2

Salt Lake City, Utah

OLIVIA EMERGED FROM Harding’s company jet into a blowing sleet that lashed her cheeks like icy blades. She winced, hurrying down the stairs and across the tarmac toward an open hangar’s golden glow. She hugged her supersized brown leather purse, her only luggage.

It was seven p.m., but her exhaustion and the overcast sky made it feel more like midnight.

“Wait up!” Harding was close on her heels. During the last of their short run, he’d pressed his hand to the small of her back. She appreciated his protective gesture more than he’d ever know.

During their flight, while he’d made supply lists and contingency plans for primary plans, and assigned tasks to each of the teammates she’d come to know and love during their brief time together, she’d struggled not to panic. For her own sanity, she had to remain calm and trust Harding to do what he did best—right horrific wrongs by whatever means necessary.

They finally reached the hangar’s blessed warmth.

Harding closed the door behind them.

“You’re here.” Jasper King, one of Harding’s team members who worked out of their Denver office looked up from a conference table tucked into an alcove at the structure’s far end. “Just got Shirley and Dude’s financials from Briggs. Nothing remarkable, but their credit card usage laid out a nice breadcrumb trail.” He held out his arms to Olivia, welcoming her into a hug, which she gladly accepted. “How’re you holding up? Eden wanted to come, but at the last minute our sitter bailed.”

“That was sweet of her. I’m fine. Sort of.” She faintly smiled. “I’m sure we’ll find my grandparents lost in a canyon, living off granola bars and Ensure.”

Jasper laughed and then made a face. “Let’s hope they’ve at least got good flavors of each.”

Jasper led her to a chrome and black leather chair at the head of a black lacquer table. The alcove looked straight out of a high-rise corporate office, complete with a black leather sofa, pricey-looking oil landscapes and a buffet loaded with an assortment of beverages and snacks.

“Hungry? Thirsty?” Jasper asked.

“No, thank you.” She settled into her chair. “Let’s just talk about this financial trail you found.”

Harding took a Snickers before joining her and Jasper at the table.

“The bulk of their finances look unremarkable. Retirement accounts, pensions, savings. No major changes in anything until three weeks ago when they landed at Salt Lake International Airport and rented an SUV. From the airport, they stocked up on supplies at everywhere from REI to Wal-Mart, then headed southeast on US HWY 6. According to their MasterCard, they checked into the Super 7 in Green Fork then had dinner at Ollie’s Truck Stop. Now, the curious thing about that is that they paid two hundred and seventy-three dollars and fifty cents for their meal.”

Harding whistled.

“At a truck stop?” Olivia frowned. “Could they have met other people? Paid the whole bill?”

“That was my initial thought. Although, according to the website, the place does sell souvenirs. Shirley and Dude also could have stocked up on T-shirts.”

“I suppose,” Olivia said.

“Only way to know for sure,” Harding said, “is to get down there. Show their photos. Also, we’ll see if they’re able to pull up a detailed copy of their bill.”

“Good idea,” Olivia said. “What did my grandparents do next?”

“In the morning, they drove southwest to a speck on the map, called Goblin.”

“What?” Olivia and Harding asked in unison.

“I kid you not,” Jasper said. “It’s close to Goblin Valley State Park, renowned for its freaky landscape. They stayed two nights at Rex’s Motor Inn, ate fairly regularly at Spook’s Diner, topped off their gas at Norm’s Convenient Mart, and spent a couple hundred bucks at Dollar General, presumably for more supplies. That’s the last time any of their cards were used. Since Harding relayed they were on some kind of treasure hunt, I assume from there they went into the backcountry, but this place is remote. Like seriously vast. Like you’d have to be crazy to…”

“We get it.” Harding’s tone was gruff.

“Ohmygod . . .” Olivia bowed her head, wringing her hands. “What are we going to do?”

“Not panic.” Harding rolled his chair back to stand, then plant himself behind her. With his hands bracing her shoulders, he said, “I promise, we’ll find them. But you have to stay calm, okay? Trust me that Jasper and the rest of the team know what we’re doing. We love Shirley and Dude as much as you and are determined to get them home.”

She leaned into his touch, closed her eyes and tried slowing her runaway pulse.

Her grandma hated being cold. It was why they’d moved from Michigan to Florida right after they’d married. Thinking of her now, possibly injured, exposed to the elements . . .

Olivia bit her inner lip hard enough to taste coppery blood.

“Relax,” Harding said. “We’ve got this.”

As if on cue, one of the hangar’s supersized garage-style doors hummed into action. The sudden cold air made Olivia shiver.

A driver steered a massive black SUV onto the gleaming white floor. After cutting the engine and opening the door, out hopped Sawyer Crow, another member of the team from Denver. She’d met him on a few occasions while she and Harding dated. He typically wore jeans, a white T-shirt and a battered straw cowboy hat. This night proved no exception to his clothing rule. Black cowboy boots matched his long black hair. A Native American, his skin was golden caramel-toned. “Heard y’all might need a ride.”

The smell of exhaust hung in the still air.

“Good to see you, man.” Harding crossed to him to shake his hand. “Thanks for the speedy delivery.”

Jasper gravitated toward his friends.

“No problem. I’m assuming my two speeding tickets will be welcomed on my expense account?”

“Absolutely.” Harding laughed.

Olivia wandered over. “Hey, Sawyer. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.” He gave her a sideways hug. “How have you been? Harding’s been an ass ever since you two cooled off.”

“Stow it,” Harding said.

“Sure, boss.” Sawyer held up his hands in surrender. “Anyway, wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

She sighed. “Me too.”

Sawyer handed keys to Harding. “I got this hottie from a local outfitting company that specializes in Canyon Country treks. She’s gassed up and good to go. There are two spare tires on top and extra fuel. I’ve got camping gear and food for a week.”

“You rock.”

“I know.” He grinned. “While you and Olivia scout out what went down in Green Fork, I’ll be working the hardcore treasure hunting angle. A quick search resulted in four urban myths for supposed treasures, but nothing as big as what Dude described. I found quite a bit on El Diablo’s Gold, but mostly touristy stuff. If there’s enough substance to the story to warrant his and Shirley’s home getting trashed, I’ll sniff it out.”

“You talked to him about it?” Harding asked.

“Briefly. We were working the grill during one of Shirley’s epic Sunday suppers when he brought it up. He told me he had a map but didn’t show it to me. He went on for a while bragging about how he was going to find millions in lost Incan treasure that had been hidden by monks. Or was it Franciscan friars? Either way, he had the only map and was not only going to be rich, but famous.”

Jasper snorted. “From experience, if I never saw another gold statue in my life, it would be too soon. Eden and I went through hell finding her father and his Nazi treasure. A lot of good people died. If you ask me, it wasn’t worth it.”

“Could we please not talk about good people dying?” Olivia asked.

“Agreed.” Harding asked her, “Ready to go?”

Swallowing back tears, she nodded.

“Thanks again, guys.” She hugged Jasper and Sawyer, then made a mad dash for the SUV before losing her composure.

All of this was beyond foreign. And for what? She fought a flash of fury with her grandpa for not only putting himself in danger, but her grandmother too. What had he been thinking?

She and Harding had left Jacksonville so fast that she hadn’t even had time to pack clothes. On the way to the airport, she’d called the hospital where she worked, arranging for indefinite leave.

How ironic was it that the sole reason she’d broken her beautiful relationship with Harding was because of his constant knack for finding trouble, yet this reunion had been brought about by her own brush with danger. What did that mean?

Or was it just fate’s idea of a cruel joke?