Roxanne St. Claire: Make Her Pay

“What?”

“They flew in directly and went through customs early today.”

“Then they couldn’t have killed Solange.” But the fact that they were there made him want to race to be sure Lizzie was safe.

“They still need to be brought in for questioning. I want you to find them and get them to the authorities, and arrange for them to be transported back to the States.”

“Will do.”

“And congratulations on getting both scepters,” Lucy added. “Judd will be thrilled. Great work.”

He was already checking his weapon and pulling a shirt over his head with one hand. “I’m not giving them to Judd Paxton, Lucy,” he said simply. “They belong to Lizzie Dare. The docs I found prove that. She’s keeping them.” End of discussion.

“The documentation has to be verified as authentic,” she said coolly. “And one was located during a dive sponsored and managed by Paxton Treasures.” She waited a beat. “Have you changed your mind about working for me?”

“I have had a change of heart, period. I’d very much like to work for you, but my position on this isn’t going to change.”

“That’s very noble, Con, but in this company, I call the shots. If you can’t work within those parameters, then you can’t work for me.”

“Fine.” The Bullet Catchers weren’t the only game in the world. Just the best.

He heard Lucy’s soft sigh of disappointment. “You told me you could do this. And I believed you wanted to dig deep and find the good man that lived inside a thief’s body.”

He laughed softly. “I did, Lucy. Only you weren’t the right woman to help me with that.” He hung up, and set off to finish the job-his way.

“You’re awake!” Lizzie peeked into the only patient room in the back of Corvo’s tiny clinic. “How do you feel?”

Her sister turned slowly, obviously still in pain. “Like I was shot at and blown into a gristmill.”

“Well, you were, sweetie.” Lizzie sighed with relief and love. Leaving the door open in case she needed a nurse, she approached the hospital bed, taking in Bree’s pale skin and heavily bandaged arm.

Bandaged and hurting, but alive. Once again, she closed her eyes and thanked Con.

“What’s that?” Bree asked, her gaze on the box.

Lizzie grinned and lifted it. “A little something to improve your mood.”

“Painkillers? Massive amounts. Street grade. Throw in a martini, and I’ll be happy.”

Lizzie laughed. “Okay, I’ll ask the nurse for meds.”

“Don’t worry, she just left to get them. What is it?”

“You will not believe what Con found.”

Even in her weakened condition, she managed a raised eyebrow. “Where did you find Con? That’s the question.”

“I told you, on the Gold Digger . And he’s not just another diver, Bree.”

“No shit. He’s a really hot diver.” “He’s a consultant for a security company. Like a high-end bodyguard and protection specialist.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

She grinned enough to answer the question.

“So you got to go on the dive, find the most amazing treasure, and do some Greek god while I sifted through Daddy’s paperwork? That was fair.”

“Your sifting days are over. This is the real treasure.”

Bree tried to sit up and cringed in pain. “What is it?”

“Proof that everything Dad believed about Aramis Dare and El Falcone was absolutely true.”

She got up then, eyes widening, broken ribs forgotten. “What? How did you get it?”

“Con found it after he finished his interviews with the police.”

“Oh my God. Show it to me.”

“No, show it to us .”

Lizzie whipped around, shocked by the familiar voice as the door opened the rest of the way. “Sam! What are you doing here?”

Sam’s blue eyes twinkled as he stepped in, followed by a smiling but tearful Charlotte, who reached for Brianna. “Look at you! It’s even worse than they said.”

Lizzie stood, still trying to accept that they were there. “How did you ever find us?”

Sam nudged his wife. “Thank Miss Relentless here.”

Charlotte gave a gentle pat to Brianna, looking up at Lizzie. “Sam told me everything, and I was worried about you. After what happened to Alita and the whole dive going south, I just had a bad feeling. When he told me that you were planning to come here to fetch your sister, I just thought…” She angled her head, her eyes sympathetic. “You two have no parents. This is what your parents would do.”

Brianna gave her a strange look. “Did you even know my dad?”

“Not long enough,” she replied, ignoring the rude tone in Brianna’s voice.

Lizzie noticed it, though, and chalked it up to pain. And the fact that Charlotte and Sam hadn’t been married that long and Brianna might not have been on any of the dives they were on with Dad.

“You didn’t answer your door the next day, and this one had me on a flight in hours,” Sam said. He moved closer to the bed, glancing at the unopened strongbox. “You look pretty beat up, young lady. They told us you had an accident in a windmill.”

“Who told you?” Lizzie asked, still trying to figure out how they got there, and in so little time. It seemed impossible that they could have waited for her to leave.

“The men in customs,” Sam said. “As soon as we mentioned we were looking for two American women, they knew you’d been brought to this clinic.”

“It’s a very small island,” Charlotte said, sitting on the bed and stroking Brianna’s leg. “Everybody knows everybody’s business.”

“So what is that?” Sam pointed to the box.

“Treasure,” Lizzie said.

Sam’s eyes lit up as they always did at the mention of the word. “I like the sound of that. What kind of treasure?”

Lizzie hesitated. But after handing over the scepter to Sam, it seemed a little crazy not to tell him everything. She flipped the latch and slowly opened the box. “Everything we need to vindicate Aramis Dare is right here. All we need now is the other scepter and diamond, and all of Dad’s dreams will come true.”

CON JOGGED TO the Posto de Saude do Corvo, barely acknowledging the young woman at the front desk as he threw Brianna’s name at her and headed toward the back.

There was one patient room with the door closed, a nurse at a small station nearby. She stood as he approached, but he just headed in, expecting to see Lizzie.

The room was dark and Brianna was asleep. He glanced around, but there was no sign of Lizzie or the box of documents she’d taken.

“Brianna?” he whispered, stepping toward the bed.

“ Ela está dormindo,” the nurse insisted, coming up behind him. “Asleep.”

“I need to wake her.” He touched her hand and gave it a little shake. “Please, Brianna. I need to know where Lizzie is.”

“Senhor!”

He ignored the nurse and leaned closer. “Bree, wake up. Lizzie’s not safe. Neither of you are. Please tell me where she is.”

Her lids fluttered and she let out a soft moan. “Lizzie…”

“Where is she?”

Her eyes slowly opened, dilated and unfocused, then closed again.

“Is sedative of pain,” the nurse said, her hand on his arm. “No wake.”

“The other woman? Sister?” He searched for the word. “ Irmã . Sister-she left?”

“Irmã!” She brightened, nodding. “Sim! Irmã.”

“Her sister, yes. Did she leave? Go?” He made his fingers walk off, then tapped his wrist. “When?”

She shrugged and shook her head, responding in Portuguese, enough to communicate that she had no idea when Lizzie left.