My father scurries out of the way, rushing over to help me get Ellis to safety.
I begin to scream for help as we all rush back toward the beach, toward the crowd gathered there. Shawn notices us first from the sand and runs up the dock, no shoes, the sleeves torn on her dress. She’s covered in soot and ash from the fire.
“What happened?” she demands. Then her eyes widen. “Ellis, holy shit,” she adds, wrapping her arm around him and taking over for my father.
“Hey, Shawn,” Ellis murmurs, sounding weak.
She looks at his shirt, and her face pales as she turns quickly to me.
“We need to get him to the hospital,” I tell her.
I look over my shoulder, and see that Matteo has gotten the short guy down, and now he and Jamie are working together to restrain him. I don’t know what this will mean for him—the danger Matteo has now put himself in—but I’m heartened by his bravery. I smile a little sadly, wishing Felix could see how much his cousin still loved him.
There is a sudden commotion from the beach, and I turn that way. When I do, I see Alessandro Mancini rushing down from the resort in his tuxedo with another man not far behind. It only takes me a second to know that he’s Jamie’s father—he’s huge.
“What the hell is going on?” Mancini shouts. Several guests step aside, as if they can avoid his wrath. He looks at the Surf Shack, the remains of it, and I swear he has a small smile on his lips. It’s a shot of pure anger to my heart. “Everyone, back to the resort,” he yells to the crowd. “This isn’t safe.”
“Nothing is safe with you here!” Ellis yells from next to me. “You’re a murderer.”
Mancini’s eyes darken when he sees my brother, but he quickly tries to recover. “Who even are you?” he demands, as if he’s no one important. As if he can play this off. “I don’t even know this kid.” He waves his hand toward the resort. “Everyone, go.”
Ellis stumbles forward a few steps. “Not this time,” he says, drawing the attention of the crowd again.
They all watch Ellis, a bit stunned—he is covered in blood. But also… I’m sure they can hear it in his voice. The rawness there. Something you can’t fake.
Just then, Jamie and Matteo come into view, holding the arms of the men before pushing them down on the dock, guarding them. I mean, they beat the hell out of them first—so I don’t think they’d get very far anyway.
“These men work for you,” Ellis calls to Mancini, pointing at the men on the dock. “They started this fire”—he points to the Surf Shack—“and they shot me.” He stumbles, motioning to himself, and I’m not sure how much longer my brother can stand here.
At the same time, by publicly accusing Mancini—he’s taking out an insurance policy. All these witnesses? It’s a lot harder to murder someone when everyone is expecting it.
“I saw you,” Ellis says, and this time, he stumbles on his step, and I have to dash over to straighten him. “I saw you kill Felix Mancini.”
The crowd gasps, beginning to murmur to one another. Some are even growing frantic. One woman starts jogging back toward the resort, as if too frightened to stay.
“You’re delusional,” Mancini spits at my brother, but I see him trying to work out what to do. “And someone call this kid an ambulance,” he adds. “He’s probably hallucinating from the blood loss.” I think he’s trying to sound more in control that he is. He knows he can’t outright threaten him.
“You’re responsible for the death of Florence Marsten,” I call, earning a sharp look. His dark eyes are cutting, but I’m not scared right now. I’m too angry to be scared anymore. “You had her killed at the Starline Hotel, and you framed Gabriel Mendez for the crime.”
“Ah, the old Chaser lie,” Mancini says, slow-clapping. “Brava.”
“You killed her because you were jealous,” I continue. “You killed her to collect the life insurance money that you used to build this resort. Clean money.” I look around at the crowd. “He killed her and then he covered it up, told everyone the hotel burned down so it wouldn’t be investigated. But it’s there. It’s still there, even now!”
“That’s enough, young lady,” Jamie’s dad says, stepping forward. He addresses the gathered crowd. “I’m Brent Matthews,” he announces, “director of security. For your safety, we need to get you all back inside the Augustus Resort.”
“You’ve been helping him cover it up for years,” Jamie calls out, coming to stand next to me. He’s out of breath from fighting, but maybe more from confronting his father.
I’m not imagining the flash of rage in Brent Matthew’s expression at seeing his son with me. Seeing him stand up to him.
“You lie, and you steal, and youcheat,” Jamie says, his voice cracking. “It just never ends, Dad. You always make the wrong choice. You’re a bully. You’re a gangster. And now… you’ve gone too far.”
“James,” his father says. “We’ll talk about this later. Now get—”
“I’m not listening to you anymore,” Jamie says, shaking his head. “I don’t care if you degrade me, threaten me. I’ve seen what’s right. I know the truth. You helped Alessandro Mancini cover up the murder of Florence Marsten, Gina Tamayo, and Felix Mancini. Whether it was wiping out records or hiring people to move a body, you’re in deep. And now I’m going to fucking end you.”
For a moment, I’m frightened that his dad is going to stomp overhere and choke him out again. The way he’s staring at him tells me he’s considering it.
“Jamie,” I murmur, wanting him to move back.
