Page 405 of The Romance Adventure

Royal starts saying words in Portuguese. Soft, cushion, padding...

“What’s the opposite of a pillow?” Harley asks.

Isla consults her mental thesaurus. “Hard, smash, break.”

“Knife? Chip also left me one of those,” Magnus says before reviewing all the other things Chip left us.

Then we start putting the words together, pillow hard, cushion smash.”

“Cloudbreak,” I whisper. “That’s a wave in Fiji.”

“It’s also a mine in Australia,” Magnus says vaguely.

I snap my fingers, “Or the supposed entrance to El Dorado.”

“The Lost City of Gold?” Isla asks.

Everyone looks at the crown as if wondering the same thing. Márcia was resourceful, but did she find El Dorado and commission the crown to be made from the gold found there?

“Quebra de Nuvens. Cloudbreak,” I say, because now we have our heading.

Jolie

CHAPTER 19

While CJ and his brothers figure out logistics for getting to Northern Brazil, where CJ believes Cloudbreak is located, I ignore my phone. I ignore it and ignore it until I feel like I might explode.

Finally, I sneak into the closet where I’d hidden the map in my jewelry case, which I was momentarily mad at myself for. In reality, I’d much rather be on Team McGregor than try to prove to my father that I’m worthy, that I have value, and he shouldn’t have abandoned me.

Now I see the problem. It isn’t that he didn’t value me. It’s just that he valued wealth, riches, and power more.

My investigation of Kent Jerkovic, most recently also known as Sir Kent Von Dräger, aka the Jaguar, the Art Wolf, and Captain Hook, among others, includes rumors of his obsession with the Lost City of Gold. I thought it was more of a background thing, but I see now that all of his criminal involvement in drug trafficking, arms deals, and modern-day piracy is to fund his true fixation on El Dorado.

A chest of gold isn’t enough, nor is a ship. No, he wants a city.

Closing myself in the walk-in closet, I open my texting app. An unknown number left a message that says Call your father. After all these years, it seems as if he caught up with me.

Chills creep across my skin.

There is also a voicemail. I listen.

It’s him. His accented voice says, “On the night of the gala, after we had a little security issue, I discovered something important to me was missing. I watched the camera footage, my Georgia Peach.” He chuckles.

My stomach swims with nerves.

“You made one mistake that’s going to cost you. You told Zayn Alberts that you only spoke French, but to me, you were the sweetest southern thing. So which is it? You can call me back or don’t bother. You’ll be seeing me soon enough.”

My breath sticks in my chest. This can’t be happening. My father was so good at forgetting that I existed. I’ve been able to follow him like a shadow. But how did he find me?

For my entire life, I’ve kept my guard up. Now, when I let it down, this happens. I want to stomp my foot and say It’s not fair, but I can’t have it both ways—being upset that I didn’t have a family and being upset when my father comes back into my life.

I listen to the message again when the closet door opens.

“Who’s that?” CJ asks, but the crestfallen look on his face suggests that he knows.

Or I want him to know so I don’t have to confess.

I lower onto the tufted settee CJ got so I could sit down while trying on shoes with my various outfits.