by Robyn Nyx
“I’m struggling to see your issue. Are you just pissed at her for all those reasons you’ve listed? Or are you pissed at yourself for not telling her what a first-class ass she is?” Noemie waved her fork around. “Oh, oh, I’ve got it. You’re not used to losing, and this feels like you have.”
Noemie looked at Chase, waiting for confirmation that one of her guesses was on the money. None of them were, and yet all of them were. She couldn’t understand why she was so worked up about Rayne. She’d been trying to convince herself that her distraction was about Zenobia and the article, but there was an annoying niggle in her conscience telling her that was only part of it. “All of that, none of that, and more.” She chased a piece of poached egg around the box though her appetite had left her.
Noemie looked exasperated. “This,” she motioned in a circle around Chase with her fork, “this is why I’m working my way through the alphabet of girls’ names with no strings attached.”
“I think you might have the right idea,” Chase said, but she was unable to stop thinking about her old friend. Rayne hadn’t replied to her text about the Golden Trinity, and she hadn’t called to tell her how the meeting had gone. Chase didn’t know why she’d asked her to call, nor why she’d expected her to. They weren’t friends or colleagues. No doubt she wouldn’t see Rayne again until their paths collided in pursuit of another precious piece of history that some bigwig figured they had a right to buy because they had more money than morals.
And yet, here she was, checking her phone like a teenager for something, anything from Rayne.
Chapter Eight
Rayne settled into the plush seat of the town car and stared into the blackened privacy glass that separated her from Adele. Her reflection bounced back at her blankly until it rolled down to reveal her smiling driver.
“Where to, Ms. Marcellus?”
Rayne held up her finger to indicate she needed some thinking time and appreciated when Adele simply nodded, turned around, and returned the partition.
She pulled her phone from her purse, unlocked it, and navigated to contacts. Jenny. Tonyck. Chase. She needed to speak to each of them for different reasons but couldn’t decide which one to start with. She flicked through to Chase and hovered her thumb over her number before scrolling through to Jenny and committing to the call rather than overthinking why she’d want to speak with Chase first.
“Yay for everyone. You haven’t been murdered or mutilated,” Jenny said without waiting for a greeting.
“Mutilated? You spent some time mulling over possible scenarios, did you?” Rayne asked, glad to be instantly grounded by Jenny’s no-nonsense attitude.
“I’ve had no choice. Glum and glummer have regaled me with all the potential outcomes of you taking meetings with mysterious men without them.” Jenny somehow sounded both confounded and entertained.
“You could’ve kicked them out of the office, Jenny. As tough as they are, they wouldn’t dare to defy you.” Rayne was only half-joking. Though Jenny was officially a little person, her personality and authority were anything but, and both Ginn and Tonyck knew better than to get in her way if she was on the war path.
“They were amusing me, but I was one tale away from banishing them, yes. Are we taking the job? Is his map for real?”
Rayne looked at her nails. She’d need to shorten them for this adventure. “In a way. And yes, very real. Whether it will actually lead to the Golden Trinity is something we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Explain. How can you take a job ‘in a way,’ Ms. M?”
“Take G&T into my office, video call me in an hour, and I’ll explain everything. I’ll email you a shopping list shortly.” Rayne hung up and tapped on the privacy glass. “Take me back to the hotel, please, Adele.”
“No problem,” Adele said once the glass retracted once more.
Rayne relaxed into the seat and closed her eyes. Her brain worked better when she shut out the world visually. Which made her think of Chase again, who suffered with too much audio stimulation. She remembered Chase explaining that her brain didn’t want to focus on one thing because it wanted to listen to everything. But sometimes it became oppressive, and too much noise resulted in her simply shutting down and listening to nothing. It wasn’t the same for Rayne, but the blackness of her eyelids made everything slow down a pace or two. What was Chase going to say about all of this? She’d been lucky enough never to cross swords with Owen, but that didn’t keep her from holding very strong opinions on both him and his methods. She’d want to help, surely. Rayne wanted Chase to be a part of what was rapidly shaping into a crazy plan. But she’d be asking Chase to put herself in danger if things went wrong. And there were so many variables and unknowns that made even Rayne a little twitchy though she liked to think of herself as fearless. Tonyck would most likely be inclined to veto everything, but she could rely on Ginn to be gung-ho with her.
Rayne opened her eyes and took a deep breath. What was she thinking? She could’ve just declined the commission and let Turner try to hire Owen. He was no expert in Mayan language. He probably wouldn’t even know where to start and the expedition would have faltered before it had really begun. No indigenous tribes massacred. No Golden Trinity treasure. No damage to Rayne’s reputation. Damn it, Chase. This is all your fault. WWCD? Rayne was about to find out.
* * *
“Your shopping list doesn’t seem to match the commission you went to Frisco for,” Jenny said, her expression giving no indication of humor. “Did you take an impromptu second meeting for something a little less legal?”
Rayne shook her head. “It’s all connected. It just got more complicated than I anticipated. Tonyck, how fast can you pull everything together?”
Tonyck leaned closer to the camera. “We’ve got almost all of what you need in the stockroom, but we’ll have to visit the doctor to get the tranquilizers.”
Tonyck narrowed her eyes and affected her super serious look. Rayne had only ever seen four expressions: serious, very serious, super serious, and “Oh, fuck” serious. The latter she was glad to have seen only once in Syria.
“What are we doing, lady boss?” Tonyck asked. “Seems like we’re packing for two jobs.”
Rayne held up her hand. “Let me preface this with a question. If innocent people had to die for us to complete a job for a client, would that be okay with you?”
All of them looked mortified, and she heard “Fuck, no,” and “What kind of a question is that?” She didn’t need to parse out the simultaneous responses; Rayne got the answer she hoped for.
“Good. I’m glad we’re in agreement.” She gave a quick rundown of her conversation with Turner, starting with the details about the drug gangs and finishing with Turner’s nonchalance at killing indigenous peoples if they were to get in his way.
Tonyck smashed her fist on the conference table. “We should’ve been there. We could’ve taught him a lesson in humility.” She raised her hand, and Ginn fist-bumped her.
“Hell, yeah,” Ginn said. “We’ll get on a plane right now and come do it.”
Rayne rubbed her hand over her face and sighed. Sometimes they could both be a little too quick to violence. “I have a plan, hence the strange shopping list. I’ve told Turner I’ll take the job and—”
“What the—”
“Shut up and listen,” Rayne said, her irritation flaring at Tonyck’s interruption. Jenny sat serenely, patiently waiting for the plan. G&T could learn a few things from her. “I’ve told him it’ll take us two days to prepare and instructed him to charter a plane to take us to Rio on Saturday. I’ve asked him to remain at the Grande so I can go see him with any last-minute queries and to drop our expedition equipment off as it arrives. I want Jenny to get you and our gear here as soon as possible. Once we’re together, we’ll take a trip to the Grande and relieve Turner of the map. When we’ve secured the map, we head to Rio on our charter—another job for you.” Rayne pointed to Jenny. “We follow the map and find the Golden Trinity
for ourselves.” Rayne rolled her neck, and the ensuing cracking noises reminded her she should book a massage for later…after she’d spoken to Chase and got her onboard. She turned her attention back to her iPad to see all three of them with raised eyebrows and quizzical looks. “What’s the problem?”
“You want us to steal a map and find the treasure?” Tonyck asked.
“Yes. Exactly that,” said Rayne, feeling particularly pleased with herself. She was preventing genocide and should still end up with a life-changing and career-defining archeological find.
“It sounds more like a movie plot than a plan based in reality,” said Tonyck. She pulled on her ear as if that might empty it of what she’d just been told. “And you’re serious?”
Rayne shrugged and held out her hands, palm up. “Of course I’m serious. Why wouldn’t I be?” She didn’t understand Tonyck’s reticence. “It’s not like what we do is always a hundred percent aboveboard. What’s the problem?” she repeated.
Tonyck looked at Ginn, who nodded and grinned in the way that meant she was ready for anything. Rayne knew she could rely on Ginn to be on board.
“There’s no problem if that’s what you want us to do. But if something goes down and we end up in prison, you’re paying for our legal fees. We don’t want to end up with a public defender, no matter what crime we get caught for.”
Tonyck managed to say all that in such a way that made it clear she and her sister would still follow Rayne into hell in a paper helicopter. A gentle warmth radiated through her with the thought that these tough army girls had her back. It was understandable they just wanted to be properly insured against any blowback. Rayne smiled, appreciating their loyalty and willingness to go along with her plan. Her crazy plan. If two ex-military specialists thought it was a wild idea, what the hell was Chase going to think? Once this call was over, she’d find out. She didn’t want to contemplate what G&T would think of Chase joining their little adventure…
Chapter Nine
Chase checked the time when her melodic doorbell announced a visitor with a tinny version of the national anthem. After their healthy dinner, she and Noemie had settled down in front of the TV for ice cream and a movie. They’d earned it, and the dessert was the half-fat Ben and Jerry’s chocolate cookie flavor, so it only half counted as a cheat treat. Noemie initially resisted, but the smell of it soon had her collecting her own spoon to dig in. Chase discarded the empty tub and started to get up, trying not to wake Noemie from her post-workout nap.
“Where are you going?” Noemie asked as she rubbed her eyes and shifted from the cuddle.
“Someone’s at the door.” Chase was sure she looked as confused as she felt. Midnight visitors weren’t a usual occurrence and hadn’t been since college. She stopped at the mirror in the corridor to finger-comb her waxed hair into something reasonable and to check her teeth for errant pieces of falafel. Even uninvited, late night callers deserved a certain level of personal presentation. She opened the door without thinking to slip on the safety chain. When the thought did occur to her, she figured she was safe enough with super soldier daughter only a few feet away. She flicked her porch light on to reveal Rayne standing in her doorway holding a bottle of Winter Jack. Noemie couldn’t save her from whatever this was.
“You have no idea how hard it is to get this drink in the summer,” Rayne said, holding aloft the fancy bottle as if that were somehow enough to explain her presence.
“What are you doing here?” Chase asked, not bothering to withhold her rising irritation. She’d wanted a simple text, maybe a phone call. She hadn’t wanted an impromptu visit, especially since Chase had never given Rayne her address. “And how do you know where I live?”
“Who is it?” Noemie shouted.
She obviously wasn’t worried enough to raise herself from her pit. Rayne raised her eyebrow and looked impressed, and there was something else in her expression, but it left her eyes before she spoke again.
“Bad time? Are you…” She looked Chase up and down, taking in the oh-so-sexy tank and sweats combo. “You can’t be entertaining?”
Rayne had clearly concluded that Chase’s outfit wasn’t suitable for whatever she meant by entertaining. “I’m not.” Chase didn’t owe Rayne any further explanation, especially not at this hour. “It’s Rayne,” she said, loud enough for Noemie to hear.
“Huh. What does she want?”
Rayne looked puzzled that whoever the woman was in Chase’s house, she knew who Rayne was, and her tone wasn’t exactly welcoming.
“Now we’ve both asked, and you still haven’t answered.” Chase leaned her hand against the doorjamb but kept her other hand on the door so that it was only half open.
Rayne waved the bottle again. “I’ll tell you if you let me in.”
The brief uncertainty was gone, and Rayne acted as though she dropped by every other day. Chase did want to know about Rayne’s meeting though. “Fine.” She pushed the door open and stepped aside for Rayne to sweep past her and strut toward the living room without looking back.
Chase blew out her cheeks and quietly closed the door. At least she didn’t have any early morning lectures or work since the students were on summer break. Rayne had come all this way to see her, so Chase expected she’d be seeing the sunrise.
“Noemie? I heard you’d joined the army as a combat medic.”
Chase flopped back down beside her.
“Oh, yeah? How’d you hear that?” Noemie asked.
They didn’t travel in the same circles. How on earth would Rayne know that information? Chase nudged Noemie in the ribs. “She did. She’s on leave for a month.” Chase chewed the inside of her cheek before she added, “She’s heading back out to Iraq in two days.” She hadn’t wanted to acknowledge or address the fact that Noemie was leaving already. Their time together was so precious, and it always disappeared with intolerable speed. She heard Noemie swallow hard before she gave Chase a return nudge in her ribs.
“I’m whacked,” Noemie said, rising from the sofa. “See you in the morning for our run.” She tapped Chase on the leg and was at the door before she turned. “Try to keep the noise down. I’m a light sleeper.” She winked at Chase and trotted up the stairs, slipping and yelling, “Ow,” at the third or fourth stair as she always did.
“Night, night,” Chase shouted up after her. “Love you.” Rayne’s presence had almost stopped her from adding the last bit, but Noemie needed to hear it more than Chase needed to keep any emotion hidden from Rayne.
“Love you too,” Noemie said and closed her door loudly.
“Wow.” Rayne whistled. “She’s all grown up now.”
“She is.” Chase hoped her tone would indicate she didn’t want to talk about Noemie further. It was late, and she was tired. The body combat had wrecked her and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed, pull the comforter up to her neck, and sleep until her crazy daughter jumped on her in the morning for their park run. “Why are you here?”
“Okay.” Rayne held up her hands. “Have it your way. No small talk…” Her grin widened. “The Golden Trinity might exist after all. I think Turner’s map is real.”
Chase inched forward. “No way. You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be without doing carbon testing on the bark, but I’m sure it’s the real deal. The colors, the markings, how it looks…it fits the lore of the treasure and the tree.”
Chase stood, her energy suddenly revitalized and too much for a static position. She paced the room. What to say? Turner hadn’t come to her, though her knowledge of logograms was superior to Rayne’s, that and her cartography skills. Of course he hadn’t, because he wanted the treasure for himself and Rayne would have no compunction about where it ended up, as long as she got the glory for finding it and made another cool, bank-busting commission. Suites at the Vervida didn’t come cheap, and Rayne had developed a taste for the high life early in her career.
So why had Rayne turned up on her doorstep? She couldn’t think that Chase
would help her. She tried to calm the fleet of fireflies in her stomach. “That’s great. When do you leave?”
Rayne bit her lip and twisted the rope ring she’d worn since Chase knew her. Both were surefire signs something was coming that Chase wouldn’t like.
“As soon as we’ve stolen the map from Turner,” Rayne said.
Rayne threw the matter-of-fact statement in casually, but it struck the serene waters of Chase’s head like a bouncing bomb. She turned quickly and stared at Rayne. She had to be joking, right? “Sorry, what? It sounded like you just said you were going to steal the map from your client.”
Rayne raised her eyebrow and nodded. “You heard right. You didn’t want small talk.” She picked up the bottle she’d brought with her and offered it to Chase again. “Now do you want that drink?”
Chase dropped back onto the couch and rubbed her eyes. “I was ready for bed…”
“I’m up for that. This’d make for great post-sex pillow talk,” Rayne said and winked.
Chase coughed and ignored the invitation. “Glasses are in the kitchen.” She pointed in the general direction. To her surprise, Rayne got up and headed out, giving Chase some time to gather her thoughts. Rayne’s bombshell of her planned theft still didn’t explain her presence. Unless Rayne wanted Chase to be the voice of reason she always used to be for her, and she wanted Chase to talk her out of it.
Rayne returned with two glasses full of ice, filled them with the liquor, and offered one to Chase. “You still prefer it iced, don’t you?”