The Treasure Hunters

by Beth D. Carter

  “Be careful,” she said, making sure to keep her eyes wide and innocent. “He tripped.”

  Ramzee pursed his lips but all he did was to turn back to the stairs. Merridie wondered how she could possibly make him trip, but before she could flesh out any coherent plan, Ramzee held up his hand to halt everyone.

  They stood in front of a cave.

  “Finally,” he said, excitement in the tone of his voice. As Merridie stepped into the chamber, her eyes were drawn to the smashed crate. “Dardon was here! God damn it, he took the treasure!”

  “No we didn’t,” Sin said as they stepped into view from behind a stone table.

  “Wait,” Merridie said. “Is that a skeleton?”

  “There is no treasure, Ramzee,” he continued, ignoring Merridie’s question. “His treasure was his family.”

  “Liar!” Ramzee roared and charged Sin, his fists already flying. Merridie winced. This was not how she pictured finding a long-lost treasure, and she only hoped that Sin came out the victor. Otherwise, they would be joining that skeleton.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Where is it? What did you do with it?” Ramzee demanded. He had a hold of Sin’s shirt. “Vouleigh’s treasure. I know you did something with it. All that’s here are some awful paintings and bones.”

  “That is the treasure,” Sin told him. He elbowed Ramzee’s arm right at the elbow and he let go of him.

  As the two men faced off, Merridie leaned over to whisper in Ruby’s ear.

  “So where’s the treasure?”

  Ruby looked at her. “Just like Sin said. His treasure was family.”

  They stared at each other, and a lot of emotions crossed through Merridie’s eyes, the strongest being anger. But they all boiled down to acceptance.

  “Damn,” she muttered.

  Ramzee pulled back his fist and punched Sin across the jaw. Ruby made a knee jerk reaction to rush toward him, but one of the hired guns yanked her back. Merridie grabbed the man, but another man grabbed her, and then a chain reaction started. Merridie turned and punched the man in the nose and blood poured as he fell back and hit his head. Ruby spun and did the same to her captor. Ramzee turned his head to see the commotion and Sin grabbed him, pulling him directly into the stone wall. Ramzee’s forehead connected, knocking him out cold. There were three men left, and they clearly didn’t know what to do without their leader. Merridie kneed one between his legs, Sin punched another, and the other one scrambled back to the opening, disappearing quickly up the staircase.

  Merridie flexed her knuckles as she turned toward Ruby. “So where’s the treasure?”

  Ruby blinked. “I already told you, there wasn’t any. His family was his greatest treasure.”

  Merridie’s eyes narrowed. “I thought that was for that asshole’s benefit.”

  “No, it wasn’t. It’s the truth.”

  “Figures,” she snorted. “Damn it! All of this, for nothing. Well then, how the hell do we get out of here?”

  “Back the way we came.”

  “I found a passage, a side door.”

  “Then we’ll use that.”

  ****

  Ruby threw her hand over the edge of the cliff and tried to find something to grasp onto in order to propel herself over the edge.

  “Push me up a little more!” she said.

  Sin grunted but before he could reposition her, a hand grabbed her arm. She gave a startled scream before she looked up and saw Asia’s smiling face. He pulled her up with ease.

  “Ruby!”

  “I’m okay, Sin. It’s Asia.”

  Merridie was next and then Sin, although Asia grunted a little as he pulled the heavier man up.

  “Where’s Eden?” Ruby asked, looking around.

  “She’s safe,” Asia assured her. “I left her on the beach. I saw Ramzee and followed him to a secret door in this mountain.”

  “He’s down there, out cold, so we need to get out of this place,” Sin told him.

  Sin urged them on, but a second later, the sound of a gun clicking reverberated through the cavern. They all turned to see Ramzee holding a pistol on them. Fear spiked through Ruby when she saw that the gun was trained on Sin.

  “Not again,” Ramzee muttered as his men joined them. “You will not trick me again out of my merchandise!”

  “First of all, there is no treasure,” Sin said. “Second of all, you’re the one who put the Paradise up for collateral in a game of chance.”

  “You cheated.”

  “And you’re a sore loser.”

  “You took something from me,” Ramzee said coldly. “Now I’ll take something from you.”

  He turned his gun until it pointed it at Ruby. She gasped and froze, not sure what to do. Every instinct urged her to turn and run but the look in Ramzee’s eye told her he expected her to do just that, and he had no problem shooting her in the back.

  “Ramzee!” Sin yelled. Ruby jumped and she looked at him. He let fly the machete that had been attached to Asia’s belt and it flew end over end, to imbed itself into Ramzee’s chest.

  His finger jerked on the trigger and the gun fired. The bullet lodged into the wall next to her and Ruby screamed as she fell away. When Ramzee’s men appeared they took one look at their dead leader and went for their pistols as well, but Asia, Merridie and Sin hurried over. Merridie did what she did best and brought the man to her knees with a swift kick between his legs. Fists flew and one by one, the men fell in broken heaps.

  “Ruby,” Sin said and hurried over to help her stand. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back tightly. “Are you all right?”

  “I want to get out of here,” she said, and even she heard the shaky tone in her voice.

  “All right.” He looked over at Asia. “Can you lead us out of here?”

  “What about them?” Merridie asked, waving her hand in the direction of the unconscious men.

  “Leave them a lantern. If they don’t find their way out, then let that be God’s judgment for doing business with a pirate.”

  Asia led them back through the tunnel, over the small chasm that Ruby and Sin had jumped over, to a side port hidden in the wall face. They all squeezed through the passageway door and ran out into the jungle. For a moment, Ruby just stood there and absorbed the warmth of the rays on her skin, loving the brightness and life flourishing all around her. She shivered, despite the heat. It was hard to let go of the fear that that utter blackness could’ve been her tomb, and that they’d left men behind, to be ghostly roommates to Jean-Pierce Vouleigh.

  Asia led them though the jungle and a few minutes later they arrived on the beach. Ruby looked around but couldn’t see Eden.

  “This is just wonderful,” Merridie said as she walked up to the shore. “Anyone have any ideas? I really don’t want to swim for it.”

  “Not particularly,” Sin replied wearily.

  “So, Ruby,” she said, crossing her arms. “What’s on your agenda for us now? Back home to England?”

  Ruby smiled and shook her head. “Doesn’t matter where we go, England or America. We could even go on another treasure hunt.”

  Merridie gave her a droll look. “With what? Our boat sank!”

  Ruby laughed. “Ever the optimist, Merri. I’m sure glad this adventure hasn’t changed a hair on your head.” She looked at Sin and Asia, including them. “All that matters is that we have each other. That’s all we’ve ever needed. It’s our greatest treasure.”

  “Oh my lord!” Asia muttered.

  He gazed was fixed toward sea so Ruby followed it. Her mouth dropped open. There was another boat, one that looked just like the Paradise, only this one had Eden standing at the helm, managing the wheel, waving frantically at them.

  “You know, after stealing a boat, there’s going to be no living with her,” Merridie said.

  “Yes, maybe we should talk to her about her kleptomania problem.”

  “You think?” Merridie said sarcastically.

  Ruby suddenly hu
gged her, catching her off guard. “Are we treasure hunters now?”

  Merridie’s dour face suddenly broke into a huge smile. She glanced at Sin and Asia and laughed. “You know,” she said. “Traipsing over the Atlantic might not be enough. Wherever you want to go, Ruby!”

  Sin grabbed Ruby’s hand to pull her into his body to plant a big kiss on her lips. She melted against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. When he pulled back, he smiled down at her, his blue eyes soft and full of emotions.

  “Only if you marry me,” he said.

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you asking?”

  “I actually want to order you to never leave me, but I suppose I must do the gentlemanly thing.” He dropped down to one knee. “Ruby, I know we just met, and this might seem daft, but I feel as if you filled some type of void in my life. It’s hard to explain…”

  “The other half of your soul?”

  His head cocked. “Yes. It feels like that exactly.”

  “Yes,” she said, “it does for me too.” Joy bubbled inside her and she couldn’t contain it. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  ****

  Eden couldn’t tell exactly what Ruby was shouting, but she could hazard a guess when Sin got down on one knee. And by the sounds of happiness from Ruby, it was good news. Hmm, perhaps she had the best engagement present. In any case, she couldn’t wait to show them her surprise. She looked down at her feet and eyed the four chests filled with gold coins, jewelry, and antiques. Contentment filled her as she continued to wave.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ruby stared out the windows of her new shipping office that looked over New York Harbor. It had been three months since she’d last been here, but a lifetime had happened in those months. And today, her world would change even more.

  There was a rap on the door and she turned from the windows, straightened her skirt, and bid the person to enter. Alford Densey stepped inside. Although his clothes were impeccable and his hair neatly combed, an air of desperation hovered around him. He took one look at her and his jaw dropped in surprise.

  “Ah…Miss Talcott,” he greeted.

  “Hello, Mr. Densey. Actually, it’s Mrs. Dardon now. I just got married.”

  She held up her left hand, where a shiny diamond ring glinted.

  “Congratulations.” He looked confused. “But I thought I was here for a job interview.”

  “You are and you aren’t.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Ruby indicated the office room. “This is my new importing and exporting company, Paradise Shipping––and yes, I do own it. No shareholders. And as much as I might have been angry over your easy defection, I do know when it comes to shrewd business negotiations, there is no one better. My father entrusted his company to you.”

  “Your father was a brilliant man.”

  She smiled. “Yes, he was. So, Mr. Densey, I may be entrusting the day to day operations of this company to you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be monitoring you and dropping by unexpectedly from time to time.”

  “I––I have the job?”

  He stared at her with a mixture of fear and hope. She nodded. He couldn’t hide the overwhelming relief on his face at her confirmation. Talcott shipping had shut down in mid November, so that meant Mr. Densey had been out of work for two months. Compassion melted some of her anger.

  “Thank you, Miss, ah, Mrs. Dardon. I can’t begin to tell you how much this means to me.” He stopped and gulped in a deep breath of air. He appeared to fight against crying, and her anger melted a bit more.

  “It’s been rough, hasn’t it?”

  He nodded and discreetly wiped his eyes.

  “Will you be taking up residence in the office?”

  He pointed to a closed door.

  “God, no. I’m going to leave the company in your hands, Mr. Densey, while I acquire more merchandise. Even with our past disagreement, you’re the only one I’d trust to run this place.”

  She smiled at him. He tentatively smiled back.

  ****

  Ruby stepped into The Plaza Hotel and shivered at the temperature between the bitter outside cold and the warm lobby. A Christmas tree still stood in the corner, and people milled around as if the rest of the world hadn’t changed, but the atmosphere definitely had. The devil-may-care livelihood that had once been in abundance now seemed to have faded away. People still smiled and laughed, and manners were still prevalent, but the joy felt somewhat forced.

  “Welcome back, Mrs. Dardon,” the elevator operator greeted as she stepped into the car.

  “Hello,” she said with a smile. “Has Mr. Dardon returned?”

  “He has, about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “Thank you.”

  The car glided to a smooth stop on the penthouse floor and the operator opened the door for her. She bid him good day and walked toward her door. Even before she approached it, it opened. Sin stood there still in his wedding suit, minus his jacket, looking dapper in the dark pinstripe.

  He held out his hand to her, and she took it. He closed the door behind them, sealing them in their honeymoon world.

  “I was wondering when you’d get back, Mrs. Dardon.”

  “I wanted to make sure our new office manager was settled. Was Eden able to get it?”

  He picked up a folded piece of parchment off the foyer table.

  “Our next treasure hunt. She’s very good, our little thief,” he said. He laid the map back down and placed his hands on her hips. “But for tonight, you’re all mine, wife.”

  “Oh, are you saying you want your husbandly rights?”

  He grinned and leaned his head down to kiss her. Her mouth opened and his tongue surged in to mingle and dance with hers. Her body went up in flames and she wiggled against his body with the need to have more.

  He broke off the kiss to stare down at her. Love shone out of his hazel eyes, turning them soft and dewy. He was so handsome, her husband, and her heart simply melted at the onslaught of all she felt for him.

  “Ruby,” he whispered against her skin. “I want you so much, wife.”

  Excitement surged through her at his possessive tone. She never thought she’d like being called wife, but every time he uttered it she felt sexy.

  “God, you’re beautiful.”

  His hand slid up her rib cage until he found the curve of her breast. He cupped the shape, molding her to his palm as he gently squeezed. Her nipple pebbled under the material of her dress and he traced over the turgid peak with his fingertip. She arched and gasped and that’s when he began to maneuver her toward her bedroom, walking her backwards as he kept lavishing her skin with soft kisses.

  Once inside the room, he kicked the door closed with his foot. He spun her around and efficiently unbuttoned her dress, all the way down until it fluttered to land in a pile at her feet. She stepped out of the mass of silk and headed toward the bed, removing her slip herself. When she reached the bed, she turned and waited, arching her brow.

  He smiled seductively as his gaze ran up and down her body. She wore a brassiere and garters, and the lace had been tickling her thigh all day. He took off his vest and suspenders and then popped the buttons on his starched white shirt one by one. A light coat of hair dusted his chest, tapering down to disappear into his pants. She wasn’t kept waiting in wonder as he shucked his pants and drawers.

  Her mouth went dry as she took in his beautiful body. He was a work of art come to life, and although many of the Greek statues she’d seen depicted men on a small scale, Sin seemed abnormally large. Ruby’s eyes widened.

  “By your reaction, thank you for the compliment,” he said. He pulled her pliant body into his arms.

  “I don’t see how that’s going to fit.”

  “It’ll fit, sweetheart. Don’t you worry about that.”

  He brushed a trembling finger over her lips.

  “I love you, Ruby. I promise I won’t ever hurt you.”

  “I love you too. Kiss me, Sin.”

 
; She tilted her head up and he sealed their vows with another soul-melting kiss, his tongue sliding in to dance with her own. He pushed her back and he helped her scoot up so he was on the bed with her.

  He kissed her all over her body: Over her chin, down her neck to trace her collarbone, and down her chest. He pulled the straps of her brassiere down her arms and she wiggled out of it, giggling at his attempt to unhook the damn thing. She helped unhook her stockings from her garter and pull them off. Then he pushed her panties down, taking it and her garter belt off.

  Sin worked his way down her body, taking a moment to lick her belly button. She had a moment of distress as she realized his destination because surely he didn’t mean to go there, but he did, and with a little pressure, she slowly relaxed and opened her legs.

  Like before, he ran his fingers through the curls covering her feminine lips, barely

  brushing against her slit, yet the unbelievable sensation caused her to moan. She undulated under him, wanting more. She never thought sex would be like this, so all-consuming, and knew it was because of Sin. He was her everything.

  “I love how wet you get for me,” he murmured. Then he kissed her, right on the spot he’d just touched and her hips jerked up, bumping against him.

  “Sin,” she breathed. “Oh, Sin.”

  “You taste so damn sweet, wife. I could feast on you all night.”

  He pressed his tongue against her again, as far as it would stretch, dipping a little into the slit. Using two fingers, he spread her until he found her clitoris, and then proceeded to lick her. As soon as his tongue rasped against her sensitive nub, her body arched like it had touched a live wire. Her hands buried in his hair, pulling it almost too aggressively. He licked and sucked her in, sliding one finger into her heat. She bucked against his hand and felt the world coming apart at its seams. She was soaring and dying all at the same time, and she couldn’t hold back the scream of pleasure that tore out of her.

  But he didn’t stop.

  Putting his hands under her knees, he pushed back her legs and scooted up until they hung over his arms. He pushed a pillow under her hips to raise her pelvis upward, the better to access her. Then he dropped his head over her pussy and began his attack anew. He flicked her clit in quick, repetitive motions, making her scream over and over. Her cream ran and he lapped it up. He sucked on the little bundle of nerves and she splintered apart again.