Chapter 30
“The gold, you stupid bitch,” her brother roared. “Where is the gold?”
Issa stared at her brother dumbfounded. “How the hell would I know?”
“Because the last time I saw you, you were stealing all the gold. They were old gold coins. They were rolled up in leather pouches. And he was taking them away one at a time.” His voice increased in volume. “On your goddamn orders.” And, as if a cork had been held in for way too long, then blew its top, he spilled words that seemed to have no end.
She could only stand in shock and horror as his vitriol rolled over her.
“Everything was you. Everything was you and that damn bird. Father was to buy a falcon for me. I’m the one who wanted to go into falconry. But, oh no, no, no. Somehow you and that stupid thing bonded. It became all about you. I never got anything I wanted. It was bad enough that he had his perfect two sons and the third one was just not old enough to be of any real value but was too young to be treated like anything other than a boy. I was still doing a man’s job. But you were just a girl, and you got the incredibly expensive Hadrid. And he should’ve been mine.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t have anything to do with the girls coming over. But I knew all about the gold. I knew all about the valuable cargo. And I was going to make sure I got some for myself. Da promised me that, if I wanted an education, I could have one. But he had also promised me a falcon. And we saw how well that worked out.” His wrath and poisonous tone filled the room.
She shoved her hands in her pockets. “So you blamed a child because a bird preferred her?” she asked in disbelief. “If you knew anything about falconry, then you would know that the bird chose me. I didn’t choose the bird.” She settled into a wider stance and glared at her brother. “What kind of a life did I have? I spent all my time on a cliff, in the dark, alone. And I mean, alone. Nobody was there to work with me. Nobody was there to help me. To make me feel not so terrified. My life was nothing compared to yours. You at least got to go out—anytime, anywhere. You got an education. You got to go to school. I never did.” She snorted. “I was necessary as a lookout.”
“Bullshit,” he roared. “You were never alone. You were mother’s favorite.”
She studied him, and, in a soft voice, she said, “You don’t know, do you?”
He frowned, anger still riding him. He glared at her. “Don’t know what?”
“Mother was never with me. She was always in the house, screwing Angus.”
Gasps of shock rolled through the room. She tilted her head and nodded. “And it never came out at his trial because Mother never stood up for him. She never confessed what she’d done. You know he doesn’t even know if I’m his child or Dad’s?” she said in a conversational tone. She shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter much now. But she never once spent time on the hillside with me. How do you think I fell in the crevice in the first place?”
He settled back and looked at her with disgust. “What?”
She nodded. “That’s right. And even that night when everything blew up, I had been sick. I had a fever and a runny nose. I shouldn’t have been out on the cliff side in that stormy weather. I should’ve been in a warm bed. I actually came back to the house to ask Mother to take my place, so I could be inside because I was cold. I couldn’t get warm that night. I came to the house only to find her in bed with Angus. I shouldn’t have been at the house at all, but I didn’t go back out on the crags, so I hid before they saw me. Except Mother did. Angus didn’t though. And then there were shouts and gunshots down below. Mother and Angus both bolted up, got dressed and raced down to the cliffs. Mother went down a different way after Angus, leaving me behind, but I went down too, much slower. Again, I was alone. You were always with the family. I was never with Mother. She had Angus.”
He shook his head. “How dare you say those things about our mother?”
“I say those things because they are true.”
Liam struggled with the truth. She understood how he felt.
“Every time you and Dad were out and Mother was alone, Angus was there.” She shook her head. “You’ve held an ideological view of your mother. And I held an ideological view of my father. Because I already knew what my mother was. I loved her anyway,” she said clearly. “Love is like that. You love them despite their faults, not just for the good things.”
“Get to the part about the bloody falcon,” somebody roared. “Where’s the gold we were promised?”
Issa turned to study them. “How is it you were all promised gold?”
“We’re all part of it,” Barney said, walking over from the bar. He handed her a second cup of coffee. “This one’s on me as long as you don’t throw it at anybody.”
She accepted it. “That’s if nobody else here deserves it. And when you say, you are all part of it, what does that mean?”
“Your da paid us all a little bit all the time. It helped put food on our tables, and we all knew there was a big score coming. We were all anticipating a much larger piece of the pie.”
“And so, for twenty years, that hatred inside you festered, while you dreamed of something that never existed? Did you get a payoff from the girls? According to Angus, they weren’t there when he regained consciousness. Did that make it worthwhile to kidnap me, beating, torturing me over four long weeks?”
Several of the men stepped back, and one said, “Look, we didn’t have anything to do with that.”
She studied them. “As long as you are associated with my brother, you are part of it. The same as you were part of the smuggling ring my father ran. You don’t get to pick and choose the pieces you want. And then you say that nothing happened, but there were murders. Because my father and my two brothers were killed. And my brother here has murdered many more.”
Liam snorted. “I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Ordering your men to murder is the same as having done the deed yourself. That you found it easier to keep your hands clean by ordering your henchmen to do it does not make your hands clean,” she said, her voice harsh. “Not being in the same room where your men sliced my ankles and the soles of my feet, kicked me day after day after day, in my ribs and my kidneys, not to mention burning my breasts with lit cigarettes, does not make your hands clean.”
“I was trying to bring the stressors back into your life so you would bring the damn bird back. With the added advantage, if you knew anything of the gold and jewels, you’d give up the information under torture,” he said candidly.
She studied him for a long moment. “You thought I had Hadrid with me? And that, through your torturing, I would be forced to connect with him? And then what? You would have tied him down on a perch and interrogated a falcon? Did you think he had something to do with the gold?” She stared at him in disbelief. “That was twenty years ago. I never saw Hadrid after that day. He was like another part of me. I lost all three of my brothers, supposedly, my father, Angus, and Hadrid all at the same time. What I was left with was a mother who hated the sight of me. Oh, she came around a decade or so later, but I was a reminder of all she’d lost. And, while we lived here, I was a reminder of all she couldn’t have. Angus wanted her to leave with him. But Dad was never one to let go of something that was his.”
Several men muttered in the background, “Aye, he was like that.”
“I assume one of you shot Hadrid?” she asked, her voice hard. But no one would answer or even look her in the eye. She turned her attention to her brother. She barely recognized this twisted vindictive man. He’d hated her so much … “Did you kill our father?” she asked Liam.
He shook his head. “I was trying hard to survive myself.”
“So then who is buried in my brother’s grave?”
His gaze fell to the floor. “Danny is.”
“And his family, did they know too?”
He nodded. “Danny was already dead. His folks took me in because I was still alive, and, if they couldn’t save their own son, they could save Da’s. They took me up north. They became my family as they nursed me back to health. But, at the same time, they wanted vengeance for their son’s death.”
“There isn’t any vengeance to be had,” she said. “I highly doubt anyone involved is left alive.”
Liam shook his head. “No, nobody was left alive. But I needed that gold. It was there. So I told them you would know, that you had watched and ordered the falcon to hide the coins. That, if we were careful and bided our time, you would be the one to order the bird to show us.”
She lifted her gaze to the old man behind Liam. He stared down at her brother. “And you?” she asked him. “Are you Danny’s father? Barney’s brother-in-law?”
He raised a tortured gaze to her and gave her a clipped nod. “I am. I’m Dylan.”
“So, to appease your son’s death, you help another in need, then you torture his innocent sister based on his twisted vengeance? That was okay by you? By your moral code? How is it you can look at yourself in the mirror?”
Danny’s father said, “I started out believing it was just and right. But I lost that belief a while ago. For what we did to you, I have no excuse. I would say I was blinded, and I did not know how to get off the path I had traveled.”
“And, if I were to approach Danny’s mother and tell her of all you have done—or Danny’s grandmother and tell her of all you have done—what do you think they would say?”
He closed his eyes in pain. “They would say it could not be true. That the man they knew would never have done something like this.”
Just then Liam interrupted. “Oh, isn’t this lovely. Dylan’s been killing for me for years. There’s no way out of this for him. Or for me. I need the gold. I can make a life for myself and have the surgery I need to walk again.”
“What kind of surgery will let you walk again?” she asked quietly. “And I don’t know what happened to the gold. I never saw any of it. Just like when you tortured me, I had no answers then, and I have none now. I doubt Hadrid is alive today. Even if he’d survived that night, he’d have died from old age.”
“He was happy with you,” Liam said bitterly. “He’d have done anything for you. You told him to hide the gold.”
“He did do everything for me. I’m pretty damn sure he gave his life for me. Do you think that being outside that house alone at night as a little girl was safe? Did you see my old scars when you had me tortured? The scar from the bullet I took a long time ago?” She felt Eagle’s shocked gaze. “I figure you must’ve done that. As you ordered Dylan to give me a matching one on the other side.” But she didn’t dare pull her gaze away from the snake in front of her.
*
Eagle noted the tension in the room was thick with angry murmurings. Outside a storm brewed to match the atmosphere brewing inside.
It was hard to tell if that communal anger was directed at Issa or her brother. So many lies, so much deceit had fallen on this small community.
She turned to look at him. “Is there enough?”
He took a moment to figure out what she meant, and then he knew.
She turned to the others who had spoken earlier. “How much do you think you were owed?”
One man finally spoke up. “Each two thousand.”
She looked thoughtful for a long moment, then turned to Hawk and Eagle and said, “Please hand it out.”
Eagle sat for a long moment, his arms crossed as he studied her. “You sure?”
She nodded. “My family always pays their debts. My dad wouldn’t have wanted the villagers to suffer. I’ll pay what was owed them, and, when I walk away from here, the five of us are free and clear.”
Eagle shrugged. He wasn’t sure how this would go down, but he knew exactly how much money was in his bag. He wasn’t sure how many men she intended on paying though. He glanced at the window, not surprised to see the sky darkening with birds. Was that her doing? And was she creating the storm gathering out there too?
She turned to the first man who’d spoken up about the payment. “Line up all the men who are owed. Not one extra. My dad pays his debts even from the grave.”
Of the twenty men in the room, seventeen lined up. The last two were the men who’d been guarding Panther and Tiger.
Eagle studied both of his friends’ faces, catching the grins and the wicked glint in their eyes. And he realized neither were seriously hurt. They’d probably given as good as they got. He brought out two handfuls of cash, bundled in one thousand amounts, and handed them to her. Then he brought out four more handfuls.
When everyone but the last two men had been given their money, Issa asked, “Were you the ones who hurt Tiger and Panther?” One still bore the hot coffee stains on his shirt.
The men exchanged glances, then looked at the money in Eagle’s hands. One shrugged. “So what if we were?”
“My dad paid his debts. But he always gave a good beating when it was needed. But he never gave a beating when it wasn’t. I’m in no position to give you what you deserve. But you will forfeit half of the money you are owed.”
Both men started to protest. She took the money from Hawk, split it in half and gave each man half of that. Then she took two more bundles, walked over to Panther and Tiger and said, “I’m sorry. This does not in any way make up for what was done to you. But, on behalf of my dad, it would shame him from his grave to not offer you compensation.”
Knowing the men would argue, she placed the money in front of them on the table and turned back to the other two who had beaten her friends. “If you ever lay a hand on any of us again, I will let them kill you.”
The two men puffed up with a bluster. She waved her hand and said, “Stop. Any of these four men could cut you down in an instant. Even without guns. They are soldiers who fought for their country, for our country, and for anyone else who needed them. That you would treat them as you did is disgusting. That you did it on behalf of my twisted brother for his ill-gotten gains in his vengeful mind is beyond that. My dad would turn over in his grave if he had any idea.”
She waved them over to the chairs in the far corner. “Now return what you took from Panther and Tiger, and go sit in the corner where you belong.” The two men glared at her. She fisted her hands on her hips and said, “Now.”
Both men handed over guns and a cell phone, then went to the far corner, and she turned to Barney. “Where is your son?”
One man stood. “That’s me.” His tone softened when he asked, “How are you doing, Issa?”
Her first natural smile broke free. She walked over and gave him a hug.
“I didn’t even recognize you, Arian,” she said in surprise. She held out her hand to Eagle and said, “Give me a full packet please.” Without question he gave it to her. She handed it to her friend. “This is for you. Thank you for hiding mom’s box in our old hiding place for me as she requested you to do.”
His face lit up. “I had forgotten all about placing that treasure box in there.”
“You did it though, didn’t you?” She smiled. “Thank you.”
She turned to face Barney who stared at his son and then at her, mystified.
She said, “In spite of everything that happened, when I was a child, your son and I were friends. And for that I’m forever grateful.”
She turned to her brother. “I know nothing of any gold. I know nothing of what happened to it. But that you have killed and maimed in the name of the family to recover smuggled goods, all because you considered someone stealing from you as an injustice, is beyond me. You’re the one who shot me, when I was just a child, because of your own hatred, your need to be the best, to act older, whatever it was that your twisted mind wanted to believe. You’re nothing but a cold-blooded killer and a sad excuse of a human being.”
Complete silence fell in the room once again.
Eagle watched in awe. Every man in that room was on her side now. And there wasn’t one man who wasn’t ashamed of his own behavior. Not the least of whom was Dylan.
She raised her eyes to Dylan and said, “It will be very hard for me to find any forgiveness in my heart for what you allowed those men to do to me. And the torture done by your own hand. I’m sorry that your son’s life was cut short. But what happened that night was not my fault. It was not my other brothers’ fault. Sometimes life is just a bitch. I can only surmise that the men who brought the girls heard the initial gunshots, turned their boat around, shot everyone involved with the smuggling, and took off with the casks. We hope the authorities can still follow the trails now and get to the bottom of this. Regardless if we know or not—we have to accept it and move on. Your method of moving on is unacceptable. To me and to everyone else in this room. And, if I were to find the gold, I would turn it into the police—as I did this morning with the jewels stolen that same night. Or did you not know about the four magnificent jeweled necklaces my mother hid for me all those years ago?”
Her brother roared in anger.
“Shut up,” she snapped. “You’re nothing but a heartless thief. A low-class murdering dog. I will have nothing more to do with you.” She motioned to Eagle and Hawk, and then to Tiger and Panther, before turning and walking toward the front door.
Eagle and Hawk looked at her and then at the men gathered here. They all stared at her brother.
“Don’t you turn your back on me,” Liam roared in frustrated anger. “Get back here, you bitch.”
Issa turned to face him. “I don’t take orders from you. Or have to take your abuse.” She turned to Hawk and Eagle. “It’s stuffy in here.”
They looked at her, confused. Until Eagle walked over to the closest window and opened it. A bird flew in. Someone laughed. Issa opened the door behind her as Hawk quickly walked to the closest windows and opened them too.
The first bird was followed by dozens. Soaring, swooping, causing panic as everyone screamed, roared, and ducked.
Issa let out a sharp whistle; then commanded the birds to stop.
Instantly they all rose to the ceiling and sat on the rafters above, where the birds eyed the audience below.
“It is Issa!” someone in the back yelled. “Only she commands the birds.”
Murmurs came from all around.
Liam glared at her. “I don’t give a damn about your parlor tricks.”
And he lifted a gun.
Eagle froze. Shit.
She lifted her gaze, seeing Panther and Tiger slowly creeping closer to Liam. With a hand up to stop them, she took a step toward her brother. And shook her head. “No, you cannot kill me.”
His grin was a horrible thing to see.
He raised the gun higher. Eagle pulled his own out, seeing Tiger and Panther following his lead.
Several of the other men pushed back to line the walls. “Who’ll stop me?” Liam sneered. “Not you. Your watchdogs? They might kill me, but they won’t stop me from killing you first.”
Eagle didn’t dare take his eyes off the bastard. He’d be happy to shoot him right now.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Issa’s smile. What was she up to now?
He watched.
The room went silent.
Just as Liam started to move a finger, … the birds attacked.
Not just one or two but dozens filled the air. Eagle couldn’t see Liam to shoot. But neither could Liam see Issa to shoot her.
He could hear Liam roar, then suddenly, as if under a silent command, the birds rose once again, and a large hawk of some kind carried Liam’s handgun in his talons.
Eagle’s jaw dropped. He caught the same dumbfounded look on everyone else’s face.
Except Issa. She grinned. Then chuckled. Seconds later she laughed uproariously. “Oh, Liam, if only you could see your face.”
Spitting in fury, over the edge by her laughing at him, Liam yelled at Dylan, “Go get that bitch. It’s time for her to learn a lesson.”
But Dylan didn’t move. He turned to stare at Issa’s defiant form, and he said, “No. She’s the daughter I wish I could have had but never did. If I’d but stayed with my wife, I might’ve been blessed yet again. But instead, I turned to a path of poison and let you guide me into a world I would never have gone to alone.”
Liam sneered. “It’s a fine time for you to be having second thoughts.”
Dylan nodded. “That is so true. I am just as responsible for what you became as I am for what I became.” His voice thickened. “I loved you like a son.”
Eagle watched Dylan grab Liam’s head, and, with a sharp snap, he broke Liam’s neck. Eagle heard Issa at the doorway. He turned to watch, only to see her racing forward, her gaze on her brother. She stopped about ten feet away and bowed her head.
“It’s not the end I would’ve chosen,” she said in pain, “but it’s probably the best way forward.”
Dylan stared down at the man in front of him. “He did shoot you. I saw him. I just didn’t want to believe it was on purpose. He also tried to shoot Hadrid. I believe he succeeded. The bird went down with the gold satchel in its claws. We looked that night but never again. I don’t know how much gold may have been dropped. I don’t know how much there ever was.”
“Not much,” she said wearily. “The real bounty was the girls.”
Dylan shook his head. “Liam never told me about that.”
“Of course not. Why would he? That knowledge would’ve made you understand why my dad died the way he did.”
Dylan nodded. “It’s a sad life and a sad way to finish. I wish it could’ve been so much better.” The sound of sirens racing toward them filled the air. Dylan looked out a window and nodded. “It’s time.” He pulled a small handgun from his back pocket.
She took a step away from him.
He raised his gaze to her and said, “No, Issa. You have nothing further to worry about from me.” He put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.