Page 93 of Cryptic Curse
“Spill it,” Falcon says.
“Eagle came to me, and he was a mess.”
Falcon rolls his eyes.“So what else is new?”
Man, if Falcon only knew.The secrets I’ve kept from him over the last eight years.Secrets I’ve kept from everyone about my little brother.
Ourlittle brother.
“The other night at Mom and Dad’s house, after we all got back from seeing Dad and Mom, Eagle overheard Vinnie and Raven talking.”
He raises an eyebrow.“So he’s an eavesdropper now?”
I lift a hand.“Hear me out.”
Falcon nods.
“He heard the name Diego Vega.”
And again, Falcon with his eyebrows.“Diego Vega?”
“Yeah.Apparently Vinnie was telling Raven that Diego Vega had been killed in Colombia.That he was waiting for photographic confirmation.”
Falcon drops his jaw.“What the fuck?”
“Yeah.As you can imagine, Eagle’s ears perked up at that.”
He takes a slow sip of his bourbon.“Diego Vega’s dead.”
“He is.Supposedly buried under our barn.But of course, Diego Vega is not an uncommon name in Spanish-speaking countries.I figured there must be some kind of explanation as to what was going on.”
“True…”
“So Eagle and I decided to go to the barn.”
“To do what exactly?”
I take another drink.“What do you think?To exhume the fucking body, Fal.”
“Fuck.”Falcon pours himself another drink.“How’d that go?”
I bite my lip.“The good news is the drugs were all still there.”
“That’s thegoodnews?”
“Yeah.All those drugs, and Eagle always knew they were there.He could’ve gotten them anytime.”
“But Eagle’s been clean—” he stops abruptly.“What are you not telling me?”
I swallow as I recalibrate.I’m not thinking straight.“Yeah, Eagle’s been clean.”
Falcon cocks his head at me.“You know, of all my siblings, Hawk, you’ve always been the hardest to read.Because you’re the good son.The one who never does anything wrong.You don’t lie.You don’t steal.You were never brought home by the cops in the dead of night for raising hell with your friends.”
I exhale sharply.Falcon and Eagle both had a few run-ins with the police in high school.Nothing serious, of course, but they got holy living hell from my father each time it happened.
I clear my throat.“I guess you’re right.”
“I’m going to ask you a question and I expect the truth.”
