Page 108 of Uncharted

“Dante left us lunch. Are you ready for it?”

“Yes, coming down now.”

When we’re done with lunch, I know I have to ask her. “I’m glad you’re here with me.” I have the Pink Phoenix in one hand and the fake one in the other. “I’ve thought about this for a while. And I don’t want to see these anymore.” I’ve been using them as worry stones.

She’s got her stew face on, but I’m not sure what it means. “Okay. And what are you going to do with them? Throw them into the ocean?”

I laugh. “I’m not nuts. 55 million isn’t something I’m going to trash in a childish rage. No, I want to bury them. And I want you to know where they are.” I take her hand and the shovel from the tool bin.

“Let’s do it.” She takes the shovel from me.

And damn if I don’t like this woman more. There’s no second-guessing me. NoAre you sure?JustLet’s go. I smile at her. This girl.

“Where are we going?” she asks.

“Someplace special.”

“I know just the place.” The trail to the big rock near the waterfall isn’t as stomped as others. She stops at the rock, right where we had our talk about what we want for the future.

There’s some clear-ish ground near the side of the waterfall, empty enough to get a shovel in.

“Here?” she asks.

“Exactly where I was thinking.” I hand her the bag of mostly diamonds and take the shovel. I dig a hole a foot deep, deep enough that the bag should stay put. I raise my eyebrows at her, and she holds the bag back out to me. “Drop it,” I say.

“No, you should do it. It will be therapeutic.” She holds it out closer to me.

I’m nodding as I take it. She’s right. I place them in the hole. And a little of my pain disappears. My pain of not knowing what’s happening to my sister and dad.

Haley and I stare at the bag. “I’ll see them again,” I say. “When we get out of here.”

The dirt sprinkles over the white bag, and it’s starting to feel a lot like a funeral.

“This is one buried treasure I’m not making a map for.” I stamp down the earth and place two round, fist-sized rocks on the spot to mark it. They’re a slightly different color than the surrounding ones.

I want to tell her I love her. I know she loves me, loves all of us. But the future scares the crap out of her. It does me, too. I’m not going to pressure her. I can wait.

Chapter47

Loot

Calvin

We’re another two months into the rainy season. You’d think that would be a quarter of the year—three months each for winter, spring, summer, and fall. The fucking rain should get three months. But that’s not how things work here.

The treehouse is holding up. It’s solid. And it’s better than stressing over the Rock Candy’s water and sewage. The treehouse has something the Rock Candy doesn’t—a cool breeze. Zane and Dante have rigged up louvered window covers, so the wind zips right through it at night. I’ve also grown fond of the noises of the jungle. The ocean is just loud, whereas the jungle has a melody to it.

The most important part of the treehouse, though, is that it’s a hell of a lot safer for Chiefie. With our watch up on the top platform, I’m a lot more comfortable sleeping through the night—something I haven’t been for a long time.

But not tonight. Tonight, I’m hanging out on the ship. “If we all work on it tomorrow, I might get the crank to move,” I say. “Maybe a centimeter.”

“Fuck, yeah.” Zane lifts the water bottle in a toast. “Then we all work together to get that shit moving. It’s too bad the tide is taking half of our day today.”

I slap him on his back. “It’s fine. I’ve got enough to do on my own.”

Sam beams at me. Getting the crank to move is just the first step. There’s a lot of other work we still have to get through. “Tide’s going out. We need to launch the tender. You two okay staying?”

Easton nods. “I’ve got the radio tonight, and Calvin’s going to sleep early.”

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