Page 19 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)

Paper Beats Lock

Zane

I want to rush across the room and rip the envelope from Sam’s hand. “What is it?”

“It better be six plane tickets back to Miami or I’m gonna track Hawk down and tell him exactly what an asshole his dad is,” Calvin says.

Sam cracks open the seal of the envelope and peers into it without revealing the contents. His eyebrows shoot up.

“What is it?” Dante storms across the room. And I expect him to rip the envelope from Sam’s hand, but he doesn’t. “Show us. Holloway could be back any second.”

Sam holds up a fistful of cash. It’s mostly American money, but there are some pounds and probably what’s local currency mixed in. “There’s a note too. It says, ‘Esmeralda, these are good people. Do what you can, and I will owe you one, whatever you want.’”

Dante lets out a laugh. “I wonder if what Esmeralda wants is the Rosewood ’s captain?”

“Well, I don’t care what she wants as long as she helps us,” I say.

“Here, Haley, you hold the money. Z seems to have some pretty strong rules about what his guards can and cannot do to women. It’ll be safest with you.”

“It better be, or I’ll tear them to shreds.” Calvin moves from where he’s been standing next to the door. “How much is there, Haley?”

We watch her count it in silence for a few moments.

“That’s great and all, but what use is money if we can’t get by Z’s guards? And more importantly, Ed’s guards?” I crouch next to Haley, and she stops counting.

“Maybe Esmeralda holds our get out of jail free card.” Easton gathers up the medical kit from the table.

“You played Monopoly?” My voice rises. Easton gives me the look. It’s his I’m-thinking-about-Emily look. “Sorry.”

“No worries. We did use real money, though.” He smiles.

“Shut up, Rockwell,” Calvin says, staring back out the window next to the door.

Easton cocks his head at me. “Susan won a house in the Hamptons from my dad when I was on Christmas break my freshman year.”

“Fucking―”

“―rich people,” Easton finishes for me. There’s a moment of laughter. A moment where we’re just us back on the island.

“How much, Sassy?”

“Excluding some of the Asian currencies I don’t know the exchange rate for, it’s about 3000 USD.” Haley shoves it inside her bra.

“Well, we’ve got cash and a note. It’s the start of a plan,” Sam says as he stands. There’s a twitch in the corner of his eye. He’s in pain, but he’s trying not to show it as he paces along the windows.

Haley hasn’t moved from the chair next to where Easton stitched Sam back together.

Dante’s wiped down the counter around the hot plate with some rags they’ve boiled.

I’m resisting the urge to mop the floor.

Instead, I sit in Sam’s chair and hold Haley’s hand.

“You all right, Little Bird? Forget that. None of us are okay. But we will be. We’ve got cash and an IOU. ”

She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me. “Thank you, Zane.” She squeezes me tightly. There’s a squeak, and Haley jumps in my arms. Her chair clatters to the ground.

Holloway’s frame fills the dark doorway. “Let’s move out.” He waits for all of us to exit the building before locking the door behind us. “Keep quiet and move quickly.” He stares at Sam, who returns the decisive nod.

Holloway leads us up the path a hundred yards or so, and we end up walking alongside a more modern building.

He’s not a good tour guide, but from the looks of the building, it’s what replaced the building we’ve been sitting in for the last few hours.

A lit crisscross path through the manicured jungle eventually runs up to the side of the mansion.

He holds open the hearty-looking wooden door until we’re all through.

It’s clear that this isn’t the main entrance of the mansion.

But it’s also not the staff entrance; the trail we were on continues upward to a utilitarian door, forty feet up the path.

“Turn to the left when you get in and wait for me.”

I’m the third one in behind Calvin and Haley.

The corridor smells like incense or jasmine, a relief from the stench we’ve been sitting in.

And it’s a lot cooler. The walls are dark, polished wood, and the floor shines.

You can tell there’s money here. Even though there’s no impressive art on the walls, the architecture itself is enough to stand out.

This is exactly the sort of place that, if we weren’t running for our lives, I would like to explore.

Once everyone’s in, Holloway takes the lead and we’re down the hall and up half a flight of stairs, down another corridor, then left.

I catch a few glimpses into some rooms. They’re all inspired by Thailand, not like so many rich people who want their mansions to look like a London flat.

It makes me mad that I’m having positive thoughts about the Zed family at all.

Holloway leads us down a long, narrow dark corridor.

The walls, ceiling, and floor are all the same polished dark wood.

Identical doors pepper the corridor every twenty feet.

He stops at the end of the hallway and opens a door on the interior side of the building.

“Stay here until I come get you. I’ll see if I can find some food.

And no noise, nothing at all. Try not to breathe if you can.

” He pulls the door tightly shut behind him. The handle rattles.

Calvin tries the handle, but it doesn’t turn. “Locked.”

“Had to try,” I agree.

Haley finds the light switch, and a hanging brass lantern illuminates orange velvet cushions scattered around the middle of the room.

On the far wall, there’s a single long shelf with leatherbound books.

The right-hand wall has a small horizontal window at shoulder height, and across from it there is one sleek modern recliner. It could be worse.

Haley pulls a few cushions together. “Here, Sam, you take the chair.”

“I’m good. I don’t want to put any pressure on the new stitches.”

“I could hold your legs up,” Haley says with a laugh in her voice.

“Thank you.” Sam kisses the top of her head. “But I’ll stand for now. You take the chair.”

Calvin and Dante are right at the corners of the room, running their hands along the wall, looking for cameras.

Easton’s at the bookcase. “Did you catch what Holloway said?”

“Zambrano,” Haley says, pushing up onto her elbows on the cushions.

“That’s what Zed must stand for.” I sink onto the floor next to her.

Easton’s got his back to us, flipping through some books. “It feels like I should know that name, for some reason.” He turns, holding the book open in his hand. He looks like a preacher the Sunday after a rock festival.

“There’s a Zambrano’s Pizza in my old neighborhood.” Sam takes a book and flips through it.

“It’s not that uncommon of a name. But Rocky knows Thayer’s dad. So maybe you heard it from him.” Haley’s rubbing her calf again. She should never have been in that chest for so long.

“I don’t think there’s any surveillance in this room,” Calvin says after a good few minutes of searching.

“Zambrano’s Pizza? Bet the crust was limp.” Dante drops on the cushion on the other side of Haley.

“It was hit or miss,” Sam says.

“That tracks.” I take over, rubbing Haley’s calf. Because just when I think Z’s a decent guy, he shits on us again.

The door eases open. “Remember, I said no talking.” Holloway places a tray in the middle of the floor. There’s a loaf of bread and a half dozen water bottles. Sam stops his pacing behind Holloway, the book behind his back.

“Bread and water,” Dante says with a cock to his head.

“That’s all I could get quickly. The kitchen is super busy. Listen, I don’t like this any more than you do. I don’t want to have to shoot you, so don’t make me. Esmeralda would kill me after she got the bloodstains out of the floor.”

“I’d like to meet her,” Sam says.

“No, you don’t.” Holloway shuts the door.

Sam’s leaning against the wall next to the door. “Who wants to do the recon?”

“Recon?” Easton asks.

“I’ll stay here with Haley. Calvin, I don’t think you should go. I know you can walk softly but . . .” Sam twists the handle. There’s a muffled noise, and the door opens.

“Don’t be mad at me Haley, but I’ve defaced a book.” Sam holds open the book with a ripped corner missing. “I pushed some paper into the lock keeping it from latching all the way.”

“Zane and I are going. The rest of you stay here,” Calvin says.

“He’s right. They’re both quiet when they walk, and Calvin’s good at combat. I’m faster, but I’m not going to blend well here. I have certain other assets. Go.” Haley touches my leg and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I’m going too,” Easton says.

I look at Calvin and back at Rockwell’s clown feet. They might have helped him win some gold medals, but the bloody things echo.

“I can be quiet.”

Calvin shrugs and cocks his head to the door.

“I’m leaving the paper in the lock so you can get back in,” Sam says, then silently pulls the door shut behind us.

The Viking takes the lead. I’m next, and Easton takes the rear. There’s a trickle of sweat running down my neck, even though a breeze blows through the corridor.

“Silent but like we belong,” Calvin whispers.

Which might work as long as we don’t run into any of the security team from the Rosewood .

He takes us back to the beginning of the hallway and turns away from the door.

Ten feet in, we have a choice to make―down a flight of stairs, through a door to the right, or up the stairs.

The current of air shifts, and the scent of food rises from the floor below.

No one has said what or who this Esmeralda is, but if she’s the house manager, she’s bound to be around the kitchen.

“Down.” I point.

Calvin shakes his head and points up. But then there are footsteps coming up the stairs and Easton opens the door and yanks us both through it with him.