Page 22 of Ashes
“It was getting late. Alex promised he’d come home so we could watch a movie together, but he didn’t show up. I kept texting and calling him, but he didn’t answer. I got worried. I knew my father wouldn’t do anything about it, and he wasn’t home either. But I remembered Alex was supposed to be at this private club for men, so I got on my bicycle and went there. I couldn’t see his car in the parking lot, so I kept going. I saw your father about three blocks away, so I hurried in the opposite direction. Then I remembered Alex liked to grab some food at one restaurant on his way back home. It was in the same direction I was going and just out of town. It’s a small place for people to grab something while they’re passing through. I finally spotted his car on the side of the road.”
My throat constricts as the images play in front of my eyes.
“I was worried because there was a huge field and a lot of trees, and it was dark. I called for him and I stumbled around. And then I saw him lying in the grass. I ran to him. He’d been shot. There was a lot of blood. He looked at me, and he tried to say something, but then he just... He was gone.”
Victor watches me carefully, and I hate that his face is so damn expressionless.
“What’s your story?” I ask.
Will he even bother to tell me now that he found out what he wanted to know?
“I only know what I was told. I was away on a mission. I was actually just on my way back when my father called me. He said that Rodrigo and Alex were at the club, and that they played a poker game. Alex lost and he was really upset about it. Then you and Alex waited for Rodrigo on his way home. You pretended your car broke down and that you needed help. My brother could never resist helping pretty women, so he stopped to give you a hand. Alex jumped out and killed him. You two then ran. But someone saw you. They called my father. When my father found out, he chased after you. He killed Alex and let you run away.”
“And he swears it was me he saw?”
Victor nods. “It’s possible there was some other girl who looked like you. I don’t know why he believes it was you, especially if it was dark. But he’d never admit he was wrong.”
“But there wasn’t anyone with Alex when I found him, and the girl definitely wasn’t me. Who was the witness? They have to know more, right?”
“I don’t know. My father never told me.”
“And you didn’t ask?”
“Why would I? It was one of the rare things I didn’t think he’d be lying about. And I lost my brother, so I didn’t even think there was anything wrong with the story. Rodrigo was dead anyway, and my father said he took care of his killer. There was nothing more to do.”
“Why would he let me live, if he really thought the girl was me?”
“It was a life for a life. Killing you would’ve started an even bigger war. If you think what happened between our families was bad, it would’ve been much worse if your father had lost both of his children that night. My father never lets his emotions get the better of him. He got vengeance to make things right, and he knew when to stop.”
“Who knows?” I flash him a smile I don’t feel. “Maybe my father has a replacement daughter somewhere too. But I don’t believe my brother started anything. I think he was defending himself, and that if he killed Rodrigo, it was in self-defense.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“What if the mystery girl had something to do with it? Why would your father let her go? And how did he manage to teleport? There’s only one road leading to that place where I found my brother. I don’t think he was just lying there and dying for a long time. His wounds were... They looked bad. I think I narrowly missed the killer. But if someone else killed Alex, why would your father cover for them? Is my father doing the same? Or does he even know?”
“We both agree on one thing,” he says.
“And what’s that?” I tilt my head at him.
“Both Rodrigo and Alex were at that club before they died.”
“Yeah, I think that part of the story is true. But were they alone or was the mystery girl with them?”
“Rodrigo had a girlfriend, but he wasn’t with her that night. I know because I was the one who had to tell her he died. She had a family thing she had to attend.”
“Alex didn’t have a girlfriend, but I know he was hooking up with random girls, and I’m pretty sure he was paying a girl to go with him to that club because he couldn’t take just any girl there.”
“Do you know her name? She could be the one who was with him that night.”
“I don’t think she’s important, and no, I don’t know her name. He never told me.”
“Get dressed,” Victor says. “We’re going home.”
Fuck.
My plan to escape didn’t work, and now I have no idea what to do.
My brother’s killer is still out there somewhere, and I don’t know who they are.
