The Scene 3

by Roxy Sloane

  Xavier is somewhere behind me. I can't see him, and he may have fallen or passed out by now, but I heard him calling after me over the wind right when I left his villa. My stomach is still in knots at what I did. He'll never forgive me, even if this clears his name. I'll never forgive myself.

  Barton's boat thrashes in the choppy water despite its size. I can't believe he even made it here. It seems awfully nice for a DEA agent, but then it's probably theirs, not his. They do confiscate all the property when they bust dealers. They must have all kinds of stuff lying around.

  Barton stands on the pier, and I race over to him. He looks pretty collected for someone standing in a storm, like it's not affecting him at all.

  "You got it? Where is it?" he yells over the wind and rain.

  The noise is deafening. I thought we were supposed to be in between bands and in a calm period, but this is definitely not living up to the description.

  "I did. I wasn't sure if everything copied onto my drive, so I brought his, too." I pull the drives out of my pocket and look down at them, like they hold my future. "I can't go back now. He knows I took it."

  When I look up at Barton, something in his expression chills me to the bone. At first, I can't put my finger on why. But then I realize it's gleeful. He's preening like some kind of animal who knows he's the shit.

  I hesitate for a second and then close my fingers around the drives. "We need to get out of here. The storm is getting worse."

  "Give me the drive, Nicole. Then we'll go."

  "I'll give it to you when we're back on dry land. At your office. We've got to get off the island. Xavier's out there somewhere."

  "Give me the drive!"

  He grabs my wrist and twists it hard causing me to yelp in pain. I don't drop the drives, but he pries my fingers open with his other hand and takes them. He doesn't let go of my wrist.

  "What are you doing? Let me go!"

  The laugh that comes out of him is maniacal. That's the only way to describe it. An image of Barton flashes in my mind: him standing over the train tracks twirling a mustache like some silent movie villain.

  "You are a dumb bitch, you know that? I've got everything I need now."

  He lets go of my hand, but before I can react, he shoves me. The deck drops out from under me, and I'm falling into the water. My arms and legs flail, scraping against the pylons. Just before I enter the water, I smack my head on something. It dazes me, but I don't black out.

  The water is surprisingly cold. I paddle with my legs trying to stop from sinking. Barton must have had the engine running, because the boat lurches in reverse, away from me and the dock. I try to swim up to the surface, but I'm caught on something. It's not giving way.

  I thrash back and forth trying to get free, but I can't find what I'm caught on. This is it; I'm going to die. I'm going to drown because I tried to do the right thing and put my faith in the wrong people. I guess I should have known better than to trust anyone, especially myself.

  I stop struggling and wait for my air to run out. My lungs burn, and I ache to take a breath.

  My head feels like it's disconnected from my body. I'm floating on clouds, letting the blackness take me over. The urge to breathe is so strong. I can't hold it anymore.

  And I never got to tell Xavier how sorry I am.

  Suddenly I'm rising up and water splashes on my face. Someone pounds on my back, and I cough and spit up water. I don't know where I am or who has their hands on me, but I'm gulping in air between coughs. The rest doesn't matter.

  It takes a few minutes for my lungs to calm down, to feel like the world isn't spinning. The driving rain doesn't help with my disorientation. I know I'm on a boat, but I still haven't seen my savior.

  Someone kneels down in front of me and hands me a bottle of water. Ironically, I've never wanted anything more in my life.

  I take several long gulps and with a few coughs in between before I finally feel human again. When I look up at the face of my rescuer, I know that I'm either hallucinating or dead.

  It's my brother.

  Chapter Ten

  I slide backwards, away from the man wearing Eli's face. This isn't real. It can't be happening. Eli's dead.

  "It's okay, Niks. It's me."

  Niks. His nickname for me. Hailey's the only one in Miami who knows that name.

  "Eli?" The disbelief is evident in my voice, and my eyes fill with tears. This is a cruel joke someone’s playing to get to me. That’s all. But he looks so real. My heart feels like it’s cracking wide open at seeing him again, and I can’t control the tears as they begin to fall.

  "How is this possible? Are you—? Am I—?" I can’t continue; I’m overcome with deep sobbing. Shaking and crying, all my grief rushes to the surface.

  Eli reaches out and takes my hand. His skin feels solid, real. I sob even harder.

  "You're alive, Niks. I'm alive."

  The tears and the rain mix together until I can’t tell which is which. I shake my head to try to take away some of the shock and look at my surroundings. Nothing makes sense to me. Not the storm, not the boat, not my brother right in front of me. I keep looking back to him, my vision blurring with tears. Is he really here? Do I really have him back?

  "This is a lot to take in, I know. Let's get you out of the rain. It should let up a bit in a few minutes, and then we'll head for shore." He runs his finger over my bruised wrist, and I see a flicker of anger pass over his face.

  "I didn't want to move you until I knew you weren't injured badly. Do you think you can stand if I help you?"

  I nod, not trusting my voice. He helps me stand, and I cling to him for dear life. I bury my head against him. My brother. It’s really him. His voice, his warmth, his smell. It’s been like part of me got left behind somewhere, and now he’s back.

  Eli helps me into the cabin area. Without the rain beating down on me and with the benefit of a warm blanket around my shoulders, some of the shock starts to fall away, and I finally stop sobbing like a baby. Tears still fill my eyes and spill over onto my cheeks, but this isn’t the ugly crying of earlier.

  "How are you alive, Eli?" The words sound foreign to my ears. I never expected to talk to my brother again.

  He busies himself making tea while he tells me his story. The car wreck was staged. By him. He found out that El Jefe had put a bounty on his head, so he faked his death and got someone to switch the dental records. When no one stepped forward at first, Eduardo swooped in and took the credit.

  Eli hands me the cup of tea, and its warmth travels through me, taking away the chill of what just happened. The adrenaline leaving my body makes me feel like I'm shutting down, but the tea helps perk me up. With tea to fortify me, and with the initial shock over, I turn my attention to my brother. I'm so relieved to have him back, but anger and grief cloud my happiness and cause me to lash out at him.

  "What the hell, Eli? Do you have any idea what you put everyone through with this?"

  "I do, I—"

  "No, you don't. Not really. How could you do this to mom and dad? To me?"

  When he doesn’t respond, I continue to pour my feelings out on him in a stream of harsh words.

  “We had a funeral for you! We buried a body, Eli. Our parents had to come to the Miami morgue and identify you. How could you put them through that?”

  “Nikki, listen—“

  “No! I won’t listen. You need to listen. Of course I’m happy you’re alive, but dammit, Eli! Mom and Dad have been like ghosts walking around. I gave up everything to move out here and find out what happened to you. My friend Kayla was killed because someone thought she was me!”

  He looks at me wide-eyed but doesn’t respond. I don’t think I’ve ever turned my anger on him like this. I don’t think I’ve ever even felt anger like this before.

  “Why didn’t you just tell us what was happening?”

  "I'm so sorry, Nikki. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want to put you guys in danger. It was the only way."

&n
bsp; "So it was better to make us grieve you? Think you were a drug dealer and an addict? It nearly killed dad!"

  Eli drops to the bench across from me and puts his head in his hands. I know it had to have killed him to do what he did, but that doesn’t take away the pain and betrayal. All those months thinking he was dead when he wasn’t. How could he watch us grieve him? He knew we were going through hell, and he just let us.

  We sit in silence for a long time. Eli’s breathing start to normalize, as does my need to lash out at him. In my anger and grief, I forgot to think about what it must have been like for him. Eventually, I go sit next to him and lean my head on his shoulder. I’m still not past my anger completely, but the fact that my brother is alive has taken away a lot of it.

  "Look, I'm sorry, Eli. I know you did what you had to do. I'm so glad to have you back. It just was really tough without you around."

  He kisses me on the top of my head and puts his arm around me. "I hated putting you guys through that. I was close to having all the proof, but then I got these phone calls threatening me. Saying they'd go after the people I loved. I was scared that they’d follow through."

  "Is that why you broke up with Ava?"

  "Yeah. I was going to marry her, you know?"

  I can tell he's crying again, so I let him. He's been through so much, too.

  When I can tell he's calmer, I sit up so I can face him. "Eli, I need you to tell me who El Jefe is. I need to hear you say it."

  A silent prayer pops up into my head. Please don't let it be Xavier.

  Then I remember that Xavier will never want to speak to me again.

  #

  "It's Barton."

  Relief floods my body. I just knew it couldn't be Xavier. I want to smack myself for even thinking it.

  But then it hits me. Barton knows everything. I told him everything about Xavier that I knew, everything about me. How could I let him play me like that?

  Anger rises up in me, but so does fear. He could have killed me at any moment. He could have killed me earlier.

  "How is that even possible?"

  "He went into the DEA years ago. He uses their intel to take out rivals and dominate the drug scene. He's like a puppet master pulling strings, letting everyone take suspicion off of him."

  "It's the perfect cover."

  Eli nods. "Yeah, it's genius, really. When I figured it out, I knew the only way to get hard proof was to take myself out of the equation. Follow him and see who he planned to set up. When I saw you meet with him, I almost blew my cover. But it took me about two minutes to figure out that he'd targeted Xavier. I knew he wouldn't hurt you, because he needed you."

  I take a moment to process this. My brother watching me, waiting to see what Barton would do. Knowing Xavier was innocent. Maybe I shouldn't be mad, but I am.

  Before I realize what’s happening, Eli starts up the boat.

  “What are you doing?”

  "Let's get out of here while the storm isn't too bad. I'm not sure what Barton has planned, but we need to go after him."

  He unties the line and takes his place behind the wheel.

  “I can’t leave the island yet. I have to go back.”

  “I’m not getting stuck on this island during the hurricane and losing the opportunity to get Barton.”

  “Eli, no. I have to get back.”

  He starts to pull away from the pier.

  "No! Eli, wait!”

  "What is going on, Niks?”

  “I have to go back to get Xavier.”

  I grab Eli’s arm, but he shrugs it off.

  "Nikki, we need to go.”

  "I had to drug him. He came into the storm looking for me. I have to make sure he's okay." Oh God, if something happens to him, I'll never forgive myself.

  “He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

  “Dammit, Eli! Listen to me!”

  He lets the boat idle and glares at me. “Niks, we don’t have time to go rescue your boyfriend.”

  "Turn the boat around, Eli, or I’ll swim back to shore.” My voice is firm, cold.

  He starts to open his mouth to argue again, but I shut him down by holding up my hand. "I gave Barton his flash drive. If we want to stop this, we need to know what's on it and why Barton wanted it so badly."

  #

  Eli ties up the boat and follows me to the villa. It's all I can do not to break out into a sprint, but I know he wouldn't catch up to me. Even at a jog, Eli can't keep up.

  Thoughts race through my head. Images of Xavier drowning on a flooded sidewalk, being swept out to sea, falling and splitting open his head. The worst things imaginable, and it will be all on me.

  “Hey,” Eli says when I slow down. “It’s going to be okay.”

  "I screwed up so badly, Eli. It was such a mistake to doubt Xavier and trust Barton."

  I tell him the short version of everything I did, everything that’s happened with Barton and Xavier. It feels good to finally tell someone the whole truth, but the guilt is overwhelming. It’s all I can do not to burst out in tears. But I’m afraid if I let myself, I’ll never stop.

  When we get to the villa, I rush in. I don’t know what I’m going to find behind the door, but I can’t bear the thought that I’ve hurt Xavier. Everything’s going to change now. The realization of what I’ve done hits me hard.

  "I betrayed him all along, Eli. He'll never forgive me."

  "You can't beat yourself up for this, Niks. Barton is a snake. He has everyone fooled. There's no way you could have known he wasn't legit. No one would suspect a drug kingpin to be a DEA agent. It's like some kind of B-movie plot or something."

  I nod along, but I know Xavier won’t trust me again. I can’t blame him.

  I take a deep breath. As I open the door, I turn to look at Eli.

  "I feel like a pawn in a chess game. I just hope one day Xavier can understand why I had to do this."

  When I turn back and step into the room, Xavier stands just outside the living room glaring at me.

  "You can start by telling me why the hell you drugged me, Nicole."

  Chapter Eleven

  I step forward, but Xavier holds out his hands for me to stop. I take a step back, and Eli joins me at my side. He locks his fingers with mine.

  "Who is this?" Xavier gestures at Eli with his head.

  "I'm Nicole's brother, Eli."

  Confusion clouds Xavier's features. "I thought your brother was dead. So I guess I know the first lie you told me."

  "No, he was dead. But now he's… I still haven't completely processed it yet." I let go of Eli's hand and step forward again. "Please, Xavier. Please let me explain what happened."

  "Do I really have a choice?” He starts to lean to the side and stumbles. I rush to help him to the couch.

  “Whatever you gave me has my head spinning still. I’m pretty much a captive audience."

  While Xavier and I sit, Eli lights more candles. It's almost pitch black outside with the night sky blocked by storm clouds and no power on the island.

  I start at the beginning and tell Xavier everything: Eli's death, why I came to Miami, working with Barton. I lay everything out for him. He's surprisingly quiet, but as I speak, I notice anger and hurt flash across his face from time to time. The fact that I hurt this man is the worst thing about all of this.

  "So this is why you were with me? To get information?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "All this time?"

  "No!" I lean forward. "No, Xavier. I didn't know about any of this when we met. I didn't know until… I'd already fallen for you."

  I have to look away from his intense eyes. I'm too ashamed of what I did to him.

  "I was already in deep looking into Eli's death. Someone was following me. Barton scared me. He manipulated me into thinking you were running things. He was very convincing."

  "That's why you were so hot and cold with me. The party on the boat, when I showed up at the club the night Kayla was murdered."

  "Yes. I didn't know what
to believe, so I tried to stay away from you." I reach out and place my hand on his knee. He doesn't flinch, so I take that as a sign to continue.

  "I couldn't do it, Xavier. Even when Barton told me things that made it seem likely you had to be El Jefe, I couldn't believe it. But I had to go through with what he wanted. I had to know for sure. At first it was just for Eli, but then I had to prove your innocence, too. I was so naive."

  "None of this changes the fact that you lied to me over and over. I just…" He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath. "I need some time, Nicole. I don't know what to do with all of this."

  I remove my hand from his knee and lean back into the couch. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Tension hangs in the air between us, but at least I told him the truth.

  The three of us sit in silence for a few minutes listening to the storm rage. I finally get restless and grab three bottles of water from the kitchen.

  Eli brings us crashing back to our reality.

  "I know you have a lot to work out and all, and it's obvious to me how much my sister cares about you, Xavier. But we don't have time for this. Barton is out there doing who knows what."

  "You're right," Xavier admits. "We need to figure out a plan. You know him best, Eli. Where do you suggest we start?"

  "With you. Do you have any idea why he's so obsessed with you?"

  "Actually, I think I do."

  Eli and I look at him in surprise.

  "A few months ago, I figured out that someone was using my businesses as fronts for illegal activity. It took a while to piece things together because it's well-hidden and spread out. I still don't have the whole picture yet, but I've got people working on it."

  "Holy crap. So Barton actively tried to set you up?"

  "Not sure, but it seems likely. Either that or it was just a convenient way to do business." He takes a sip of water and continues. "I've been investigating it myself, trying to figure out who's behind everything. I finally found someone in the drug scene willing to sell out some of the players for a heap of cash. He's in El Jefe's inner circle."