34. Lily
Lily
34
Mei’s scream as she disappears over the side of the yacht will haunt me for the rest of my life. Without a second thought, I jump in after her. Faintly, I catch Raphael’s shout before the rush of air swallows it, and I hit the water.
Kicking to the surface, I shout, “Mei!” as soon as I break through.
“Mommy!”
Her tiny voice reaches my ears, but she sounds so far away.
“Mei, where are you?” I tread water, searching desperately for my daughter. The sun has set, and I can’t see her anywhere. She can’t swim. So if she goes under, that’s it.
By some luck of fate or whatever, a light from the boat shines on a white dress standing out against the dark water.
“Hold on, sweetheart.” I pray she can hear me before I swim as fast as I can to her.
“Mommy,” she cries. Her voice is growing weaker. I can barely hear her now.
Another flash of light and I catch sight of her terrified face before she goes under with the next wave. Taking a deep breath, I dive, kick hard, reach out, and connect with her small arm seconds before she disappears into the dark abyss below. With another hard kick, we break the surface.
Supporting her tiny body against me, I push her wet hair out of her face. “Mei? Mei? Open your eyes, please.” I pat her cheek. “Mei, wake up. Please.”
She coughs and spits up water before opening her beautiful blue eyes. “Mommy?”
“Oh, thank God.” I hold her close, ensuring her head stays above the waterline.
“I’m scared, Mommy.” She shivers in my arms.
My heart squeezes painfully at the fear in her voice.
“Lily!”
I spin around and watch Enzo pull up beside us in a speedboat. He throws it in neutral and leans over the side. I hand him Mei first, and he helps her into the boat without a second thought. Then, gripping me around the elbow, he hoists me up like I weigh nothing with only one arm. He carefully sets me down, and I collapse in front of my daughter. She’s shaking from the frigid water and the adrenaline wearing off from her father throwing her overboard, but she’s alive, and that’s all that matters.
“Here.” Enzo shakes out of his jacket and wraps it around us. Warmth and his signature woodsy scent envelop us instantly.
“Are you okay?” he asks, bending down in front of us.
“No,” I admit honestly as I wrap my arms around Mei. “But we will be. Where’s Raphael? What’s happening?”
Enzo glances at the yacht with a tight jaw. His hand reaches for the throttle before he drops it and then reaches again. It’s like he’s torn about something. And then he makes whatever decision he was torn on. Throwing the throttle forward, he speeds the boat up…away from the yacht.
“What are you doing?” I shout.
“Raphael wants you and Mei safe,” he bites out.
“And I need him safe.” I stand with Mei in my arms and stumble to the large man. “Enzo, turn the boat around. We have to go back.”
He glances at me for a moment before shaking his head. “I can’t. I’ll get you two to safety, and then I’ll go back for Michael and Raphael.”
I grab his hand covering the throttle and squeeze. “Please, Enzo. If it was Evie would you leave her? Please…please. I-I love him.”
Enzo pulls back on the throttle with a deep sigh, and the boat slows. Bowing his head, he closes his eyes and groans. “Fuck. He’s gonna kill me for this.”
Turning the wheel, he points the boat back toward the yacht and presses down on the throttle.
Mei grips me tighter as we get closer to the yacht. “It’s okay, sweetheart. He can’t hurt you ever again.”
I can only imagine the shock she must be feeling over her father throwing her into the ocean. As terrible of a father as he is, he’s still her father and the only one she’s ever known. The betrayal of a relationship like that can be harmful, and I only hope she’s too young to remember any of it. That she can move on from this entire ordeal and be happy.
“I want Raphael,” she whispers into my neck.
I close my eyes and hug her closer. “Me too.”
“I need you to stay on the boat, Lily,” Enzo says as we get closer. “I’m already going against his orders to get you two far away from here. If you step foot on that yacht, he’ll definitely kill me.”
Fair. But unlikely.
But I won’t tell Enzo that. He’s likely to put the damn boat on cruise control or something, hop off, and send my ass back to shore just for suggesting it.
Enzo pulls the boat up alongside the yacht’s swim deck in the back. The opposite side of where we last saw Raphael, Michael, and Xiao.
“Stay put, both of you.” Enzo points a finger at us both with a stern look.
“Okay.”
“Promise me, Lily.”
“I will not leave the boat. I swear.” He should have specified which boat.
Enzo eyes me with skepticism before he finally nods and hops off the boat. I wait until he disappears from sight before I start counting to ten. When I do, I set Mei down on the captain’s chair and wrap her in Enzo’s coat, tucking her in until she looks like a little puffy penguin.
“Mei, I need you to stay here.”
“But Enzo said—”
“I know what he said, but I need to go help them. Help Raphael. Okay?”
“Can I help?”
“Absolutely. You can help by staying here and guarding the boat. Can you do that?”
“Please don’t go, Mommy.”
I grab her head and kiss her forehead. “I don’t want to, princess, but I have to. And I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”
I should listen to Enzo and stay, but I can’t. Something in me pulls me to the front of the yacht, pulling me to where I last saw Raphael. If I don’t listen, if I don’t go, I have this sinking feeling that something terrible is going to happen.
So many dead bodies litter the yacht. A gruesome sight for some, but all I see is proof of how hard Raphael and his brother fought to rescue Mei and me. And if they could do that, then I can ignore a bunch of dead Triad bastards.
I freeze just before coming around the corner when I hear voices.
“We found the warehouse, Xiao,” Raphael says. “It’s over.”
“You think I care?” Xiao asks before he snorts. “I have a dozen more.”
“So, you’re the one behind the human auctions in Miami?” I can hear the anger in Michael’s voice rise. “The one who sold Lily and Rose?”
“Maybe. There’s been so many over the years,” Xiao snorts. “They blend after a while, to be honest.”
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Michael growls, his voice dripping with venom. “For Rose for Lily...for Dominic.”
Xiao laughs. “Oh yeah, sorry about your cousin, DiAngelo. But he was getting a little too close, and it was bad for business. You know how these things go. The boss wanted him dead, and I wanted to send you a message.”
“You’re fucking dead,” Michael threatens.
“You keep saying that, but do you really think this ends with me? This is a lot bigger than you realize, you fool. Cut my head off, and another two will grow in its place.”
“But at least you’ll be dead and will never hurt Lily or Mei again,” Raphael says. His words are as cold as ice that a shiver runs down even my spine.
“Ah, speaking of my daughter. I saw your man pull her and that whore of a mother from the water. Once I get rid of you, I’m going to sell that slut to the first offer. Hell, maybe I’ll sell the girl too. She's had her head filled with silly ideas for too long by that woman. I should have killed her years ago. She’s been more trouble than she’s worth.”
I ball my hands into fists, my body wound up and ready to explode around the corner. Hearing him talk about selling my daughter has me seeing red.
"Tell me, Raphael," Xiao continues. “Did you enjoy that old cunt of hers?”
“Best breakfast I’ve ever had.”
Xiao’s angry growl is loud enough to let me know that Raphael’s response struck a nerve.
Glancing around the corner, I catch the flash of a knife blade as Xiao lunges for Raphael.
“No!” I scream, leaping from my hiding spot and exposing myself to the group.
My outburst distracts Raphael.
“Watch out!”
Raphael’s eyes snap from me to Xiao and the knife in his hand. He moves, but not quick enough. The blade buries into Raphael’s shoulder when it would have hit his heart instead had he not moved.
But, if I had just stayed quiet, he probably would have been able to avoid the attack altogether. The momentum drives Raphael and Xiao backward against the railing. Xiao’s feet get wrapped up in rope coiled by the railing, and he trips. Raphael meets my eyes a moment before they disappear over the side of the boat.
“No!” I dash forward, crashing into the steel railing where they fell overboard. “Where are they? I can’t see them.”
Michael and Enzo appear beside me, one on my left and the other on my right.
“You were supposed to stay in the damn boat,” Enzo growls.
I don’t bother arguing because what I should and shouldn’t have done is irrelevant right now. I can’t find Raphael or Xiao, and that’s more important. Raphael’s been stabbed, and he’s bleeding in open water.
“Do you see them?” I ask frantically.
“No,” Michael answers in a grave voice.
“Michael,” Enzo says, the single word heavy and full of hidden meaning.
A single heartbeat later, Michael removes his vests and weapons, stripping down to only his pants and shirt. “Stay here and wait.” He then sticks a knife blade between his teeth, steps over the railing, and dives into the dark ocean below.