Something Wilder(77)

Lily moved to shove him behind her when she heard Leo’s relieved voice: “Dude.”

“Bradley?”

“Goddamn, there you are.” Laughing as he took in their expressions, Bradley shook his head. “You both look so panicked. It’s just me.”

Leo and Lily exchanged a brief, confused look.

“How—what are you doing here?” Leo asked. “Nicole said you’d gone back to New York.”

Bradley looked momentarily surprised. “You spoke to— Oh, right. I told her I was flying home, but really I just couldn’t handle knowing you two were going on without me.” He winced self-deprecatingly. “This was the most fun I’ve had in my life, and I couldn’t miss it. So tell me what’s happened! I bet it’s been insane.” He gave a wild Bradley-mountain-man shout and grinned at them.

Lily imagined that in any other circumstance Leo would walk over and embrace his friend. But he didn’t move from her side—and she didn’t lower her knife. She also couldn’t shake the weird feeling that coiled in her gut like a rattlesnake. Why would Bradley risk coming into the canyon alone? Why, if he trusted Leo, wouldn’t he meet them back in Hester, as planned?

Oblivious to the vibe, Bradley approached and gestured down to the stump. “Is it the same tree as in the photo? Holy shit, you guys. You found it!”

Lily noticed Leo use his foot to subtly wipe the code clear in the dirt, and her stomach dropped. Something was definitely off. When did Bradley leave Nicole, and how did he find them so fast?

Unfortunately, Bradley noticed, too, and a shadow moved over his features. “What? Don’t be like that, man.”

“It’s weird,” Leo said quietly. “You showing up here? I’m just thinking it through.”

Bradley’s laugh was forced. “Come on. What’s weird? It’s me. Here to help. Teamwork, right? Isn’t that what Lily told us this is all about? What’s the code?”

Leo scratched his jaw and looked away, wincing.

“Seriously?” Bradley said, wounded. “It’s me. What’s there to think about?” He reached out to jovially smack Leo’s arm. “Already this treasure has messed with your head.”

“It isn’t that.” Leo looked back over his shoulder, toward the direction the other men had disappeared earlier. “The guys who held us at gunpoint today weren’t surprised that there were only two of us down here. I’m trying to figure that out.”

“What guys?” Bradley asked, shaking his head.

Leo ignored this. “We knew they wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Terry bailed, because we read his text messages. But how did they know we split up if Terry hadn’t answered them since? Who told them we split up?”

“Sorry, what are you talking about?” Bradley leaned down to catch Leo’s eyes. “Someone held you at gunpoint? Was it the guys from town?” He wrinkled his brow. “Lily’s bartender boyfriend?”

Unease bled further into Lily’s mood, sending her pulse racing. “You’re working with them,” she said quietly.

Bradley blanched. “What? With who?”

“There were four people in that text thread.” Leo tilted his head. His expression cleared. “How would Jay and Kevin have known to come here if they hadn’t been told about the photo of Duke? The texts said they lost track of us after we left the overlook.”

“Bradley must’ve called them,” Lily said. “Maybe when you took Walt to the hospital. Unless… No one ever bothered to look in your backpack. You could have called them the night of the storm.”

Bradley looked genuinely shocked for a beat.

And then his expression broke, and he burst out laughing, bending at the waist. “Shit, I couldn’t hold it.” He straightened, wiping a hand down his face. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go down. I don’t know why I’m laughing, dudes.”

Unsettled, Lily threaded her fingers through Leo’s, taking a step backward. “Leo. Let’s go.”

But Leo stood firm, staring at Bradley. “We texted you.” He swallowed, pained. A glance at him told her his expression was washed out, sick with shock. “We texted the group and said the photo was a mirror image.” Leo looked around them, and Lily realized that the sounds earlier weren’t her imagination. Jay and Kevin were nearby, hidden in the shade, had been standing there the entire time, waiting to see how this would unfold. “What I don’t understand is how you got the message if you were already here. There’s no signal.”

“There is if he’s forwarding everything to a sat phone,” Lily said.

Bradley reached into his pocket with a heavy sigh and pulled out the small device. “Damn. Didn’t think you’d catch that.” He grinned. “It’s easy to hide shit in a bag if no one actually checks. Jesus, Lily, what’s the point of having rules if you don’t enforce them?”

Lily stepped forward in anger, but Leo stopped her with his arm across her chest. “You’ve been here the whole time,” he said. “You started down the night you left Nicole, didn’t you?”

Pocketing the phone again, Bradley held up his hands. “Guys, seriously—this doesn’t have to be so tragic. Just put down the knife and head home. Let us go in there and get the money. We’ll laugh our asses off about this whole thing later.”