by Xavier Neal
“I know you're leaving today.”
“How-”
“Oh my dear sweet Peyton. When will you realize that your circle of trust, the family you're claiming you have, has a traitor in it?”
Traitor? Who would betray us within us? I mean Justin would betray them for me, but to betray each other, what on earth would possess them to do it? And who? Is it Aiden? Or Eiden? I highly doubt Peter's own girlfriend would.
“And no I won't tell you who it is. Unless...you're willing to tell me what it is you're going after next.”
Isn't it crucial to know who's putting us in direct risk? I mean if I can't trust the people who are supposed to be saving and protecting me, then isn't it more important to know the answer to that than just have to compete for the next treasure. But what if Alex is full of it? Trying to con me and there really is no traitor? That seems more likely.
I shake my head. “Not on my life.”
Suddenly there's a click of a blade next to the opposite ear from where Alex is leaning. “You sure about that?”
My heart starts to pound so loud, I can hear it echoing in my own ears. The cold blade rests against my cheek causing a change in my breathing. While my body stiffens from the danger, I do my best to not show my fear.
Alex's tongue grazes my earlobe before he whispers, “You scared?”
“Of what?” a voice interrupts us.
Quickly my eyes dart over to see Kendall with his gun cocked, pointing directly at Alex's head.
“I'd like to know too,” Justin's voice joins the defense causing my eyes to glance over seeing him on the other side the car, his sword drawn, the tip millimeters away from a sharp stab in Alex's neck.
Feeling a little cocky, I glance back at Alex and say in a pout. “Are you scared?” Not receiving an answer as he lowers his weapon I whisper, “Because you should be.”
“Gentlemen.” He tosses the knife down on the outside of the jeep before holding his hands up in surrender. “Isn't this a bit excessive?”
Kendall opens the back door for him to exit the vehicle. “I suggest you leave this fine citizen alone before I arrest you.”
“For what?”
He proudly smiles lowering his weapon. “Trust me, I won't have to try too hard to come up with something.”
Alex lowers his hands. “That's a bit crooked, isn't it, Hook?”
Kendall shrugs, which causes Alex to grunt. Alex attempts to lean over to grab his weapon when Kendall steps on the handle. “Move along, Alex.”
Mumbling something under his breath, he shoves his hands in his jacket pocket, and walks off.
The moment he's a safe distance away, Justin and Kendall tuck their weapons back away while keeping very strong eye contact. I glance back and forth between them as they seem to be having some sort of eye conversation without me. Awkward? Possibly the world's largest understatement for this scene.
Kendall breaks away first, glances at me with a soft grin, and nods. “Travel safe, Peyton.”
“Will do,” I whisper back. That could have easily been translated into 'I'm not going to lie and say I don't wish it were me in the car with you Peyton, because I really do.' And mine could've just as simply been translated to 'In a different world and a different time, it would be.'
Kendall gives him a sharp nod. “Justin.”
His face looks colder than ever. Is that jealousy again? “Hook.”
Kendall strolls towards the front doors of the coffee shop as Justin grabs the order of beverages and a box with pastries off the hood. At least he took good care of that, preventing him from having to have another awkward moment with Hook inside.
Without another word Justin, hands me the order to hold and pulls out of the parking space. I give the coffee shop one more look, noticing Kendall watching us drive away.
Justin notices and tries to remain calm. “I'm glad Hook took care of you. Even though it should've been me. At least you were safe.”
“Yeah,” I sigh looking forward again. Figuring now might be an alright time to question the things Kendall showed me I state. “I have a few things I need to ask you before we get back.”
Unsure of where I'm going with this conversation, Justin cautiously replies, “Okay...”
“Kendall-”
“Could you please, just for my peace of mind, call him Hook?”
Hiding my smirk at his envy, I correct myself. “Hook, told me some things about you guys and I just wanna know if they are true or if the police have it wrong.”
“Like?”
“Well, according to him, Peter's a King Pin, Aiden and Eiden are like witness tamperers, and you sell women and art. Oh! And fix everything Peter needs fixed. Made legal?” I ramble.
“Slow down, Columbo.” Justin laughs. I don't know why. It wasn't funny. Exiting the busyness of the city, that I hate how much it reminds me of home, he insists, “It's not that diabolical.”
“The files he has stacked on all of you say otherwise.”
Curious he asks, “Did you see them?”
“Not in them. And you asking me that isn't making me feel any better.”
“Right,” he sighs. “So yes, we push Dust, which is illegal-”
“And dangerous. He showed me a stack of Dust related injuries and death.”
Justin rolls his eyes. “Scare tactic 1-0-1. It's like alcohol on Earth. When someone drinks and drives, or gets drunk and goes streaking, do you blame the liquor companies?”
“No but-”
“Liquor wasn't always legal either. Remember?”
Seeing his point, I adjust myself in my seat. “True.”
“Did Hook happen to mention how some of the profits we made from Dust were used to add on an extra wing at the hospital that's right across the street from his police station?”
“Well...no...”
“Did he mention the fact that created more jobs? Did he mention that we donate a large amount of money to foundations that help take care of retired law enforcement? Or that every month, Aiden and Eiden go or have the girls go, donate a hunk of cash to buy goods for the homeless?”
I giggle. “That feels very Robin Hood like.”
“While Peter enjoys sitting on his throne of cash, the rest of us try to make Neverland a better place in our own ways. Does that justify everything we do that's illegal? Probably not. But it should at least lessen the heat they wanna apply to us.”
Noticing one topic was skipped I bring it back up. “And women? Do you sell women?”
“No,” Justin answers as the same stench from yesterday floods my nose. “There are females in this world who wanna meet men in powerful positions. There are males in this world who have particular tastes that are hard for them to find for whatever reason. I simply make introductions. Sometimes I'm tipped a finder's fee. Sometimes I'm not. But I don't sell anyone, Peyton. We all have limits and that's one of mine.”
Satisfied with his responses and feeling a little queasy about the lifestyle I have to settle into, I offer him my hand to hold. With a look of relief on his face, Justin takes it and continues driving us home.
On our descent down, we sneak in a couple kisses. I've got the box of pastries while he carries the drinks, playfully insisting he should do all the heavy lifting. Once we're on the other side of the threshold I'm greeted by a sight that I couldn't be more relieved to see. Peter's stretched out on the couch, red plastic cup in his hand, Aiden's typing away on his computer at one end of the kitchen table, while Eiden is shining a sword on the other end. My eyes quickly search for Belle who's focused on adjusting her lip stick in the hallway mirror right on the other side of the elevator. This is my new family and I love them. Well. Most of them.
Peter slides his cup across the table. “Did you bring coffee?”
“I did...” he answers cautiously as Peter starts snickering.
“And pastries!” I add in trying to stop any tension before it starts.
Aiden and Eiden join in on the snickering. Belle turns away fr
om her reflection, pulling on the sleeves of her loose, crop top sweater. Unsure of what I'm missing I place the box down on the coffee table and look at her.
“What's so funny?”
With a sigh she looks at Justin who I now look to for a response.
Loosening his tie he clears his throat. “Traditionally speaking, if I bring home coffee and breakfast it means I got laid and it was amazing. If I bring home lunch it means it was respectable but not going to see her again, and if I bring home dessert, I'm bringing it home with alcohol because it was awful and I need to get wasted to forget it.”
Puzzled I croak out without thinking, “You have a food system that reflects your sex life?”
“Fun huh?” Peter grabs the tall cup with the black lid. “Does this have-”
“Of course.” Justin picks up a cup with a pink lid and hands it to Belle. “For you.”
“Thank you,” she mouths.
Still in shock I bite, “I can't believe you! That sounds so shallow and just―just―just―”
“Wrong.” He nods in agreement with me. “But it's what I did. Past tense.” Hearing the words my shoulder's slump relieved. Justin turns to look at our friends. “We didn't have sex last night, and even if we had, you wouldn't know about it.” Pleased I try to hide a smirk, but feel it spreading anyway. “I brought breakfast to celebrate going to the Soul Wall last night.”
The guys in the room shriek in unison. “You did what!”
Belle smirks placing the hot beverage to her lips, hiding the very obvious fact that she required us to from everyone else. “Congratulations.”
Justin nods his head and drink in her direction. “Thank you.”
Aiden and Eiden pop up and rush over hugging him. He's given more congratulations though I'm not sure which twin says what.
“Thanks.” Justin says at the same time they start showering me with affections.
To no shock Peter stands to his feet, so that he and Justin are eye level. He takes a deep breath before he raises his eyebrows in question. “So you really did it?”
“I did.”
“You really signed the Soul Wall?”
“Yup.”
“You really think that you're ready for this? You really think that you're ready to confess all those dirty little secrets you keep behind your locked doors?”
Justin makes a hand motion challenging him. “Try me.”
“Paris.”
Turning to face me Justin says, “I convinced an ambassador's daughter to lend me her grandmother's locket worth over half a million and sold it for an extra hundred thousand underneath the Eiffel Tower while Peter and Belle ate baguettes.”
I giggle and Belle sighs, “Those were amazing. You have not lived until you've had them with this soft garlic butter. Seriously. To die for.”
Peter looks less pleased than before. “Fourth of July.”
Justin lets out a slight laugh in the air before turning his head at me once more. “A couple years back on the Fourth of July, while hanging out in Texas-- wait. Did you know I look good in a cowboy hat?”
“How could you not?”
“Anyway, I arranged a heist where I smuggled a few grand in firework boxes out of the country with the help of a sexy señorita named Elena.” He raises a hand at me. “Not that you're not sexy, baby.”
“I know,” my answer makes Peter's blood boil, Belle giggle, and the twins join her.
Hating to be made a fool of, Peter raises his eyebrows. “You really think you love Peyton that much?”
A familiar sparkle rises in his eye and Belle's voice chimes in, “That's enough Peter.”
“He says he loves her that much. He can handle it.”
“Peter. Do. Not. Do. It.”
Now uneasy, I ask, “Do what?”
“What about-”
Belle shouts, “Peter!”
“Tiffany De'tremont?" The color drains from Justin's face as I see his shoulders slump, the reality of whatever Peter just brought up slipping to the front of his mind. After a long beat Peter smiles proudly taking one point in this testosterone battle. “Remember Tiffany and her golden flowing blonde hair? Those big natural curls on the end. Her faint blue-green eyes. The little freckle behind her ear. That Tiffany.”
Justin steps closer to Peter and shakes his head. Immediately afterward he locks eyes with me his body still facing Peter. “Tiff...Tiffany...was...a girl, correction the only other girl that I've ever fallen for. She was the first that I ever opened myself up to. I was fifteen, I decided that didn't matter. I wanted to marry her the day I turned eighteen. I went to Tiffany's and bought a diamond ring using the money my parents left me. When I went to give it to her, she gave me a Dear John letter instead.”
My jaw slips open saddened by the story, not because he loved someone before me, but because the pain on his face is one I've never seen before. One I never want to see again. “You disappeared into the world of conning after that, didn't you?”
He nods slowly before facing Peter. His head tilts to the side, a small cocky grin on his face. “No secrets. No lies.”
Clearly pissed, Peter briefly glances at Belle, who looks like she can't wait to rip him apart. Turning back to Justin he shrugs. “Fine. It's your death sentence.”
“That's how you feel about marriage?” I ask knowing the answer since that's basically how he treats his own relationship. You know now that I think about it, he doesn't just treat it like a death sentence, but like being on death row.
He raises his eyebrows in a mischievous way that scares something inside of me. “Who said anything about marriage?”
Belle interrupts and points towards where the bedrooms are located. “Grab your bags please. It's time to leave.”
Justin extends his hand for me to take leading me past Belle, who has arrived beside Peter just in time for me to hear her mutter close to his ear, “You. Are. An asshole.”
We use the flight of stairs and instead of taking the right to Aiden's room, we take the left. Slipping a key out of his pocket, he unlocks the door and reveals what easily reminds me of an expensive New York City penthouse apartment in its size, chic style and color. It has dark colored wood and chrome accents. There's a large king size bed, which faces the flat screen television that has a crackling fire playing on it. So I shouldn't be surprised his bedroom is a mood setter, but come on! That's like something out of a movie! His bed is decorated black and white while the painting above it is the same with accents of blue. Beside his bed is a small two drawer night stand, which I can probably guess what it holds. After all, one look around this room, and it's obvious this is a place females probably aren't strangers to.
Justin slides over to what appears to be just a wall, moving the panel over, identical to the way Kendall's closet was. I plop down on the edge of his bed, catching a glimpse of an assortment of suit jackets, dress shirts, and pants. Scooting over a bit I see rows of ties, dress shoes, and an entire section devoted to fedoras. I giggle to myself as I hear him begin to fill a suitcase.
With him distracted I casually use my toes to pull the bottom drawer open, my curiosity to what the once playboy keeps inside. To my surprise I see a drawer full of classic novels. I push it back into place with my foot and lean over to pull open the top drawer. Instead of finding what I was expecting, there's a picture of us. It's the last photo I remember taking before leaving for Neverland. The one on the eve of my birthday. Picking it up, I study the looks on our faces as we stand outside my parent’s home. A place I'll never see again. Suddenly a small knot clogs my throat.
“Hasn't gotten any easier has it?” Justin asks, tossing his bag over his shoulder.
I shake my head and shrug. “Will I ever stop missing them?”
He slides the photo out of my hand and back into the drawer, shutting it softly. “No.”
Justin extends a hand for me to take after he swoops up my luggage. As a group we exit my new home, load onto the ship that's waiting for us on the dock, and pull off back
towards the direction of the stars.
Once we've reached an easy cruising speed, Peter props himself up on the edge of the ship, slips a can into his hand and pops the top.
Eiden is manning the ship with one hand and tracing a path with his index finger on a GPS like map engraved on the wood. Justin is beside Aiden discussing something in a hushed volume.
I slide my body down against the wall near Peter, making sure to maintain an appropriate distance. “So where are we headed?”
“Tansacanna,” Justin answers his attention still very focused on something Aiden's tablet is showing. Uncomfortable he shakes his head. “I don't like this. Too much heat. Too much attention.”