Episode 133
EPISODE 133
THE NEXT STEP
Brett
A driving urge to protect Misty overwhelms me. I rise, holding out my hand. “Come with me,” I say.
“Uh...excuse us,” Alex interjects, “but we need more information out of her. And according to Riv, you have something you need to tell us.”
I keep Misty close to me. “I’m taking her back to her suite. She’s had a rough night. In fact, it’s late and we should all be getting back.” I look at Misty, smooth her hair behind her ear. “I want us both to get a good night’s sleep. After all, we have a private date to look forward to tomorrow.”
“Wait just a minute, Brett.” River, with Emily still hanging on him, stalks toward Misty and me. “This needs to end. We all agreed. Until we can find out what’s going on, who threatened Rachel and Ginger, and who the fuck broke into my parents’ home?—”
Emily gasps. “Someone broke into your parents’ home? Is everyone all right? ”
“They are, thank God,” River says. “But this is all related to—” He stops abruptly.
“Keep your cool, Riv,” Seb says.
I glance at River. He and I have our own communication system, and I echo Seb’s sentiments with my glance.
But River doesn’t back down this time. “What the fuck else has to happen before you agree that this was a failure? Rachel almost drowned, my parents’ house was trashed, and Rachel and Ginger are receiving threats to their lives if they return here. And you”—he glares at Misty—“threw yourself at me last night?—”
“And you lied to me, River!” Misty wrenches away from my arms. “You said you knew who my birth father was, and you lied !”
River scoffs. “I said a lot of things to you that I didn’t mean.”
Misty lets out a choking sob. I put my arms back around her. “Ease up, Riv. Can’t you see she’s frightened?”
“Frightened?” River shakes his head. “She went diving headfirst into a tidal wave and then stayed under the water longer than either of us could. She’s fucking fine.”
I cock my head at Misty. Damn. I see so much of Jake in her. The hair, the eyes. That silly cowlick on the right side of her forehead. I can’t help myself. I reach out and touch it—something I’d always had the urge to do to Jake but never could. “Tell me, Misty,” I say. “How were you able to stay underwater for so long?”
She shrugs. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”
My heart drops to my stomach. “Damn, Misty. What the fuck did your father do to you?”
Twenty Years Earlier...
Seb nudges me out of my fantasy about Jake. “It’s time.”
Jake no longer exists for me then. He can’t. I need to be focused and without emotion. This will happen without fail. I’ll make sure of it. Time for the next step.
I signal back to Riv in the house that we received his signal and we’re ready to go. “All right,” I say to Alex, Seb, and Jake, “it’s now or never. You all know your jobs.”
Jake cocks his head at me. “Brett, I...”
“What?” Seb demands. “What the fuck is it, Jake?”
“Nothing.” Jake nods. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
He’s having second thoughts. Part of me wants to hug him to me and tell him it’s going to be okay, but now is not the time to coddle him. I was surprised as hell when he agreed so quickly to this plan in the first place. Jake is usually our moral compass, the one who lectures us on right and wrong. But this time? He was all in before River was.
Which means he needs this, maybe more than the rest of us.
Old Man Larson’s stash of cash and other valuables is buried exactly forty yards away. Good for us that he doesn’t trust banks. And good for us that I just happened to be passing by with Alex and we saw Larson moving the stash. A couple hundred-dollar bills flew out of a paper bag. One of the bills landed right at our feet. With wide eyes, Alex grabbed it, and we stayed put until we could get away without being seen.
That was the beginning of my plan. We took the hundred bucks, went to get Seb, Riv, and Jake, and the five of us had as much pizza and ice cream as we could eat. Jake especially enjoyed it, which made me happy .
It was pure kismet that Alex and I were out this way that day.
Or was it fate?
The one problem with our plan is that Riv has the most muscle. He should be out here digging, but since he was the only one who could get the drugs for Larson, he insisted he be the one to administer the dose and keep watch.
I gave in on that one. I gave in because Riv was the last to agree to this, and I didn’t want to argue. Didn’t want to give him any chance to back out.
“Brett,” Seb whispers harshly, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Let’s go.”
Seb is hot on my heels with Alex following him closely and Jake bringing up the rear. We reach the spot where I saw Larson bury his stash. It’s not marked in any particular way, but it’s rooted deeply in my memory.
The night air pricks at our skin as we move into action. Seb and Jake are on first watch. Alex and I take up position by the tree line, shovels in hand. We dig as if our lives depend on it. In a way, they do.
The sound of the shovels slicing into the dirt echoes through the stark, empty night. The scent of freshly turned earth is somehow invigorating.
Our hands gloved, we continue digging. Damn, how far underground did he bury?—
I look up when Alex drops his shovel. He wipes his brow with the back of his gloved hand, leaving a streak of mud across his forehead.
“Did you hear that?” he asks, his voice barely audible in the still night.
I strain my ears to listen, but all I can hear are unintelligible whispers between Seb and Jake .
“Nope.” I shake my head and return to my shovel.
But Alex isn’t satisfied. He walks toward the tree line.
I drop my shovel and follow him, handing my shovel to Seb.
“What gives?” Seb whispers.
“Not sure. Keep digging. I’ll figure it out.” My heart is drumming as I go after Alex.
I find him crouched low and gripping a hefty rock. He glances back at me, his eyes wide and alert. He puts a finger to his lips and points toward something beyond my field of vision. I squint in the direction he’s indicating, but all I see is darkness.
And then I hear it.
A rustling noise that’s too heavy to be the wind. It’s rhythmic and calculated. Alex motions for me to stay put and slowly inches forward, his fingers white-knuckled around the rock.
“Who’s there?” he calls out into the darkness. His voice sounds surprisingly steady despite the tension etched into his face.
The rustling grows louder but then stops. I hold my breath, my heart pounding in my ears.
A moment later, a figure breaks through the trees. But it’s not a man.