𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞〚𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 〛

Chapter 21

Delilah left the club, needing the time to empty her mind. She walked to the meeting point that had been agreed upon, taking the path through the woods. 

She couldn't find the strength to care that her shoes would be dirty. Her mind was blank, the only solution she had found in order not to think about Rafe and his situation, or the pain in her chest. 

A campfire soon came to view and JJ looked up, saying something she wasn't able to hear. Pope got up, meeting her before she could get too close to the flames.

"Hey," he whispered, carefully observing her expression. "Are you O.K?"

"Yeah." She forced a smile on her face. "Yeah, of course."

Pope looked like he wanted to say something, but he knew she didn't want to talk. Instead, he opened his arms, inviting her to come closer. He didn't need to ask twice. Shutting her eyes tightly, she wrapped her arms around his waist, as if his embrace could make her forget about everything around her.

"Did he do anything?" he asked softly, his voice expressing concern.

"No," she whispered, her throat tight. "And that's the problem."

He gently squeezed her, resting his chin on the top of her head. He hated seeing her this way, and he wished he could say something to make it better. 

He wished he could say in all honesty that he hoped Rafe would come to his senses. But he couldn't. Not when Rafe had made his life a living hell. Not when he knew that Rafe could hurt her more every day. He didn't want that. And most importantly, he didn't want to lose her. 

With a sigh, she removed her arms from around him.

"Thanks for that," she said with a small smile.

"Anytime," he answered truthfully.

She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, changing the subject. "So, what's going on?"

"Right," he said, running a hand through his short hair. "John B figured out that the gold was somewhere on Tannyhill."

"And where is the evidence?" she asked, sceptic, planting her fists on her hips.

"A letter from a slave that was on the royal merchant."

"Oh," she said, not expecting it.

"I had the same reaction," he admitted. "But the guy is real, and so is the letter he wrote to his son before his death. At the bottom of the letter, he left a clue, saying to harvest the wheat of parcel nine, near the water."

"Wheat must be a code name for gold," exclaimed Delilah, the excitement making her eyes light up. "We're so close to our goal!"

Pope grinned. "John B convinced Sarah to get him a map of Tannyhill. She should be back soon."

Delilah sobered up. "That's in Ward's office. Considering she left the club before me, she would have had the time to do the trip three times by now."

The boy frowned. "Fair point. Let's go check."

She nodded sharply, starting up ahead. A strange feeling was pushing her ahead, as if her instincts were pushing her towards the Cameron mansion. 

They weren't far, and Delilah's occupied state of mind made the trip seem much shorter. As the mansion came into sight, she mechanically crossed the property, sticking to the treeline like she and Rafe had done so many times before.

"Ward's office is on the second floor," she said distractedly, scanning the possible entry points. "I can probably scale the wall."

Pope managed to hide his surprise quite well.