by Nora Roberts
“No.” Marla looked down the hall as if she could will the elevator doors to open up, and Matthew to stroll out. “Ray, did you tell him about Silas VanDyke, the treasure?”
“I didn’t have the heart.” Wearily Ray sat down. The last ten minutes with Buck had sapped him. “I think it’s just beginning to sink in about his leg. He’s angry and bitter. Nothing I said seemed to help. How could I tell him everything we’d worked for is gone?”
“It can wait.” Knowing there was little else they could do, Marla sat down beside him. “Don’t start blaming yourself, Ray.”
“I keep going over that moment in my mind,” he murmured. “One instant we were flying. We were kings. Midases turning everything we touched into gold. Then there was horror and fear. Could I have done something, Marla, moved faster? I don’t know. It all happened in a heartbeat. Angelique’s Curse.” Ray lifted his hands, let them fall. “That’s what Buck keeps saying.”
“It was an accident,” Marla insisted, though a shiver raced through her. “It has nothing to do with curses or legends. You know that, Ray.”
“I know Buck’s lost his leg, and the dream that was just at our fingertips turned into a nightmare. There’s nothing we can do about it. That’s the worst of it. There’s nothing we can do.”
“You need rest.” Briskly, Marla rose, took his hands. “We all do. We’re going back to the hotel and putting all of this aside for a few hours. In the morning, we’ll do whatever needs to be done.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“You two go ahead.” Tate tucked her hands in her pockets. The idea of sitting in her room for the rest of the afternoon was far from appealing. “I think I’ll go for a walk, maybe sit on the beach awhile.”
“That’s a good idea.” Marla slipped an arm around Tate’s shoulders as they walked to the elevators. “Get yourself some sun. We’ll all feel better for a little break.”
“Sure.” Tate managed a smile as they stepped into the elevator. But she knew nothing was going to make her feel better for a long, long time.
As the Beaumonts went their separate ways, Matthew sat down in Dr. Farrge’s office. Already that day he’d put into play several of the decisions he’d made during the night. Decisions, he felt, that were necessary for everyone.
“I need you to contact that doctor you told me about, the one in Chicago,” Matthew began. “I have to know if he’ll take care of Buck.”
“I can do that for you, Mr. Lassiter.”
“I’d appreciate it. And I need an accounting of what I owe here plus what it’s going to cost to transfer him.”
“Your uncle is without medical insurance?”
“That’s right.” Matthew braced his shoulders against the fresh weight. It was always humiliating to owe more than you could pay. He doubted a professional treasure hunter was a prime candidate for a loan. “I’ll give you what I’ve got. I’ll have more tomorrow.” From the sale of the Sea Devil and most of the equipment. “I’ll need some sort of payment schedule for the rest. I’ve made some calls myself. I’ve got a line on a couple of jobs. I’m good for it.”
Farrge sat back, rubbed a finger along the side of his nose. “I’m sure we can make arrangements. In your country there are programs—”
“Buck’s not going on welfare,” Matthew interrupted, a bite of fury in his voice. “Not as long as I can work. Just figure up the bottom line. I’ll deal with it.”
“As you wish. Mr. Lassiter, it’s fortunate that your uncle is a strong man. I have no doubt that he will recover physically. He could, in fact, dive again. If he chooses. But his emotional and mental recovery will be slower even than the physical. He’ll need your support. You will need help to—”
“I’ll deal with it,” Matthew repeated and rose. At the moment, he didn’t think he could stand hearing about psychiatrists and social workers. “The way I figure it, you saved his life. I owe you for that. Now I’ve got to take it from here.”
“It’s a great deal to shoulder alone, Mr. Lassiter.”
“That’s the breaks, isn’t it?” Matthew said with cool dispassion. “For better or worse, mostly worse, I’m all he’s got.”
That was his personal bottom line, Matthew thought as he headed down to Buck’s floor. He was the only family Buck had left. And Lassiters, whatever their failings, paid their debts.
Oh, maybe they skipped out on a bar bill now and again when times were lean. And he’d been known to fleece a tourist or two by inflating the price and history of a clay pipe or broken jug. If some idiot paid through the nose for some chipped wine jar just because a stranger claimed it was from Jean Lafitte’s personal stash, they deserved what they got.
But there were matters of honor that couldn’t be shaken. Whatever it took, Buck was his responsibility.
The treasure was gone, he thought, giving himself a moment in the corridor before going in to Buck. The Sea Devil was history. All he had left were clothes, his wet suit, flippers, mask, and his tanks.
He’d hustled the sales. Hustling was something that came easily, he thought with a thin smile. The money in his pocket would get them to Chicago.
After that . . . Well, after that, they’d see.
He pushed open Buck’s door, relieved to find his uncle alone.
“Wondered if you’d show.” Buck scowled and fought back the bitter tears that stung his eyes. “Least you could do is be around when they go poking and prodding and wheeling me all over hell and back in this place.”
“Nice room.” Matthew glanced toward the curtain that separated Buck from the patient in the next bed.
“It’s crap. I’m not staying here.”
“Not for long. We’re taking a trip to Chicago.”
“What the hell is there in Chicago for me?”
“A doctor who’s going to fix you up with a new leg.”
“New leg my ass.” The leg was gone, and only the nagging pain was left to remind him he’d once stood like a man. “Piece of plastic with hinges.”
“We could always strap a peg on you instead.” Matthew pulled a folding chair to the bedside and sat. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d really slept. If he could get through the next couple of hours, he promised himself he’d zero out for another eight. “I thought the Beaumonts might be around.”
“Ray was in.” Buck frowned, tugged on his sheet. “Sent him away. Don’t need his damn long face in here. Where’s that damn nurse?” Buck fumbled for his call button. “Always around when you don’t want ’em. Sticking needles in you. I want my pills,” he barked the minute the nurse stepped in. “I’m in pain here.”
“After your meal, Mr. Lassiter,” she said patiently. “Your dinner will be here in a few moments.”
“I don’t want any of that goddamn slop.”
The more she tried to placate him, the louder he shouted, until she stalked off with blood in her eye.
“Nice way to make friends, Buck,” Matthew commented. “You know, if I were you, I’d be a little more careful with a woman who could come back at me with a six-inch needle.”
“You’re not me, are you? You got two legs.”
“Yeah.” Guilt ate a ragged hole in his gut. “I got two legs.”
“Lot of good the treasure’s gonna do me now,” Buck muttered. “Finally got all the money a man could ever want, and it can’t make me whole again. What am I gonna do? Buy some big fucking boat and spin around it in a wheelchair? Angelique’s Curse is what it is. Goddamn witch gives with one hand and takes the best away with the other.”
“We didn’t find the amulet.”
“It’s down there. It’s down there all right.” Buck’s eyes began to glimmer with bitterness and hate. “It didn’t even have the goodness to kill me. Better if it had. Nothing but a cripple. A rich cripple.”
“You can be a cripple if you want,” Matthew said wearily. “That part’s up to you. But you’re not going to be rich. VanDyke’s taken care of that.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Th
e color fury had pumped into Buck’s cheeks drained away like water. “What about VanDyke?”
Do it now, Matthew ordered himself. All at once. “He jumped our claim. And he’s taken it all.”
“It’s our wreck. Me and Ray, we even registered it.”
“Funny thing about that. The only paperwork anybody can find is VanDyke’s. All he had to do was bribe a couple of clerks.”
To lose it all now was unthinkable. Without his share of the treasure he’d not only be a cripple, he’d be a helpless one. “You gotta stop him.”
“How?” Matthew shot up, pressed his hands against Buck’s shoulders to keep him in bed. “He’s got a full crew, armed. They’re working around the clock. I’ll guarantee he’s already transported what he’s brought up, and what he took off the Sea Devil and the Adventure.”
“You’re just gonna let him get away with it?” Fueled by desperation, Buck gripped Matthew by the shirtfront. “You’re just gonna turn around and walk away from what’s ours? It cost me my leg.”
“I know what it cost you. And yeah, I’m walking away. I’m not going to die for a wreck.”
“Never thought you’d turn coward.” Buck released him, turned his head away. “If I wasn’t laid up here . . .”
If you weren’t laid up here, Matthew thought, I wouldn’t have to walk away. “It looks like you’d better work at getting up and out of here so you can handle it your way. Meantime, I’m in charge and we’re going to Chicago.”
“How the hell are we going to get there? We’ve got nothing.” Unconsciously, he reached down to where his leg should have been. “Less than nothing.”
“The Sea Devil, the equipment and some odds and ends brought in a few thousand.”
Glassily pale, Buck turned back. “You sold the boat? What right did you have to sell the boat? The Sea Devil belonged to me, boy.”
“It was half mine,” Matthew said with a shrug. “When I sold my share, yours went with it. I’m doing what I have to do.”
“Running away,” Buck said and turned his head again. “Selling out.”
“That’s right. Now I’m going to go book us a flight to Chicago.”
“I ain’t going to Chicago.”
“You’re going to go where I tell you. That’s the way it is.”
“Well, I’m telling you to go to hell.”
“As long as we go by way of Chicago,” Matthew said and walked out.
The bottom line, Matthew learned, was a great deal steeper than he had imagined. Swallowing his pride left his throat raw. He soothed it with a cold beer while he waited for Ray in the hotel lounge.
His life, he decided, was about as bad as it could get. Funny, a few months before, he’d had basically nothing. A boat that had seen better days, a little cash in a tin box, no urgent plans, no urgent problems. Looking back, he supposed he’d been happy enough.
Then, suddenly, he’d had so much. A woman who loved him, the prospect of fame and fortune. Success, the kind he’d never really believed in, had been briefly his. Revenge, which he’d dreamed of for nine years, had been almost within his grasp.
Now he’d lost it all, the woman, the prospects, even the bits of nothing he’d once considered more than enough. It was so much harder to lose once you’d won.
“Matthew.”
He looked up at the clap on his shoulder. Ray slid onto the stool beside him. “Thanks for coming down.”
“Glad to. I’ll have a beer,” he told the bartender. “Another for you, Matthew?”
“Yeah, why not?” It was only the beginning of what Matthew planned for one long night of stinking drunkenness.
“We’ve been missing each other the last few days,” Ray began, then tapped his bottle against Matthew’s fresh one. “Kept figuring we’d run into you at the hospital. Though we haven’t been there as much as we’d like. Buck’s not feeling up for company much.”
“No.” Matthew tipped the bottle back, let the chilled beer run down his throat. “He won’t even talk to me.”
“I’m sorry, Matthew. He’s wrong taking it out on you this way. There was nothing you could have done.”
“I don’t know which he’s taking harder. The leg or the Marguerite.” Matthew moved a shoulder. “I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“He’ll dive again,” Ray stated and stroked a fingertip down the condensation on the bottle. “Doctor Farrge told me his physical recovery is ahead of schedule.”
“That’s one of the things I needed to talk to you about.” There was no way to put it off any longer, Matthew reminded himself. He would have preferred getting roaring drunk first, but that little pleasure would have to wait. “I’ve got the go-ahead to take him to Chicago. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Torn between pleasure and alarm, Ray set his beer down with a clack. “That’s so quick. I had no idea arrangements were already made.”
“Farrge says there’s no reason to delay it. He’s strong enough to make the trip, and the sooner he gets hooked up with this specialist, the better.”
“That’s great, Matthew. Really. You’ll keep in touch, won’t you? Let us know about his progress. Marla and I will take a trip up ourselves as soon as you think he’s up to it.”
“You’re . . . you’re the best friend he ever had,” Matthew said carefully. “It would mean a lot if you come to see him when you can manage it. I know he’s hard to deal with right now, but—”
“Don’t worry about that.” Ray spoke quietly. “A man lucky enough to make that kind of a friend, he doesn’t toss it away because times are rough. We’ll come, Matthew. Tate’s decided to start college in September after all. But I’m sure she’d like to go up with us on her first break.”
“She’s going back to college in September,” Matthew murmured.
“Yes, Marla and I are pleased she’s decided not to defer after all. She’s so down about this whole business right now that I can’t think of anything better for her than getting back into routine. I know she’s not sleeping well. Tate’s so young to have to face all we’ve had to face these last few days. Concentrating on her studies is the best thing for her.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“I don’t want to pry, Matthew. But I get the feeling you and Tate have had some sort of disagreement.”
“No big deal.” Matthew signaled for another beer. “She’ll land on her feet.”
“I don’t doubt it. Tate’s a strong-willed and sensible girl.” Ray frowned down at the circles of damp his bottle left on the bar. Rings within rings, he thought. “Matthew, I’m not blind. I realize the two of you were becoming involved.”
“We had a few laughs,” Matthew interrupted. “Nothing serious.” He looked at Ray, and answered the unspoken question. “Nothing serious,” he repeated.
Relieved, Ray nodded. “I’d hoped I could trust both of you to be responsible. I know she’s not a child anymore, but a father still worries.”
“And you wouldn’t want her to hook up with someone like me.”
Ray glanced over, met the cool derision in Matthew’s eyes with some surprise. “No, Matthew. I’d be sorry, at this point in her life, to see her hooked up seriously with anyone. With the right motivation, Tate would throw everything she’d hoped to accomplish to the winds. I’m grateful she’s not doing that.”
“Fine. Terrific.”
Ray let out a long breath. Something he hadn’t even considered had just jumped out and slapped him in the face. “If she knew you were in love with her, she wouldn’t be going back to North Carolina.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you we had a few laughs.” But the compassion in Ray’s eyes had him turning away, dropping his face in his hands. “Shit. What was I supposed to do? Tell her to pack it up and come with me?”
“You could have,” Ray said quietly.
“I’ve got nothing for her but bad times and worse luck. Once I get Buck to Chicago, I’m taking a job on a salvage boat off Nova Scotia. Lousy conditions, but decent
pay.”
“Matthew—”
But he shook his head. “The thing is, Ray, it’s not going to be enough, money-wise. Especially at first. I can pretty well square things here. Back in the States with the fancy doctor and the fancy treatment, it’s going to be another story. Farrge worked it so they’d cut us a break. Buck’s kind of an experiment,” he added with a sneer. “And they’re talking about social security and Medicaid or Medicare or some such shit. Even with that . . .” He swallowed more beer along with his pride. “I need money, Ray. There’s nobody else I can ask for it, and I gotta say it doesn’t go down real good to have to ask you.”
“Buck’s my partner, Matthew. And my friend.”
“Was your partner,” Matthew corrected. “Anyway, I need ten thousand.”
“All right.”
The mild tone slashed like a blade across the throat of his pride. “Don’t agree so fast. Goddamn it.”
“Would it really help if I made you beg for it? If I outlined terms and conditions?”
“I don’t know.” Matthew gripped the bottle, fighting furiously the need to hurl it, hear it shatter. Like that pride. “It’s going to take me some time to pay it back. I’m going to pay it back,” he said between his teeth before Ray could speak. “I need enough to set Buck up for the operation, for the therapy and the prosthesis. And he’s going to need a place to live after. But I’ve got work, and when that job peters out, I’ll get another one.”
“I know you’re good for the money, Matthew, just as you know I don’t care about being paid back.”
“I care.”
“Yes, I understand that. I’ll write you a check on the condition that you keep me apprised of Buck’s progress.”
“I’ll take the check. On the condition that you keep this between the two of us. Just the two of us, Ray. All of it.”
“In other words you don’t want Buck to know. And you don’t want Tate to know.”
“That’s right.”
“You’re hoeing a hard row for yourself, Matthew.”
“Maybe, but that’s the way I want it.”
“All right, then.” If it was all he could do, he would do it as he was asked. “I’ll leave the check at the front desk for you.”