Page 21 of Cheyenne

As they got to the outskirts of South Port, she sighed. “So can I come over after I’m done snorkeling and check out the stuff your family has?” Frustration coursed through her, and she didn’t know why Micah would care so much about her going to dinner with Eli. He wouldn’t know that she’d told Eli she wouldn’t marry him last year and all of that, but still.

Micah grunted. “Fine.”

They got to the condos and Micah parked the truck, still saying nothing.

She didn’t know what to do. The only thing she knew was that she wasn’t giving up the amulet. She pushed open the truck door. “Thanks for the ride.”

“I’ll meet you at the snorkel place in the morning. Be safe with that jerk-o.”

She hesitated and then laughed because he made it sound like she was doing him a favor. “He’s really not a jerk. He’s here building houses for Habitat for Humanity.”

He gave her a bored look. “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

“Whatever.”

Cheyenne shut the door and walked away from the truck. She had to walk around the parking lot to the strip of sidewalk that led to her condo, but she knew he hadn’t left yet. She got to her condo and realized her heart was pounding. How dare he act like she was cheating on him or something? Annoyed, she opened the door and went inside. The truth was, she didn’t want to go on the date with Eli. She should have canceled it. Why hadn’t she thought about that? But it did infuriate her that Micah assumed sheshoulddo that.

A couple seconds later, there was a knock at the door. She looked at her phone and realized she only had ten minutes before Eli was expecting her. Was he early? She needed to shower. She moved to open the door and was shocked to see Micah standing there.

He glowered at her. “Can I get your phone number?”

She hesitated.

“It’s still my job to check on you, whether you want me to or not. I can either get your phone number and check in with you after this little date, or I can go with youonthe date.”

Cheyenne’s mind raced, and she thought about her bossy brother. If she didn’t give Micah her phone number and he reported that back up the line, one of her brothers would surelybe dispatched to finish the job of keeping track of her. That was untenable.

She glared at him and rattled off her phone number.

He didn’t move to put it in his phone or anything. He just thanked her and walked away.

She stared at his broad shoulders and the angry way he walked, and butterflies swarmed in her gut. Micah Stone was really annoying, but she was stuck with him as a partner in this treasure hunt.

She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

CHAPTER 11

Micah

Micah would not admit to himself that he was a tad depressed. After finishing his Chinese food, he leaned back on the couch in the Stone family living room and hated himself. Junk Chinese food hadn’t been part of his diet for a long time.

Annoyance rippled through him as he stood and moved toward the conquistador wall that his mother and Trey had put together. It started on the side of the kitchen, across from his dad’s office, and stretched all the way down the hall. The wall featured a replica of the map for the conquistador gold—a map that had been used by the whole family at various times in their hunt for the gold, but it had led nowhere. There had to be some way for the amulet to decipher more clues.

He saw the picture of Trey’s parents with all their siblings when they were younger. There were other photos of his parents and their beach crew friends. A sad pang washed over him; he wished he was related to them. Sure, they treated him like family, but he wasn’t blood related.

He moved down the wall and paused in front of the different articles written about the gold. Most of the details about the goldhunts were outlined in newspaper articles, but he knew the real backstory about that idiot Mr. Banks who had nearly blown up the house. He’d been there. He knew the danger his family had faced because of the gold.

Micah had never thought he would be cut out for the gold hunt. How could he, when his uncles were Navy SEALs and Brooks was an FBI agent who still kept tabs on anything related to the gold? His uncle Marshall was even a Night Stalker pilot.

He reached the last article written about the conquistador ship that had ended up in Kentucky. He skimmed through what the press had said about the whole situation, Ed Peters, and the gold that had been melted down. The articles didn’t have all the details, of course—just enough to be dangerous.

Micah strolled across the wooden floors and climbed the stairs to the Stone family library. When his mother and Trey had gotten married, they had finished restoring this house. They called it an inn, allowing people to visit and enjoy the beach, making memories; still, they were careful about who they let stay. Trey ran background checks on anyone who applied to come. Often, they told people the place was fully booked when no one was actually coming. Micah didn’t blame them. He still had his younger brother and sister, and the cousins were around. The whole family often gathered here, and everyone needed to be kept safe.

He reached the library and took a long breath. Turning on the lights, he looked over the high bookshelves with old books stacked at the top. A ladder slid around the room to reach the higher shelves.

He moved toward the locked case in the center of the library, which contained various articles related to the treasure hunt—including some journals that had belonged to Trey’s parents. There were also older guns on display.

Micah’s mind raced. He would have to ask Trey for access to the journals, but he wasn’t in the mood to explain everything. Trey wouldn’t like that they were on their own gold hunt. In fact, he was pretty sure his aunts, uncles, and parents wouldn’t be happy that he and Cheyenne had snuck into someone’s crypt and retrieved an amulet.

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