“Because my son’s life is at stake. You can’t understand what it means,” Eddie shot back.
“I can certainly understand what it means to love someone.” He wasn’t letting him off easily. Eddie had plenty of time when he could have given David a heads-up. “You didn’t even tell me you had a kid.”
“I didn’t know I wanted one until I met him.” Eddie moved into the library.
Luis had two men with him, both with guns, of course. “The lady is a friend of a friend, and that was how I found out about the connection.”
“How do you know she’s not in on this?” David asked Eddie.
“Does it matter?” Eddie said with a shrug. “He’s still my son. There was a test, and I believe it. Even if she’s in on it, he’s still my boy, and I want him. She might not kill him, but she could disappear with him. I can’t risk it.”
But he could risk David’s life, and more importantly, Tessa’s. “Did they plan to pick me up at the airport?”
“That was a rival group,” Luis answered. “Someone in my organization has been talking, but I’ll handle it.”
“You do understand this is one of the stupidest plans in the history of…do I dare call it organized crime?” He was flabbergasted at the entire idea that they expected him to find a treasure that had eluded everyone else who’d looked for it. And in the matter of a few days. “We don’t even know if the treasure exists.”
“It better or you’re going to be in trouble, Professor.” Luis’s eyes had narrowed. “I need that money. I owe some people, and the time is coming when I can’t make payments anymore. I can give them the treasure or I can give them you. The men I’m dealing with won’t treat you with the same respect.”
He couldn’t tell there was any respect at all. “I meant what I said about Tessa. If she’s hurt in any way, I won’t do a damn thing for you. It doesn’t matter what you do to me. You don’t touch her.”
“That’s a lot to risk for a woman who doesn’t care for you,” Luis replied.
He didn’t think she’d meant all of what she’d said. Oh, he could absolutely see her walking away, but she did care about him. That was precisely why she would walk. If she didn’t feel something for him, she would likely offer him a D/s relationship that would be all about sex and kept to their respective clubs. And he would take it on the off chance she might change her mind about him.
Because he was mad crazy in love with her.
“I need a map of the grounds.” He wasn’t discussing his love life with his kidnapper. And it was also good to know that more than one group wanted to kidnap him. At least it was all for his own skills and not his family connections. That was a plus. Of course his skills would mean nothing if he couldn’t translate them into some kind of crazy treasure that probably didn’t exist.
“I think we should go into the jungle,” Luis insisted.
And waste the time he had? He wasn’t about to be farther from Tessa than he already was. There was also the fact that he didn’t think the treasure was out in the jungle. “We’ve gone over this. If there’s twenty million dollars out there, it’s in a big fucking box, man. Even if it was cash, the container would have to be large and insulated to protect what’s inside. The jungle is wet and muddy, and after a couple of years there would be erosion around it. That would make it easier to find. Am I making sense to you?”
“I agree with David.” Eddie wouldn’t actually look at him. “There’s no way my father hauled a large box into the jungle in the last year of his life.”
David didn’t want to think about it. “Then it’s somewhere here on the grounds, and I need a map of them. I would also like any blueprints of planning materials you can find for the house and the grounds. There’s a guesthouse as well.”
Luis got in his space. “I’m not your errand boy.”
“Good, then you’ll give me the freedom to go where I need and get the items I need without interference.” He wasn’t about to back down. All he could think about was Tessa and the fact that she needed him.
He could practically feel Luis’s rage, but the man took a step back. “I’ll find them for you. But know that you’re on thin ice with me. Vos vigilás.”
He stalked away, and they were left with the henchmen.
“I don’t think those two speak English if you want to talk,” Eddie said under his breath. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you are, but this isn’t some prank that went wrong.” Eddie was always sorry about something. “This is our lives and Tessa’s, and I’m not even sure there is a treasure to be found.”
David walked over to the big table where yesterday he’d made the decision not to pursue some elusive treasure. If he’d listened to Tessa, they wouldn’t be in this situation, and she had to be thinking that, too. Could she ever forgive him?
“When he was dying, my dad told me he left something for me.” Eddie glanced at their captors. “He said he’d finally figured out what was important, and he hoped I did, too. I thought it was some political ideal. God knows I’d gotten enough of those lectures over the years. I’m worried we’re going to find a book or some bullshit.”
A new book by Montez would be a true treasure, but only to a historian or political theorist. “How well do you know the grounds?”
Eddie sighed. “You think he hid something here? It’s a big place. I know the main house pretty well.”
By pretty well, David assumed he meant Eddie knew the common areas and likely nothing at all about the parts of the estate the servants spent time in. The truth of the matter was David hadn’t spent much time out of the library, dining area, or the bedroom he’d shared with Tessa. He hadn’t gotten a real feel for the place because his head had been stuck in a book. “You don’t know if there’s a safe anywhere?”
“Sure. There’s a safe in the master suite, but I’ve certainly looked through that. There’s a gun safe in the garage, but there’s only guns and ammo in it, and I scarcely think we’ll be able to get to it.” Eddie frowned. “I also don’t actually know that code since I’ve never had to fight off a wild animal here.”
“You’ll know better next time.” If they survived. “Have you ever heard anyone talk about hiding places? Were there other kids around when you were younger?”
“I wasn’t that friendly unless they were pretty girls,” Eddie admitted. “You know I’m an asshole. Trust me. I’m feeling every minute of it. Maybe if I hadn’t been such an ass, Camila wouldn’t have had to talk to her friends about us. She could have been with me, and I could have taken care of her.”
He couldn’t think about what Eddie should have done. He had to figure a way out of this.
What was Tessa going through? God, not knowing was an actual ache in his gut.
Was there any way to get a message out to his stepfather? He hoped Eddie was right and their captors wouldn’t understand what he was about to ask. He picked up a notebook and opened it, his eyes staring as he lowered his voice. “Are the phone lines really down?”