quickly.

“Condom,” she muttered, puffing.

“Not yet,” he replied calmly.

Adelaide shook her head. “Can’t last much longer.”

“Then come, darling,” he purred. “I want to watch you fall
apart, to taste you on my tongue and drink down those lovely juices of yours.”

Jared attacked her with a sensual vigor that stole her
breath. He plunged three fingers deep inside her body and rasped his tongue
over her clit. He manipulated her nipples with his free hand, rolling the tight
buds as he overloaded her system. She tilted her hips and he followed her lead,
swirling his tongue and using his lips to stimulate her.

The world shattered. She cried out and came hard against his
mouth, bucking to drive his fingers deeper into her clenching channel. She rode
him hard, falling back onto the soft carpet when she was replete. Sweating and
panting, Adelaide blinked her eyes open again, the darkness nearly complete
now.

“What about you?” she asked.

“We have all night. I’m not in a rush, are you?” he
answered.

In the darkness they could be anything they wanted, and
Jared’s low tone and husky voice dripped sexiness.

“No,” she answered as she caught her breath. “No, I’m not in
a hurry. Not tonight.”

Jared deepened his tone. “There’s something I’ve been
wanting to do.”

Shivers raced across Adelaide’s body. Goosebumps popped up
on her skin as a hundred wickedly naughty ideas crossed her mind.

Feeling lush and sexual, like a goddess who could conquer
anyone or anything, she leaned up on an elbow and drew her hand down the
smooth, hard muscles of Jared’s chest.

“Oh?” she asked. “I’m pretty malleable right now. I bet I’ll
be up for almost anything you could suggest.”

“Well, then.” Jared took her hand in his and tugged her.

She allowed him to pull her to her feet, wondering what he
had in store. He hummed a tune under his breath, something she didn’t recognize,
but it was slow and sounded like blues or jazz. The tune seeped into the air
and his rough, deep tone filled the room.

When Jared drew her into his arms, her heart sped up. She’d
been thinking along sexual lines—kinky, naughty things they could ravish each
other with. But never had she done anything as romantic as dance naked in a
man’s home under the cover of darkness. They swayed together and she followed
his lead. His hard, muscled body moved to and fro and she willingly kept time
with him, his partner in all ways tonight.

Slowly they circled the area, swaying gently in time to the
haunting melody he hummed. Even though this wasn’t explicitly sexual, Adelaide
felt her blood slowly heat. Her heart pattered and her cheeks flushed. It was a
slow, seductive dance and she wasn’t immune to his charms. They leaned in to
each other, skin grazing and tingling sparks of electricity growing between
them.

When her nipples tightened again, she pressed her breasts against
the hardness of his pecs and she felt his cock twitch eagerly between his legs.
Their dancing became faster now. He pressed a thigh between her legs and her
dampness rubbed on him. She lowered her hands and cupped his ass-cheeks in her
palms, caressing him and drawing him flush against her pussy.

Instead of circling lazily, now they moved back and forth,
parry and thrust. Adelaide gasped—the sensual dance was in itself a form of
foreplay. When Jared rubbed his erection against her stomach, she ground against
him. She lowered her hand and fisted his staff, pumping his cock, all pretenses
gone now.

Unable to bear waiting anymore, Adelaide kneeled in front of
Jared and took him deeply into her mouth. He groaned and held himself steady,
pressing his palms to her shoulders. He thrust deeply down her throat and
Adelaide licked his shaft encouragingly.