After long minutes of murmured affection and strokes of his palm along her flank, he carried her away from the wall into the main bedroom and straight into the shower. He lavished attention on her every second under the spray, peppering kisses on her shoulders and nape. Madalina reveled in his attention, returning touches to his thighs and stomach. Skimming touches that traced the contours of muscle.
As if he was still mindful of potential danger, he didn’t linger long. Wishing for more time, Madalina stepped out of the shower with him and set about the business of drying her hair. The sex and hot water made her languid, but she found herself listening for unusual noises even while Cole left the bathroom to check the suite and gather their bags from the living area.
Changing into plain black pants and a burgundy pullover with short sleeves, she wandered barefoot into the bedroom to see Cole already dressed and pulling on a pair of snakeskin boots. It didn’t seem as if he planned to sleep at all.
“I’ll take first watch if you want to get some sleep,” she said. “I can stay awake for a while yet.”
“I slept earlier, after Brandon got here. I’m good. But thanks.” He glanced up and winked, then rose to his feet. Walking over, he cupped her jaw in his hand and stared into her eyes. “I know we’ve got things to talk about still, but I think we both needed that.”
“We do,” she said, easily agreeing. There was a lot to discuss. “You’re right, though, and I feel a lot better.” Closer, connected.
“Get some rest if you want. I’ll be making a few calls to Thaddeus and waiting for news,” he said.
“I will.” She paused, then said, “Do you really think the other two dragons might be in that hidden room?”
He stepped away to pick up his phone off a dresser. “Maybe. I think, at some point, we’re going to have to go back there and find out for sure. For all the reasons I mentioned before. The sooner we find the dragons, if Walcot left them there, the sooner we can go about our lives without having to look over our shoulders.”
“All this time, since I found the last note, I’ve been trying to decide if it was a ‘good-bye’ kind of note. You know, this is the last one, dear, but honestly, I thought he would have mentioned that it was the last one, so I would know. And I figured he would be more . . . I don’t know. Nostalgic. Not that he isn’t nostalgic in the letters . . .”
“I know what you mean,” Cole said.
“Good. Because the exact definition is escaping me. Anyway, it didn’t feel like the last one, or what I imagined Walcot’s good-bye to be. I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not.” She hesitated, then said, “If you really think we should go back to Brazil and do a thorough search of the hidden room, then we will. Maybe Thaddeus can arrange to have the dragon delivered to the agents while we’re on our way or something. Keep them distracted. At least we’ll know the agents won’t be right on our tail if they get the Rain Dragon back. And if we find the last two, we can bring them home. If we don’t, then I think we should arrange to let the agents know that we followed every lead and our searches came up empty. My grandfather didn’t have all four, just two dragons.”
“I think that’s the best plan. I know it’s not what you wanted to do at first—”
“It wasn’t, no. But the last few hours have reminded me that there are other things I want to do. I’d like to actually visit some of these foreign countries with you and not have to be on the run from something or someone. When we were up on Corcovado Mountain, at the peak, I wanted to just stand on the terrace with you and appreciate the stunning view. So let’s get it over with, like you said before, once and for all,” she said.
“All right. I’ll make arrangements. One or two of my brothers will probably want to come along for security purposes.”
“I don’t mind. I like all your brothers. At least the three I’ve met in person so far. And we might need the help.” She tilted her face up when Cole came to collect a kiss.
“You know, I wanted to tell you that I think it’s impressive, what Walcot is doing for you,” he said after the kiss. “Despite the problems with the dragons, which he couldn’t have known about, it’s really special that he thought to leave you remembrances of him this way.”
“I’ve enjoyed his letters most of all. In fact, I’ve decided to start a journal of my own about the travels we’re doing—and will do—in the future.” Madalina and Cole hadn’t ever discussed children, but she thought it might be interesting to carry Walcot’s legacy on. Pass down whatever knowledge she gained in her travels and journeys. In this particular way, Walcot left her an inheritance richer than money could buy.
“I think that’s a great idea. Let me call Thaddeus and get the ball rolling.” He touched her shoulder and stepped away.
Madalina watched him go, feeling better than she had in days about the immediate future.
Two hours later the arrangements had been made: Sam would fly to Rhode Island with the dragon, while Cole, Brandon, Damon, and Madalina headed back to Brazil. Sam used the family business jet, while the rest of them flew on the borrowed jet, in effect returning it to its owner. Wallace West, Cole’s father and owner of the family business, had pulled many strings and offered a few favors for the extended use of the plane.
Madalina chose to sleep most of the trip, feeling safe and secure thousands of feet above the earth. Stretched out in her reclining seat, she slept hard for five hours, then drifted in and out for another two.
When they landed in Brazil, it was daybreak, the sun just beginning to rise above the horizon. A few dark clouds scurried through the pink, yellow, and purple sky, reminding Madalina of a painting she’d once seen. The temperature was comfortably in the seventies already, promising to become a scorcher later in the afternoon.
Arriving at the house, Madalina half expected to find the interior damaged. The agents had a way of leaving nothing but destruction behind. She stepped through the back door behind Damon and Brandon, but ahead of Cole.
Everything looked as it should have. The furniture was in place, the paintings intact. None of the décor had been smashed or moved, and even the blinds on the windows were exactly as she’d left them. She breathed a sigh of relief. The residence, her residence she reminded herself, remained unspoiled by thieves.
“Hold on; Thaddeus is calling.” Cole stepped aside and answered his vibrating cell. He put it on speaker so everyone could hear. “Yeah, Thaddeus, what’s up?”
“Just wanted to let you know that we negotiated the return of the dragon to the agents. They flew three of their men to New York, and that’s where we completed the exchange. I’m literally looking at their taxi pull away from the curb,” Thaddeus said.
“Did you at least punch one of them in the face for what they did to me?” Brandon asked with a smirk.
Thaddeus laughed quietly. “No, brother, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to. However, here comes the surprise of the visit. They didn’t show up empty-handed. In exchange for the dragon, the agents gave me a written, signed offer. Five million dollars for the last two dragons, no questions asked.”
Cole snorted. “I believe that about as much as I believe they’ll sprout wings and fly. If we do find the dragons in Brazil and give them back, which is our plan anyway, there won’t be an accompanying check. They just don’t realize that we might know where the dragons are, so this is their attempt to make us do their dirty work.”
“I agree,” Thaddeus said.
“Those bastards,” Brandon muttered.
“You have to give them points for perseverance,” Damon added in a wan voice.
“Because if they really wanted to apologize for what they did to Brandon and thank us for the Rain Dragon that we already handed over, they would have written a check during the current exchange,” Cole said.
Madalina had to agree with Cole. The agents could have given Thaddeus a check for the dragon they’d
just received if they were serious about the money. All three brothers wore the same skeptical expression, as Cole ended the call and put his phone away.
“All right. Now that we’ve had our chuckle for the day, why don’t we get to it? Damon, you keep watch. Brandon can come with us and search,” Cole said with a gesture for someone to lead on.
“It’s this way.” Anxious to start the search, Madalina escorted Cole to the basement stairs.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Whatever images Cole had in his mind about the hidden room, none of them compared to the real thing. Standing near the trunks in the center of Walcot’s collectibles, he marveled at the sheer number of items loaded on the shelves attached to the walls. Walcot had squirreled away a mountain of treasures in his lifetime.
With Madalina and Brandon working alongside, he began at point zero and made his way meticulously through every item on every shelf, looking for hidden compartments in vases and other trinkets. He did find several compartments; none yielded a note or a dragon.
After a brief break for lunch, they hit it again. Cole paid particular attention to the walls and floor, feeling for loose tiles or latches near the shelves that might indicate the shelves were movable. Bolted to the walls, the shelves weren’t moving an inch, and every tile was firmly laid on the ground.
“It doesn’t look like there are any hidey holes in here,” Cole finally said. He propped his hands on his hips and glanced at Brandon and Madalina. His brother was just putting a sword sheath back after examining it carefully. Crouched near the pile of trunks, Madalina was feeling along the seams in the bottom for anything unusual.
“It doesn’t seem so,” she replied without looking up.
Cole thought she sounded disappointed. “You all right?”
Leaning back a fraction, still crouched, she gestured impatiently with her hands. “I’m fine. Just bothered that there isn’t another note.”
“Bothered or disappointed?” he asked.
“Both. I mean, he led us all this way.” Frowning, Madalina glanced at the shelves, the ceiling, and the trunks.
“But you did find the dragon. And you found all this. That wasn’t easy,” he said.
“I didn’t expect this to be ‘the end,’ I guess. I thought he would have told me it was the end. You know?” Madalina met his gaze.
“Maybe his last note was the end. It was the end as he knew it. He did tell you he loved you, which might have been his way of saying a final good-bye.” Cole saw right away that Madalina wasn’t entirely satisfied with that answer. Her expression made it clear that she wanted more.
Walcot had achieved his goal, Cole thought, in expanding Madalina’s world. It wasn’t just the letter she wanted; it was more of all this. More discovery, more travel, more surprises. Minus the danger, of course. He imagined what she would be like without the threat hanging over their heads. Carefree, vivacious, anxious to explore the next destination in Walcot’s secretive notes. He could picture her eyes lit with excitement and the thrill of discovery. While she’d had a little of that on their trip to Brazil, the fear and concern over their safety had diluted her joy.
“Maybe,” Madalina said. She turned back to the trunk.
“Why don’t we break for dinner? You only have a few trunks left to search. We can do it in the morning.” It had been a long day. Cole thought she might benefit from some downtime.
She ran her fingers along the edge of the trunk she’d been searching, as if contemplating a break. “I think I want to finish. You two can go up if you want to. I don’t mind.”
He should have known she wouldn’t leave anything unturned today. “I’ll wait with you.”
“Yeah, we’ll wait. There’s not much left,” Brandon said. He used one of the larger trunks as a perch to sit on.
“Thanks. It won’t take long.” Madalina skimmed her fingers along the upper curve on the inside of the trunk’s lid. Moments later she drew in a surprised breath and said, “I think I found something.”
Without the agents or other attackers breathing down her neck, Madalina enjoyed searching the hidden room a lot more than she had the first time. Jet lag be damned, she cherished every new discovery, no matter how small. Each little compartment or niche thrilled her. When the tips of her fingers ran over the successive divots in a strip of iron underneath the lid of the trunk, she knew instinctively that she’d found something. The other divots had been placed no less than four inches apart. These were right next to each other, with less than an inch between. Not just close, but attached by a smaller strip of iron. She pushed, peering up under the lid. Bands of iron held the old wood together, and the band to the right was the one that felt different from the others. She could see the three divots and the small strip beneath.
Breathing in the vague scents of oak and sea salt, she tried to manipulate what she thought was a latch. It stuck, at least at first. The bar gave way with a fourth attempt, popping open with a metallic clink.
Cole and Brandon hovered behind her, curiously peering past her shoulders.
“What is it?” Brandon asked.
“You need help?” Cole asked at the same time as Brandon.
“I’ve got it.” She released the latch, and a small door swung open. In a space between slats of wood comprising the lid, she found an envelope.
The same kind of envelope that Walcot had left with all the other letters.
There wasn’t enough space to house a dragon (or two), but she was elated to find the note. Pulling it free, she stood up as the men straightened.
In moments she was reading, Brandon and Cole following along over her shoulder.
You’re learning. I knew you would search the secret room until you turned up something more from me. It’s addictive, is it not? How you feel right now is how I felt with every new discovery in each new land I visited. I didn’t lead you to this letter because I wanted you to find it on your own. I’ve been teaching you along the way that things are not always what they seem. That there is often more to life than meets the eye. This is your reward for your perseverance.
I can’t imagine what you must be thinking after searching through all the artifacts. You must have examined each one to finally arrive here. The Egyptian perfume bottles on the first right shelf, purple with gold leaf, still hold the smell of the perfume they once contained. Did you smell it when you lifted the stopper?
I’ve always believed that in our lives, we’re not only transported in our memories by sight and sound but by smell. I can still recall the exact scent of the plateau my Tibetan friend and I once sat on. Even the trunk you found this in has its own history in the wood and the sea. The rumor was that it belonged to a notorious pirate who didn’t use it to store gold, but the heads of his victims whenever he made a raid. The darker stains in the wood were made from blood.
Madalina paused to smear her fingers on her pants, disgusted that she’d been feeling around the entire trunk before finding the letter. Brandon and Cole both sounded as if they were suppressing laughter.
Personally, my dear, I always doubted the rumors because surely a lingering scent of death and decay would have remained. Don’t you think? The argument against this, according to some, is that the constant sea spray and salty air washed the trunk clean. We’ll never know for sure, but I wanted to pass the rumor along because it’s just one more story to add to all the others I’ve given you.
My time is running out to share stories, and I must say, after all this, that I am saddened by the fact. I regret that I did not tell you many more in your youth. Perhaps now, at this older age, you’ll cherish the stories in a different way than you did as a child.
Remember the sounds and the scents around you, Madalina. Take in every nuance. Later in life you’ll hark back to a special moment when you hear or smell or see that thing that reminds you. I doubt you will ever forget the tingle you must have experienced stand
ing atop Corcovado Mountain, overlooking the city and the ocean, or the distinct wood and sea smell that accompanies this trunk.
Take a moment, right now, and identify the scents you remember from me. The scrap of material with this letter is from a shirt I wore often on my travels and a few times when I visited you. What does it make you feel?
Madalina scrambled to open the envelope and pick out the piece of material inside. She’d missed it in her haste to get to the letter. The sage-green swath, perhaps four inches long and three inches wide, smelled faintly of amber, a little of spice and smoke, and that indeterminable something else. Immediately Walcot came to mind. She vividly recalled his summer visits and the warmth he brought, like portable sunshine. He was always smiling, always ready for hugs and affection.
Always there with some trinket and a story.
Whatever cologne he’d worn all those years, she recognized it without hesitation.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes when she realized she’d never see his smile again or feel the strength of his embrace. But she would remember him every single time she caught the scent on the cloth.
Cole set a steadying, comforting hand on her shoulder.
Turning back to the letter, fearing that she was about to get the final good-bye she now dreaded, she read on.
Rendezvous in Rio Page 21