Like him.
He shows me the address of the next location, and once I’ve memorized it, he burns it in the fire crackling between us.
“What is the quality I have to show?”
“Betrayal.”
I frown, not liking the sound of this. “Betrayal to who?”
“Your husband.”
My heart thumps to a stop. “My father wanted me to get married just so I could betray him?”
He nods. “He wanted you to prove to yourself that even if you loved a man, you don’t need him. That his love isn’t enough.”
I stand up as my blood boils. I’m beyond pissed. I want to go to my father’s grave and pull him back to life just so I can kill him all over again. Everything I just went through was for nothing. I married Langston for nothing.
“What exactly do I have to do to betray him?”
“The only way that matters to Langston.”
“Which is?”
“Be claimed by another man. Make Langston believe you’re no longer his.”
“How will you know if I betray him or not?”
“Trust me, we’ll know.”
“And if I choose not to betray him?”
“Then, you won’t get the next clue, and you’ll never find the treasure.”
And my son will never be safe from greedy hunters.
I look down to the ground, knowing if there is a heaven and hell, my dad is most definitely in hell for what he’s putting me through. You couldn’t be a father for the first twenty-plus years of my life, and now that you’re dead, you decide to teach me some lessons?
I look at Diego, defeated. “What do I do now?” What if I love him?
“You betray him. You get the treasure. You protect your child. That’s what you do.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears fall anyway. I don’t know why Langston hates me. I don’t know why he wants to kill me. But after I betray him—he’s never going to forgive me.
20
Langston
I’ve worn down every inch of the dirt floor with my pacing in this one-room house while I wait for Liesel to return. Fear flood
s my head with horrible images of what could be happening to her.
Is she in pain? Is she suffering, and I’m not helping her? I could never forgive myself if so.
Finally, light streams into the house as the back door opens, and Liesel steps back into the room alone.
I run to her and wrap her possessively into my open arms. She doesn’t speak. I assume she’s going to act tough and try to pull away; instead, she sinks into my chest, letting me hold her as tight as I want.
I slow my breathing, trying to slow hers. Hers stays quick for several minutes before finally meeting my steady breath. Only then do I speak.