by L. R. Wright
Just then, the waitress ambled back over to the table. “Are you alright? It looked like things were pretty heated over here.”
He lifted his eyes from his plate and assessed the waitress. “We’re fine. She was just leaving.”
Melissa scowled at the waitress, then Adam. “He’s paying for my coffee,” she stated as she rose to her feet. She smoothed her skirt and buttoned her coat.
The waitress arched a brow at him. “Is this correct sir? Are you really paying for her coffee?”
Adam gave Melissa a dirty look. “Yes, I’ll take care of it.”
Melissa turned to the waitress. “Can you please get me a cup to go?” She eyed Adam. “I’ll be in touch.” She looked around the diner, her nose turned up. “This place is dead. Do you realize we’re the only people here?”
“Who cares?” Adam replied. “I like it when there aren’t many people around.”
The waitress headed toward the table, fumbling with the “To Go” coffee container. “I hate these things,” she confessed. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I’m having the darnedest time getting the lid to fit on the cup.”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’s not rocket science.”
The waitress played around with the cup some more. The paper cup slipped from her hand and spattered on the floor and on Melissa’s shoes.
“Oh my God,” Melissa screeched. “Do you realize I paid fifteen hundred dollars for these shoes?” She grabbed some napkins from the table and bent to wipe her shoes off.
The waitress backed away from her. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t mean to ruin your shoes.”
Adam surveyed the waitress curiously. She didn’t look sorry at all. He tilted his head and studied her. She was familiar to him now that he thought about it. He eyed her while she watched Melissa carry on about those damn shoes. She must have felt him looking at her because she turned to him, meeting his stare with her emerald colored eyes.
Next thing he knew, she stepped up to Melissa’s bent form and kicked her in the chin, knocking her flat on her back. She was out cold.
The waitress slid into the vacant spot in the booth, across from Adam. Then Adam heard the click of her gun. “Hi, Adam. Glad to see me.”
His eyes widened as the waitress tugged the blond wig off. The glasses came next and then the contacts. He was looking into the eyes of the beautiful, but deadly Alexa.
***
May 15, 1998:
Adam stared at his brother’s casket and he wondered how he got there. His brother, Erik, was never someone he strived to be like, but they were still brothers. He glanced at his weeping mother. Although she was trying to be strong, she was barely holding it together.
Adam faced the casket again. It was a plain oak casket, one of the cheapest ones in the funeral home. It wasn’t fancy like some of the ones the funeral home tried to get them to buy. His mother wanted to buy Erik the best casket she could find, but she didn’t have the money. It was pointless anyway. Why bury someone in a casket that cost as much as a car? Especially when she needed a new car? But Elizabeth Neal was hurting for her son, and couldn’t bear the thought of her baby being lowered underground in a cheap, uncomfortable box.
He scanned the crowd. The sanctuary was filled with tons of high school students, his classmates. They had come to the funeral to catch a glimpse of his dead brother and offer pointless and meaningless words of comfort. They came out in droves and he guessed it was because of his brother’s athletic prowess on the football field. Erik Neal was the schools star quarterback after all.
He sat still, wishing time would move a little faster. When he saw Alexa enter the church, he noticed there were plenty of stares—and some glares. Alexa was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. And she was looking right at him. Normally she would smile and he would blush profusely, but not this time. She was the reason he was here. She was the reason his brother was dead.
She walked up to the casket. Her dark sunglasses hid her eyes from view, but somehow he knew she’d been crying. He knew that, in some strange way, she was grieving for his brother, too.
Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she wore a dark gray suit. Her hand skimmed the casket softly before she turned and exited the church.
The day had been a blur. Adam had watched his stepfather practically pull his mother away as the casket was lowered. She was so distraught he wondered if she wanted to jump in with Erik. Will this nightmare ever end?
After the services were over and the house was empty, he returned to the cemetery to yell at his brother for leaving him. As he approached Erik’s gravesite, he noticed Alexa sitting on the grass next to the big hole that held his brother’s casket.
“Erik,” he heard her whisper. Her voice was as soft as summer breeze. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that you’re here. I’m sorry you were ever mixed up in this. I can’t believe you’re gone, lying in a wooden box. If I could change that, I would. You deserve to be on a football field calling plays. You deserve to be going to the university in September, playing college ball, getting drafted into the Pros, and falling in love with someone who loves you just as much as you love her. But most of all, I’m sorry I wasn’t the one for you. I’m sorry I didn’t love you like you loved me. I didn’t deserve you as a friend.”
Adam watched as she wiped her moist cheeks. Her hair was no longer in a bun. It was hanging down, long, curly, and draped over her face. She sniffed into her black leather glove. “You would be happy to know that Steve will no longer hurt anyone,” she continued. “He’s gone. And so is his father. I sent your mother a care package with a check for the expenses. It was the least I could do. My Dad happily obliged. He’s sorry too. We all are—even Dro. Erik, I just wanted you to know that you meant more to me than I ever told you. Things didn’t happen right with us and that was my fault. I should have never started a relationship with you knowing I could never commit. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about you though. It was because I loved him—so much. I always have. Thank you for not faulting me for it in the end. Thank you for being such a good friend, even though I didn’t deserve your friendship.”
She stood up and dropped two white roses into the hole. She sucked in a breath. “I’ll miss you,” she sighed. “May you rest in peace.”
Adam was so entranced in her words that he didn’t see her turn around until she was staring at him. He decided to break the ice. “Hi. Uh...” He didn’t know what to say.
She offered him a small smile. “How are you, Adam?”
“I’m fine,” he lied. “How are you? I didn’t mean to intrude on your moment with my brother. I didn’t mean to listen.”
She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets. “I just came to pay my final respects to Erik. He was a really good guy. I’ll miss him.”
“How was he? You know, before he died? I know he was with you earlier in the day.”
It was common knowledge that Erik and Alexa were in some sort of relationship and had recently broke up. Erik had told him that he was hoping to win her back.
She swayed on her feet. “When I saw him, he was fine—a little tense, but fine.”
“Do you know why Steve would want to hurt him?”
She hunched her shoulders. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Even though she seemed sincere, he presumed she knew more than she was saying. He was no dummy. He had heard all the rumors. The town was buzzing about a cover up. Not to mention, he knew her family was very powerful. “Well, I guess we’ll never know.” He walked past her to the spot she had vacated.
“I’m sorry about your brother, Adam.”
He bowed his head. “Me, too.”
She didn’t offer anything else and when he turned to ask her the question he had been dying to ask her, she was gone.
***
November 5, 2011, Misti’s Coney Island:
Adam wondered, as he faced Alexa now, if he would get to ask her that question.
Her cold, dark eyes bore into his.
“What’s wrong, Adam? Not happy to see me?”
He moved to stand up from his seat and paused when he felt the tip of a gun press into the back of his head.
“Sit back down, Mr. Neal,” Dro commanded calmly. “We need to have a talk.”
Adam sunk back into the booth. “What’s going on?”
Alexa set her gun on the table, keeping one hand on it. “You’ve come a long way, Adam. I wonder what Erik would say if he saw you now, working with Melissa and whoever else to terrorize my family.”
“I wouldn’t know because Erik isn’t alive to say anything. And you know why he isn’t alive? You and your family. I’d say turnabout is fair play, right?”
“What makes you think I had anything to do with Erik’s death?”
He straightened his back. “I heard you. I heard you at the cemetery after the funeral. I saw your face when you apologized to him.”
Her eyes flickered to Dro then back at Adam. “I don’t think you’ve ever heard me say I was involved in your brother’s death. Your brother meant a lot to me. I never wanted to see him dead. I warned him to stay away from me. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret my choices when it comes to him. But I didn’t kill him. Steve did. If anything, I tried to protect Erik.”
“Protect?” Adam howled. “You tried to protect him? You lied to him for months. You led him on. You pulled him into the vendetta between Steve’s family and yours.”
Her brow creased. “Once again, you’re wrong. I didn’t drag Erik into anything. He jumped into it with his eyes wide open. I dumped Erik because I didn’t want him to be involved. I didn’t want him to get hurt. Steve pulled Erik into his vendetta with my family.”
Adam didn’t want to believe it. Yet as he stared into her eyes, he saw truth in them. He had thought he saw it back then in the church and at the cemetery, but there were too many people in his head—too many rumors around town. And then there was Janine.
Janine had told him it was Alexa’s fault Erik was dead. Janine told him Alexa made sure she was left alone the night Aaron raped her. But as he gazed at Alexa, he knew that Janine had lied to him all these years. It was too late to turn back, though. He was in up to his eyeballs and Janine was, too.
He knew this could very likely be his last day on earth. But he still wanted to ask her the question. “Did you love Erik?” he asked.
She sucked in a breath and looked behind him at Dro. He craned his neck to look at Dro, too. Adam saw the torment in Dro’s eyes as he waited for Alexa’s answer.
“Yes,” she whispered.
CHAPTER 21
May 10, 1998:
Alexa barged into Erik’s room one evening. They had been talking again, and it felt good to have her friend back.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, smiling at her.
She sat next to him on the bed. “Erik, you still have time to get out of this. You don’t have to get involved.”
“I won’t back down.” He placed a hand on her knee. “Steve is crazy. I need to make sure he can’t hurt anybody I care about. It’s not just about you anymore. He’s been my friend. He knows my family. He could hurt my mother or my brother. He could hurt Janine. And he could hurt you. He will if he gets the chance.”
She squeezed his hand. “It’s not your battle. I talked to my father. Let him send you and your family away, Erik.”
“I’m not leaving. I won’t run away.”
“You don’t know how dangerous this is. You’re worried about your family, but I’m worried about you.”
Steve and his family had stepped up their game. Over the last couple of weeks, there had been numerous public fights. Steve and some of his father’s goons cornered Kendrick at a bar and a fight ensued. Kendrick ended up in jail for nearly killing one of the men. Luckily, Pop and Enrique had connections in the District Attorney’s office. The charges against Kendrick were soon dropped.
Dro and Chase were involved in a car chase one night on their way home from college. The car was riddled with bullet holes. It was lucky the only injury was a flesh wound to Dro’s shoulder.
The same night Aaron, Steve’s little brother, trapped Janine as she was leaving her part-time job. Kendrick wasn’t there with her because he was busy rushing to Dro and Chase’s aid after the car chase. Aaron brutally raped Janine that night and left her to die.
Lei had sent another guard to pick Janine up that night, but he arrived too late. Janine was lying by a dumpster in an alley behind the restaurant. The guard rushed her to the hospital.
Enrique was enraged after Dro was injured and finally gave the order to eliminate the threat. Everything was going down that night. Chase was directed to place a homemade bomb on Steve’s father’s limo. Chase dabbled in explosives, and he didn’t mess up. Alexa was worried that Erik would be caught in the crossfire. She didn’t want him to be involved.
She pleaded with him again. “I’m not supposed to be here right now, but there is something going down tonight. I want you as far away from Steve as possible.”
“I wish I could say I would, but they invited me to dinner tonight. I accepted in order to get more information on their plans.”
She paced across the room. “Don’t go anywhere with them, Erik. You need to stay here.”
“Why? I want to help.”
“We don’t need your help. Don’t you get it? We’re taking care of the problem tonight.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. She’d already taken a chance coming there. Dro would kill her if he found out where she was. Now she had let it slip that they were taking care of the problem. “Damn”
“What do you mean taking care of the problem? What are you doing?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just stay away from Steve.”
“Alexa—”
“Erik, just stay away.” She squeezed his hand. “Please?” Then she hurried out.
***
Instead of listening to her, Erik had gone to dinner with Steve. Alexa watched as Erik walked into the restaurant where Steve and his father were having dinner. She listened as Dro and Kendrick cursed Erik to hell for not following instructions, but all she could feel was fear for Erik’s life. They had warned Erik to lay low. But she knew Erik. He was a standup guy and would never let someone he cared about face an enemy alone. That’s why she had tried to make one last appeal for him to stay away. And he still hadn’t listened.
Once Steve and his party left the restaurant, Steve hopped in Erik’s car. Steve’s father and Aaron rode in the limo. When the bomb went off, she prayed Erik’s car was far enough from the blast to not be affected. She raced to the scene with Dro to make sure everything went off without a hitch. She felt overwhelming relief when she noticed that Erik’s car was unscathed.
She scanned the area looking for Erik, yelling at Dro to stop the truck when she spotted Erik and Steve arguing near the side of the road. Before she could jump out of the car, Steve pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed Erik multiple times. Erik dropped to the ground like a rag doll.
She screamed as she raced toward Erik. Before she could pull her own gun, Dro fired on Steve, dropping him with a bullet to his chest.
She dropped to her knees next to Erik. “Erik?”
He slowly opened his eyes. “Alexa,” he whispered.
She placed her hands on the biggest wound she saw. “Hang on. We’re going to get you some help, okay?”
He gripped her hand, holding it against his chest. “I can’t. Alexa, I want you to know—”
“Don’t say anything. You’ll be able to tell me when you get better.”
He traced her jaw with his blood stained hand. “I’m not getting better.”
“Yes, you are.” His eyes drifted shut. She shook him. “Erik?” His eyes fluttered open for a brief second before closing again.
Dro placed a hand on her shoulder. “Alexa, we have to go.”
Erik opened his eyes again. “Go,” he agreed. “Dro, give me that gun.”
She knew what Erik was going to do an
d she hated the idea, although, she realized he was doing this for her. She gazed at him, tears filling her eyes. “Erik, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Stop. I don’t blame you. You have to get out of here. Go with Dro.”
She reluctantly grabbed Dro’s outstretched hand and he helped her to her feet. Then, she slowly backed away from Erik as the sirens in the wind came closer. “Goodbye, Erik.”
She jumped in the truck and Dro sped off into the night.
***
November 5, 2011, Misti’s Coney Island:
Alexa’s eyes flashed to Dro, who was watching her curiously. She cleared her throat. “Yes, Adam, I loved your brother.” She bowed her head and tapped her fingers against the table. “But not like he wanted me to love him. I loved him because he was my friend—one of my very best friends. I didn’t want him to die. But I wasn’t in love with him. I’ve only ever been in love with one person.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Adam sighed.
“Your brother loved his family,” she continued. “He was a good guy. He wanted to protect everyone he cared about. That’s why he was there that night. Everyone, including me, warned him against hanging with Steve. He wouldn’t hear us. And now he’s dead.”
“My mom never recovered from his death.” Adam’s voice was so soft, she could barely hear him. “She drank herself into her own grave after Erik died. She was inconsolable. And I was only fifteen. I wanted revenge on the people I thought were responsible for my pain.”
Alexa understood where he was coming from. She understood the pain of a fifteen-year-old child who watched his mother die. She wondered if Adam ever really had a chance to live a normal life after everything that happened to him. Most of all, she understood the concept of loyalty to parents and siblings. She couldn’t say she wouldn’t do the same thing if Lei was gunned down. In fact, she knew she would.