Treasured Secrets (32 page)

‘Get him up now or I'll push him overboard for the sharks.' His grin was more menacing than the hollow barrel of the gun.

Ginger untied Rosalina and they helped Alessandro to his feet. He was heavy with unsteady steps and his full weight was difficult on the stairs. Rosalina was sickened by the amount of blood spilling onto the polished wooden deck.

At the top of the stairs the priest moved behind them, and immediately the barrel of the gun was a hard lump in the small of Rosalina's back. She smelt him now. That putrid odour should've been carried away with the gentle ocean breezes, but instead it hung heavily in the air. Bile rose to her throat.

It was only a handful of steps to the first sun lounge, but each one came with a heavy sacrifice to Alessandro. At the lounge, the two women struggled to lower him as gently as possible. He fell back and when Ginger lifted his feet up his howl was one of pure agony.

‘I'm here, Alex.' Ginger shoved the other lounge out of the way and knelt at his side. Her white-knuckled fingers entwined with his.

Rosalina controlled her urge to charge at the priest. He stood back from the furniture and she estimated it would take at least six large steps to get to him and she was fast. But a bullet was faster. She glared at him. ‘What now?'

‘We wait.'

Rosalina glanced at her watch. In about ten minutes, Archer and Jimmy would resurface and walk straight into a trap. Sweat trickled down her temple as her mind raced for a way to warn Archer. But there was nothing. Seconds whizzed by; minutes flew. She was running out of time. She had to do something.
But what?
Alessandro groaned and she glanced over at him. A small pool of blood had formed beneath the sun lounge. He needed help. And fast. ‘He needs a doctor.'

The priest grinned and she remembered being too close to those horrid teeth once before. ‘He can wait.' He waved the gun at her. ‘Sit.'

As she sat on the edge of another sun lounge, Ginger looked at her with pleading eyes, but the situation was hopeless. She looked around for a solution. The doorway behind Ginger caught her eye and she summarised in her mind what was in that compartment. Fishing rods, water skiing equipment, dive gear, spear-fishing gear.
Yes!
A glimmer of hope clicked into focus. But without a way to get in there, the hope crumbled away before it even began to crystallise.

‘Can I at least get the first-aid kit?' Determined to help Alessandro, she rose without waiting for an answer.

‘No. Stay where you are!' The gun wavered in his hand.

This is insane.
‘He needs help, for God's sake. What kind of a priest are you?'

He cocked his head to the side. ‘I am the divine Nox.'

Rosalina sat back down and looked up at a crazy man. ‘You're a freak.'

‘I have searched for this treasure my whole life. Nothing will stop me. It is my destiny.'

‘You're still a freak.'

‘Shut up.' He was on her in an instant and whipped the gun across her temple.

The assault was so fast she didn't have time to react. The blow knocked her off her chair and stars flashed across her eyes as she fell to the floor. Rosalina blinked, trying to shake the fog from her brain. But then she realised this was her opportunity. She closed her eyes again and didn't move, determined to convince Nox she'd passed out.

‘Jesus, what did you do?' Ginger raced to Rosalina's side. Her hand was gentle on her shoulder. Rosalina knew Ginger was blocking her view to Nox and she risked opening her eyes to quickly wink. Ginger caught it and her eyes widened slightly, then she shook Rosalina's shoulder. ‘Rosa…wake up, Rosa.'

‘Now it's just you and me,' Nox said.

‘What do you want?' Fear quivered Gingers words.

‘I want it all.'

Rosalina heard a chair being dragged.

‘Now, stand here.'

‘Please don't hurt them,' Ginger pleaded.

‘Oh, I won't hurt them. Yet.'

Rosalina understood what this meant. He needed Archer and Jimmy to keep diving. How else did he plan to get his hands on the treasure? She moved ever so slowly to get a look at her watch. Forty-seven minutes had passed. The boys would be here any moment. Seconds later her fears were realised.

‘Woo hoo!' Jimmy's voice was full of excitement, but it drove a dagger of despair into Rosalina's heart.

‘Jesus, man, there's so much down there. It's like plunderin' Aladdin's cave.'

‘I told you, mate,' Archer said.

Rosalina swallowed back bile as she waited for the perfect moment. Nox had moved out of her line of sight and she had no idea where he was. The coward wouldn't hesitate to place Ginger between the gun and the boys. That was how he'd get them to continue diving.

‘Hey, where is everyone?' Archer called out.

‘Keep your mouth shut,' Nox whispered, obviously talking to Ginger.

Rosalina held her breath as she risked a glance over her shoulder. As she'd assumed, Nox had the gun wedged into Ginger's back. His eyes were trained below, probably on the step at the top of the dive deck. Both of them had their backs to her. With a breath trapped in her throat and maintaining the same body position, she inched towards the cupboard. Her mind was on the edge of hysteria as she risked being shot or, worse, Ginger being shot because of her. But she had to do it. Everyone was counting on her.

She heard a heavy clunk and assumed one of the boys had removed his tank.

‘I thought everyone would be…holy shit.' It was Jimmy. ‘Is that blood?'

Footsteps pounded across the dive deck. Then she heard them race up the stairs.

‘That's far enough.' Nox's calm voice was out of place with the horrific scene presented.

‘Rosalina!' Archer's voice was shrill. From the top of the stairs, all Archer would be able to see of her was the lower half of her body. The rest was hidden behind Alessandro's sun lounge.

‘Stop! Or I'll shoot her.'

Rosalina wanted to show Archer she was all right, but couldn't risk Nox seeing it. She held her breath and waited. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. The cupboard was just a metre away. Surely Nox would be distracted with three people to watch, two of them angry enough to kill him with their bare hands. She made a decision. Millimetre by millimetre, teeth clenched, body frozen in position, she clawed her way towards the cupboard.

‘Alex! Did you shoot him? You son of a bitch!' Jimmy growled. ‘I'm going to kill you.'

‘I'll put a bullet through her brain if you take even one step.'

Alessandro groaned and Rosalina couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

‘Let her go!' Archer demanded.

‘That treasure is mine.'

‘You can have it. Just let them all go.' Archer's voice was calm, but Rosalina pictured the anger drilling into his face.

‘Not until I have it all.'

‘It's all there.'

Rosalina's heart raced. Would Nox fall for Archer's lie? Or had he heard Jimmy say how much was down there? The cupboard was hidden behind Alessandro's chair. She could make a run for it. But would he shoot Ginger? Rosalina realised she was holding her breath and slowly let it out, then took another.

‘I know there's more. Much more. And I'm not leaving until you get it all. Now show me what you have!'

Rosalina heard heavy footfalls as one of the men went down the steps and across the dive deck. Then there was a tinkling sound as someone picked up what she assumed was a net bag. She heard returning footsteps, followed by a loud clattering noise as the treasures spilled onto the deck. She was confident all eyes would be watching the treasures and she used the opportunity to raise her hand and wave, but she had no way of knowing if the boys saw it.

‘Back away. Let me see.' Nox's voice was less calm now.

‘Ow! Let go of me.' Ginger squealed and Rosalina tried not to visualize what he did to her. Instead, she made the snap decision to make a move. She wriggled several inches towards the cupboard then flopped back down, ensuring she was in the same position as she had been when she fell.

‘How many pieces?'

‘You count ‘em, dickhead.' Jimmy's anger was a living, breathing thing.

Ginger gasped and Rosalina cringed at the thought of what Nox did to make her do that.

‘Spread them out so I can see what's there.'

‘There's more on the lower deck,' Archer said.

‘You, go get them.
You,
spread these out.'

As she heard footsteps retreating, Rosalina crawled another inch. For the first time ever, she hated how big this sun deck was. Half a metre to go. But now she had a new dilemma. To move any further would put her completely behind Alessandro's sun lounge and make it obvious she was moving. She had to wait for the perfect moment. Braced like a cobra set to attack, she readied to jump up. In her mind she went over the cupboard interior. She knew exactly where everything was. She inhaled a long shaky breath. And waited. Each second that passed was another second Alessandro didn't have. It wasn't right that no one was with him, holding his hand, reassuring him he was going to be okay.
Damn it, if I'm not going to do something…

They were all so quiet she had no idea what was going on. Did she risk looking over her shoulder? No. She had to focus, wait for the right moment, and when it came she had to commit fully, no matter what the outcome. She heard Nox now. He seemed to be picking up pieces of treasure and murmuring something unintelligible before he put each piece back down. Archer was taking a long time on the lower deck and Rosalina's heart raced as she wondered what he was doing. Her stomach was a mess of tense springs.

‘You all right, love?' Jimmy said.

‘Yes, but Alex…he's been stabbed…he needs a doctor.' Ginger's voice was shrill.

‘You stabbed him,' Jimmy said. ‘You fucking bastard.'

‘No, I didn't. Now shut up or I'll shoot you.'

‘No, you won't.' Jimmy was full of defiance.

There was a pause. ‘Why won't I?'

‘You need me to dive.'

‘I don't need all of you.'

There was a long pause as Rosalina realised what Nox meant. If he had been watching them, then he knew everyone bar Alessandro could scuba dive. He didn't need all of them. They were in grave danger.

‘Where is he? Get over here.'

Ginger shrieked. ‘That hurts, you shithead.'

‘ARCHER!' Nox yelled like a man possessed, no longer the calm villain. He was now a madman.

A loud crash shattered the silence and Rosalina sprang into action. A gunshot exploded, but she didn't falter. It was crazy! Bullets exploded. Ginger screamed. Furniture crashed. But she blocked out the noise and lunged at the door. Her hands shook so much, she struggled to unhook the spear gun. It tumbled off the rail and she grabbed a spear from the rack. She rolled out of the cupboard with the contraption and ducked under the cover of Alessandro's chair as she loaded the spear into the gun. Trembling fingers made it almost impossible to draw the rubber trigger back. She clenched her jaw and pulled with all her might. It snapped into position and only then did she look up.

Jimmy was on the floor, holding his stomach, his feet splayed out before him. The blood had drained from his face and his hands were covered in red. Golden trinkets of all shapes and sizes were spread out at his feet. Ginger was on her knees, sobbing with her hands over her face. Nox stood over them, the gun lowered at his side, his chest heaving.

Rosalina aimed the spear gun at him. ‘Drop the gun.'

Nox's head snapped to her, his eyes locking in. Then he grinned and slowly drew up his weapon. Archer suddenly appeared at her left, his dive knife drawn defensively.

Rosalina was a good shot with the spear gun, but in this situation, with trembling fingers and the people she loved within range, she didn't want to risk it. But it all happened so fast. Nox turned the gun towards Archer. She allowed her anger to drive her and without any further hesitation, she pulled the trigger. The spear released and with a flash of steel the missile crossed the distance in less than a second.

The gun fired as the spear drove into Nox's body. Nox stumbled backwards, tripped over Jimmy's feet and fell overboard into the ocean below.

The emergency helicopter took an agonising ninety minutes to arrive and Rosalina felt completely and utterly useless with each passing second. Alessandro and Jimmy had remarkably similar injuries. Jimmy had been shot in almost the same place Alessandro had been stabbed. Their wounds were horrific and scary and Rosalina grew more petrified with each drop of blood that spilled onto the polished wooden deck.

While they waited, they discussed what they'd tell the police. It hadn't been hard to decide. The police should know everything, except the details of the treasure. Information in the media about the treasure would result in all sorts of competition and Archer was determined to keep it a secret for as long as possible. Jimmy backed up the plan with all the gusto he could muster.

By the time they were finished with the police, the priest would be portrayed as a crazy stalker. Jimmy was lucid when the helicopter landed on
Evangeline's
helipad and both Rosalina and Archer had to beat the stubbornness out of him when he wouldn't lie down on the stretcher.

Rosalina inhaled a huge sigh of relief when Alessandro and Jimmy were finally in the hands of the paramedics. The helicopter could only accommodate one other person, and she was pleased Ginger pleaded for the coveted place. Rosalina wanted to stay with Archer. She shielded her eyes against the setting sun as the helicopter flew towards the horizon. Archer held her to his chest, and she drew on his steady beating heart as reassurance.

Rosalina helped Archer secure the precious treasure already discovered, and within half an hour of the helicopter leaving, the water police arrived. Together Rosalina and Archer detailed the assault, relaying as much information they could about Nox. The attack had been so swift, Rosalina barely remembered anything about the second man, let alone the boat they had arrived on.