The hike back, along narrow embankments, slowed their progress. Rocks and broken tree limbs littered their path.
Riley tugged her inland. She followed.
Words were few and far between.
They were on a mission.
The outcome loomed. Would her sister be alive? Would Murphy?
Dread filled her belly.
“Rest?” she asked, her throat dry and scratchy.
“Next bend,” he said.
When they stopped, he leaned his back against a tree trunk, pulling her between his spread legs.
Storm sank into him. “Your shoulder.” Her words were slurred as sleep tugged at her.
“Half numb,” he mumbled. “Ten minutes.”
Drifting in and out of sleep, Storm swore she heard voices.
Male. Angry. Familiar.
Her dreams were vivid, she thought. But her mind didn’t buy it. She jolted awake. The voices rose. She wasn’t dreaming.
Riley heard a commotion nearby. Shifting, he eased Storm away and placed her lightly on the ground. “Stay,” he warned under his breath. He went to investigate.
Twenty yards inland, he saw the lantern. “Old miner’s cabin?” It was small, squat, and rundown. But someone, or a couple of someones, was in it.
He relied on his training and scoped out the layout. There were several trees he could make his way to along the way. Bending low, he searched and found a rock. Picking it up, he sized it up. A couple of sharp edges, it was maybe three or four pounds. It would do.
Search. Assess. Plan. Move.
His movements were slow, sure, and accurate. Not a twig snapped or an animal scurried away.
Less than ten feet away, he made out the figures. Big. Tall.
“Where is it?” The sound of something crashing rent the air.
“You find it.”
The conversation stopped his blood cold. Senior. Murphy.
“You’re no son of mine.”
“How I wish that were true, old man.”
“This shithole? Why would Jack hide it here?”
His father.
“He didn’t. I did.”
Stunned silence pulsed.
Behind him, he heard someone approach. “What’s going on?” Storm whispered.
He stopped her with a quick shake of his head.
“You lying son-of-a-bitch!” Another crash came. This one sounded bigger. Maybe human.
“Senior? Murph?” she asked under her breath.
Riley nodded, pushing her against the tree. “Stay put.”
Glass broke, shattering the air.
He crept to the door. It was wide open. Senior pinned Murphy. One hand was around his throat. With the gun inches from his son’s face, Senior cocked it.
There was no weapon for him to grab. No knife to throw. No gun to shoot.
But he did have the rock. Lifting his arm, he prayed it made its mark. He launched it.
It hit Senior on the head. The trigger went off as he fell.
“What the fuck—” both Senior and Murphy cried out at the same time.
Riley rushed in, lunging at a falling Senior. Wood cracked and splintered where the bullet hit beside Murphy’s head.
“Christ!” Murphy swore, jumping up.
But Riley beat him to it and tackled the gun out of Senior’s hand. It clattered to the floor and spun around.
A fist connected to his eye. He punched Senior. The older man grunted.
“Stop or I’ll shoot!” Storm called out.
He stilled and eased away. “You don’t listen, do you?” This time he was happy she didn’t. “Here, let me have it.”
“Murph, where’s—” She gulped hard. “Echo?”
“Digging up the rest of the gold at the mine shaft.”
She released a breath.
Senior snickered. “You think they don’t have orders?”
Riley took the gun from her. She resisted. “Bastard,” she bit out.
“Nope. My daddy was married to my mother.”
“You’re outnumbered,” Riley warned him. “Don’t push it.”
“You? You ain’t man enough. You walked away last time. You kill me and there’s going to be hell to pay.”
“From who?” Murphy asked. “Your friends?”
“Connections,” he corrected.
“Don’t count on it,” Murphy said. He nodded to the floor. “There’s a journal hidden down there. It will be turned over to the feds. The ones not on the take. You will be named as the informant.”
“That’s a fucking lie!” He jerked to his feet. Senior reached for a piece of broken wood and charged Murphy.
“Stand down!” Riley shouted.
The older man didn’t stop. Murphy dodged him. Senior chased him.
“Put it down!”
He twisted. His wide-eyed stare latched onto Riley. “You! I hated him! He was after me. For years!” He laughed then. “But I got him—”
Riley pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. Three times.
Gerald Sr. lurched backward. He kept standing. His mouth contorted. “I didn’t think you had it in you…”