Page 47 of Cheyenne

Cheyenne’s heart hammered.

Micah looked incredulous. “It arrived today?”

Raine nodded. “I got it right before you called me to bail you out of jail.” He stood and walked into the main room; Cheyenne and Micah scrambled to follow him. “It seems …”

“Like a big coincidence,” Micah finished for him.

Raine snorted and picked up the package that was resting on a side table. “Should we open it?”

CHAPTER 24

Micah

Micah couldn’t believe Raine had gotten a package right before he’d gone to pick them up. Chills washed over him. It was obvious that Cheyenne was also having a hard time wrapping her head around it.

Raine sat on the couch and nodded for them to sit beside him. Micah sat and took Cheyenne’s hand. Whatever was in the package, it felt important.

Raine ripped off the top and then reached in, pulling out a stack of papers. The top paper looked like a note from Truman. There wasn’t much written on the page.

Raine cleared his throat and read it aloud, his voice catching. “Hey, bro, I’m sending this out quick just in case. Hopefully, it won’t matter because I will have found the treasure. But I came across this map recently, one of the conquistadors’ maps. I thought I would make sure you got it in case I can’t follow through with it. I’m sorry about everything. I love you.”

Micah watched uncomfortably as tears slipped down Raine’s cheeks. He didn’t know what to do.

Raine rested the note on a table next to him, uncovering the next paper. It appeared to be exactly what Truman had said itwas: the conquistadors’ map. He spread it on the coffee table, his fingers lightly traced the lines. “It feels like it’s going to turn into dust. How old is this?” He looked at the side marking. “1809.”

Micah and Cheyenne leaned forward, both staring at the map. Micah thought it depicted some kind of landmass, but there were no identifying marks.

Raine shook his head. “I guess that amulet would’ve come in handy for this.”

Micah’s heart picked up speed. In all the excitement, he had forgotten to fill in even Cheyenne on one crucial detail. “I forgot to tell you both that I couldn’t put the amulet back.”

Cheyenne’s mouth fell open, and her hand flew up to cover it. “What?”

“When I was trapped in that grave and went to return the amulet, I couldn’t get into the crypt. Someone had locked it.” He gave Cheyenne a half smile. “I guess we really haven’t had time to talk about this.”

She waved that away. “No time like the present. So where is the amulet?”

Micah stood and began to pace. “When the grave was covered, I realized it was probably because someone knew we had been there. I decided to put the amulet into one of the cracks in the stone wall at the bottom of the ladder. I didn’t want to come out with it and get us into even more trouble.”

Raine put his hands over his ears. “Shoot. I wish I hadn’t heard that. But I don’t think I would be called on to testify. You’ll have to go in front of the judge and tell him you were goofing around or something. I don’t think anyone would suspect this. Still, you should never lie. That’s never a good thing to do when you’re facing a judge.” He ran his hand through his hair. “But theoretically, we could go get that amulet and possibly read this map, right?”

Nervous angst ran through Micah. “Should we do that?”

Cheyenne didn’t say anything. She looked frozen.

Raine nodded. “You’re right. What am I thinking? I shouldn’t have even opened this with you guys here. I should take this map and tear it up. We should be done with all of it.” He scooped up the map and the letter from his brother and took them past the kitchen and back somewhere that Micah couldn’t see.

Micah returned to Cheyenne’s side and sat. “This is crazy, right?”

She turned and met his eyes. “We could get the amulet tonight. It won’t take long. No one would even know if we went and got it after we’ve already gotten in trouble. They don’t even know what we were doing.”

Micah sucked in a long breath. “I don’t want to get into more trouble. And I don’t want this to blow my chance to be a SEAL. I may have already blown it. I need to consult my dad.” He pulled his phone out and almost called his number.

“You’re right.” She sounded quiet. “We can’t blow your chances. We just can’t do that.”

Raine came back and started moving dishes from the dining room to the kitchen. Micah and Cheyenne followed his lead in helping him get food put away.

Raine waved a hand at them. “I’m really glad we’re not going to do this. If there’s anything we all know for sure, it’s that looking for a treasure never leads to anything good.”

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