The end of this story never ceased to make me madder than hell and more determined than ever to find the treasure. It’s like I’ve been wanting to stick it to the people of Clary my whole life. Stick it to people like Stone Jacobs.
“Next time the son went into their cave, he was followed. A guy from town laid in wait, searched the caves while Wilder was mining. He found the treasure alright. He tried to take it out, right in front of my ancestor’s eyes. They got in a fight, and my great great whatever granddad was killed. The loudmouth thief left the body and the treasure there, but when he got back to Clary, he started spilling the beans. It got back to the patriarch of the Wilders that his son was dead. He was so fuming mad, he went into the center of town where a bunch of townspeople were mounting horses to get to the treasure, and he shot that thieving son of a bitch dead for what he’d done.” I gulp. “Unfortunately, he had a heart attack right there in the center of town. It destroyed my family.”
I clear my throat to stifle some of the emotion threatening to burst out. It’s a terrible story any way you look at it, but when you think that it’s your own history. The same genes that ran through them run through me, I can’t help but feel it more. “When word got back to the family that not only the dad was dead but his brother, too, the youngest son told his mom what they’d found. They vowed never to talk about it again. Most of the clues out there come from that thieving asshole’s mouth when he told the townspeople where it was located. That’s why it’s all jumbled up and convoluted.”
Creases cut into Wyatt’s forehead. “Then how come your family hasn’t found it yet?”
“The younger son never went back. He left family clues as to where it was, including telling the story I just did. Some say his family dying made him a little nuts, so his clues were more like riddles. They’ve been handed down for generations. But the thing is, the markers they said were there either haven’t been found yet or have been eroded by history. Every generation since has tried to find the treasure. My dad said it’s the Wilder’s loudest call and our greatest downfall.” He wasn’t kidding.
Lucas shakes his head, staring down at the packed, red-tinted earth beneath our feet. I look up, shielding my eyes from the sun as I survey where we are. I’d gotten lost in the story and hadn’t been paying attention for a while. I spot the tree in the distance and head that way. I often asked Dad if we should move the safe, but as you might expect, he didn’t trust a whole lot of people. Even a bank. My family has deep-seated trust issues that go back to that guy trying to steal what was ours. We’ve been distrusting ever since. I always imagined it got worse with every generation, which was why my father is the way he is. A paranoid recluse.
He was okay if the secret died between us. I asked him what would happen to the treasure if something happened and we were killed together. He told me it would stay in those caves where it belonged. In my dad’s mind, no one was bringing out that treasure but a Wilder. He was okay with our secrets lying to waste in the desert if something happened to our bloodline.
A curdling chill runs up my spine. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wondered if I’m the last Wilder alive. That’s a pressure I can’t even begin to describe. A lot of weight pressing down on these shoulders, that’s for sure. My father even made me promise I’d have kids someday. Insurance, he called it. Just in case we never found it that we gave another generation of Wilders a chance.
Thinking back on some of the things I’ve believed all my life, it sounds fucking crazy.
Either way, I’m in our acres of acres of land with a shovel in my hand, so obviously I don’t think it’s that crazy.
Before we get there, I peer around like my father used to do a thousand times as we approached the hiding spot. We live so far outside the city and we’re so far back from the road that I thought he was just being his paranoid self, but now that these secrets are mine to guard, I feel the same amount of pressure to keep them hidden. The coast looks clear. In this spot, you could see people coming from far away in all directions.
I head to the tree and lean the shovel against it, then I prop my hands on my hips and face the guys. “What’s in this safe has never been shown to anyone outside the Wilder family.”
“We’re here for you,” Lucas says.
I give him a small smile. “That’s cute, but I just want to say one thing. If you double-cross me, not only will I sue you for that huge amount Stone put in that contract, but I’ll also hunt you down and personally castrate all three of you with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on my face while I do it. I will enjoy it. I will do it slowly, painfully. I will—”
“Christ, am I supposed to be turned on at
