Treasured Dreams (22 page)

Rosalina nodded, not wanting to elaborate. ‘Hey, babe.' She squeezed Archer's hand. ‘Can you please give the men a reward for rescuing me?'

‘It's okay, Miss Rosalina. We had fun.'

‘It's only fair that I pay you for your time, fellas.' Archer clapped Marco on the shoulder as he strode past them.

‘Are you Australian?' Marco asked.

‘We sure are,' Jimmy responded, as Archer carried on walking. ‘What were you boys catching out there?'

‘Today we caught a beautiful octopus. Want to see? It's a good one, too. Should feed the family for a few days.'

Rosalina smiled. Sometimes she wished her life was as simple.

Archer returned with five hundred euro for each of them. The men were a babble of excitement as Archer indicated that Rosalina might need a rest after the night she'd had.

‘Bye Marco and Mario, thank you so much.' She blew each of them a kiss.

‘Thank you. We will never forget you.'

‘You our lucky charm, Miss Rosalina.'

Rosalina laughed as Archer directed them back towards their boat.

‘Would you like something to eat, Rosa?' Ginger offered.

‘No thanks. Have you heard from Filippo?'

‘Archer did, last night.' A dark shadow crossed Alessandro's eyes.

‘Is he okay?' Her heart squeezed as she recalled the yelling she'd heard when she dropped from that window.

Alessandro grimaced and she dreaded his answer. ‘Nox shot him, but he seemed okay. He was able to talk.'

She covered her mouth. Her chin quivered. ‘We have to find him.'

Archer returned, helped her to stand and pulled her in for a hug. ‘Are you okay?'

Rosalina nuzzled into his neck, squeezing him tight. ‘I'm fine. We need to save Filippo.'

Archer eased back and put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Do you know where Nox took you?'

‘It's a big old building on the cliff. It should be easy to find. It's time to call the police.'

Archer shook his head. ‘No. If we do that, Nox will kill Filippo. I'm certain of it.'

‘So what do we do?' Rosalina's heart was being torn out piece by piece.

‘We'll go get him. But we need to send him a message first, let him know we're coming so Nox keeps him in that building until we get a plan.'

‘How?' Rosalina frowned.

‘I'll try calling. Maybe I can convince Nox to let me talk to him.' Archer reached for his phone, and although he didn't expect Nox to answer, he scrolled down to the recent number. He held it to his ear and Rosalina raised onto her tiptoes, desperate to hear her brother's voice.

‘Nox.' Archer scowled into the phone, and his expression clouded over as he listened to the madman on the other end of the line.

‘I'm not doing anything until I talk to them.' Archer blinked several times, listening.

‘No! Put them on.' Archer clenched his jaw, squaring out his already chiselled jawline.

‘Filippo! Are you okay?'

Rosalina wanted to hear his voice but couldn't, so she watched for Archer's expressions.

‘Good. Can Nox hear me?'

Archer raised his eyebrows at her.

‘Okay. Listen, we know where you are. We're coming to get you.'

There was a long pause and Archer frowned. ‘Do you know where?'

‘Shit!'

Archer's dark eyes darkened even further as he shook his head. ‘But that will take weeks, Filippo. Months even.'

Archer lowered his eyes and the despair in them made her heart squeeze.

‘Okay. Okay. We'll do it. As long as you're sure. Put Nox on.'

‘If you hurt him again'—Archer's voice changed to deadly serious—‘I'll kill you.'

Nox must have ended the call because Archer lowered the phone from his ear. ‘We're too late. Nox moved him last night.'

Rosalina's chin quivered. ‘Where?' Tears pooled in her eyes.

‘Filippo doesn't know. Last night, Nox put him in the boot of the car and whacked him over the head with the gun. He woke up in a room without any windows.'

When Rosalina's tears tumbled down her cheeks, Archer pulled her to his chest. ‘What do we do now?' she said between sobs.

‘Filippo wants us to go after the treasure. He says Nox won't hurt him because he needs him for an exchange.'

‘What? That could take weeks.' Rosalina pulled back and looked up into Archer's eyes.

‘I know, and there's something else.' Archer frowned as he shook his head.

‘What?'

‘For some reason, Filippo still thinks Nox has you.'

Chapter Twenty-Five

Nox clicked off the phone, aware that Archer may be tracing the call. He stepped back from Filippo and viewed him from a short distance. He was a typical Italian man with thick dark hair and a permanent facial shadow. His heavy brows hooded eyes that shifted from fear to defiance in a split second. He was average height, slightly smaller than Nox, and his build said that the man did little or nothing in the way of physical labour. If he had to, Nox knew he could overpower Rosalina's brother easily. Pure determination was a mighty weapon.

Nox had killed with his bare hands before. He wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

‘Untie me!' Filippo tugged on the ropes that bound his hands above his head.

Nox shook his head. At this point he had no idea what to do with the man. Since they'd messed with the window bars, the room was no longer secure, so he had no choice but to keep him tied up.

‘I did what I said I'd do.' Filippo squared out his chin.

He certainly had, and it surprised Nox. Maybe he was telling the truth about hating his family. Nox could certainly relate to it; he'd hated his family for decades. ‘Are they going after the treasure?'

‘Archer said they were.' Filippo looked squarely into Nox's eyes.

Nox sneered back. ‘Why did you tell him I'd moved you?'

‘Because they said they knew where I was, and they were coming to get me.'

‘What? How did they figure it out?'

Filippo shrugged. ‘Don't know. Now untie me!' He spoke through gritted teeth. ‘We're in this together.'

It was an interesting partnership. For the moment, anyway. He'd do whatever was necessary to get his hands on the treasure, but he had no intention of sharing the riches with anyone. ‘That was clever thinking—telling him I moved you. Do you think he believed it?'

‘He's got no reason not to.'

Nox was impressed with what Filippo did. If he hadn't done that, Archer would have ruined his plans yet again. He was looking forward to the day when he squeezed the life out of that cocky Australian bastard.

Filippo's quick thinking had helped him. Nox couldn't remember a time when someone had been on his side. Maybe working with Filippo was a good plan after all. It certainly wouldn't hurt to find out what he knew about the treasure.

If they did form this unlikely duo then Filippo wouldn't realise that Nox had no intention of sharing the riches—until it was too late, of course.

‘I need to find another room to put you in. Once I've done that, I'll get you food.' Nox turned on his heel and as he walked over the threshold and closed the door behind him, he heard Filippo screaming.

‘Nox, you bastard. I helped you.'

Even though Filippo couldn't go anywhere, Nox still turned the latch to lock the door. He left the growling Filippo and walked along the corridor to explore other options. He hadn't had time to investigate the entire building since he'd arrived; everything had happened so quickly.

The dormitory was a large room centred along the ocean side of the building. From there, the corridor led him to the classroom. The door hung open, and the moment he stepped through the doorway he stepped back in time.

He'd learnt English here and math. He'd also learnt the sting of a ruler across the back of his knuckles and the humiliation of mental inadequacy. The desks and chairs were still here. Most of them were bunched up in a corner but some still faced the long blackboard, like they always had. A large potbelly stove stood off the wall, but the black pipe that fed the smoke outside had long ago corroded and fallen to the timber floor.

The blackboard still had writing on it.
16 January, 1983
was scrawled across the top. He remembered that day well. It was the day before his tenth birthday. Although he now knew that it wasn't likely to be his real birth date. Because he was abandoned, there was no record of his actual birth. For all he knew, he could be years younger than he stated. Or older. The sisters had declared the 17
^th
of January his birthday, and his tenth birthday was going to be celebrated. They'd said they'd have a little party with cupcakes and music. He would get presents like he'd seen other boys receive; stuffed toys and matchbox cars were the most common.

But the sisters had lied. The day before his birthday, they were evacuated from Provenzia as if it were about to crumble to the ground at any moment. As they were being rushed from the building to the buses with only the clothes on their backs, his questions about his party were answered with a slap across the cheek. Sister Teresa said there were much more important matters to attend to. Not for Nox though. At that time in his life nothing had been more important.

He never had his party. No cupcakes. No music. No toys. What he did get was another nickname—Party Killer.

Sister Teresa didn't remember inventing that nickname for him. But he'd reminded her. It took him fourteen years to exact that revenge and when he did, it was perfect. He'd caught her in her bedroom, half dressed for her own seventieth birthday party. The irony wasn't lost on him. Obviously she was surprised to see him, although she'd acted like she had no idea who he was. But as Nox wrapped his fingers around her throat, he'd said, ‘I'm the party killer … remember?' And when her eyes lit up, he had no doubt she remembered the little boy he once was.

Nox picked up a stick of chalk that rested on the ledge at the bottom of the blackboard. He reached up and rubbed out the number six. At first touch the stick snapped in half, but with the remaining piece he changed the date to 17 January, 1983, and then he wrote happy birthday.

The boards creaked beneath his feet as he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

Satisfied, he left the room and headed towards the pavilion. It was a hexagonal-shaped room where the grand windows overlooked a panoramic view of the ocean. The room was a mess, with rubbish and debris covering the entire floor. All the windows were broken and shattered glass mingled with wooden pieces, leaves and peeling paint.

A long bench seat lay beneath a couple of the windows and Nox remembered sitting on them as a boy to listen to the piano. He turned to where the piano used to be and couldn't believe it was still there, tucked in behind the door. He stepped over a rubbish pile and shoved a broken wicker chair aside to reach it. The chair to the piano was in its original position, but he daren't risk sitting on it. Nox pressed one of the white keys, and a high-pitched thrum released. He pressed another, then another. Each one radiated a different sound.

He poked at the keys, creating a random tune that echoed about the sparse room. It took him back to Ophelia and the lovely melodies she would hum as she tended to his wounds. She was an angel. His angel.

‘Ophelia.' Her name floated off his lips, and in that moment he realised he was crazy, stupid in love with her.

He jumped when the phone in his pocket buzzed. He jerked it out. It was Archer.

‘You better be on your way to the Solomon Islands,' Nox said.

‘We're leaving soon, but we're cruising there, not flying. So it will take longer than originally planned.'

Nox grew wary. ‘Why aren't you flying?'

‘Because once we get there we'd have to hire boats and diving gear, and we run the risk of people finding out what we're doing. Which is a huge security issue.'

His reasoning was plausible. ‘How long then?'

‘At least three weeks to get to the Solomons. After that, it's anyone's guess.'

He could accept that. Nox had been waiting a lifetime, so in the scheme of things, this was barely a bump in his grand plans. And after seeing how quick they were at finding the treasure in the Greek Islands, he was confident he wouldn't have to wait long.

‘Don't take too long, Archer, or—'

‘Or what, Nox? You'll kill
one
of them?'

Nox paused. The confidence in Archer's voice was alarming.

‘Rosa escaped, Nox. She's with me.'

The blood drained from Nox's face. He squeezed his fist until his fingernails bit into his flesh. How could that be? She should be dead.

‘What?'

‘Ahhh, you didn't think she survived that jump. Did you?' Archer was all cockiness. ‘So, here's how we're going to do this. I'll look for that treasure, but if anything happens to Filippo, you won't see one piece of it. Do you hear me?'

Nox couldn't think, let alone speak.
How the hell had she survived?

‘Nox!'

Nox lurched out of his blind fury. He needed damage control. ‘Her brother will remain alive, but the longer you take, the less healthy he will be.'

‘I mean it, Nox. Whenever we call, if we don't talk to him, the deal is off.' Archer hung up, and Nox slammed his fists onto the piano, producing a pained high-pitched wail.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Archer pressed a button and watched
Evangeline
's anchor chain climb up out of the water and disappear into the hole in the hull. Once the anchor was visible, he signalled Jimmy to cast the ropes, and he eased the throttle to release
Evangeline
from her mooring. It was nearly midnight and the moon was barely a sliver above the ocean as he navigated out of Marina Di San Vencenzo and directed her nose towards the flashing beacon in the distance.