Page 35 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)

Sharks

Easton

C losing myself off was how I got through my childhood.

It’s how I turned myself into a champion.

It’s how I can ignore my body when it’s in pain.

But what I can’t ignore right now is the way they’re all staring at me.

Or the thoughts that have been churning in my head since Zane told me about the money laundering.

My dad was involved with it, but like I just told Calvin, everywhere my dad went, so did Susan.

For my entire life, until just a few years ago when he suddenly announced he was getting a divorce.

I wasn’t shocked outwardly, but inside? Yes, I was shocked. Damn shocked.

If she set up the sabotage of the Rock Candy to kill me, what else would she be willing to do?

Susan was there when I was little, when my mom was so depressed.

My mom had mental health challenges . . .

I remember overhearing my grandmother—my mom’s mom.

My mom had promised her own mother that she would never hurt herself.

But then she did. And I hated her for it.

Hated her for being a liar. The what ifs pop in my head.

Susan was the one who found her, the bottle of pills in her hand.

I raise my cup of tea. “To this family. We have each other’s backs.” I kiss the top of Haley’s head.

With lunch over, we clear the plates and bring them in to Esmeralda. Unlike the last cook, she doesn’t lock the doors during the day. Haley takes my hand. “I saw the gardeners leave before lunch. Want to take Penny for a walk with me?”

“Sure. Yes, I’d love that.”

We’re around the back of the chateau near a duck pond when Haley unclips Penny. The ducks have disappeared since Penny’s arrival. We stroll around the side and sit under a large tree.

Haley touches the bark. “This is an English Oak.”

I smile. “It amazes me you can remember so many plants and trees.”

“It’s a passion. I like knowing things about things I care about. And people. People like you. You know, you can tell me anything.”

“I know.” I bite at the inside of my cheek, and I’m a second away from shutting down completely again. But then I spill it all out in one long-winded breath. Everything about Susan and my mom.

Haley’s blue eyes are full of tears, and for a second, I think I’ve said too much. Jumped too many steps.

“Wow . . . I don’t know what to say. It seems like it could be.

She wanted your dad, his money. She got them, and then she lost them .

. . so she decides to take it out on you.

On him . . . on all of us. It’s ringing bells to me.

” She holds my hand, and we sit there for a long time, not talking. Just watching Penny chase leaves.

After a while, Haley turns to me. “What about the diamond? Or diamonds. Why were there two diamonds on the Rock Candy ?”

I pull the diamond out of my pocket. Somehow, from the island to the Rosewood , the house in Thailand, the resort, and now here, I’ve managed to not lose the damn thing.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got the real one, but I’m not positive.

I’ve been meaning to ask Dante . . . I have no idea.

Maybe Susan was mad that Candy got the diamond, and she wanted it as a trophy.

Maybe the saboteur was supposed to take it. ”

“Rockwell, Brewster,” Collins yells. He comes jogging around the side of the house. “Get the dog.” Unlike the last few days, he’s got a large gun slung over his shoulder.

Haley whistles and Penny’s at her side. I don’t trust the asshole. He was willing to shoot at Zane. He’s just the kind of asshole who would shoot our dog.

“Move around the side of the house.” Collins is right behind us. “Faster.”

“What’s going on?” Haley’s running with Penny at her side. Penny’s butt is dancing around like whatever is going down is some kind of game.

“Get in the van,” Collins shouts.

Dante, Sam, Easton, and Zane are leaning against the van. Calvin’s wearing Pepper in a hoodie.

“I told you to get in,” Collins yells. “Here.” He hands Dante some wire cutters. Dante snips the ankle monitors off me and Haley.

“What do you want me to do with them?” Dante swings them sideways from his fingertips.

Collins takes them and throws them into the hedges on the side of the driveway. It’s a long haul. He’s got an impressive arm.

“Get in the damn van.” We pile in, and Collins gets in the front seat. He backs out, handing me his phone. “Turn this off. You don’t have any other devices on you, do you?” He swipes his badge, and the gate goes up. We’re a hundred feet from the gate when Collins tosses his badge into the hedge.

I turn his phone off and hand it back to him.

“What’s going on?” Haley whispers to Dante.

“I’ve got no clue. You want to tell us where we’re going, Collins?” Dante asks.

“I’m trying to keep you alive. Just hang on; we’ll be there in an hour. If we don’t hit rush hour and don’t run into the elder Z’s guys. Or Holloway.”

“Holloway? As in your boss?” Sam asks.

“I don’t work for any of those criminals. Not really.” Collins takes a sharp right and turns onto the M3. “Do me a solid and watch my six.” He points to Calvin in the back with Zane.

“I’m not watching anything. I’m so fucking sick of that. You shot at me, Collins,” Zane shouts from the back row.

“My name is not Nick Collins. It’s Nolan Mitchell.”

He’s got the wheels of this van gripping the road with each car he passes and swerves around. Like he’s a Formula One racer turned delivery driver. But there’s something about him that’s ticking at me. Why should we care about his name?

“Mitchell?” Haley asks. “Nolan Mitchell?”

“Yes,” he says and cranks the wheel, passing a tour bus.

“Like Trent Mitchell, Mitch, from the Rock Candy ?” Haley says, an edge to her voice.

Collins-Mitchell turns quickly around and catches her eyes. He nods and turns back to the road. “Yes. I’ll tell you everything you want to know when we get where we’re going.”

I turn to Calvin and hold his icy stare. And I’m not the only one looking at him and then Sam. Finally, my eyes flick to Zane. He shakes his head. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t trust the man driving us. He tried to kill him. He’s one guy. Granted, he’s one guy with an assault rifle.

“How are you related to Mitch?” Sam asks.

“He’s my cousin. I’ll tell you the rest when we get where we’re going.

” A half hour later, Nolan pulls the van into an underground parking lot.

He’s wearing a large overcoat over his gun.

“Let’s go. Three blocks down this road, take a right at the fruit stand, look for 120.

It’s a green door. Wait in the lobby. Walk two at a time.

I’ll be right behind you. And I know it’s tough to trust me.

But please, please just give me ten minutes when we get to the flat. ”

Surprisingly, there’s not a battle over who’s walking with whom. Sam and Haley are first, Dante and Zane are in the middle, and lastly, it’s Calvin and me. No one is looking at us. Which is shocking. I’m not short, and Calvin’s a damn Viking with a cat in his hoodie.

We pass a pub, a bakery, and a small grocery store before the fruit market. The lobby at 120 has seen better days.

Our keeper, Mitch’s cousin, unlocks the door to the inner foyer. “It’s a walk up. Sorry, elevators have been broken for the last month.”

“You want a lift, Haley?” Calvin asks.

“My ankle’s good. I’ve been going up and down the stairs at the chateau.”

“It’s ten stories. Pick her up, caveman. We don’t have a lot of time,” Nolan says.

But I give Haley a cock of my chin and she throws her arms around my chest, and up we go. My shoulder’s long healed, and holding Haley makes me feel better.

“I’ve seen more of the world upside down than I’ve ever imagined.

” She holds on tight. We’re flying up the stairs.

A couple passes us, coming down, holding the hands of their child.

“Training for the wife carry contest,” Haley tells them.

I can tell she must be waving as she momentarily lets go of my waist and moves on my shoulder.

“You want me to take a turn?” Calvin’s beside me, step for step. I know he wants to take her, but he’s carrying Pepper in his hoodie.

“I’m good.” When we round the tenth flight, I’ve got to say I’m awfully glad to see the landing.

Nolan unlocks the door.

“What in the hell?” Sam says. Whatever it is can’t be good, as Sam doesn’t shock easily.

I haven’t seen what he’s referring to, as I’m helping Haley get her equilibrium back. “You good?” I ask when her feet are settled on the floor.

“Yes, thank you. I swear I didn’t injure myself just so you all could carry me.” She winks.

“I’ll carry you for no reason, any day, Little Bird.” Zane’s focused on Haley too.

And when I turn around, I see what Sam means.

There’s an arsenal of weapons on a plastic folding table.

Behind it is a wall of maps, photos of people, mug shots.

And places. We’re all drawn to it like Penny is drawn to a tennis ball.

We gather around the wall. Penny jumps on the threadbare, secondhand sofa, and Calvin’s locked Pepper behind the door to the side of the sofa.

Which I can only guess is a bathroom or bedroom.

My eyes flick over the photos.

“This picture is just like the ones we found on the Rock Candy .” Haley pulls the push pin from the black-and-white photograph. It’s the one with the girl sitting on the cot with a cross behind her. She holds it up to the light.

“That’s my sister, Kiera.” Nolan points to the college student photo.

“This is Trent’s sister. Our family called us the twins.

Because I’m the same age as Trent, born two weeks apart.

And our sisters were born on the same day, five years later.

” Nolan takes the photo from Haley. “These two photos are how our personal hell started.” He taps one of Mitch-Trent’s sisters.

“Before he left to pick up the Rock Candy , someone paid him a visit in Miami. They made it sound like they had a job opening up for him, when what they had done was take Kiera. She was at school in Paris.” His voice trails off.

“They told Trent to not tell anyone or they would kill Kiera. And the stupid fucker believed them. It might be true. She might already be dead. I still haven’t found her. ”

“Mitch . . .Trent did it all? Everything to the Rock Candy .” Sam’s growling.

“He did. Though I never got a chance to talk to him. I don’t have proof, but I’m sure he’s dead.”

“Oh.” Haley clasps her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” Nolan says.

I’m not sure how I feel about him being dead.

The kid could have gone to the police. He could have said no.

And then maybe both he and Candy would be alive.

We wouldn’t have been on an island for a year.

I wouldn’t have Haley, my family, the guys.

“If you haven’t talked to him, how do you know all this? ”

“Trent thought he could handle it. But he had a backup plan if he couldn’t. A month after the incident?—”

“Incident?”

“Yes. His interference with the ship was planned. But comparing his notes to the press briefing, something happened. A month after the incident was to have happened, he had an email scheduled for me.”

“You? Why not the police?”

“I’ve got some skills . . .”