Treasured Dreams (37 page)

Hiro's eyes snapped open and he blinked at her. ‘What do you mean?'

‘There was a tuna boat called the Ranga Spirit that was sunk by a bouncing bomb in 1945,' Alessandro said. ‘It's possible Kimoda Yukimura was on the ship when it sunk.'

‘He died.' Hiro's lips thinned. ‘I always thought he'd abandoned me. Left me here alone.'

‘Why would he have done that?' Alessandro asked.

He shook his head. ‘That's what I could never understand. We were planning to use the money to buy a farm after the war. But he never returned. He'd beaten death so many times, I didn't even consider that he could have died.'

Alessandro recalled how Kimoda had been the sole survivor of three sinking ships. It wouldn't be hard to consider him invincible. This time, when a tear spilled out of the old man's eye he wiped it away.

‘I'm sorry,' Ginger said.

He shook his head. ‘I don't deserve your apology. We stole things. Punishment was inevitable.'

By the look of him, Hiro had been punishing himself for half a century.

‘So you never left this island?' Alessandro said.

Hiro shook his head. ‘Kimoda told me to wait until he returned for me. It was a long time before I accepted he was never coming back.'

‘What did you steal, Hiro?' Jimmy was as gentle as a starving ox.

Hiro twirled his moustache and let out a long, slow breath. ‘All the small items. Diamonds. Jewels. Some antiques. The skulls.'

‘Couldn't fit the gold bullion in the plane, hey?' Jimmy huffed.

Hiro's hairless eyebrows shot up. ‘Is that how you figured it out?'

‘It's a long story, and we only have time to hear your end of it.' Jimmy's lack of humility was embarrassing.

Hiro nodded, as if accepting his fate. ‘We never anticipated my plane being shot down. When I crashed into the ocean, I was lucky to survive. This was the island I swam to.'

‘What did you do then?' Ginger said.

‘I assumed I would die if I stayed on the island. So I took a gamble and one night, when the moon was full, I swam to the mainland. Swam for hours and hours with the rumble of fighter planes overhead, and fear of sharks attacking me from below.'

Alessandro recalled the trips they'd made in the boat yesterday. It would've taken hours to swim that distance. ‘Kimoda couldn't believe it when he saw me. He'd seen my plane shot down. He thought I was dead.'

‘So how did you get the treasure?'

‘We deserted our post.' His already guilt-ridden features crumbled even more. ‘And one night we stole a small boat and returned to this island.'

‘But how did you get the treasure out of the plane?' Jimmy said.

His good eye lit up. ‘It was fortunate that I crashed in shallow water.'

Ginger's eyes bulged. ‘You swam down to it?'

‘Of course. It took weeks to bring all the items up from the plane. Because this was the closest island, we hid it here.'

Alessandro adjusted his position on the floor. ‘But wasn't the war still going on?'

‘Yes, all around us. Every time we canoed out before sunrise and after sunset, we expected to die. But we had nothing else to live for.'

‘What about family?' Ginger asked.

‘Our parents. Grandparents. Sister.' Hiro shook his head and commenced rocking again. ‘They all died during the war.'

‘Oh, I'm so sorry,' Ginger said.

‘So you got it here to the island, then what?' Jimmy demanded.

Hiro glanced ahead, his eyes still as he seemed to travel back in time. ‘I stayed here while Kimoda made all the arrangements. It required a few trips back and forward. He'd organised a fishing boat to take us to Honiara. From there, he had made additional plans that would take us back to Japan. But he never returned, and I've been waiting with the skulls ever since.'

Alessandro frowned. ‘You have the skulls! Where?'

Hiro extended a long bony finger and pointed to an ammunition box in the corner with a pair of battered shoes resting on the top.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

‘So you go through life killing people and getting away with it.' Filippo sat cross-legged on his bed, eating a bowl of pasta. ‘When does it end, Nox?'

Nox had never thought about that. Was there an end? ‘When people stop betraying me,' he said finally.

‘How many people have you killed?'

Nox shrugged. ‘I've never tallied it up.'

‘Are there many more on your list?'

He nodded.

Filippo put his bowl aside, sat his elbows on his knees and cupped his chin. ‘Who?'

Nox contemplated not saying it, but couldn't resist seeing Filippo's reaction. ‘Archer.'

Filippo wiggled his head from side to side, and seemed completely at ease with his answer.

‘And Rosalina,' Nox said, stone-faced.

Filippo nodded. ‘I thought as much. She did spear you, after all.'

‘True.'

Filippo's phone rang in Nox's pocket, and he lifted it out. ‘Speak of the devil.'

He pressed the green button. ‘We were just talking about you,' he said into the phone.

As per every other call, she insisted he put Filippo on. He handed the phone over and watched as Filippo spoke to the sister Nox had just declared he was going to kill. If ever there was a chance for his plan to go awry, this was it.

‘Hey Rosa.' Filippo played the battered little brother too well. ‘Fantastic. When? … So you think you'll find more?' Filippo actually winked at Nox.

Nox cocked his head. They were looking for more. Excellent news.

‘I'm okay. No, it's fine. I'll just be glad to get out of here.'

It suddenly occurred to Nox that Filippo could actually kill someone. He seemed ruthless enough. He certainly took the news that Nox planned to kill his sister with a cold indifference.

Nox contemplated how he would do it. He'd wait until he had his hands on the treasure first. It would happen at the exchange. Once he had the diamonds secured. Was that when Filippo planned to attack, too? He listened to Filippo fake agony in his voice and wondered what else the Italian was faking.

Filippo hung up the phone and smiled at Nox. ‘They're diving again tonight to see if there are any more diamonds.'

‘How much more?'

‘They don't know.'

Nox ran his tongue over the gap in his teeth and assessed if Filippo was telling the truth. He decided he wasn't. There was a whole lot more treasure heading back to Italy and those gems were only the tip of the haul. ‘What do you plan to do with your share of the diamonds?'

Filippo's eyes darted to him and Nox was certain he saw loathing in them. ‘I'm going to get the hell away from Tuscany. Maybe Australia.'

Australia was an interesting choice. Archer was from Australia. Maybe he and Archer were more friendly than Filippo was implying. ‘How will you change the diamonds to cash?'

Filippo shrugged. ‘No idea. How're you doing it?'

Nox had no idea either. ‘I have someone ready for the exchange.' He lied.

‘Well.' Filippo spread his hands. ‘Maybe we could exchange them all together and then split it. Get a bulk discount.' Filippo laughed, but Nox had no idea what he was laughing at.

Chapter Forty

Archer pointed out the tender in the distance that was now heading back towards them, and Rosalina let out a sigh of relief. Ginger and the men had been gone a long time—hopefully their lengthy delay meant some kind of success. The instant Archer saw Alessandro's beaming grin, he knew something significant had happened.

‘We found them,' Alessandro yelled across the water.

‘Who did they find?' Rosalina said to Archer.

‘We're about to find out.'

Jimmy grinned like a crazy man as he angled the boat in to come up alongside
Evangeline
. ‘You won't believe your eyes.'

Archer secured the tender, and Jimmy and Alessandro handed up a battered wooden ammunition box.

‘What is it?' Rosalina asked.

‘Open it,' Alessandro said.

Archer flicked the metal clasps and lifted the lid. Both he and Rosalina gasped. Inside, nestled within a bed of yellow straw, were two skulls. The bone was stained brown and little spider cracks all over the cranium made them look brittle. They weren't complete, as each were missing the lower jaw, however a couple of dirty cracked teeth still jutted out from the upper jaw at odd angles. These didn't look like any skulls he'd seen pictures of. The brow bones were very prominent and the eye sockets were large and out of proportion with the rest of the skull. Archer looked at Alessandro. ‘Are these—'

‘The Peking Man skulls.' Alessandro nodded. ‘I think so.'

‘Jesus. I wasn't expecting you to return with anything, let alone this.'

As they headed towards the saloon with the precious cargo held by Jimmy, the three of them told Hiro's story. It was fascinating stuff, more akin to fiction that fact.

‘So he didn't even know his brother had died,' Rosalina said. ‘That's sad.'

‘Yeah. For years he expected Kimoda to return.'

‘Hell of a story.' Archer tried to ignore Alessandro's ridiculous grin. ‘What did he say when you told him you found the diamonds?'

Jimmy clapped him on the back. ‘We didn't.'

Archer laughed. If it was Kimoda who'd hidden the diamonds in tuna cans, then there was a good chance there was more than just diamonds to be found in the Captain cabin. He turned to Jimmy. ‘I guess we've got our work cut out for us tonight then if we're looking for more than just tuna cans.'

‘Ginger and I can help,' Rosalina said.

‘No.' Archer snapped his eyes to her then caught himself. ‘It's too dangerous.'

Rosalina puffed out her chest. ‘We'll be fine. Won't we, Ginger?'

‘Sure will. I've done heaps of wreck dives.'

‘Not like this you haven't.' He had no intention of continuing this discussion here.

***

Later that afternoon before they prepared to dive the Ranga Spirit again, Archer managed to catch Rosalina in the bedroom. He made her sit with him in the easy chair, and it was obvious by the rigidness in her back she was ready for a fight.

‘You know what I want to talk about.'

‘I'm doing these dives, Archer.'

‘No, you're not.' He kept his voice calm, avoiding an argument at all cost. ‘Now hear me out.'

‘There's nothing to talk about. I may not be pregnant, and until we know for sure I'm not changing my life.'

‘But what if you are pregnant? Are you willing to risk your life, our baby's life? Remember what happened to your mother.'

‘Don't you bring that up.' She aimed a finger at him. ‘Every day of my life I think of my mother dying during childbirth. That's why I never wanted children.'

Archer jolted. ‘What do you mean?'

‘I don't want kids, and I always thought you were the same. Now look what's happened.'

He scowled. ‘Why do you think I don't want children?'

‘Because you're a businessman. You're willing to put your life on the line to chase some stupid treasure. That's not father material.'

He glared at her. ‘My dad was the best father in the world.'

‘Yes, and he was eaten by a shark chasing gold. It ruined your life.'

‘It doesn't mean he wasn't a great dad.'

She stood up, and with her fists at her side she stomped the length of the room. When she turned, her eyes were a dark, stormy sea. The fear in them scared him.

‘What is it, Rosa? You're scared. I see it in your eyes.'

She dashed a tear from her cheek and he strode to her, wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to his chest. It was a long time before her rigid body eased. ‘I'm scared of childbirth.'

It tore him to sheds at how vehemently she said it. As much as she was scared, he was angry that she'd never shared this before. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Archer had squirrelled away his tormented secrets for years too. Both of them still had so much to learn about each other. ‘Honey.' He ran his hand over her hair. ‘Medicine has improved dramatically since then.'

‘I'm even more scared of bringing a child into the world and then leaving them to fend for themselves when one or both of us dies.'

‘Oh, baby. Nothing's going to happen.'

‘It happened to both our parents.'

He pulled back from her, cupped her chin and drew her troubled eyes to his. ‘We're both going to grow old and fat together. We're going to have kids and lots of grandkids and maybe even great-grandkids and we're all going to see the world.'

Her chin dimpled. ‘I'm not going to get fat.'

He chuckled and squeezed her to his chest. ‘Okay, you're not going to get fat.' He smoothed her hair then bent down to kiss her, tasting the salty tears on her lips. She kissed him back. Her breath quickened as she clutched at his neck, drawing him down to her. She stunned him with her impassioned force. With his hands on Rosalina's bottom, he lifted her onto his hips. She wrapped her long legs around him, and as he carried her to bed she planted kisses along his neck, over his ear.

He was blind to everything but Rosalina's savage urge to have him. She clawed at her clothing, tearing it off. He was weak to her demands, falling for the velvet huskiness in her voice, guided by her needy hands. Naked in an instant, he was on her, filling her with his manhood as she climaxed around him, squeezing her molten insides around him like a fist.

It was over in minutes, and yet he felt like he'd run a marathon. Their breathing was erratic as he rolled to her side. He raised his eyebrows at his seductive fiancée who had him dizzy with love.

She tugged her lip, and judging by the cheekiness in her eyes, she was trying not to laugh.

‘Okay, madam, what was that about?'