Seeking Dangerous Treasure

Chapter 13

Hayden had taped up his truck window so they could drive home.

"I don't like taking you home, Kels. Maybe you should stay somewhere else."

"Maybe, but then how are we going to stop these attacks? We have to find out what this guy wants."

"So, what, you can offer it to him? He's not going to let you live if this is about treasure."

"Either way, he won't let me live. But if I have what he wants, at least I have some leverage. At least you can nab him."

Though in her experience things hardly ever worked out that way. She'd left her job because she would have been framed to look like a dirty cop. The person who could have told the whole truth had been killed, so there was only her word against Martin's. She had in fact told someone in internal affairs but had been warned to leave until IA sorted it out, because she would be in danger if she stayed. The thought made her nauseous. That Martin had been involved, even sicker.

She'd tried to push it from her mind, but the current events reminded her that she'd resolved to never trust another person again, well, since Ivy died. She'd trusted her grandmother, but a man in her life? Could she ever fully trust someone with her heart after Martin's betrayal?

But Hayden—he was different. She knew that to her core. Or at least she wanted to believe he was trustworthy. Honorable.

"What if my grandfather hid some sort of treasure, and he created that map, and he died before he'd told Ivy? What if he died before he'd been able to tell the person who needed to know?"

"A treasure map certainly would explain the digging out in the woods." Hayden chuckled.

"Really. You can laugh at a time like this?"

"No. I shouldn't. I'm sorry. I think that you and I should dig for the treasure ourselves. We've been looking for something, and we found maps. It's reasonable to believe this person behind your attacks was also looking for a treasure map, unless we're completely off the mark. But let's go with it until we see that it takes us somewhere or nowhere. We have the map now, so we don't need to hand it over. We just need to dig. Let's look closely at it, and we can figure out where he hid whatever he considers a treasure."

"Something he didn't share with Ivy." And that made her heartsick too.

"While we're digging, I'd like to bring my own brand of security. My dog, Thor."

"Thor?" Kelsey made sure her tone sounded incredulous. "You've got to be kidding."

"No. He's a German shepherd, a retired military K9. I adopted him. But he'll do for watching over us while we're out in those woods."

Despite the current life-and-death predicament, Kelsey smiled inside. This guy was melting away her resolve. He was dangerous to her heart.