by Brooke Moss
She nodded as her eyes became so wide he thought they were going to pop out of her head.
"Good. Is there a lock on this door?"
She shook her head. "There is on the one going to the restaurant though."
"Okay, go ahead and lock it then get those people out of there. Keep them quiet."
Without waiting for her to carry out his orders, Hunter put his hand on the knob and eased the door open. A part of him knew he should ensure the diner was cleared of any potential hostages, but he couldn't wait. Besides, the local cops should be there any second, and they could handle crowd control. He needed to get in there right away.
Sweat rolled down his back as the heat from the storage room slammed into him. It was obvious this part of the building was not cooled and the mid-June swelter had nowhere to go. Everywhere he looked boxes and furniture sat stacked leaving only trails to get around. He stepped into the room, holding his gun out in front. Behind him, the door shut with a barely audible click.
Now, to find Harmony.
CHAPTER 9
Harmony sat on the stool behind the counter with her hands on her lap and tried to not stare at the bald man beside her. Every once in a while, her eyes would stray to the rather imposing gun clutched tightly in his grip. She didn't know much about them, but it looked gigantic and would, no doubt make a huge hole in her if she didn't obey him completely.
"You did good, niña." The man, Tomas, told her in a thick accent.
She gave him a slight smile then rubbed her palms on the thighs of her jeans. God, when she heard Hunter's voice on the phone, she wanted to dissolve into a pile of tears and beg him to save her. But it wouldn't do her or Mickey any good. Instead, she called him Marrakesh in hopes he would catch on something was wrong. Thank God, it had worked. How she hated to hang up after giving him the last clue, but the big bull of a man had frowned at her lengthened conversation and took a step toward her. She couldn't afford for him to get close enough to hear Hunter's side of the conversation. Now, she was waiting.
The pieces of Grace's bird box lay scattered on the countertop next to the screwdriver she had used to take it apart. She remembered vividly when the two had barged into the shop demanding the box. When Mickey produced it, the blond man, Matais, had threatened to smash it to bits, but she begged them to let her dismantle the box, citing if it was destroyed, whatever they were looking for may be destroyed as well. As she finished, Matais examined each part and discarded it angrily. It broke her heart to see the tiny bird lying on the floor with its feathers half torn off where he had thrown it upon not finding what he had looked for.
"¿Dónde está el mapa?" Matais had snarled as he shook the key at her.
"My friend want to know where is the map," Tomas had translated.
"I don't know anything about a map."
"You should hope that is not true, niña." Tomas flicked the safety off the gun and pointed it between Mickey's eyes. "For the sake of tu tío."
The thought of these men murdering Mickey scared her worse than anything in the world. "Please," she begged. "Maybe I saw it but didn't recognize it. What does this map look like?"
Matais withdrew a small book from his pocket and opened it to a page near the back. With one beefy finger, he pointed to the bottom half of the page where a piece had been removed. Harmony craned her neck. The scrawl was worn and faded, and the paper looked brittle. She frowned as she realized it was written in another language. Studying the torn half of the page, it took her only a few seconds to realize she did know where the missing paper was.
"It's in my room. I didn't know what it was. It was wrapped around the key I found inside the box. It's on my desk. You can have it, just please let us go."
Tomas translated the words causing Matais to smile slightly. He shot off a reply then grabbed Mickey by the collar and pushed him toward the door but stopped at the threshold.
"My friend taking you to get the map, Tío Mickey. La niña bonita stays with me. Be smart and don't try nothing. You show him where is the map, and everyone gets what they want, no?"
"I understand. Please don't hurt her. I swear I won't try anything," Mickey assured him.
Matais laughed and said something to Tomas then shoved Mickey out the door with his gun pressed tightly against his side. Mickey's panic-stricken gaze as he glanced through the front window was burned into Harmony's mind. She prayed it wouldn't be her final memory of him.
Once they left, Tomas motioned toward her to sit. "I hope it is where you say. If not, you die, tío and tía die. Everybody die, and you are much too pretty to rot in the ground."
"It is, I promise," she assured him.
And then hope had come in the form of Hunter's call.
For the past almost ten minutes since, Harmony had become more unnerved under Tomas's intense glare. Each time she glanced at him, she saw something almost carnal in his gaze. Once, he puckered his lips and air kissed toward her. Her breath seized in her lungs, and she swallowed down the bile threatening to erupt as he laughed. He terrified her on a level she was not accustomed to. Her knee started to bounce, and she quickly threw a hand over to stop it. Nerves were getting to her.
"It is amazing, no? What you find in old buildings." He nodded toward the faded journal.
She startled which made him laugh again. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Is... is that where you found it?"
"Sí. There are many deserted buildings in Bariloche. Casas from after the war. They came to hide. They died." He lifted his chin toward the journal. "Sometimes they leave notas, messages, where they hid things."
Harmony felt chills run up her spine. "What kind of things?"
Tomas grinned toothily. "Oro, plata, things worth much money. Things once stolen from others but hidden until they can be found." He laughed. "Or until they die and someone else finds them."
Realization dawned on her. "A treasure hunt. You are looking for treasure."
"Eres inteligente, señorita. Muy bien." He tapped the side of his head with the gun.
There was a creak of old floorboards followed by a deep baritone voice. "But you aren't that smart."
Harmony's heart jumped into her throat. She found Hunter standing in the doorway to the storage room with his gun drawn, looking down the site at Tomas beside her. Suddenly, she was yanked up from the stool and pulled against Tomas' chest as he shoved the barrel of his gun into her temple.
"No, no, no, señor. I am very smart. I am the one with the gun to her head. Put yours down on the floor, or we see if the inside is as pretty as the outside." Harmony hissed as her head was pushed to the side by cold steel.
"Hunter?" Harmony's heart threatened to leap out of her chest.
"Shhh, it'll be all right, Harmony."
"She will be all right if you put your gun down." Tomas wrapped his fingers around her chin and held her head still in front of his. "She is very pretty, no? So soft and sweet." He buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath. "And so very dead if you take one more step."
She bit back a whimper and tried to strengthen her resolve.
Hunter froze in place as the sound of sirens filled the room. "You hear that? You're not getting out here with her so let her go, and I'll be your hostage. A cop is a better bargaining chip."
"I am not estupido. If I let her go, you will kill me."
Harmony saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Several police cars had pulled up at the front of the store, and she could see officers peeking out from behind them with weapons drawn. "Please, Tomas, you don't want to do this."
She felt his breath as he whispered in her ear. "I do not want to, but your man is going to make me. Look into his eyes, and you will see I am already dead."
"Nobody has to die, Tomas. Put the gun down." The weapon in Hunter's hand didn't waiver.
They were at a standstill. Harmony swallowed hard trying to wrap her mind around the situation to discover a way out of this; preferably with all three of them still alive. She didn't hate Tomas an
d didn't want him to die, but out of the three, he was the least of her concerns. Now looking at Hunter standing before her, his hands steady as his eyes never left Tomas, she studied him. He was strong, handsome, sexy and inarguably the most amazing man she had ever met. When she was with him, everything else faded into the background. Every moment together was full of beautiful memories, and she wanted nothing more than to have a million more. This wouldn’t happen unless things went favorably in the next few minutes. Already, she could see the stress affecting Hunter. He was on edge, uneasy. The lines on his face hardened and sweat beaded on his skin. Although it was close to one hundred degrees outside, in here it was a comfortable seventy. His jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. He was waiting for an opening to end this. Well, maybe she should do something to give him that moment.
Licking her lips, she forced herself to relax against Tomas. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" She asked, in what she hoped, was a seductive tone.
"Sí, you are muy guapa, very pretty."
Swallowing, she turned her head slightly to see his face. "Thank you. Handsome men don't tell me I'm pretty very much."
The grip on her chin loosened. Tomas ran his fingers through the short strands of her hair, pulling it out of the headband she wore. Lifting it to his nose, he inhaled. "Sweet vanilla. It reminds me of my mother's kitchen when she made dulce de leche."
She couldn't bear to look at Hunter. It felt so wrong to be flirting with this madman while the only one she ever wanted, watched. Instead, she slowly lifted her hand and touched Tomas'. In response, he let her hair go and wound his fingers around her neck again. He cupped her chin and without taking his eyes off Hunter, kissed her cheek.
It took every ounce of strength she possessed not to retch. Glancing at Hunter, she could see the fury burning in his eyes. His lips had become a line so thin, they had all but disappeared. He took another step forward but stopped when the barrel was pressed against her temple again.
"Nuh, uh, uh."
Tomas tensed, and he pulled her back more snuggly against him. The combined heat of their bodies in such close proximity sent fine beads of sweat trickling down her backbone. Daring to glance toward the window, she could see the officers moving outside. It didn't take a scientist to recognize they were getting ready to storm the building. When that happened, people were going to die. Maybe Hunter was going to die. She couldn't let that happen. The hair on the back of her neck stood. This needed to end.
Looking at Hunter, she pleaded with him through her eyes for him to be ready. He gave the barest nod and tightened the grip on his gun. Relaxing slightly in Tomas' grasp, she rubbed the side of her head against his chin as her fingers ran along his wrist to his arm. She gathered her courage, waiting for Tomas' attention to drift ever so slightly.
It happened faster than she expected. The pressure against her temple lessened as did the grip on her chin. She felt him lean into her once again. Drawing a deep breath, she pressed back against him as her fingers closed on the arm holding the gun. In one smooth movement, she shoved his arm up, dislodging the weapon from her head as her foot came down hard on his instep. She threw her head back, and the sickening sound of cartilage breaking filled her ears as pain exploded behind her eyes from the contact. Tomas let out a screech of agony simultaneously with the discharge of his gun beside her head. Harmony dropped to the ground on her haunches, twisting to the right in the tiny space and lunged forward. Her ears rang. She barely registered the second shot until Tomas' heavy body shoved her to the floor.
"Get him off, get him off, get him off," she chanted as she pushed against the floor. After what felt like hours but was probably only seconds, his weight was pulled away and Hunter, her wonderful, sweet Hunter filled her vision.
"Are you all right?"
His words were almost lost in the loud buzzing in her ears. Over his shoulder, she saw another officer worm his way between Hunter and the wall, step over her body and squat beside Tomas lying beside her in a widening pool of blood. His eyes stared blankly as in accusation. She shuddered and looked away.
"Harmony, speak to me. Are you hurt?"
She shook her head slightly, causing her vision to swim. She probably had given herself a concussion with that little head-butt stunt. Even through the pain in her pounding head, she giggled softly. "Who knew?"
"Knew what?" he asked as he carefully slid her hair out of her face.
"That self-defense class in college worked," then promptly passed out.
CHAPTER 10
One year later
"Have you got the popcorn?" Hunter's voice called out from the living room.
"Yep." Harmony hurried in carrying a large bowl full of the fluffy kernels. She placed the snack on the coffee table and crawled up into his lap. Curling her arm around his neck, she nuzzled the side of his face with hers then nipped at the skin with her teeth.
"You're going to start something we can't finish before the show begins," he growled.
"We have a DVR. It'll only take one click, and we won't miss a thing."
He groaned. "I've created a monster. What happened to that shy, withdrawn girl I fell in love with?"
She sat up and gazed into his eyes. Cupping her hand to his cheek, she smiled. "You showed her what it means to love someone unconditionally. And I do, you know, love you unconditionally."
He twined his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Good thing. I'd hate to marry someone that didn't like me."
She glanced at the ring on her finger and smiled. It had been a romantic surprise when he had proposed to her at Christmas. She recalled the happy tears in Jolly's eyes as Harmony accepted. "Not a problem," she murmured as she dropped down for a sweet kiss which quickly turned passionate. Sliding his hand up under the back of her tank top, he splayed his fingers between her shoulder blades and held her steady as his tongue plunged deeper into her mouth, branding her with a fire that never ceased to amaze her. She gave into the kiss, molding her body to his as her hand snaked into his hair. Heat coiled in her core as electric flares of desire slammed into her. She moaned, and he drank her hunger, adding it to his.
Music filled the room, a low pulsing beat full of mystery and intrigue. With a squeal, Harmony broke the kiss and turned in his lap. "It's starting," she breathed excitedly.
"It already had," he mumbled. "Careful, darlin'. Your hip is a quarter inch from ruining the end of our night."
"Mmmhm," she nodded absently. She pulled her sock-clad feet up onto his thigh and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her eyes glued to the screen as the program they had been waiting on started.
The opening scene was of several large excavation machines working in a wooded area. The words Arrach, Bavarian Municipality, Germany slowly flashed into the bottom right corner then disappeared. The camera panned around the area, showing a large hole roped off by orange caution tape. The sound of metal on metal screamed from the speaker followed by a German phrase. We found something appeared in the middle of the screen. The picture froze and became blindingly bright before transitioning into a black and white photo of Adolf Hitler. Another followed it, and yet another as a voice over began to explain.
In the closing days of World War II, the Third Reich faced an undeniable truth; victory was out of their hands. Confident they would need to regroup and set into motion a backup plan named Werewolf, SS chief Heinrich Himmler tasked his trusted deputy Ernst Kaltenbrunner and a lesser officer, Klaus Berger to retrieve the contents of the Berlin Reichsbank and send it to Austria by train. The hoarded treasure consisting of gold, silver, precious gems and works of art would be the bankroll to revive the Nazi effort for world domination.
It never arrived.
Aggressive bombing campaigns coupled with advancing Russian troops forced the train to hide for three days in Bavaria. Once the dust cleared, it became obvious the plan was a failure. The last known dispatch concerning the treasure came from a Nazi outpost in the forest near Arrach.
"Command executed. Transport
of guards taken over and stored in BSCHW. Ask for further instructions."
For many years, the abbreviation was thought to reference Bayerische Wald - the Bavarian Forest and schacht or shaft.
What did it mean? Many believe it was confirmation the dubbed "Nazi Gold Train" was hidden in the Bavarian Forest, waiting for a time when the SS could reclaim it. But, is there any proof?
According to local legends in the Bavarian municipality, something sinister happened there one night in 1945. Nazi troops gathered several men in Arrach and gave explicit instructions to the citizens to go into their houses, shutter the windows and not emerge or look out of them until morning. One teenager defied orders, sneaking out of his home to see what was going on. He was found dead of a gunshot wound the next day in the forest. This would not be the only murder from that fateful night. Two days later, every man taken for the secret mission was rounded up and executed.
What happened?
Rumors of a secret vault full of stolen Nazi treasure abounded. For the next seventy years, treasure seekers hunted for the Nazi Gold Train, but clues were ever found.
Until now - halfway around the world.
The black and white video of two men with shovels poking the ground in a shaded forest froze then morphed into a color one of a storefront and the words, Meridian, Mississippi. Harmony's face filled the screen with a tag underneath containing her name.
"Woohoo! That's my baby!" Hunter grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth.
On the screen, Harmony smiled shyly as she lifted Grace Billups' restored automaton in her hands; the same box which now sat proudly on their mantle. It has been a gift from Grace's sister who never wanted to see it again. The screen version of Harmony flipped the switch, activating the works. The bird popped up and tweeted for a few seconds before returning to its cavity. "When I first saw the bird box, I didn't know what was wrong with it. When you flipped the switch, it just clicked. It was several days before I could disassemble the box. I had to be very careful because it's such a delicate piece. But, once I got inside, I found something that didn't belong."