3. Cash

3

CASH

Storming into the hotel room, I tossed my rifle on the table, watching as it slid across the smooth oak. Fox was staring at me, waiting for me to say something—to explain what had just happened—but I had no words.

"We need a new plan," he finally said. "I could take FNG and?—"

"No," I said immediately.

"Okay, then I could take Jack and?—"

"No," I said again.

"Boss, I'm confused. I know Rafe has done some shitty things, but you really don't want to get him back?"

I was still warring with myself, trying to make a final decision. But I'd sort of already done that. I was pretty sure there was no going back now. "We let it play out."

Fox walked over to me, his movements catlike instead of his usual jovial demeanor. "If we do nothing, there's not going to be an opportunity to get him back."

"I know."

His eyes widened slightly as he stared at me. "Harsh."

"It's what he wants."

"He wants to get taken, tortured, and murdered? If you say so, boss."

I sighed, rubbing my eyes as I fought off the stress of the night. "He has a plan. I don't know what it is, but he wanted to be on that island."

"But he's already told us there's no way off. Why would he go there knowing he can't escape?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I've never understood him, but this…for whatever reason, this was what he wanted."

"Oh, so he talked to you."

"Not exactly."

"He wrote you a note explaining everything."

"Nope."

"So…how exactly did you know this was what he wanted?"

"Call it years of being the big brother to the most reckless kid in the world."

"He's not a kid anymore."

"I know." I sat down, feeling the weight of my decision in my gut. I still couldn't believe I hadn't taken the shot when I had it. "It was the way he moved," I finally said. "He didn't fight back."

"Well, he did have a knife sticking out of him. That could slow anyone down. Even a bastard like Rafe. No offense."

"No, it wouldn't have stopped him. I've seen Rafe fight with a broken arm and blood gushing from his nose. It didn't slow him at all. If anything, he fights harder when his back is up against the wall. A knife wound wouldn't have stopped him. He wanted to go with Zavala. The knife wound gave him the excuse he needed not to fight back."

"So, that's it? You're just letting him go?"

"It's what he wants."

"Fucking stupid if you ask me. Not that many people ask me anything. Hell, most people think I'm the crazy one. Then again, I didn't just allow a cartel psychopath to kidnap me and take me to his island of doom."

"Fox—"

"I would say it's for a woman, but Libby was here. And as far as we know, he doesn't have any other women. Then again, after what he did with Eva, I'm not sure we can discount anything."

"Fox—"

"Do you think that was his intention? Maybe he has a woman on the side. He married Libby, but now he doesn't want to be with her, and since he can't get rid of her, he got himself kidnapped."

"What?"

"It's a working theory."

"That's a terrible theory. Rafe would never allow something like that to happen. He'd fake his own death first."

"Exactly!" Fox snapped his fingers at me. "He's in cahoots with Zavala. He wants out of this relationship and doesn't know a better way out, so he's being kidnapped by Zavala to fake his own death. I mean, who would ever believe that Rafe was dead unless Zavala took him?"

I didn't want to think about Rafe's death right now. I already had a sinking feeling in my gut that I wouldn't see him again. The thought that I had just let him leave was tearing me up inside. Yet, I made my decision and there was no turning back now.

"Who gets the J's if he dies?"

"What?"

"You know, control over Jack, Johnny, and Jason. I mean, I know they work for you, but someone has to be their handler. I could do it."

"Can we stop planning what will happen after my brother dies? He may be a pain in the ass, but he's still family."

"Right," he nodded. "Gotcha. So…we'll come back to this in say…an hour?"

I shoved to my feet and walked away. I needed a plan or at least someone normal to talk to. "Where do we stand with Nicholas and Raven?"

"Yeah, she's gone," Fox said nonchalantly.

"We need to regroup. If she's gone, then this was for nothing." I spun and faced Fox. "My brother will not die for nothing."

He bit into an apple that appeared out of nowhere. "Technically, he's not dead yet," he said as he chewed. "And since he probably had his own plans going, it could be that he'll still perish as planned. That's assuming he even makes it to the island."

"What?"

"Well, boss, it's not like it was guaranteed that he'd make it there. I doubt Zavala was like I'm a bad man and you're good. I'll take you to my private island for you to spy on me. By the way, that wasn't my best impression of the dude, but you get the drift."

I thought over what he said. He was absolutely right. Rafe had gotten as far as being taken by Zavala, but that didn't ensure him a trip to the island. "They might kill him before he gets there."

"Clearly, he was counting on Zavala taking him right to the island. Obviously, a man such as myself would have considered this and put alternate plans into place."

I stormed over to him and grabbed him by the shirt. "Fox, we need to make sure he gets on that island."

"Okay," he chuckled. "Watch the shirt. I just put on a fresh one."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," he said, removing my hands from his shirt. "This is classic Hanes."

"You don't get it. Rafe wanted to be taken to the island, but he has no way of ensuring he won't be killed on the way."

"Uh…I think I just said that. You know, it's like no one pays attention to me."

"We need to get everyone together," I said, turning and pacing as I thought. "We need to force Zavala to abandon any plans of hanging around and force him back to the island."

"So…we're no longer worried about Rafe living?"

"This is what he wanted. For whatever reason, he needs to get on that island and we're going to help him achieve that."

"By blowing something up?" Fox asked excitedly.

"No, by carefully and strategically placing obstacles in Zavala's way, forcing him to leave for the island in a hurry before he's detained or gets killed."

"So, by blowing stuff up. I'm all over this. I'll get IRIS."

I grabbed him just as he was about to run off. "We need Rae to find out where Zavala is."

"Oh, I got that, boss."

"How?"

"Well, when Zavala dragged Rafe off and you were supposed to shoot Zavala, I knew I couldn't get close enough to him without maiming Rafe, which I assumed you didn't want to happen. So, I pulled out my rifle and fired a tracker on the car. Pretty handy, right?"

"And you're just telling me this now?" I seethed.

He frowned, cocking his head at me. "Well…I assumed we wanted Rafe dead."

"We didn't want Rafe dead," I bit out. "He wants to get taken to the island."

"Where he'll surely die," Fox added slowly.

"That doesn't mean we want him dead."

"Right, well, same thing. Either way, I thought you might change your mind about murdering your brother?—"

"I'm not murdering him!"

"—and I didn't want you filled with regret. See, I really am very helpful. I don't see why nobody notices that."

"Fox."

"Yeah, boss?"

"Get me the damn coordinates."

"On it, boss."