“It doesn’t matter! At least we would have been together.” Ethan finally broke free from the face-off and strode to the door leading to the hallway. “I want you to leave. Go run back to Sydney, or fly off to your new home in South America, I don’t care. But I don’t want to be a part of your plan. And I don’t need your money.” He emphasized the last five words, letting them hang in the still air.
Ethan stood at the door, his hand shaking as he reached for the handle. Jack stared at him, the shock registering on his face. Then his expression changed, and he furrowed his eyebrows. He took a few steps toward him and then suddenly broken into a run. As he lunged at Ethan, he angled his body downward, like a linebacker ready to deliver a heavy blow. He pummeled into Ethan with his shoulder and knocked him into the wall.
“I did it for you!” he screamed as they wrestled to the ground. The tension between them had finally reached a boiling point, and they spilled onto the floor. Jack landed himself on top of Ethan and pinned his arms to the ground with his legs. His first punch connected with Ethan’s right jaw and Ethan felt the impact smash through the rest of his skull. Jack had always had a strong right hook, and Ethan knew he could only withstand a few punches from his brother before he blacked out.
He instinctively swung his legs to the side, trying to knock Jack off balance. It worked and as Jack fell back, Ethan freed himself and shoved him under the built-in bar. They were equally matched in height, although Ethan had more muscle and weight to work to his advantage. He used that to push his brother underneath the thick granite countertop, pinning him between the wall and a small drink refrigerator tucked beneath.
“You did it for yourself,” Ethan said as he gripped Jack’s neck, choking the air from his lungs. Jack was pushing against Ethan’s forearm, trying to break his grip. Jack was only a few moments away from passing out. Ethan tried to stop himself from inflicting too much pain, but he felt a rage mixed with grief channeling itself from the center of his body down into his hands. Squeezing the life out of Jack was nearly cathartic. He knew he needed to stop before he did something he regretted, but he couldn’t.
As he debated letting Jack go, he caught a flash of glass from one of the whiskey bottles scattered on the floor nearby. Jack seemed to notice it at the same time, proving their thinking was always in alignment even when they were at odds with each other. But in this case, Jack’s body was positioned closest to the bottle. He let go of Ethan’s forearm, just long enough to grab the neck of the long glass bottle and launch it toward Ethan’s head.
The impact sent a searing blast of pain through his skull, straight from his right temple and sinking quickly to the back of his neck. His head was jolted to the side, and he could taste the tangy metal blood in his mouth. He fought to stay conscious as his body crumpled toward the ground.
As he began to pass out, his eyes fell on the garment bag hanging in his closet.
He could almost see the crisply pressed white tuxedo inside, the suit he was supposed to wear to his wedding.
Thirty-Three
Sydney
Housekeeping.
She could hear the word but it sounded far away as if she were at the bottom of a deep well and someone was speaking to her from the top. She started to stir, but when she did so, there was a tightening around her wrists and ankles. Her body tensed up. A gentle knock seemed to bring her into the room. She opened one eye and then her other. She realized she was on the floor.
“Oh, no!” she heard a women’s voice shriek. “Ma’am, are you okay?”
As Sydney’s eyes began to focus, she could see a black woman in a maid’s uniform crouching over her. Sydney started to panic, when she realized there was a rope binding her arms and legs to the heavy wooden posts of the hotel bed.
“Um, I think so,” she said. “Can you untie me?”
“Of course, of course,” she replied. The woman began working frantically on the ropes. They had been tied tightly. She could see from the callouses on the woman’s hands that she was used to hard work. The woman seemed to follow her eyes. “You are lucky,” she said, giving her a reassuring smile. “My father was a fisherman. I am no stranger to untying knots.”
After several minutes, Sydney was freed, and she pulled herself up into a sitting position. “Thank you,” she said, squeezing the woman’s shoulders.
“Do you want me to call someone, ma’am?”
Call someone? Sydney eyes widened as the memories rushed back to her. Jack!
That son of a bitch tied her up and left her in this room. Wherever this room was. She could tell by the décor that they were still on El Brillo Azul’s property. Thank goodness, she thought. She looked around the room and saw a clock on the nightstand. It was 12:30 p.m.
The wedding!
The ceremony was to begin in thirty minutes, and she was still wearing her robe. She looked back at the maid.
“Oh no, no, I’m fine,” she said, trying to give her a convincing smile. “My boyfriend and I just got a little carried away last night.”
The woman made a face but then quickly smiled back. “Oh, okay.”
“But thank you again,” she said and touched her arm. This woman had no idea how truly grateful she was. “I’ve got to go, now. Goodbye.”
Sydney jumped to her feet and raced out the door. As she padded barefoot down the hallway, she tried to get her bearings. She had a minor headache, but other than that, she seemed to be fine. Jack hadn’t hurt her. Physically, anyway, she thought.
As she reached the end of the hallway, she found a property map and located the honeymoon section. From there she practically ran back to her room.
As she opened the door, she was relieved to see it was empty. She definitely had no time to explain to Alex where she had been. That was a story for later. She quickly went to the closet and pulled out the pale blue bridesmaid’s dress Marissa had Vera Wang design for the wedding. As she slipped the one-shouldered gown over her head, she heard a banging on the door.
“Sydney, are you in there?” She heard the familiar voice of Jessica, the wedding planner, on the other side.
“Yes! Be right there!” she said as she zipped the gown up the bottom half of her back. She pulled open the door and found herself face-to-face with a very unhappy-looking woman.
“Sydney! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“I know, it’s a long story. I—”
Jessica cut her off with a wave of her hand. “Let’s save story time for later. I need you to finish your makeup and be out in the hallway in five minutes! I’ll be waiting!”
“Got it,” Sydney said and let the door shut as she dashed into the bathroom. It was truly time to put her five-minute makeup routine to the test. She was moving so quickly she barely had time to process what Jack had done.
As she dashed out into the hallway, she found Jessica waiting for her, a clipboard in one arm. When she saw Sydney emerge from the room, she tapped the earpiece of the black headset she was wearing.
“Okay, I’ve got her. We’re on our way,” she heard her say. Jessica didn’t say a word to Sydney, just gave her a sharp nod, indicating she was to follow her. She stayed a few steps ahead of her, chattering nonstop on her headset as they walked quickly toward the ceremony.