Page 57 of These Reckless Hearts

He snaps his jaw shut. “I was told it didn’t hit him.”

“And I’m sure they’re super trustworthy that you should believe everything they say. They’re trained killers.”

“They were trained by our government. I’m just employing them for our needs. If the government can do it, why can’t I?”

“Because this isn’t fucking war!” I snap.

“That’s where you’re wrong. You declared war on my family as soon as you made it your mission to find the treasure before me.”

I shake my head because his logic doesn’t make sense. “The Wilders were here way before you. You should’ve found your own riches to hunt down. But I guess that would’ve involved you actually looking for it yourself, which we know is never going to happen.”

Lance smirks and crosses his legs. “I’ll never know why lowly people take pride in doing things themselves. I’ll get the work done, and I won’t have to lift a finger.”

“Then what are you doing here now? Maybe we could’ve had this discussion over the phone.”

He smiles at me again, and it’s far more threatening than I’ve seen before. “Certain circumstances have made me take more of an active role. The team I hired are here to do one thing. I would usually ask Stone to do it, but since you took him away from me, I had to pivot.”

Pivot? He throws professional words around like we aren’t talking about a father-son relationship. If anything, Stone is lucky he survived with all of this...ridiculousness sitting across from me. The fact that he fared as well as he did proves what kind of person he is. “Is Stone okay?” I’m burning to ask about Wyatt and Lucas, too, but I don’t want him to bring up our relationship again.

“I can answer your questions, Dakota, but I have a few of my own first. You know how this works, right? You’re here. You’re not in the safety of your gang friend and my son and his friends, anymore. You’re all alone, with me. I have the upper hand.”

I cross my arms. His words sit like a heavy brick in my stomach. He’s completely right. I’m at his mercy. I’m tired, hungry, and dirty; I need something to eat and drink soon before I pass out; I need a shower; I need some fucking pain reliever; and—most of all—I need to know what happened to Wyatt, Stone, and Lucas. So I need to play his game for at least a little while.

I swallow. “I think my brain would work better if I had something to eat and drink.”

He narrows his eyes. “I don’t know what kind of garbage they have in the house, but you’re welcome to sift through the cupboards.” He sneers at his surroundings and what I’ve believed up until now is clearly true. This isn’t Lance’s house.

I can’t help the widening of my eyes at his offer. I hesitate, and he snaps, “Go look!”

I stand from the creaking chair, and Lance flinches as if a shot went off. He immediately covers it by appearing bored as I drag my ass into the kitchen. The first cupboard I open has a few glasses in it, so I turn the faucet on and fill the cup, drinking it greedily before filling it up again. I move to another cupboard and find crackers. I open the box and dump out a couple of sleeves and snag one.

“Sometime today, Dakota. I’m a very busy man.”

If I had a knife, I’d throw it at his fucking head. Sucking in a breath, I peek behind me and notice he’s scrolling through text on his phone. I turn back around and pull open the closest drawer. There’s nothing in it. I keep searching until I hit the drawer by the sink. A set of knives rest in there, and I don’t know how sharp they are, but they’ll do. I take one out and slip it into my pocket. The stiffness of the camo pants hides the outline and when Lance huffs again at my taking too long, I grab the glass of water and the sleeve of crackers and return to my seat.

I give him a smile when I sit. He waits while I open the plastic and chew a few crackers, taking my time, less to annoy him and more to savor the fact that I’m finally eating. This isn’t a meal like Wyatt makes, but I’ll take anything to deaden the hunger pains twisting my insides.

“All set?” Lance inquires.

I hold up a finger and talk with my mouth full. “Almost.”

He glowers at me, and I’m surprised at how easy it is to get under Lance’s skin. He’s so used to people jumping at everything he demands. Plus, bad manners seem to get under his skin more than most. He was probably more mortified when I hijacked Stone’s wedding than he was when I shot his business partner. “And how are dear Rissa and her mother doing?”

“Better off, if you ask me,” he says, picking at a crease in his pants. “They gained a lot of money when you killed the head of the family.”

“Money isn’t everything.”

“Says the girl who searches for treasure.”

It’s not worth my time to argue the point with him. The treasure has always been about money for him and nothing more. That’s not what it meant to me and my family. Instead of explaining it to him, I shrug.

Lance lifts a brow at me, and when he finally thinks I’m ready to answer his questions, he starts, “What did you find out about the ring?”

“You don’t know?” I ask. “You had the jeweler attacked.”

He breathes out heavily as if I’m a child that needs to learn a few hard lessons. “I already told you the team I hired are here for one purpose only. They’re not doing research or any searching.Youtook my researcher.”

Of course he would refer to his son as a researcher, a mere partner in helping him find the treasure instead of what he really is. “Then why not send them after the jeweler again?”

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