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Chapter Seven

-- Brian --

"I can't hear you. What did you say?"

There was a high pitched tantrum going on back at home. I heard Leighanne sigh.

"Kayleigh's refusing to wear her matching shirt today."

"Why?"

"She doesn't want to wear pink."

"Well, what about blue?"

"I WON'T! I WON'T!"

There was static and then I heard a dramatic six-year old's heavy breath.

"I don't WANT to dress like Mom and BAY!" she screamed right into my ear. I held the phone away and rubbed out the shrillness.

It was our tradition. We always wore matching shirts. That way if someone got lost...

"And that's what's happening here," Leighanne said as she got control of the phone again. She sounded tired. "Baylee's sixteen and still listens to me. How can a six-year-old not listen?"

I wanted to give her some insightful piece of wisdom, but just then I heard the landing announcement.

"Leigh, baby, I'm so sorry, but we're landing."

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up and shook my head. Kayleigh was beautiful, just like her mama, but she had a temper that was unearthly. Life was fun.

By the time the plane landed and we checked into the hotel, it was around noon. All four of us had been pretty quiet the whole trip (minus my phone call). More quiet than we usually were on a plane ride. Howie and Kev had gone over maps, marking off possible places to visit.

I wasn't good at this detective, 'shoot-em-up,' 'get the bad guy' type of stuff. I didn't have that sixth sense or whatever was needed to do this.

But I was doing it for Nick.

"Bri, you're coming with me today," Kev said as we got in the elevator to return to the hotel lobby. "AJ's going with Howie."

The plan was that AJ and Howie were going to scout out all the clubs and 'town' area this afternoon while Kev and I checked all the outlying areas. We would meet up for a quick dinner and then go back through the clubs tonight when all the parties really got hopping.

Four middle-aged dudes in a club would blend in just fine. Right?

We headed out of the hotel and split up. Howie and AJ took a cab going towards the hustle and bustle of town and Kev and I took a cab towards the beach.

"So where are we going first?"

Kev looked thoughtful. It was a beautiful day. I would have loved to lay out on the beach with the family if it had been an ordinary vacation.

This was far from ordinary.

"Cozumel is where Aaron faked his death," Kev pointed out. "Remember where he jumped from?"

The whole thing was kind of fuzzy in my mind. Leighanne had been pregnant with Kayleigh and well...

"Punta Sur," Kev said after I gave him a blank look. "The lighthouse."

"You think he's using lighthouses wherever he goes?"

Nick had called me right before the four of us had split up. The FBI had found blonde hairs in one of the lighthouses on the Dry Tortguas. We were right on Aaron's tail.

"Not necessarily," Kev said. "It was closed for repairs that year. Now it's open to tourists. I want to go check the rocks below."

I breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way in double-h-hockey sticks that I was going to walk up a lighthouse.

I could walk on rocks.

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"So what are we looking for?"

"Any recess that might look like it leads to some type of cave structure," Kev said. "It has to be up enough that the tide isn't an issue."

I looked around. All I saw were rocks. Literally. I hopped from one to the other looking at the massive wall of earth in front of me. It looked pretty solid.

After about an hour, we weren't making much progress. The progress completely stopped when Kev grabbed my arm.

"I think we better go," he said quietly.

"What? Why?"

Kev gave me a crooked little smile.

"I think the FBI finally caught up to my logic," Kev whispered.

We got back in our boat and got a good distance away just as four guys in a large unmarked boat wearing brown windbreakers pulled up. We looked at each other and Kev turned the boat back towards the pier. I checked my phone. I had five messages from AJ.

"AJ's been calling," I told Kev. I dialed his number and waited.

"Where the fuck have you guys been? The North Pole?"

"We were out on the rocks. Verizon service isn't that good," I said. "Can you hear me now?"

"Howie had a nice little chat with the owner of Neptuno," AJ said. "Aaron was sniffing around here this morning. I think he was looking for some of his old friends."

I remembered those old friends. They had tried to kill Nick and me. I remembered the knife being pressed up to Nick's throat and the gunshots. I had practically wet myself trying to get out of there.

"Did he have Brooke with him?"

"No, he's got to be hiding her somewhere. But..."

And this is where AJ sounded happy.

"Information about Brooke's kidnapping has made its way down here. The owner told Aaron that his friends usually come by around seven every night. He thinks Aaron will be back."

"Do those guys really come in every night?" I asked. I didn't really want to meet them again. I doubt they would have invited me to sit down for a cup of tea.

"Nope," AJ said happily. "The owner hasn't seen them in a couple years. He thinks they moved their operation south."

That was good news. I loved good news.

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, I wanted all of us to hide in the club and come at Aaron with baseball bats and clubs, but Dorough wants to pass the info on to the FBI."

I could so see AJ with a club.

"I think Howie's right," I said. "We're not trained professionals."

AJ snorted. "I don't think the FBI is either. They don't have torture tactics like we do."

"I don't torture. I'm a pacifist," I said.

"So if Kayleigh was in Brooke's place you wouldn't want to burn off Aaron's nutsack?" AJ asked.

I closed my eyes. Deep down I knew that, if it was Kayleigh, I would do more than burn his nutsack off. I would probably carry his decapitated head around like a trophy.

Such is the power of being a dad.

"You're right," I said. "But I also don't want to screw this up for Nick."

AJ sighed. "Fine. We'll tell the FBI. But if they fuck this up and we have to go someplace else to track him..."

"I'll be carrying a club right alongside you," I assured him.

We decided on a place to meet and I hung up. Kev was looking at me.

"What's the plan?"

"Howie and AJ think Aaron will be visiting Neptuno tonight. We're going to meet for an early dinner and call the FBI."

"For everyone's sake, I hope the tip is right. Once the FBI finds out that we've stuck our noses in not once, but twice, we're all going to be watched like dogs."

I nodded. Kev had a point. The last thing the FBI wanted was four Backstreet Boys chasing after them trying to figure out this giant game of Clue before they did. And even worse was the thought that we might accidentally lead them in the wrong direction.

If I helped Aaron in any way, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

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Shameless plug: If you've been reading The Coaster Series, then you'll enjoy the spin-off Coaster Girls Series. The first story is Shelby's Love Story and you can read it here! It's a perfect thing to read after getting all mad and anxious with Seven Days, lol.