Chapter Eighteen
~Nolan~
Frustrated not only with the evening’s events, but the entire work-action all together, I rubbed my eyes with the heels on my hands and internally screamed. Envisioning my hands locked around someone’s neck squeezing the life out them. Who? Who cared? It would be cathartic.
Pete’s calls, all six of them to Martinez, went unanswered and I watched as he redialed and left another desperate message.
“I’m really worried about Jeff, you need to return my calls.”
Pete didn’t want to admit how close like brothers he and Jeff had become over the years, but I knew. You couldn’t work that closely with a guy and not bond somehow. The two jokers, pains in the ass really, were like family to me and you protected your family no matter what.
“What does that mean?” Pete pointed to my side. “Your walkie-talkie is blinking.”
“It is?” I yanked it off my belt, the red light in the upper left corner of the screen was blinking wildly. “It’s the GPS.”
“Where’s it coming from?” Pete moved to my side so he could see the map with me. We looked at each other and laughed.
“Your hotel. Bastard probably took some chick back there for a good time, leaving us to worry. I’ll kill him.”
“A lesbian?”
“I was thinking more like resort staff.”
“You’ll kill him?” Pete huffed. “He promised me no women in our hotel room, what if Mandy finds out there were women in our room?”
“We’ll take turns killing him,” I chuckled. “Then he’s all Mandy’s.”
But if Jeff was with a woman in their hotel room, that didn’t explain where Bailey was and God knows he wouldn’t be helping Jeff entertain a woman. So why would Jeff have Bailey’s walkie-talkie?
“Come on, let’s get to the hotel.” Pete walked ahead as I took one last look around in hopes that Bailey would emerge from the crowd.
“Bails, where the fuck are you?”
When we stepped off the elevator, I noted a group of men gathered at the opposite end of the hall next to Jeff and Pete’s room. They were dressed unusually, certainly not the norm for a group of guys vacationing. Even the guests at the wedding had dressed down. Whoever was staying in that room must have been well-to-do. Pete took his key card from his pocket and swiped it.
I grasp hold of his wrist. “Maybe we should knock?”
I wasn’t in any mood for surprises, especially the surprise of a naked woman and a naked Jeff in the throes of passion or whatever they were up to in there.
“Maybe fuck him!” Pete grumbled, re-swiping his card, throwing the door open.
A clear view of the bed from the doorway still made and empty greeted us. The washroom light was on and the door open proved the room to be unoccupied.
“I’m about to go out of my fucking mind,” Pete announced, walking to the bed and sitting. “Some fucking GPS, what a piece of shit.”
I looked at the screen giving it a tap, switching the unit off and on several times, nonetheless, the GPS insisted the other unit was in the hotel.
“Maybe he’s down in the bar,” I offered, fearing Pete was about to lose it. “He’s in this building. Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”
“What do you suggest?” Pete stood, rubbing his forehead as if expelling a headache. “That we knock on every door? There has to be a hundred rooms, if not more, and, at this time of night, we’ll get tossed out on our asses before we get finished with the first floor.”
Pete was right, of course, I was grasping at straws. I had no answers, no plans, and no idea when or where we would find Jeff and Bailey.
“I’m going to the bar,” I announced. “And if neither one of them are there, I’m going back to the wedding and start my search over, all night if I have to.”
The bar was humming, it was twenty-five minutes before eleven and my heart sank when there was no sign of Jeff or Bailey. They had been gone for hours. Pete and I were speechless as our eyes met and Pete let out a draining sigh, his head dropped back eyes searching the laser lit ceiling. Opening my mouth to speak, to offer some words of wisdom or bullshit, whatever worked, I caught the sight of Martinez standing at the end of the bar. He tossed back a shot and thumped money on the surface, the server snatching it away with a grin. Taking hold of Pete’s arm, yanking him with me, I tore through the crowd towards Martinez who was headed for the doors.
“Martinez!” I shouted, he looked at me coolly and stopped.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted.
“Don’t you check your fucking phone?” Pete snarled, I held up a hand and stepped between him and Martinez.
“Off duty,” he gave as an answer. “Problem?”
“Our friends Jeff and Bailey are missing,” I told him, Pete growling over my shoulder.
Martinez gave a snort. “You boys certainly have trouble staying together. I’ll call it in and have my men do a search. You should go back to your rooms and stay put. One of my men will call you when your friends are located.”
“Not good enough,” Pete grumbled. “Your men didn’t do much last time to find Jeff, you may have faith in them, but I sure as fuck don’t.”
“What would you like me to do, call in the armed guard or a SWAT team?” Martinez moved closer. “You and your friends have been nothing but a thorn in my ass since you set foot on my island. When we find them, I want you all packed and ready to leave. You’re going home. I want you out of my hair.”
He turned and stormed through the doors before either one of us could remonstrate. I had no intention of going down without a battle, I clutched hold of the front of Pete’s shirt and pulled him towards the door.
“We’re following him,” I wasn’t waiting for Pete’s approval as we stepped outside and looked around.
“There he goes,” Pete nodded to the left as Martinez turned the corner.
We turned the same corner in time to see Martinez disappear through a door. I was certain it would be locked, imagine my surprise when I pulled the handle and it easily opened.
“I’m not going in there.” Pete was adamant and pulled me back by my sleeve. “Let’s just wait out here. He has to come out sooner or later. And why are we following him instead of looking for the guys?”
I shook my head shrugging my shoulders. “Not a clue. Something’s telling me to go after him. I think he knows where they are. Bailey hasn’t trusted Martinez from day one and I’m convinced Martinez is not what he wants us to think he is… nothing makes sense, nothing.”
~
~Bailey~
“Gentlemen.”
Red came into the office ahead of Martinez, gun drawn, held across his hip so both Jeff and I could see it. It was a silent warning I paid full attention to and looked over to Jeff whose eyes were glued to the pistol as well.
“Behaving yourselves I see,” Martinez walked behind his desk and sat.
From my point of view the trophy sat at the perfect level behind Martinez’s head and I held back a laugh, wishing at this point it would magically topple forward spilling the contents onto his head. I imagined Jeff had the same thought as the corner of his mouth twitched into a tiny smirk.
“They did a hell of job,” Martinez said, his eyes moving from the eight by ten to Jeff repeatedly. “You know what you have to do, right?”
“What if these guys don’t believe me?” Jeff began to panic, visibly melting in front of us.
“Settle down, Mr. Brown,” Martinez warned. “Look at me I’m a poet and didn’t know it… Listen, the one thing going for you is that none of these men have ever personally met Bettaglia. As far as I’m aware this will be a first-time introduction. So as long as you stick to the script and do everything as I told you, nothing can go wrong. We’ll run through it once just to be sure.”
“What about the guy that gave me instructions in the washroom?”
“Fuck him. He won’t even find out about the time change until it’s all over.”
Martinez explained Jeff’s role in detail, showed him pictures to go with names and then stood as he changed into a black hoodie, checked his gun and stuffed it into the waist of his pants. He nodded in my direction and Red forcibly grasped hold of the back of my arm.
“Remember, don’t do anything funny or your friend here will be the first one.”
“Fun times,” I rolled my eyes and Red jostled me as if that would stop me. I would do my best to be a distraction, I wanted Red all to myself. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a crooked cop.”
“Whatever.” Martinez glanced at his watch and I noted the star shaped ring on his pinkie, very much like the mark left on Jeff’s shoulder after his reappearance. “It’s time to go.”
Red and I walked outside first as he surveyed the area and then signaled for Martinez and Jeff to join us. Not a word was spoken as we climbed into a golf cart and Red drove to the water park which was close enough to walk to, but as I estimated, Martinez wanted Jeff there on time. At this time of night it was still busy with people, lights beaming into the crystal clear water. The sound of piped in music and people screaming didn’t seem to distract Martinez or Red at all. However, Jeff looked like he was going to go into convulsions at any second, his face was pale and I could practically see his heart drumming threw his shirt.
“Calm, Jeff,” I said, making eye contact. “You got this, no worries. Just take a deep a breath and make like you’re out with the guys looking for a piece of ass. Like its Saturdays night at the Wet Bandit.”
I had a feeling the mention of the Wet Bandit would settle Jeff, it was the world’s worst country western bar in town, but it was always good for a laugh.
Jeff chuckled and took a breath, cricked his neck from side to side and straightened his shirt. A bit more confident, Jeff walked past Martinez to a group of men seated at a table away from the yellow coiled plastic slides. Red and I stood hidden in the shadows of a cluster of palm trees, his gun aimed at my ribs. We were close enough to read lips, that was, if I could have.
A man dressed in a bold Hawaiian style shirt made the introductions and stepped back, Jeff shook hands with each of them and they all sat. What I would have given for an earpiece, or to be a fly in one of the tropical drinks on that particular table right now as they negotiated a deal.
“You can’t hide, you little fuck,” a voice growled, the vision of gritted teeth and narrowed hard eyes in my mind as I tuned in closer. “When were you going to tell me? When I was diagnosed? You won’t fucking get away with this.”
“I swear, Roger, I had no idea,” a quieter voice said with a quiver, no doubt from fear. “I haven’t been sick or anything, I swear.”
“Bullshit!”
There was a scuffle, the sound of glass crashing, a woman screamed and what sounded like a bunch of mini explosions followed. My heart nearly leapt from my chest when I heard Nolan’s voice. I wanted to run to him, but fear kept me back as well as the tip of Red’s gun poking into my side.
“What the fuck?” Red grumbled, watching the commotion to the right, while Jeff’s party to the left seemed not to notice at all.
“You don’t want to do this,” Nolan said, taking a step closer.
“Fuck you I don’t!” the taller man yelled, grabbing hold of the smaller man. They looked familiar. “I’ll kill him before he gets the chance to kill me first, lying sack of shit!”
“Calm down,” Nolan cooed. “No one’s going to kill anyone, what’s your name, kid?”
“Roger,” the smaller man choked out, as he struggled to get free. He was the kid from the bar and the other man was his drunken friend. “I swear-”
“Shut up!” Roger squeezed harder, knocking them off balance, but then righted them. “No one wants to hear what you have to say, you’ve said enough.”
“Roger,” Nolan eased forward. “Tell me what got you so upset?”
Roger tugged Devan, causing him to cry out.
“You want to know?” Rogers tightened his hold, Devan attempted to pull a breath into his lungs. “Tell him, Devan! Tell all these people, go ahead. Tell them how you got AIDS and now you’re trying to fucking kill me!”
While the small crowd who had gathered gasped and shook their heads, whispering among themselves, Nolan’s eyes briefly met mine. Holding up my hand to assure him I was okay, he quickly moved his sight back to the commotion in front of him.
I noticed Red watching them intently. He was paying me no mind and I was happy for the distraction, giving me a few moments to think my way out of this mess.
“I don’t have AIDS,” Devan croaked out. “I’m HIV positive.”
“Same fucking thing!” Roger yelled.
“No, Roger, it’s not,” Nolan informed him. “You don’t want to hurt Devan, you’re just angry and confused. Why don’t we go somewhere where we can talk? I want to help.”
“We slept together then he tells me,” Roger sneered. “Isn’t that like attempted murder or something?”
“HIV is not a death sentence,” Nolan educated Roger. “People can have HIV and not even know it. It’s a virus and it can be stopped. There are treatments to stop the virus from spreading. The first thing you need to do is see a doctor and be tested, there’s no sense jumping to conclusions. Have you had unprotected sex?”
“Sick!” Red snarled, he was sucked right into the drama.
“No,” Roger said.
“Then, the likelihood of you contracting the virus is slim to none. You’re both healthy young men, there’s no reason you can’t live a perfectly normal life for many, many years together.”
“Not gonna happen!”
“You tell him,” Red spoke under his breath, cheering on the big guy. I was amused at how easily Red’s attention was diverted as I bent forward.
Roger’s temper rose to an entirely new level, as he began a slow back step in the direction of Jeff’s table, dragging Devan with him.
“I’m telling you, Roger,” Nolan negotiated. “You don’t have the virus, let Devan go and we’ll talk. I’ll buy you a few drinks and we’ll just talk.”
“Fuck you!” Roger screamed, causing the crowd of rubberneckers to ooh and ahh.
Jeff again shook hands as the group of men rose to their feet, scowling at the kafuffle headed their way. This was my one opportunity; I couldn’t lose sight of Jeff, not now.
In one fell swoop, I clocked Red over the head with my prosthetic limb using every ounce of force I had in me, throwing myself off balance as Red crumpled unconscious to the ground. I snatched his gun, slid my leg back on and took off after Jeff and his new friends.
It was a good thing I had taken up running or Jeff could have ended up all on his own. At the back door to the hotel, I watched them all pile inside. Damn it, I had no idea where they went to. I opened the door a crack and tried to see inside. A leather gloved hand clamped over my mouth as a strong arm clutched around my shoulders, I kicked out, struggled and then stilled when I heard a voice whisper into my ear.
“It’s me, Hart.”
Relief washed over me as Hart let me go and I spun around to face him. He was a sight for sore eyes. The only thing that made this moment better was the sight of Nolan standing off in the distance with a half dozen men resembling a gang of ninja.
“About fucking time,” I grumbled under my breath. “What now?”
“We take over,” Hart nodded to three men and a woman rushing towards them clutching semi-automatics. “This is Detective Ambroise and his team.”
“He’s the island host, Deval,” I corrected.
“There will be time for introductions and explanations when we’re finished,” Deval offered, using his gun to direct his team.
“Go!” Hart instructed, as he and the other uniformed men and women filed in the door without a sound.
Clinging to Nolan, we stood at the back of a black Land Rover, Devan glued to Nolan’s side.
“That was some distraction,” I whispered. “How did you know where we were?”
Nolan chuckled. “I swear that was a fluke. When Pete and I got to the water park we didn’t know what to do. Thank Devan for the disruption.”
“Remind me to thank you later,” I smiled to Devan, who was still curled nervously into my man’s side. “Where’s Pete?”
“He said he was going back to the room to lock himself in and pack his things,” Nolan said. “There was no stopping him, me and Devan followed Jeff here. That’s when your friend Hart stopped us and told us to stay put. Should I be jealous of this Hart guy?”
“No,” I shook my head, looking into Nolan eyes thanking Christ that he wasn’t harmed in all this mess. “I’ll explain everything later, over a glass of wine when we’re alone, I promise. There are other promises we need to discuss, too. Now take cover, just in case.”