“What are you saying, Luke?” I curiously ask.
“I’m saying nothing is ever a coincidence,” he snarls. “Do you really think this wasn’t setup somehow? But will Henry ever share those secrets? Good luck with that.”
My eyes go between Bodhi and Porter. They both shake their heads in confusion.
Luke continues. “Owen Edwards fell apart with all their secrets. He knew Phoebe had proof of who she was. He knew Henry Channing didn’t deserve that money … and your father, Eva, took care of him so he wouldn’t talk. Then, your father …” he laughs, grabbing his side and even stomping his foot as he tries to catch his breath. “Your father decided he was too worried about you to keep living like this.”
I let out a little gasp.
Luke smirks. “Yes, sweetheart. When your father realized you had spent two years with the family he helped rescue from the crazy deep sea fishing captain in the Bahamas, he grew a heart. But Henry Channing told him to keep you away from them or all the money he was so generously sharing with your family each month, the inheritance money, would stop. You don’t think Henry just gave your dad his share, do you? Fuck no. Monthly payments, and only if your dad didn’t piss Henry off.”
I start crying and look down at my feet. I don’t want Luke to see that he’s made me upset. I refuse to give him that satisfaction.
“Do you think your father even has a job, Eva?” Luke questions. “Or do you think maybe he does whatever the hell Henry Channing tells him to do to keep the money rolling in?”
I cry harder and cover my ears. I don’t want to hear anything else. I can’t hear anything else.
“Leave her alone!” Bodhi shouts.
“She needs to hear this!” Luke growls. “She needs to hear that her father always chose money over her! No matter how many times he confronted Henry Channing trying to make things better, the money always won!”
I take a deep breath, uncover my ears, and glare at Luke. “Sounds like my dad and you, aren’t very different. You both can go to hell.”
“Oh sweetheart,” Luke sighs, walking up to me and squatting down, catching a tear with his finger. “There’s no need for tears. You won in the end. When Phoebe died, your father couldn’t do it anymore. He went to Henry and told him this. Told him it’s been long enough, he wanted out and it was time to tell you and your mom the truth … and what did good old Henry do when Brayden said he was done with the lies?” he shouts, jumping up and spinning to glare at Porter before turning back to me. “He put a bullseye on Bodhi’s forehead. If you were seen with Bodhi, Eva …” Luke raises his finger to his neck and pretends to slice it.
I gulp, and my heart starts to race. “Mr. Channing was going to kill Bodhi? If I was seen around him?”
“Kill! Get rid of! Whatever term you want to use!” Luke scowls.
“My—my dad?” I question. “Did my dad agree—”
“Bodhi’s still here, isn’t he?” Luke points to him. “Your precious dad wouldn’t let that happen. Fuck. I actually think he cares about Bodhi … I think all along he’s cared about Bodhi, but Henry knew, Eva. He knew your father was caving, and that is when I get the phone call. I hadn’t heard from Henry Channing for over fifteen years! Fifteen years wondering where the hell my son was!”
“What did he say to you?” I question him again.
“He told me everything,” Luke repeats. “And he promised me millions to take care of one simple task so that everything would stay the same for him.”
“Get rid of my father,” I whisper.
“Bingo,” Luke nods. “Henry Channing only cares about one thing in life. Money. He doesn’t care who he destroys to get what he wants … to keep what he has. So I agreed, but do you honestly think I was going to sit in the Bahamas and wait for Brayden Calloway to magically show up?”
“You came here instead?” Bodhi asks him.
“Hell yeah, I did! I wanted to see my son, and I want the money those bastards got for stealing him away from me! That money belongs to you!” he yells at Bodhi. “And there’s proof somewhere that it does!”
“The proof,” I say. “How did you know about the letters and stuff?”
“Henry Channing,” Luke smirks. “Like I said, he told me everything. He also told me your father had that proof, and that if we didn’t take care of him soon, he was going to confess to everything they did, and then the millions Henry was promising me, would be gone.”
“Which is why you looked for them in my dad’s office?”
“Maybe,” Luke barks. “Maybe I needed the proof so that Henry Channing would lose everything. Not so I would get a measly few million for knocking off Brayden Calloway.”
“How did you get in?” I question. “To my house?”
Luke grins at me. “Your balcony, sweetheart, at first, and right out the patio door when I needed to leave.”
“My balcony?”
“Don’t act so surprised, Eva—”
“You snuck in through her fucking balcony?!” Bodhi exclaims. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
Luke smirks. “I’m not the only one who sneaks in through her balcony. Right, son?” he winks.
Bodhi quickly looks over at me. “What the fuck does that mean?” he questions Luke. “And do not call me son.”
My hands are trembling. He knows Bodhi snuck in this morning. How does he know Bodhi snuck in this morning? “How did you know—”
“The letters!” Luke shouts, ignoring both of us. “Once that proof is in my hands, the money that Henry Channing got for taking my son from me, will go back to Bodhi. I will make sure of that.”
“I don’t want the money!” Bodhi makes clear. “And if I ever got it, I sure as hell wouldn’t hand it over to you.”
“Oh, but you will,” Luke glares. “Because if you don’t, I will take down Henry Channing, and I will take down Brayden Calloway, and that will ruin little sweetheart’s family. I know my fair share about the business deals of those two men. Do you want to be solely responsible for ruining her perfect life?”
I know I should stay in my seat. I know I shouldn’t provoke Luke in any way when it’s so obvious how unstable he is right now, but I can’t help myself. I stand and stare right into his face. “My life has never been perfect, and you are a fucking bastard.”
Luke runs his fingers through my hair and then bops me on my nose. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
Bodhi pulls me back so that I fall right onto his lap. “Don’t, Eva! Please, don’t!”
“Why don’t you just go to Henry Channing and demand the money?” I yell at Luke. “Why throw Bodhi in the middle of something he had nothing to do with? Oh, that’s right, because you’re a fucking asshole!”
Luke points to the Halifax. “Have you met Henry Channing? You honestly think he’s going to just give it up? Phoebe’s dead! Owen’s dead! Your dad is next! No one crosses path with Henry Channing without having their life ruined! I need the proof! That’s the only way—”
“You burned his house down!” I cry out. “Do you think you’ll get away with that? Money or not, you’re screwed.”
“Eva!” Bodhi whispers. “Stop! You need to stop!”
“I covered my tracks,” Luke glares at me. “Trust me, I covered them. Do you honestly think I was the one who lit the match? Hell no. No one will ever know …”
“We all know!” I wave my hands at the five of us. “You told us!”
“You five going to talk?” he asks.
“I don’t know, Luke,” I say firmly. “I guess that all depends—”
“I want my money!” Luke yells, ignoring me. “I need that money! I cannot leave without that money! And you two have the proof that it belongs to Bodhi! And Bodhi, you’re going to give it to me so that I can wave it all in front of Henry Channing’s goddamn face—”
“I don’t have your proof!” Bodhi exclaims.
“I know you have them!” Luke screams. “I know you have the letters, the statements—”
<
br /> “They don’t,” Porter declares. He’s been so quiet this whole time, I keep forgetting he’s even here. “They don’t have it, any of it.”
I shoot my eyes at Porter. What the hell is he doing? Now is not the time to be a goddamn hero.
“They gave it all to me,” Porter says. “I had it, I took it from them. They asked me to keep it safe, away from here.”
“Porter,” I whisper in a state of panic. “Don’t—”
“Well, where the hell is it all, Henry Channing’s son?” Luke cries out.
Porter slowly points behind him. “You burned it all.”
Luke’s eyes grow large. He starts to wheeze. “Fuck!” he screams out, but then he turns to Porter and aims the gun right at his face. “Well, looks like I’m going to have to shoot you now.”
“No!” Bodhi screams. He jumps up. I fall off his lap and catch myself on his arm. “No! I have money! My mom! She left me a trust fund with thirty million dollars in it! You can have it! All of it! I promise! Just put the gun down!”
Luke spins. “Thirty million dollars?” And then he laughs. “The drug money. Probably the fucking drug money …”
“Yes!” Bodhi says, pulling my body closer to his, throwing me behind him. “Yes! Thirty million! You don’t need Henry Channing’s money! You don’t have to do this! You can have the money in the trust fund! I’ll get when I’m eighteen—”
“Eighteen?!” Luke repeats. “What the hell am I going to do until then? When the hell do you turn eighteen?”
“March! The end of March! And I’ll give it all to you! I promise!”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Luke shouts. He’s pacing again, almost bouncing with his steps. The gun is waving in his shaking hands.
“Because you can!” Bodhi tells him. “Because I care about these people too much to lie to you!”
Luke looks at the five of us. He darts between us all, the gun pointing at each of us as he tries to figure out his next move. His eyes land on me and grow large, wild, and then he laughs, loud and madly. He points the gun right at Bodhi, gives him a little nod, and grabs my arm.
“She goes with me.”
chapter thirty-eight
Eva
L uke’s fingers dig into my shoulder as he pulls me towards him. I wince and stumble back into his body as he wraps his arm around my neck. I throw my hands up, pulling on him to loosen his grip so I can breathe.
“Like hell she will!” Bodhi shouts. He moves towards me, a look of absolute panic on his beautiful face.
“Don’t come any closer, Bodhi!” Luke cries out, bringing the gun right up to my head. His hand is trembling. I can feel the gun bouncing against my temple. I know he doesn’t want to do this, he doesn’t want to hurt me, but he is so out-of-control right now.
Bodhi raises his hands and drops to his knees. “Please! Please don’t! Please! Don’t take her! I promise I’ll give you the money! I’ll see if I can get it early! I’ll call the lawyer! Just please, please don’t take her from me! Don’t hurt her!”
My eyes scan everyone watching this. I look at Luna, I look at Coop, I look at Porter. They’re all in a state of silent terror. Crying quietly, complete fear on their faces. I then look at Bodhi, he is broken. He will never recover from this without me. He needs me. I can’t let this happen. I can’t let Bodhi think he’s lost me again, but I also can’t let anyone get hurt. Luke needs to believe he’s still in full control.
“You love her like I think you do?” Luke looks down at Bodhi and asks. “Then you’ll get me that money! Until then, she comes with me! I’ll keep her safe! We’ll sail away into the night and return once I see proof! It’s how I know you won’t go back on your word!”
Sail away into the night. His boat. I know where he’s going to take me.
“You have my word!” Bodhi cries. “I promise! Please, please don’t do this! Don’t take her from me!”
“Bodhi,” I whisper. His startled eyes go right to mine. “Bodhi, it’s okay, it will be okay. I promise it will be okay. I’ll go.”
“No, Eva! You’re staying here! Fuck all of this!” he screams, standing up and trying to grab for me.
Luke kicks him down. The gun is pushing against my head still. “We’re leaving,” he declares, and he starts to drag me away.
“I’ll go!” I cry out for the second time, looking up at Luke. “I’ll go without any problems, but please, can I say goodbye to your son? You are destroying him. As his father, please don’t take me away without letting me say something to him.”
Luke lowers the gun slowly. The rage in his eyes seems to have suddenly vanished. “I would have been a good dad,” he says. “I never got the chance with him. You have one minute.”
I run to Bodhi, instantly putting my mouth by his ear. His arms squeeze around my body so tight it actually hurts.
“Eva you can’t go—”
“He has a boat!” I whisper. “It’s at High Bridge! Let me go, Bodhi. You have to. Don’t fight him, he’s going to hurt someone. I can feel it. We can’t let him do that … just get there. Get there before we do, take Porter’s boat. I’ll stall him. Think of a plan, be waiting for us,” I plead, pulling on his shirt. “I can’t get on that boat. Please.”
Bodhi squeezes my body even tighter. His tears run down my shoulder. “I will. I’ll get there, Eva. I’ll be there.” His lips find mine and then I’m immediately being dragged away by my hair.
“We’ll be in touch!” Luke exclaims, pulling me away from my patio. I close my eyes. I can’t see them all watching this. I can’t see their faces as I’m being pulled away. “Don’t do anything stupid!” he shouts, then we disappear into the shadows of the night.
I don’t see his pickup truck as we walk down my driveway. We keep walking, me in front of him, the gun pointed at my back for what seems like forever. I walk slowly, as slow as I can. I trip over my feet a couple times, stalling as long as possible. When we finally get to his truck, it’s hidden deep in the woods across the street, next to Sharon Granger’s house. I can only assume this is exactly where his truck was parked as he was inside my house going through my dad’s office too.
He opens the passenger door and gives me a slight push. “After you, sweetheart.”
I immediately bring the seatbelt across my waist, pulling tightly on it as it rests on my stomach. I look back towards my house as I try not to panic. I can’t have a panic attack right now. Not in front of Luke. I don’t want him to know I’m as scared as hell, and the only reason I agreed to go with him is because I know Bodhi will beat us to his boat. He’ll save me because that’s what Bodhi does, he saves me.
Luke turns onto High Bridge, tugging on his seat belt that won’t rise from its holder by his hip. He gives up and hits the window a few times with the gun, the truck veering off the road as he does. His driving is erratic. I’m wondering if we’ll get pulled over by the police before we even get to his boat. I pull my seatbelt tighter.
“Do you want me to drive?” I whisper.
He lets out a loud laugh. “That’s a big fat no.”
“Where are we going?” I ask him, trying to keep my breathing steady.
“Not sure!” he cries out. “This was not part of my plan, or maybe it always was? I think you coming with me was always going to happen. It’s rather ironic, isn’t it? Your father takes my son, I take his daughter …?”
“Are we going to stay in Flagler?”
“Hell no,” he replies. “I hate this goddamn place. We’ll go back to the Bahamas? For a couple days? I’m not going to hurt you, Eva. I won’t do that to Bodhi. I won’t hurt you. I would have hurt the rest, but not you. I just need the money. I need his money to make everything right,” he rambles. “Everything will be right with money. I’ll make it right, and then I’ll see Skyla again.”
“Who’s Skyla?” I question him quietly.
Luke looks over at me, swerving his truck on the curves of the road as he does. He jerks the wheel back and looks ahead of him as h
e says calmly, the calmest I’ve seen him all night, “My daughter.”
My head spins to face him. “Bodhi has a sister? A half-sister? Why didn’t you tell him?”
“She’s eight,” is what he says under his breath. “And she lives with her mom. I haven’t seen her in years, but once I get my money, I’ll get both Skyla and her mom back. Money makes everything right.”
Money won’t do shit when you’re a fucking lunatic, but I don’t say that to him.
“Are they in the Bahamas?”
“You sure ask a lot of questions,” he grumbles, but then he answers. “No. Not in the Bahamas. They were, but they left a while ago. Everyone always leaves me. They actually aren’t too far from here.”
“Bodhi’s sister, you care about her? But you don’t care about him?”
His face turns again to stare at me. His eyes are still shooting around back and forth. “I never got the chance to care about Bodhi.”
“You still could, Luke,” I try to reason with him. “You still could have a relationship with him.”
Luke starts laughing. “That boy wants nothing to do with me!”
“He did,” I mumble. “Until all of this.”
Luke starts violently shaking his head. “No!” he yells. “No! It was him, or her! I had to choose the one that I still have a chance with! I need that money—”
“I wonder what she would think,” I interrupt him. “Skyla, if she knew her dad was kidnapping her brother’s girlfriend. Does she even know about Bodhi?”
“Of course not!” he cries out. “I never talk about Bodhi to anyone!”
“You sound like your father,” I say into my hands.
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