by Alexa Davis
I focused on dipping my head and slowly moving the gag out of my mouth. I needed to be able to talk to Roger and then yell for help when the time came. I made quick work of the gag and then turned my attention to the ropes around my wrists. Whoever had bound me had excellent training in rope tying. I knew this because the summer after Teddy had gone to Boy Scout camp was the roughest one, as I learned to undo the expert knots they'd taught him.
"Roger, do you know this person?" I whispered as I worked the knots. He shook his head. "Have you seen him?"
Roger nodded emphatically and then shook his head as he tried to speak through the gag, but whoever had tied it had made sure that his tongue was immobile, and that rendered his speech utterly useless.
"No, you don't know him?" I asked breaking down the question into answerable parts. Roger shook his head. "Does he know you?" Another head shake. "Have you ever seen him before?" Head shake, this time more emphatic as Roger continued to try and speak. "Hold on, hold on, I've almost got this undone," I said as I bit down on my lip and pushed the knot against a loose floorboard. That little bit of pressure was enough to loosen it so that my fingers could work it apart. It was tediously hard work, but I was afraid that if I didn't focus on getting us out of here, we were going to wind up on a ship out at sea.
I quickly undid the knot and then reached over and untied Roger’s gag.
“It’s not a man,” he blurted out. “It’s a woman. Young. Tall. Dark hair. She’s mad about something, but I don’t know what. I tried to talk to her and that’s when she knocked me out.”
“Roger, who the hell is she?” I whispered as I worked the knots around his hands before turning back to the ropes around my ankles.
“I’ll tell you who the hell she is,” a voice on the other side of the cabin said. “She’s a woman who is sick and tired of getting the short end of the stick.”
“Uh, hi,” I said, not sure how to approach the situation with a stranger who’d knocked me out and tied me up. “I’m Brooke, this is Roger.”
“I know who the fuck you are,” she said as she moved across the floor and stood over us.
“Riza?” I said in disbelief. “You’re Dax’s right-hand, aren’t you? You came to see me in my office.”
“Yeah, I was and I did,” she nodded as she looked down at Roger and me. I got the distinct feeling that we were being sized up, and that whatever she decided in that moment would determine how this whole situation played out. All the better to keep talking, I thought.
“Why did you tie us up?” I asked.
“Because I’m sick and tired of being the one who does the dirty work and never gets the credit,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’ve played second fiddle to Dax for most of my life, and I’m fed up. I’ve protected him and kept all the bad stuff at bay, and he’s never once thought about anyone but himself.”
“And you’re angry with him,” I said.
“Damn right I’m angry,” she scoffed, then as an afterthought, added, “You might not want to undo those ropes.”
“Why is that, Riza?” I asked.
“Because if you try to escape, I might have to shoot you,” she shrugged in a way that made me realize she might not be acting rationally. I had assumed that she knew exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it, but as I watched her, I wondered if she’d experienced a break with reality and was now living in some alternate world where her sense of justice made sense.
“Riza, why would you want to shoot two people you don’t know?” I asked. I didn’t want to provoke her, but I needed to know what we were dealing with so that I could figure out a way out of here. Roger sure as hell wasn’t going to do it, since he was still wrestling with the knots around his ankles and looked like he might fall over at any moment. “Tell me why you’d want to shoot me and Roger.”
“Because you’re going to destroy everything my father spent his life building,” she said as if I knew exactly what she was talking about. “You, or people like you, killed my father.”
“Riza, how could we kill your father? We’re lawyers who are trying to help Dax,” I said.
“Fuck him,” she said as she stooped down and opened a lower cabinet and started moving things around. “Fuck them all. I’m sick of being their go-to girl who does everything for them.”
“Who’s them, Riza?” I asked. My brain was spinning as I tried to figure out how I was going to get Roger and myself out onto the deck. It was the only way we were going to be seen or saved, but I couldn’t move fast or she’d suspect what I was doing and might decide we weren’t worth the risk.
“All of them,” she said waving an arm across her body to indicate everyone. “I’m sick of it, you know? Don’t you ever feel that way with this idiot?” She pointed at Roger and I took a deep breath and hoped he would forgive me for what I was about to do. If I saved us from being shot, I was pretty sure he would.
“Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean,” I said rolling my eyes and then shooting Roger a hard look that said shut the hell up in any language. “They’re always making me do stuff that they think is beneath them. I get sick of it, too. That’s why I decided we were taking Dax’s case.”
“You decided that?” she said popping up from behind the cabinet to look at me. “You made that decision?”
“Yep, sure did,” I nodded. “I told them that they had to stop dicking around and get serious about our clients or we’d never make it.”
“And, how’d that go over?” she asked.
“About as well as you might guess,” I shrugged. I felt the knots around my ankles loosen and I knew that I was closer to being free. I looked at Roger and hoped that he understood I was providing cover so that he could keep working on his own ropes. He nodded slightly and I inhaled deeply, knowing he understood what I was doing.
“What made them listen to you?” she asked.
“I just told them my plan, laid out the map for how we were going to handle everything, and then said they had a choice,” I said. “They could get on board or walk out the door, either way, I was taking the case.”
“That’s pretty ballsy,” she said.
“Yeah, well, sometimes you just have to grab the bull by the horns and ride,” I replied.
“Too bad your story is total bullshit,” Riza said as she rose up from behind the cabinet pointing a loaded automatic rifle at us. My heart dropped into my stomach and I scolded myself for having been arrogant in assuming that she and I were on the same page.
Riza and I were definitely not on the same page. Not at all.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Dax
I walked along the dock looking for the Isabella and listening for sounds of life on the boats. I heard nothing until I rounded the corner and saw the Isabella sitting in the slip with the cabin door open. It looked like someone had been prepping her for a trip, and I was sure I knew who that someone was.
“Ri? You here?” I called out. I knew it was risky approaching like this, but I decided that it was better than sneaking up on her. Six of one, half dozen of another. “Ri, you out here?”
I stood still as I waited to see if she would emerge from the cabin or not. I patted the holster I’d put on before leaving the club and reassured myself that I had protection just in case I needed it. I didn’t usually carry a gun, since being arrested with one would present some problems given the fact that I didn’t have a license to carry one. Mostly, I’d just relied on Riza to do the dirty work of gun carrying.
A few minutes after I’d called her name, Riza emerged with her arm around Brooke. She was holding a pistol to Brooke’s head and had an arm around her waist as she moved them both forward.
“Dax?” Brooke called. Even at this distance, I could see the terror in her eyes as she moved with Riza across the back end of the boat.
“Yeah, I’m here. Ri, what the hell are you doing?” I hollered.
“Taking control of my damn life,” she yelled back. “That’s what I’m doing.”
&
nbsp; “This doesn’t seem like much control to me,” I observed. “Why don’t you let her go and we’ll talk about this?”
“Hell no, what kind of fool do you take me for?” Riza laughed. “I’m not an idiot, you know.”
“No one ever said you were, Ri,” I said. “But you need to tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I’m sick of all your shit, Dax,” she said as she pushed Brooke to the back of the boat and looked out over the water. “I’m sick of all the women, the drugs, the club. I’m sick of babysitting and strong arming and basically fighting all your battles so that you can sit up in your little safe room and rule the universe.”
“How in the hell am I ruling the universe?” I shot back. “I’m taking the heat for every fucking thing that happens. It’s my job to keep everyone on track and away from wars! Don’t you think I’m sick of it, too?”
“But you have all the glory, Dax,” she said. “You are regarded as the high and mighty heir to Papi D’Oro’s throne, and everyone fears and respects you. You’re the shit, my friend.”
“How do you figure? Everyone fucking hates me!” I yelled. “I make decisions that piss everyone off and you get to move around freely, going places and doing things however you like. Meanwhile, I’m confined to the six blocks around my club and apartment! I can’t venture out into other areas, because if I do, it starts a war!”
“Bullshit, you stay put because it’s easy and because you’re the king of the hill when you stay in your six block radius,” she yelled. I could tell she was getting really agitated and knew that if she got really worked up, she just might pull the trigger.
“Why are you holding Brooke?” I asked. “What did she ever do to you?”
“Not to me, Dax,” she said. “I’m sick of these women who use you up and then dump your ass. It’s hard to watch it happen.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “Can I please come closer so we don’t have to shout at each other?”
“Ten steps closer, but don’t fucking try anything or I’ll shoot your little girlfriend,” she warned.
“Ten steps, got it,” I said as I took exactly ten steps and came close enough to see that Riza was holding a nine-millimeter pistol to Brooke’s head. That was the weapon that had killed Lydia – suddenly, I had a sick feeling in my stomach, but I needed to know the truth. “What about the women?”
“You always fall for the white girls,” she said. “You choose these snooty women with big degrees and lots of money, and then you use the ones who aren’t respectable enough to be seen in public with.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I said angrily. I knew exactly what she was talking about but I didn’t want her talking about it in front of Brooke.
“Diamond? Or don’t you remember?” she said. “C’mon, you know how you hit it and quit it with the dancers. Don’t be a liar, Dax.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “But that was something we agreed about! They didn’t want anything more than what we had going on! I didn’t deny anyone anything!”
“Yeah, right,” she said rolling her eyes and looking at me. “You blow off anyone who doesn’t fit your idea of who Mr. Hotshot should be dating.”
I knew right then that I had to turn the conversation around or she was going to end up shooting all of us.
“Riza, why are you doing this? What do you want? Tell me and I’ll give it to you,” I said.
“What do I want? What do I want?” she cried. “How come no one ever asked me that question before? What do I want? I want my life back! I want my Papi back! I want my family back!”
“Riza, I can’t bring Papi back,” I said gently.
“Don’t you think I fucking know that, asshole?” she shot back. “I’m saying what I want are things that I can’t have! So, now I’m aiming for things I can have.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Revenge, mother fucker, revenge,” she said as she tightened her grip on Brooke, causing her to gasp as Riza pushed the muzzle of the gun to her head and looked at me. “Maybe if you start losing all the things you love, you’ll begin to appreciate those people who do shit for you every damn day!”
“RIZA, NO!” I yelled as I launched myself onto the boat from the dock. I heard the gun go off as I flew through the air and landed on top of Riza. We wrestled like vicious wolves as we fought for control of the gun. I grabbed her hand and tried to wrench the gun out of it, but she had a tight grip and used it to whip me in the head. The blow made me see stars, but I didn’t let go as I fought her for control of the weapon.
Riza was swearing and raging as we fought, but I could feel myself getting calmer and more relaxed. It was a strange sensation to be so angry that I felt like I was melting away into nothing, and then the world went black.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Brooke
“You shot him!” I screamed as I felt an undeniable rage rising in my chest. “He was trying to help you!”
Riza turned and aimed the gun at me and I realized that I was at a distinct disadvantage in this situation. She pointed the gun at me and motioned for me to get away from Dax, who now lay bleeding on the deck.
“Riza, he loves you and wants what’s best for you,” I said trying to find a way to tap into something that would remind her of her love for Dax. “He’s your friend, he doesn’t want to see you hurting.”
“He doesn’t care about me!” she yelled as her hand shook. “None of them care about me! I want my life back! I want my life back!”
“This isn’t the way to get it,” said a voice from behind her. Riza spun around, pointing her gun at the person speaking and yelled at him to back off.
“Riza, you don’t have to do this,” Roger said. “Listen to me, I get it. You were in a war zone and you fought for your life every single day. It was stressful and demoralizing to realize that you might be doing more harm than good, right?”
Riza nodded as her hand shook, but she didn’t say a word.
“I know, I’ve been there,” Roger continued. “You survive in unbearable conditions, and you fight for the freedoms of people who seem to hate you, and you watch your comrades die when insurgents do horrible awful things. I get it, Riza.”
“It was horrible,” she said in a small voice. “To watch people die.”
“I know, war is hell,” he said as he moved toward her. “And you come home feeling like no one in the world could possibly understand what you’ve been through. You don’t know how to live a normal life after you’ve been living on fast forward in high alert all the time. Everything feels boring and slow.”
“Yeah, that’s it exactly!” she nodded as she looked at Roger. “It’s like no one else can understand where I’ve been. And how do you talk about that shit with civilians? They can’t handle that, and they didn’t sign up for it. We did. We signed up to serve and protect and we did. But man, what’s left when you come home?”
“I know the feeling,” Roger said as he moved closer and put a hand out showing her that he wasn’t a threat. I watched him, absolutely mesmerized by his calm demeanor and his confidence. This wasn’t the flakey Roger I knew – the one who fell in love with every woman he dated and then moved on after a few weeks. This was organized Roger who understood someone else’s pain and was openly addressing it in an attempt to alleviate it.
“I don’t know what to do,” Riza said in a small voice as she looked at Roger helplessly. “I don’t know how to live my life. I keep thinking that if I just organize it and make it fit into a neat little box, everything will go back to normal and I’ll feel okay. But it doesn’t. Nothing feels okay.”
“That’s because you’re suffering from PTSD,” Roger said. “Believe me, there are thousands of us who are suffering from it. It makes everything feel like you’re walking waist deep in molasses. It makes you feel like an outsider in your own family even. I know, I’ve been there.”
“How did you get better?” she asked.
“It takes ti
me and a lot of talking about how you feel,” Roger said as he held out his hand palm up as he looked at the gun and then at Riza. She shook her head and then looked at him. “Give me the gun, Riza. It’s not going to solve anything, and you’ve already hurt someone you love. Don’t you want to stop?”
“I want my life back!” she cried. “I just want my life back!”
“I know you do, Riza,” Roger said sympathetically. “That’s all any of us want. You can get it back if you want to, but you can’t get it back if you’re dead. Please, give me the gun.”
She looked at him with a pain so raw and fresh that I gasped and looked away. Roger didn’t, though. He stayed with her and held her gaze until she reached up and gently set the gun in the palm of his hand. He closed his hand around it and dropped his arm to his side as he reached out and pulled her to him with his other arm. Riza burst into tears and sobbed in Roger’s arms as the police officers who’d been waiting at the end of the dock stormed the boat and took her into custody.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there for you,” Roger said quietly as they cuffed her and led her to the waiting car.
“Riza, I’ll meet you at the jail and arrange for bail,” I said as she walked down the dock.
“Why?” she called over her shoulder.
“Because you’re one of Dax’s people, and you deserve the best legal counsel you can get,” I said. “You’re worth it.”
She bowed her head and walked slowly to the car as I turned my attention to Dax, who was being loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled to a waiting ambulance. He wasn’t conscious, and I asked the paramedic if he was okay.
“He’s stable at the moment, but that could change quickly,” she said. “We need to get him to a hospital right away.” She turned and nodded to her partner who helped her lift the gurney onto the dock and they ran toward the ambulance.