Page 56 of The Man with a Treasure

After some quiet moments to compose ourselves, I couldn’t help but feel like we had just been cut off from everyone we knew. Even though I barely got to see them, I knew they were there. Now? My best friend and I were utterly alone. “Angelo.”

His dark eyes snapped to mine, determined. “I have you. Understand?”

I nodded. I would never be alone as long as I had him.

Angelo suddenly rushed to his suitcase. He pulled out an old yellow envelope he kept paperwork in. Two IDs we’d never used before—and credit cards to match the false names—were tossed on the bed. “Get us commercial flights to Idaho with those. I want to be in the air first thing in the morning.”

Alone? Maybe, but we still had a job to do. I snatched up the fake IDs then rushed to my laptop to book flights.

Angelo’s orders continued. “Tonight and tomorrow, let’s pull out the max cash allowed from all our credit cards. Not touching Scarlett’s account, tomorrow we drain bank accounts that are presently being filled. I want us set up for a year if need be.”

“Understood.” My heart was beating so fast. “What do you think is happening?”

In professional mode, Angelo tapped on a different burner phone. “I think we found Scarlett.”

Found… My Dream.

We had been searching for so long—and had failed so many times—that I hadn’t realized how numb I had become to the hopes of finding Scarlett. Now, with everything that had just transpired, that hope rushed back to life. From that dream, I had felt a young woman in need. She was out there, almost in Angelo’s grasp. “Angelo… the dream.”

“I know. I know. Get me those tickets, please.”

Flying privately had a whole different set of rules. “What about our guns?”

“We will have to buy more.”

“Angelo, let’s drive. That way no tickets to follow.”

He paused, then started nodding. “We could have her and be gone before the brothers know what’s happening. Besides,” he eyed the fake IDs, “all those are connected to Giordanos. We have to ditch every trace.” He pointed to my laptop. “Find us a car to buy. Cash.”

On the burner phone, Angelo made a call, pretending to be a businessman who was looking for an elite, secluded rental home in Idaho. He explained he wished for cash-only rentals and would pay ‘handsomely’ for ‘discretion’. A large bonus for the realtor if she made it happen. And, if the owner of the home agreed, Angelo would pay a large deposit that he would not request to be returned as a thank you.

A very excited-to-make-money realtor found us several homes she thought the owners would be happy to oblige, only hours from where we hoped to find Scarlett.

Standing next to Angelo, we examined the rental pics sent to us. I picked one.

Angelo complained, “The most extravagant one?”

It was a stunning home perched on the side of a mountain. The views were unreal, and the kitchen would make my mother think she had died and gone to Heaven. I was drooling to cook in there. “I’m simply trying to help you play the part of a wealthy man.”

He smiled. “You’re lying. Your tastes are far too rich.”

“On someone else’s budget? Guilty. Book it.”

He kept smiling, but told me, “I’m scared.”

There were so many reasons to feel that way. Over half of our lives had been focused on this one moment—finding Scarlett. We never planned on the ‘after’ of this moment. Angelo and I never had the opportunity to live our own lives and may never get the chance. We were about to face sinister people who, if tipped off to who we actually were, would undoubtedly try to kill us. If they succeeded, what would happen to the innocent woman caught up in this madness?

Would all the years leading up to this moment have been for nothing?

Would Angelo’s father’s death have been in vain because we boys failed in this final chance?

Was this the end at all? Or, if we succeeded, would we have to hide Scarlett for years?

Would my best friend and I die trying to save his mother’s soul?

I pulled Angelo into a tight embrace. He held tight, too, as I told him, “I dreamt of you, falling.” His arms tightened. “But then you had black wings that seemed to shine in the darkness.”

Angelo slowly leaned back to see me, shock owning his expression. “Razors.”