Page 72 of These Reckless Hearts

“Actually,” Wyatt draws out. Stone looks up, and I know this is new information for him, too. My heart leaps in my chest. “Lucas and I found the spot where all the water drained to. Our water-logged gear was all there. Most of it was ruined, but the pack that had the map in it was still intact.” He finally meets my eyes. “It’s in rough shape, Tits.”

I can hardly believe my ears. “But...you have it?”

He nods, a smile tugging his lips. Then, he gets up and walks toward the trunk of the Audi.

Bucket Guy whirls, aiming his firearm at Wyatt. “Stand down, Cowboy.”

Wyatt lifts his hands. “I’m just getting something out of the trunk. Trust me, your boss will want this.”

“Boss?” he snarks.

“You know, the dude paying you.”

“We don’t answer to anyone, now stand back so I can get in there first.” He moves around Wyatt and checks the trunk. After a quick perusal, he makes Wyatt take the bag out, and he sets his gun aside so he can rifle through it. He takes out a satellite phone, sneering at Cowboy. “We won’t be needing this.” He drops it on the ground and crunches it under his boot.

“What the fuck?” Wyatt growls. “That’s for emergencies.”

The soldier brings his gun up to aim at Wyatt again. “Or so you can call for help.”

I stare at the broken radio, my heart squeezing. That was probably how we were going to get in touch with Cole. Fuck.

“We might need to call for help for other reasons than you shoving weapons in our faces,” Wyatt spits, batting the end of the gun away.

Before I know it, Bucket Guy has Wyatt’s face smashed into the fabric of the trunk. “Don’t touch a man’s firearm. You got that?”

Wyatt’s lip curls in a sneer.

“What’s going on over there?” the leader calls out.

He gives Wyatt’s head one last shove and then stands upright. “Nothing. Just giving these punks a lesson.” He scoops the bag up off the gravel and continues going through it. When he finishes, he drops it on the ground and returns to his team.

Wyatt flips him off as he walks away, then grabs the bag to bring over.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he scowls. He takes several deep breaths, then crouches. He pulls out the map and gently unfolds it. It’s faded, some parts almost completely wiped clean, and there are new holes spotted about too. I have to breathe steadily before reaching out.

“Be careful. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last. I didn’t know if we should bring it with us.”

My hands shake as I grasp it. I blow out a breath. “I have an idea, actually, about the treasure…and the map. Do you have any paper in the car? Something I can trace the squares and x’s with?”

Wyatt ends up finding an old homework assignment in the glove compartment, Bucket Guy at his hip the entire time. I don’t know what he thinks we’re going to do. Take on five professionally trained badasses? We’re not stupid.

While we wait for Lance, I lay the map on the inside of the trunk and place the paper over it, using it to trace over the very faded squares and x’s. I think a few of them are missing, but I can’t worry about that right now. When I’m finished, I stand back. “We should leave the map here. If we can keep it out of Lance’s hands, I’d feel better.”

I slip the traced paper into my back pocket, and Wyatt closes the trunk with the map still inside. Finally, another engine revs in the distance. Stone raises his brows. “So, what’s your idea?”

I peek behind me to where the sound is coming from. “I think that the squares and x’s might match up on the map. Like, if we were standing in the perfect position and we held the map up, the squares and x’s would align where we found them in the chasm.”

Stone blinks and tilts his head as he mulls the new information over. “Like a visual aid? Showing us right where to stand? That would be...genius.”

“But what would that mean?” Lucas questions.

I shrug. “I don’t know, but I’d think it would have to mean something. That we’re on the right track? Or we’re right where we should be?”

A black car finally comes into view, and Lucas moves his body so we’re angled away. “What are we doing guys? What’s the plan?”

I lick my lips, watching the car pull up on the side of the road. “The only plan is to stay alive. I don’t care if Lance gets the treasure. All I want is the four of us to walk out of the Superstitions together.”

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