Hailey's Truth

by Cate Beauman

  The rides to the group’s daily stops were tense as everyone waited, afraid of another shooting. Reports around the community kept them all one edge. Two more girls had vanished in the night. Two more bodies had been brutalized—like the ones left by the vans that first day.

  While the team assisted the overworked staff at the Humane Society earlier, there had been another drive-by less than a mile away. The violence on the island was out of hand.

  Jackson’s easy sense of humor vanished each morning as they left the apartment. He radiated with tension by the time they stepped into the house at night. The days were wearing on Austin, too. She saw the strain in his eyes, felt his rigid muscles when he held her close in bed.

  In less than two months this would be over. They would all go home. She yearned to snuggle her girls, to see Sarah and Ethan, Morgan and Hunter, to move into her new apartment. A slow smile spread across her face. Every time she thought of living with Austin, of building a home with him... There weren’t words to describe her happiness. This was the real deal. Their relationship had taken her by surprise, had moved fast, but he loved her.

  Hailey closed her eyes, savoring the gift, relishing her joy. Austin loved her, and she him. They were going to give it a go. For the first time in her life, she truly believed she could have—no—would have everything she’d ever wanted: the love and support of a good man, a home filled with happiness, children of her own.

  Maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself, but she and Austin would get to where she planned eventually. Now that she had him, she wasn’t letting go.

  Hailey put her brush down at the sound of her phone ringing. She frowned at the number. “Don’t know this one,” she muttered. Shrugging, she hit “talk.”

  “Hello?”

  “Hailey.”

  “Donte?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry to bother you on your own time, but I have a request.”

  “Okay.” She pressed her lips into a thin line. She’d tried to keep her distance throughout the afternoon, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “I realize it’s against your organization’s rules, but I’m wondering if you might be able to make an exception and join me on my yacht for a small get-together Thursday. I have several important business members joining me, including my father. He is very fond of Jeremy. I would love for him to meet you, as I am quite fond of you.”

  “Oh, Donte, that sounds like so much fun.”

  “Good. Then it is all set.”

  “Well, no, actually…” She turned from the window and stared into Austin’s cool gaze. Oh, crap. “Um, Donte, I’m afraid I have to go. Can I call you later?”

  “Is everything all right?”

  “Uh, yes. Definitely. I just have to go.”

  “Call me back when you can.”

  “Okay. Bye.” Her heart hopped erratically as she pressed “end” and set her cell on the bed, never taking her eyes from Austin’s. She tried a smile. “Hey. I was just coming out to join the fun.”

  “Looks like you were on the phone to me.”

  She closed her eyes. “I was. Donte called. He got my number somehow, probably from my brother. He invited me to some family party tomorrow night. I was about to tell him no.” She snagged her lip to stop her babbling, fiddled with her fingers as Austin continued to stare, scrutinizing, saying nothing. “Austin, he called me.”

  “You didn’t have to answer.”

  “I didn’t know it was him. The number came up ‘unknown’. I’m sorry you walked in on something that sounded like more than it was.”

  He grunted.

  “Darn it, what do you want me to do? If I had known it was Donte, I wouldn’t have answered.” She walked to the door, intending to push past him.

  He grabbed her arm, turned her until she crashed into his chest. “I’m sorry.”

  “I really didn’t know. I truly didn’t.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I believe you. I’m sorry, Hailey.”

  Nodding, she relaxed against him, realizing the tense moment had passed.

  He played with her ponytail. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Of course.” She pushed the door to close it, then took Austin’s hand.

  He gave her a tug and caught the door before it shut. “Actually, can we talk in my room? I have something I want to show you.”

  “Oh really?” She wiggled her eyebrows and smiled. Her smile faded when Austin’s face stayed stony. Maybe he was still mad. “What’s wrong?”

  “Just come with me. I want to talk.”

  “Okay.” Stirrings of worry tied her stomach in knots. “You’re making me nervous.”

  Austin led them to his own room, opened his door, and closed it behind them. “Have a seat on my bed if you want.”

  She sat on the edge, relieving legs that were quickly turning to jelly. “Austin, what’s going on?”

  He settled next to her and stared down at the floor. “I heard Donte showed up at the Humane Society.”

  And here we go again. She closed her eyes and blew out a weary breath. “Yeah, he did. He was there for an hour or so.”

  “That’s about sixty minutes too long.”

  She stood. “I don’t want to argue about this, Austin. I really don’t. I know you asked me to keep my distance and I’m trying.”

  “Really? From what I understand, you were with him the entire time.”

  A hint of anger cut through her nerves. “So, what, are you having Jackson spy on me now?”

  “No.”

  “You seem to know my every move.”

  “I’m just pointing out—“

  “I know what you’re pointing out. I told you I would stay away from Donte, but I didn’t. I tried busying myself with paperwork, but he asked me to tour the facility with him. I wasn’t going to be rude—especially when he donated enough food, supplies, and money to keep the place up and running for several years to come.”

  “Hailey—“

  She held up a hand. “I’m not finished. The goal of Project Mexico is to help the people here. Donte has more than helped many of the families on this island. If he wants me to walk around and look at a few sweet-faced puppies and kittens with him, I’m not about to say no.”

  Austin scrubbed his hands over his face. “This is exactly why I brought you in here. I want to show you something. I’ve been trying to tell you that Donte’s not all he’s cracked up to be, that he’s dangerous. Your brother too.”

  “I’m not going here with you again,” Biting off her words, she started for the door.

  Austin rushed up from the bed, took her arm. “Wait.”

  She whirled around, her temper soaring. “Why should I? Why should I stand here and listen to this? I’ve had the opportunity to watch my brother work. I’ve seen him interact with the women and men of this island. He’s patient and sweet with the children. He sweats away each day on the rebuilds, like the rest of us. You tell me how that’s dangerous.”

  “It’s a front, an act.”

  Hurt and fury mixed together. “Nothing he does will ever be good enough for you.” She yanked on the doorknob, but Austin held it closed. She walked away, wanting her space.

  Austin wrapped his arms around her, nestling her body to him.

  She struggled. “I don’t want you to touch me right now.”

  He tightened his grip until she went still. “Let me explain,” he said close to her ear. “Let me show you. Do you think I would say this to you, do this to you, for no reason? I know how much this rips you apart.”

  Above all else, she knew Austin would never hurt her on purpose. “Okay,” she said wearily, “show me your proof that my brother is the next thing to a monster.” Shuddering nausea churned her stomach as she prepared herself for th
e worst.

  “I’m sorry, Hailey.” Austin pressed a kiss to her hair, and she closed her eyes. He turned her to face him. “I’m sorry I have to do this.” He touched her lips in an attempt to soothe her.

  Hailey wrapped her arms around him, holding on to his strength as Austin brought her head to his chest. She took a deep breath and eased away. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Come here.” He took her hand and sat with her on the bed. He pulled his laptop over to them, wiggled the mouse, and clicked a button. Two grainy images popped up side-by-side.

  Whatever she’d expected, it wasn’t this. “What is this?”

  “It’s footage I received today.”

  She stared at her brother sitting at the bar, sipping a beer, noticed Mateo across the room doing the same. She slid Austin a glance, confused, before she looked at the laptop again.

  “This is security footage from last night,” he pointed to the left side of the screen, “and about a month ago.” He pointed to the right.

  “Yes, I noticed the dates.” She shook her head, growing more perplexed. “Austin, I don’t see anything wrong.”

  “Look right here.” He pointed to the images of the two young women in the corner of the video. “Do you recognize them?”

  She moved closer. “No, I don’t. Wait. Oh, oh, yes I do. Those are the girls that went missing.”

  “Exactly.”

  She scrutinized the screen again, watched the girls leave the bar. Moments later, Mateo got up and left. Two minutes later Jeremy did the same. Austin fast-forwarded through the second set of images before he played the footage on the right again. “Now look here.”

  Hailey watched as Mateo left again, and much like in the first video, Jeremy got up as well. Austin closed the laptop as Hailey pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I feel like I was supposed to see something.”

  “The footage on the left was from the night the girls disappeared while we were still at the resort. The footage on the right was from last night. The girls were at different bars, but in both instances the bar was the last place they were seen before they vanished.”

  Frustration nearly brought her to tears. “Take me to the point here, Austin. I’m clearly missing it.”

  “Hailey, both incidents happened on a night when Mateo and your brother went out for drinks. Although we can’t see the victims in the second tape, we sure as hell saw them in the first. Jeremy and Mateo left moments after they did. We can assume the same of the second tape.”

  The implications finally hit home. “Wait a minute. Wait a minute.” Hailey rushed to her feet, her heart thundering, her stomach sick with disbelief. “You’re suggesting my brother and Mateo kidnapped four young women?”

  “I’m not suggesting anything—I’m telling you.” His voice was rough with frustration.

  “My God, Austin. Do you truly understand what you’re saying? Do you understand you’re ripping me to pieces over two videos that don’t show me a damn thing?”

  “What are you talking about?” He yanked the laptop open, played back to the part where the teens left before Mateo and Jeremy. “I see it.” He stabbed his finger against the screen. “Ethan sees it. Jackson too. But you still don’t. You won’t.”

  “What do you want me to see?” She threw her arms out to her sides.

  “The truth, goddamnit! I want you to see the truth.”

  “I’ll tell you what I saw. I saw my brother and Mateo drinking a beer before they got up and left. And somehow, that makes them kidnappers?”

  “If they were there together, why were they sitting apart?”

  “I don’t know,” she shouted. “I haven’t a clue, but that sure as hell doesn’t make them kidnappers.”

  “They were staging, making sure they didn’t look suspicious!” Austin rubbed his hand over his jaw, trying to gentle his voice. “Sorry, Hailey. It’s three against one here. Three sets of experienced, trained eyes telling you your brother is in this up to his eyeballs.”

  She clutched at her stomach, struggling not to be ill. “I think you’re seeing what you want to see, what you’re choosing to. You haven’t liked Jeremy since the day you met him. You haven’t liked Donte either. This was supposed to be about Donte too, right? I guess he was driving the getaway car?” She burst into tears from the injustice. “Oh, Austin, why are you doing this? Why can’t you just accept you made a mistake, that you’re wrong?”

  “I’m not wrong. I’m not. Think, Hailey. Think.” He grabbed her arms and yanked her against him. “Why does Donte have well over a dozen bodyguards? And why are they armed with fucking machine guns? I’m a bodyguard. I’m a fucking former Navy SEAL. Do you see me walking around with an AK-47? Have you ever seen me with a weapon like that? Have you not noticed they all have the same tattoo? Mateo has it on his arm. Some of the guards have it on their necks. They’re Zulas. Do you get that? Do you understand their capacity for violence? Wake up, Hailey. Wake up.” He turned away, his voice going sharp. “The violence, the kidnappings. None of that stuff started until Donte dropped anchor here.”

  “Have you ever thought these could all be coincidences? Donte was at the school when we were shot at.”

  He whirled again. “They were shooting at him. He’s the ringleader. He’s in charge of this whole thing.”

  She choked out a breath as she swiped at the tears pouring down her cheeks. “So, my brother’s a kidnapper and Donte’s the leader of the mafia.”

  “Yes.”

  She scoffed out a humorless laugh. “I can’t believe this. You’re jealous. I can’t believe you would do this to me. I told you I loved you, only you. I don’t want to talk about this anymore; I really don’t. Let’s take a night off.” She hurried to the door, ready to sob.

  “We aren’t done here, Hailey. Don’t walk out that door.” His voice grew low, dangerous.

  She turned. “We need to be finished for tonight.”

  “Not until we get this straight. What I’m telling you has nothing to do with jealousy. Donte and Jeremy are exactly who I’ve told you they are.”

  Utterly confused, Hailey could only stare at the floor. “I’m not so sure. I’m not sure of anything anymore.”

  Austin sat on the bed and pressed his hands to his face. “I don’t know what else to do here.” He looked up and met her eyes. Something in his hopeless expression had her heart lurching. “I have the facts, Hailey. I’ve shared them. I’ve shown you, and you still won’t believe me. I can’t keep doing this with you.”

  “So what are you saying?”

  “I don’t know what I’m saying.” He scrubbed his hand over his chin, rubbed at the back of his neck, his voice desperate. “I guess I’m telling you to choose. Me or them.”

  She stumbled back from the shock of his words. “You—you want me to choose between you and my brother? How can you ask such a thing?” This was so huge, too huge to truly comprehend. “I can’t. I don’t know how. I can’t choose.”

  He shook his head, his eyes full of sorrow. “You just did.”

  “No, I—I… Austin.”

  “I thought we could do this. I thought we could make this work, but now I see we can’t. This isn’t working for me, Hailey. I can’t be with someone who thinks I’m a liar.”

  “I don’t think…” Her world dropped out from beneath her as the meaning sunk in. “Are you telling me this is over? That we’re over?”

  “Yeah, I am. I can’t stand by and watch this anymore, be a part of this anymore. I don’t want to watch you laugh and smile while you talk to him. I don’t want to walk in and hear you having phone conversations with a Mafia King. I’ve given you the truth you asked for, and it’s still not enough. They’re going to hurt you; I won’t be there when it goes down.”

  She struggled to concentrate on what he said as she
fought for each breath. “Hurt me? Do you think they can hurt me any more than you’re hurting me right now? You said you loved me. I let myself believe that you loved me.”

  “I do love you.” His voice was drowning in agony.

  “Please don’t say that.” The first sob escaped. She pressed her hand to her mouth. “Please don’t. I can’t stand to hear it. You promised me, Austin. You promised me, and I believed you.” She reached blindly for the doorknob as she struggled to suppress the next racking shudder.

  Yanking the door open, she rushed to her room, oblivious to the laughter and noise down the hall. She slammed her door, yanked open the window, and gulped in fresh air. It was too hot, too crowded in here. The walls closed in around her as she fought for each unsteady breath. She had to go, had to get out. She popped the flimsy screen from the window and lowered herself to the rocks. Jumping to the sand, she ran, desperate to escape the agony that threatened to send her to her knees.

  Hailey ran for what could have been minutes or hours; she’d lost track of time, trying to outdistance her pain. She sprinted until she was dizzy and fell, collapsing to the beach. On hands and knees she panted until the first keening sob stole her breath again. Austin was gone. They had just begun, and she’d lost him.

  Trembling, too tired, too defeated to stand, Hailey fell back, curling into a ball, shuddering, freezing in the balmy Caribbean air. She cried herself dry.

  With her last tear she clutched herself tight, unable to get warm. Would she ever be warm again? Would she ever be whole? She’d given Austin all of the pieces. He’d promised to take care, but he didn’t. He said he loved her but he couldn’t, not really, not the way she wanted. Not the way she needed. If he loved her, nothing would’ve stood in their way. Love wasn’t asking someone for the impossible. Love wasn’t asking someone to choose between two huge pieces of their heart.