Chapter Twenty-Seven

At the edge of the crowd, which had gathered to gape at all the excitement, stood a lone figure, fragile and pale. Jun. He looked confused until he saw me, and then his face lit up. What would I say to him? How would I tell him what his friend had done?

We moved toward each other, meeting in the middle.

“What’s happening? Did somebody get hurt?” He looked at me with such open honesty and trust, it broke my heart.

“Yes, but the paramedics are working really hard to help them. Why don’t you come with me?” I reached for his hand. He took it without question.

Alex didn’t seem surprised to see me towing Jun.

“I don’t want to stay here,” I told Alex, trying to send him subliminal messages that I didn’t want Jun to see Tenchi. “Can you tell Kennedy I’m going back to my hotel room?”

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?”

“Hang on, Jun.” I motioned for Alex to step away with me. “I’m safe. You heard Tenchi. He confessed. I don’t want Jun to find out what his friend’s done from someone else. He’s lost so much.”

Alex didn’t look happy about it, but he agreed. “All right. I’ll come with you.” He looked around. “I’m not needed here anyway. I’ll tell Kennedy where we’re going.”

I went back to our little group while Alex went to talk with Kennedy. Juan Carlos was telling Jun what had happened to me. I walked up next to him and pretended to accidentally step on his foot.

“Ow! Watch it, Graceless. Look what you did,” Juan Carlos said. “You put a dent in my shoe with your heel.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Let me make it up to you.” I pulled him away from the others and pretended to be interested in his shoe. “I’m trying to get Jun out of here.” I hitched a thumb in the direction the paramedics had gone. “That’s his friend back there.”

“His friend is the one who—”

I clamped a hand on Juan Carlos’s mouth, cutting him off. “Yes. So shut up and let’s go.”

Juan Carlos nodded, glaring at me. I eased my hand back.

“Your hand tastes nasty,” he said. “If you’re going to put it on my mouth, make sure it’s washed next time. Scratch that. Don’t ever put your hand on my mouth again. Disgusting.” He faked spitting.

“I just washed it! Get over it.”

“Not likely.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve to prove it.

I knew that to be true. Juan Carlos rarely got over anything.

We rejoined the group just as Alex returned. Together, we walked out of the hotel to catch a cab. I was never so glad to leave a place in all my life. Nothing good had happened here for me. For all its opulence and beauty, this hotel held nothing but bad vibes and negative memories. And ghosts.

The cab ride to our hotel was quiet and sullen. I was grateful for it. How in the world was I going to tell Jun his friend had killed Dhane and driven Trinity to take her own life? He’d been through so much in his young life. How many more hits could he take?

Alex slipped his hand in mine and gave me an uncertain smile. He’d gotten more than he bargained for when he’d agreed to fly to Vegas and help James get Vivian out of jail. I glanced up at him. He didn’t seem to regret it. In fact, he seemed to enjoy—I guessed enjoy wasn’t the right word. He thrived on all the intrigue and mayhem. Plus, he really seemed to want to build a relationship with me. Would it last once we were back home and our work and lives got in the way again? Once the forced proximity was gone?

I guessed only time and effort would tell. I decided to enjoy the moment and rested my head on his shoulder, snuggling up next to him while Jun chatted and chirped away about everything and nothing. By the time we got to our hotel, Alex was looking a little twitchy. Jun rode his nerves like the roller coaster atop the Stratosphere. I suggested Alex have a drink at the bar while Jun and I went upstairs.

As soon as I got to the room with Jun, I wished I hadn’t let Alex off the hook. I could’ve used the moral support while I broke Jun’s heart.

Sitting across from him in my hotel room, I almost lost my nerve. He watched me expectantly, as though he knew this was a moment he should pay attention to. I was afraid I’d let him down, as he’d been let down so many times in his young life. But as with anything, I supposed it was best to begin at the beginning.

“Jun—”

“Yes?” He reached for my hand, blinking his ridiculous Kewpie doll eyes at me.

“I need to tell you something. Something that might upset you.”

“Okay.” His trust in me was written all over his face. I only hoped I lived up to it.

“It’s about what happened back at the Raine and…Tenchi.”

His brows bunched together. “Tenchi?”

“Yes. He was there. He was the one who got hurt.”

“Is he okay? Why didn’t you tell me? I need to go see him.” He made a move to stand, but I held onto his hand, pulling it for him to sit back down.

“I don’t know if he’s okay. We can find out after I tell you what happened. Please, just a moment.”

He settled back down and squared his shoulders, as if preparing himself, like a good little soldier. I imagined him having to do this as a child, bracing for the blows that came too often for a young, abandoned boy.

I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. “Tenchi approached me in a hallway. He didn’t look well. He was upset about Trinity.”

Jun dropped his eyes and let out a shaky breath. “She died.”

“Yes, she did. And Tenchi blamed himself for her death.”

“Why? He didn’t kill her. Tenchi wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

I wanted to press a hand to my heart to put pressure on the pain that had settled there. Instead, I wrapped Jun’s hand in both of mine and inched closer, feeling he’d need someone to hold him when I told him the truth about his friend.

“He did, Jun. He confessed to me and the police that he was the one who killed Dhane.”

Jun pushed my hands away, his mouth twisting down. “No.” I tried to reach for him, but he shook his head. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jun backed away from me, as though the distance would protect him. “You’re wrong!”

I stood but didn’t go to him. “I’m not wrong. That’s what happened. I’m so sorry.”

“No.” His face crumpled and he dropped to his knees, his voice hoarse. “Tenchi, no.”

“He came looking for me. He had a knife. He would have killed me if the police hadn’t gotten there in time. Instead he hurt himself. He…he tried to kill himself.”

“No,” he whimpered, sagging under the weight of his emotions.

I dropped to my knees next to him and smoothed a hand over his head. “It will be all right,” I told him, not really believing my own words. “You’ll be okay.”

He reached up and gripped my wrist, holding too tight. Rising up over me, he pushed me back. Tears ran in black lines down his face. “You killed Tenchi.”

I scrambled backward, trying to free my wrist. “I didn’t. He hurt himself.” I tried to twist free from his grip. “Let me go.”

He yanked me toward him, holding me against his hard, tense body. His face molded and changed, as though he were shedding one mask for another. I didn’t recognize this face. Or the voice that came from it. “You killed my brother.”

Panic washed cold over me, crawling up my neck to choke me. “Your brother?”

He squeezed my wrist harder, putting pressure on bones as fragile as twigs. “I worked so hard.” He grabbed a handful of my hair, holding my face close to his. “I kept us together. Tenchi didn’t kill Dhane. I did. I killed him because he wouldn’t let Tenchi be with Trinity. He made him go away.” He jerked my head. “Do you hear me? I killed Dhane.”

“No.”

“What? You think I couldn’t do it? I’d do anything for my brother.” He shook me, his hand tightening in my hair, hurting me. “Anything.”

I believed him. In that moment I believed he’d killed Dhane and he’d kill me, too. “I know you would. I believe you, Jun. I believe you.”

He looked me over, as if seeing me for the first time. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I am.”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. Dhane said he was my friend, and then he tried to make Tenchi go away.”

“Dhane was wrong.”

“You’re not my friend.” He released my wrist and put his hand over my mouth, trapping my head in his hands. “You killed Tenchi.”

My lips brushed against his fingers. “No, Jun. Don’t do this.” The horror of what he’d done, what he was willing to do, roared through me. I tried to kick out, but my legs were trapped beneath me. I gasped for breath. My screams trapped behind his hand. Blackness framed the edges of my vision.

I was going to die.

He applied more pressure with each word, cutting off my air. “You killed Tenchi. You’re not my friend.”

I clawed at his arms, his face. He shifted his body, pinning my arms down. A red haze filled my vision. This was how I’d meet my end. A strange stillness settled over me, blocking all sound. My vision narrowed, condensing down to nothing but the realization that the last thing I would ever see was the cold, empty eyes of my killer.