Page 18 of Bryson's Treasure

“You were captured?” Lynn asked with worry in her voice.

“Yes,” Azadeh added from the back seat. “But I helped get him out of the cell.”

Bryson smiled back at the young girl. “Azadeh saved my life over in Afghanistan, not once but three times.”

“Wow, Azadeh, you’re an amazing young woman, and now I understand why Bryson wanted you to come to the US with him. I know it’s only been a week, but did you get her papers?”

“President Tucker fast-tracked her citizenship.” He would be in debt to the man for the rest of his life. “Everything is in order, but I worry because her name is out there. Her uncle won’t be happy I took her.”

“Uncle is bad,” Azadeh chimed in from the back seat. “Oh, look. Noah has a kitten.”

Bryson parked next to the barn, where his brother stood with a little kitten bundled in his arms. Azadeh loved playing with the cats out in the barn, and each day, she checked to see if the momma cat had given birth to her litter.

She tore out of the truck when it came to a stop and rushed toward Bryson’s brother as fast as her legs would go.

“Do you want to go see the kitties?” Bryson asked Lynn.

“Yes, I’d love to.” Lynn reached over and rested her hand on his forearm for a second. When her fingers touched him, awareness went through his body, and he shifted in his seat. “I’m glad Azadeh helped bring you home safely, and I don’t want to put you or your family in danger.”

“Let’s take it one day at a time.” He knew he should pull away from her touch, but it was hard. Instead he clasped her hand in his. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

“Okay…” Lynn’s tongue ran across her lips quickly. “But at the first sign of danger for your family, I’m gone.”

“Let’s not worry about what we don’t know yet. I’ll see if Noah will watch Azadeh for a little bit, and I can take you around on the ATV.”

“Okay.” She smiled up at him.

He pulled his hands from hers and immediately missed her touch. Instead of reaching back for her hand, he cleared his throat. “Wait for a second. I’ll get the door.”

He jumped out of the truck and ran around the side before she had time to respond. Bryson opened the door and helped her climb down. They walked over to the barn in silence. His brother knelt on the ground with Azadeh next to him, a small black cat in her arms.

“Did you guys pick a name yet?”

“Yes, Ghost.”

Bryson’s throat tightened for a second. “Are you sure?”

Azadeh nodded and hugged the kitten closer to her body. “Yes, I take care of him, like you took care of me.”

Lynn’s eyes moved between him and Azadeh. He knew she didn’t understand what was going on. “Azadeh is naming her kitty after me.” When she gave him a puzzled look, he added, “My call sign was Ghost.”

“So was his nickname growing up.” Noah snickered.

Bryson ignored his brother’s comment. Lynn didn’t need to hear the story about his childhood nickname, even though both of his brothers loved to tell it. “I’m going to show Lynn to her room and around the property. When we’re done, we both need computers so we can look into her husband.”

“Husband?” Noah asked.

“I thought we were divorced, but long story short, we aren’t,” Lynn grumbled.

“We’ll watch Azadeh.” Noah looked back at the house for a second. “Matilda and I will take Lynn’s things in. Go have fun, and take her out by the mines. The snow shouldn’t be too deep out there. Les was working in the mine this morning.”

Bryson placed his hand on Lynn’s back and directed her toward the ATV. He got on first, and she climbed on behind him, wrapping her hands around his waist. He realized too late that it might not be the best idea to have her wrapped around him. His body went on full alert when he felt her press against him. It took everything in him to hold back a groan.

For the next hour, they traveled around the countryside. He took her over to the gold mine to show her what the company Noah had hired was doing. He watched as she traced her fingers over the faint gold in the walls. His older brother’s fiancée would be rich for years with the amount of gold in the mine. On the way out, he waved at the guard on duty and told him to keep an eye out for anything that looked out of the ordinary.

When he noticed Lynn shiver, he knew it was time to head back to the house. They climbed back on the ATV and barreled through the snow. Lynn giggled as white powder flew up around them. He’d had so much fun over the last hour, showing her around. It was easy to forget she was married.

He felt her hands tighten around his waist as they pulled back up to the barn and parked. Three men stood talking to Noah. Two he knew: Hank Patterson and Collin. The third man he didn’t know personally, but Bryson recognized him and had a feeling that was why Lynn looked so grim.

“You don’t have to talk to him.”

“I know, but it’s time I figure out why he didn’t divorce me. It might explain why someone is trying to kill me.”

Bryson put his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t reach out and grab Lynn’s. They were going to talk to her husband.

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