Page 92 of The Stone Family Warrior

Chapter 33

It wasn’t often that Trent could be provoked to kill a man. Sure, he had killed a lot of men. It was part of the job. When another man came at you in battle, you pulled the trigger. He didn’t like it. He didn’t feel bloodlust the way some guys did. But he did look at it as an order to keep the law. Good guys killed bad guys to prevent bad guys from doing bad things. That was the world he lived in.

Trent stared Banks down. “Now you’ve pissed me off.”

Banks let out a scoff. “Isn’t that funny? I never put it together that you guys would rather die than have a loved one get killed. You must have feelings for this woman.” He glanced at Liberty. “I’m stalking the conquistador’s treasure, which kind of translates to stalking the Stones. Maybe I could make another billion on a gossip column about all you Stones and the drama in your lives. I swear, you guys need to tone it down a bit.”

There it was, the psychopath. Would Brooks say that Banks was being driven crazier and crazier by his psychotic desire to possess the treasure? It was clear to Trent that he was. But he wasn’t an FBI analyst who hunted serial killers for a living.

He just killed them.

Banks pointed his gun at Liberty.

Distraction. Brooks gestured to the box and the keys. “That’s what we found. A box filled with keys. Go take a look. There’s nothing there.”

Mr. Banks hesitated, then gestured back to his men. “Go search the box. Clean up all the keys, put them in, and bring it with us.”

Marshall growled, “The box is ours and the keys are ours.”

Banks gave him a dismissive look, keeping his gun pointed at Liberty. “I thought we had established that psychopaths care more about themselves than other people’s lives. And I care more about treasure than anything. Plus, I have more machine guns than you guys. You let me take it and I’ll let you guys live, and all of your women and children live, and we’ll all just be happily and merrily on our way …” He trailed off. “I actually don’t know how I was going to finish that sentence.” He laughed hysterically.

It would be so easy to just grab the man by the throat and squeeze and kill him. Poof. Gone. Trent could do it, and any of his brothers could do it. Banks was right: they would all give their life to protect Liberty. Or any of the women or children. Or … each other. Goose bumps washed over him as he registered that fact, and it humbled him. He had a good family. The best.

Banks’s men scooped up all the keys and put them in the treasure box, then hauled it to Banks. He looked down at it, and his lips quirked up in a smile. “The Superman insignia. That must be your dad.” He looked at all of them as if they would celebrate with him.

None of them were amused.

Banks shrugged and gave them a little salute. “I’ll take this, go to my secret hideout that Brooks can’t find, and go through it. I won’t tell you if anything is important.” He scrunched his nose at them and then turned away. “So there.”

Two of the men with machine guns still had them aimed at the group. The others and the guys hauling the box climbed onto the helicopter.

“This is not over,” Brooks called out.

The helicopter engine started. Banks shouted back at them, and his crazy look had returned. “Honestly, I would be disappointed if it was. Goodbye, Stones!” As the helicopter took off, he kept his hand up as if he were a presidential candidate.

Trent pulled Liberty against him. He didn’t care about the throbbing in his shoulder, didn’t care about the treasure and the keys being taken. He only cared about her.

She pushed her face into his chest. “I’m sorry. I should never have run for you. I’m sorry.”

He squeezed her tighter. He wouldn’t tell her how much he admired her bravery. She had risked her life for him. “It’s okay.”

“Let’s get back,” Brooks grumbled, turning to leave. “This is insane.” He pulled at his hair like he was losing his mind. That kind of behavior was way out of character for Brooks. He was usually the embodiment of calm, cool and collected.

“It’s fine,” Trent said, taking Liberty’s hand and trudging with the rest of them.

Hunter’s arm snaked around him for a quick, rough hug. “Can’t say I’m sad you’re still alive, bro.”

“It was a huge waste,” Marshall growled as they grabbed the rest of the shovels and headed off toward where the women and children and helicopters were. “This is so bogus. I’m so tired of that dude. Why can’t you find his secret hideout?” He flung a hand toward Brooks.

Without warning, Brooks plowed into Marshall, knocking him to the ground. “Why don’t you look?” Brooks would’ve punched him, but Hunter pulled him off.

Trent got in the mix of it and put his arms out, then pushed Marshall back. “Stop!” He and Hunter were in the middle, keeping those two apart. “It wasn’t for nothing. I was going to show you guys this.” He reached into his pocket for the one key that had been different from all the rest. He held it in the palm of his hand, satisfaction winding through him.

All of them rushed to him, speechless.

Liberty peeked into the huddle. “The Superman insignia again.”

Trent grinned at her. “That was the only difference in all the keys, so we got the one that mattered.”

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