Page 68 of Volatile Waters

I called out, “Have Kirill check Timothy’s room.”

Moments later, Kirill swiftly came down Whitney’s stairs, nodding to me through the glass while putting the certificates in his pocket.

Father’s request was finally fulfilled. It took years, but it was now done. Who could have known two little pieces of paper could cause such irreversible destruction, that all lives involved would forever be changed? Including mine.

Whitney continued to stare past me and into the dark for Crash, while my men headed for the back door. Adrian observed me as he approached Whitney from behind. I silently kissed her in my mind, Goodbye, Fire, then shook my head no to him.

As men loaded the SUV, I stepped into the light and raised my cellphone to my ear. Watching me, Whitney slowly did the same. “Hello?”

Solemnly, I told her, “I wanted to thank you personally for your honesty and cooperation.”

She stared at me as if sensing something was amiss. “You’re welcome. May I come outside now?”

I nodded.

Her eyes did not leave mine as she grabbed her crutches then opened the back door, slowly making her way onto the patio. I think she sensed there was something I wasn’t telling her.

There was. “But it saddens me to not return the favor.”

She stopped walking but still spoke into the phone. “I don’t understand. I did all that you asked.”

There was far too much to explain, not that I felt she deserved any explanation. “Yes, but Crash’s father did not.” Even though Harold was responsible for not telling us Marina was still alive, I blamed Crash for making our twisted friendship come to this end. “A debt is a debt.” My stomach started to turn when I realized the horrendous moment had now arrived. I had known Crash for years now, was a part of him in ways most had never experienced. And, now, I knew I had to kill him. Some moments are ones I wish I could relive… to change.

I shook my head before looking to the young man, tied up on the dock, for the last time. His finger was still tense, lying next to the carved symbol in the wood. Only loud enough so he could hear me, I told him, “You saved her… my friend.”

It was a lie, but one I felt he deserved before lifting into the sky to where good people go.

He was good. He was one of the best.

I watched as his hand relaxed. He had heard me.

Then, like the coward I had become, I slipped into the SUV parked in the back yard. I simply couldn’t watch the needle being inserted into his vein, emptying death into his bloodstream.

I wanted to cover my ears as he called out, “Franky!” but my men would’ve reported my weakness to my father.

Franky was a nickname Crash gave Whitney. Why, I did not know, but the way he yelled it was full of so much admiration and desperation, I instantly understood her fascination with them. They were a personal connection in times so exposed.

My hand gripped the doorknob when I heard Whitney fall down the patio stairs, due to her crutches and cast, but I didn’t open the door. Reether was nearby and would be to her soon. If I got out of the vehicle, it would only prolong the rescue she deserved. That knowledge didn’t stop my eyes from shutting as Whitney screamed in horror before I heard Crash’s body splash into the water. Adrian had rolled him into the lake as planned. Leaning my head back against the seat, I couldn’t help but swallow down more bile as I felt all the lives unraveling because of me.

My eyes didn’t reopen until after a door shut, telling me my last man was in the vehicle, and we were driving across the grass then back down the dirt backroad we had arrived by. There was no need to rush. We knew the Joneses would not be calling the police.

With a drugged stripper in the back, the drive to the airport was quiet. Nobody was asking why I left Fire behind, nor willing to speak of the heinous crime just committed against someone we trained and shared a home with. We drove past trees as the sun was rising, but everything else felt as if falling. Not even Kirill had snide comments to share. Maybe we all knew—sensed—we had all just sealed our fates.