“You don’t know her.”
He was wrong about that. I did know her. She was evil. As evil as they were. But I couldn’t believe that she had been able to manipulate three strong men. Four, including Ryan’s father. Five, including my Uncle Rodney. All the while having a successful career as a TV and newspaper journalist.
Unbelievable.
Something sinister was lurking here. Something I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Something no one in his right mind could begin to comprehend.
My father had said it was a long story. My patience was growing thin.
“I need to see Ryan,” I said.
“That’s not possible.”
“He’s here. He’s come for me. If he finds me, he’ll leave.”
“No, he won’t. He’s with his brothers.”
“You asked me to guarantee you safe travel out of the country when you met me at the hotel,” I said. “You managed to get out without my help, because here you are. You’re not as helpless as you’d like me to believe, Theo. Not at all.”
He didn’t deny my words. Not that I expected him to.
“Now that it’s dark again,” he said, “I’m taking you to more suitable accommodations.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ryan
I reached for my phone to text Joe that we’d made it to the island where the compound supposedly was. It was a pretty long text, because we hadn’t had decent service for over twenty-four hours. I had to tell him that we’d found the coordinates on our father’s ring.
He texted me back within seconds.
Good. Be careful. When you can get away, we need to talk.
I looked around. In the darkness I couldn’t see any wiring. It was probably all buried anyway. This island had killer cell service.
What’s up?
I met with Dad’s attorney. Finally. Got some information out of him.
I didn’t want to think about what Joe had done to get any information out of anyone. My oldest brother had both a hot temper and a dark side—a lethal combination when he unleashed them together.
We’re hiding our stuff.
Then what?
Hell, then what? I had no idea. We didn’t have a plan per se because we hadn’t known what we’d find when we got here. Only the coordinates. The basic plan was to stay out of sight until we figured out where we were and who else was here.
We already had a pretty good idea of who we’d find here. Where? That was the question.
I texted Joe back.
We’ll need to find somewhere to spend the night.
Okay. When you get settled in, like I said, I need to talk to you both. Get me on speakerphone.
I didn’t like the idea of talking in front of Raj. He hadn’t given me any reason not to trust him, but the thing with Talon’s tank had me shaken up more than a bit.
Start a group text. Let’s do it that way for now. Don’t want to talk out loud.
Understood. Will add Tal into the text. Just let me know when you’re both available.
I sent him the thumbs-up icon and continued on my way. I’d fallen behind a bit.
Raj had stopped about a hundred or so feet ahead where the trees made a small clearing. I jogged to reach him and Talon.
“This looks like a good place to rest,” Raj said.
Not that I would be able to sleep, but he and Talon should get some. “I’ll keep the first watch,” I said.
“Sounds good to me,” Raj said. “I’m beat.” He sat down on the dirt. “Not the most comfortable bed, but it’s a beautiful night, mon. Nothing like sleeping under the stars.”
“I’ll stay with you until I start to nod off,” Talon said, arching one eyebrow. He’d obviously gotten the group text from Joe.
“Works for me. Just remember, you won’t be at your best without sleep.” Raj lay down on his back and closed his eyes.
I signaled to Talon. We stood until Raj’s breathing had gotten less shallow and steady, a snore after every few breaths, and then we moved away from him.
We each took a seat on the dirt, our backs against what I thought was a banyan tree. Not that I’d had a chance to familiarize myself with the local flora. I kicked off our group text conversation.
We’re here.
Joe: Good. I’ve got a lot to tell you.
Talon: Go ahead.
We waited. Joe was obviously writing a long text. The tiny ellipsis was moving. Finally, after what seemed like hours, his text appeared.
Joe: I finally got in to see Dad’s attorney. The one who read his will when he supposedly died. I demanded to see the will. He was squirrely at first, said I had no right to see it. I got in his face and said as his oldest child and one of his heirs, who the hell had more right? He saw it my way when fists got involved.
Talon: Jesus, Joe. You’ve got the cops questioning you about Larry’s death, and you decide to pick a fight with Dad’s attorney?
Simultaneously, I texted: For God’s sake.
Joe: He had it coming. He finally got the document out of a locked safe behind a portrait in his office. Can you believe it? He kept Dad’s will in a locked safe.
Me: Is that normal?
Joe: No. I called Jade. Attorneys don’t normally lock up their client’s files. At least not in a hidden safe. They might lock their filing cabinets. Anyway, I grabbed it out of his hands. I read through it, and it turns out it was a decoy.
Me: What?
Joe: It wasn’t his real will. Well, it was, but a page was missing. Dad’s attorney had been an idiot and hadn’t bothered renumbering the pages of the will, and I noticed right off that a page was missing.
Talon: Did he have the other page?
Joe: Yeah. After I threatened him with more violence and showed him Rosie strapped to my ankle.
I smiled. Rosie was Joe’s Glock 23. He was a master marksman.
Joe: He got the missing page out of yet another safe. And you won’t believe what it says.
Talon: What?
My skin chilled around me as I waited for Joe’s text. Seconds turned into minutes.
Joe: What he read to us after Dad’s death was all there. All of his property, real and personal, went into the Steel Trust for the benefit of the four of us equally. But there was a sentence on that missing page. Except as detailed in section four. Then, also on that page, was section four.
Neither Talon nor I texted him. We waited for the next text to show up.
Joe: In section four, Dad specifically bequeathed fifty million dollars to the Fleming Corporation.
A brick lodged in my gut. I’d heard that name before.
Joe: In case you don’t remember, the Fleming Corporation is the dummy corp that owns the house where Melanie was kept and also the house where I found Tom Simpson. The house where they kept you, Tal.
I chilled, shivering.
The Fleming Corporation…
Damn.
Talon must be freaking, but when I looked over at him, he was frantically typing.
His text came up a few seconds later.
Talon: What about the Steel Family Trust? Anything about that?
Talon was holding it together better than I was. Good for him. I hadn’t even thought about the Steel Family Trust. It was a separate trust that none of us had known existed. My father had used it to convey by quitclaim the Shane ranch.
Joe: I asked about it. And I’ll get to that. But first, the Fleming Corp. The attorney had nothing to say about it. Said he didn’t know anything about it. He’d only written the will. He was an estate attorney, so I took him at his word. I’m going to go see the registered agent for the corporation tomorrow. Remember Melanie and I went to see him? Frederick Jolley? Anyway, that’s on the agenda for tomorrow or the next day.
A pause. Then,
Joe: Now, back to the Steel Family Trust. He admitted setting up the trust before Dad “died.”
Me: Wait. Does this attorney know that Dad isn’t dead?
Joe: We didn’t get into that. He ushered me out. Said he had an appointment that couldn’t be rescheduled, and he’d call the cops if I didn’t leave. Said he’d cry assault and battery because of my gun. I told him I had a concealed carry and had every right to have the gun. But then I figured, since the cops were already questioning me about Larry, I’d better leave for now.
Talon: Good call.
Me: I agree with Tal.
Joe: I’m not done with him yet, though. Not by a long shot.