The words hung there in the air and it felt as if they were lit up in neon for the entire world to see. I wasn’t sure I cared.

“So before I forget…thank you,” Alex said quietly.

I didn’t move or respond. Wasn’t sure that I could do either.

“But Carter and I started talking,” he said, shrugging. “He helped me line up a couple of construction jobs, lent me the money to start the classes at Mesa.”  He smiled at me. “Don’t worry. I paid him back two weeks later.”

I nodded.

“So, then he needed to get outta sight,” he said. “Cops started breathing down on him a little bit, you know?  I knew a couple people, I gave him the names. We’ve stayed in touch. Two days ago, my cell rang. He said you needed some help, told me where you were.”  He shrugged. “So here I am. Because I owe you.”

“Owe me?  How do you figure?”

Alex folded his arms across his broad chest. “Three reasons, Noah. One, you bailed my ass out when you had no reason to. Helped get my head on right.”  He glanced at me. “Two, you took out the motherfucker that killed my sister.”  He turned all the way to me, shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “And, three, you made Liz happy. Really happy. She loved you, Noah. Really loved you.”

I blinked hard, letting the words surround me, swallow me up. Images of her face flashed out on the horizon, faster than I could look at them.

“So, thank you, Noah,” Alex said. “Thank you.”

There was nothing to thank me for and I couldn’t imagine anyone feeling grateful to me for what I’d brought to Liz’s life. I’d have given anything to have her back, to have no one feel the need to thank me.

“Okay,” I said, because there was nothing else to say.

“So I’m in,” Alex said. “Whatever you need, whatever you want, I’m in.”

“Okay.”

Bella ushered Jackson over to the water, had him bend down and wash his hands off.

“Carter,” I asked. “How is he?”

“He’s alright,” he said. “Heat’s on a bit, so he’s staying quiet.”

“What kind of heat?”

“Those two cops that found Keene’s body.”

“Klimes and Zanella?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Them. They’ve been all over him.”

The tide was starting to roll in and the waves were crashing harder.

“Tailing him, pulling him in for questions, just staying on him,” he said. “He told me that he heard they were working on warrants for him. And for you. So he decided to make himself scarce for awhile.”

“What about Wellton?” I asked. “Where’s he at?”

“He’s kind of a mess,” Alex said. “Took some time off. He’s back now, but he really hasn’t been in any shape to help or run interference.”

It was hard for me to picture Liz’s old partner imploding. As much as he and I didn’t get along, I respected him as a cop and after she died, he was the one who gave me the heads up that Keene’s body had been located. But it sounded as if both he and Carter were suffering in different ways.

Because of me.

Jackson chased Bella down the shoreline, both of them giggling as the water splashed around their ankles. I couldn’t stay much longer. I didn’t want them to be hurt because of me. I needed to figure out her situation and move on to wherever I was going to move on to.

“You really up for helping me?” I asked.

“Anything,” he said. “I’m in.”

“May mean getting your hands a little dirty.”

He smiled. “Done it before, I can do it again.”

Bella scooped up Jackson and swung him around, his legs flailing as he screamed and giggled above the water.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s figure some shit out.”

THIRTY-THREE

“Alex and I will take David the money,” I said.

“You’re nuts,” Bella said.

We were still on the beach and Jackson had passed out on a towel next to us. I’d grabbed a couple more chairs and the three of us were sitting there, discussing our options. Or rather, I was throwing out options and Bella was discouraging them.

“He’ll freak,” she said. “Absolutely freak. And come after me.”

“No, he won’t,” I said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m going to tell him not to.”

Alex chuckled, but Bella just shook her head, her mouth set in a line of agitation.

“I’m not going to let him hurt you, Bella,” I said. “You need to trust me if you want my help. Remember?”

The line softened, but didn’t disappear completely. “I remember. I do trust you. But he isn’t some neighborhood dealer and I think that’s how you’re looking at him.”

“He’s capable of more?” Alex asked.

She nodded.

“Like?” Alex prodded.

“Like a lot more, okay?” she said. “He’s killed people. He’s just like Evan was.”

“Who’s Evan?” Alex asked.

I waved him off.

“They are so much alike,” she continued. “I know him. And it won’t be about losing the deal. It’s going to be someone telling him what to do. That’s the stuff he can’t take. The stuff that will piss him off.”

Which I already knew. Guys like David got off on the control far more than the money or deals. But I could understand why she was scared.

“Fair enough,” I said. “But there are two of us here now. Alex is going to help. You won’t be left alone until it’s settled.”

She glanced at Alex and he smiled at her. She looked away. “What exactly does ’settled’ mean?”

“It means that until I’m comfortable knowing David will leave you alone, one of us will be with you and Jackson.”

“But you just said the two of you were going to take the money to David.”

“I changed my mind,” I said. “Alex will stay with you and I’ll take the money.”

She turned her gaze to me. “You didn’t fare so well with him last time.”

I smiled. “I wasn’t ready for a fight. I will be this time.”

She chewed on her lip for a moment. “I don’t want you getting the crap beat out of you for me.”

“He gets the crap beat out of him for a lot of people,” Alex said.

Her eyes flitted to him and she tried to suppress a smile, then looked back at me. “I mean it.”

“I know you do,” I said. “But I’ll be fine.”

She sighed, shook her head, still unsure. She touched Jackson’s hair lightly. “So, when is this going to happen?”

“Soon as we’re done here,” I said. “I’ll put the equipment away and Alex will go with you guys.”  I looked at him and he nodded. “And I’ll go to David’s.”

“And that’s it?” she said. “Just like that?”

“What exactly should I wait for?”

She looked away.

“You got anything with you?” I said to Alex.

He nodded. “I’m covered.”

“Anybody comes, they’ll be gunned up.”

“I’m covered,” he repeated.

It was almost four o'clock. The chairs were nearly empty now and the tourists were streaming back to their condos in preparation for dinner. I shook the sand from my feet and stood.

“I’ll need an address for him,” I said.

She hugged her knees to her chest and watched the water. “You promise you’ll come back?  In one piece?”

“Yes.”

She laughed and shook her head. “You can’t make that kind of promise.”

“You asked me to.”

She squeezed her knees and she tilted her head to look up at me. “Just come back.”

THIRTY-FOUR

Alex left with Bella and Jackson and I put the chairs and umbrellas away.  I found Alex’s rental car in the parking lot. It was the first time in months that I’d been behind the wheel of a car and I felt out of place as I headed east on the highway into Destin.

Bella had given me David’s address and I plugged it into the GPS in the rental. The computerized voice guided me past the restaurants, hotels and shops and into a neighborhood built around a golf course. Wide, expensive homes lined the fairways, separated by palm trees and pools. I immediately felt at ease because no matter what was going to go down, I knew David wouldn’t risk his lavish lifestyle by going after me in his own neighborhood. He was one of the new style drug kings—he liked the money that came with the dirty work, but wanted the world to think he’d done it legitimately.