Zed, page 22
“Hi. How are you feeling? You’re in the hospital, by the way. You were beat up pretty bad.”
Xavier blinked a few times, looking more disoriented than Vivi had when she woke up. With good reason, considering he’d been through the wars. When he spoke again, his voice with a little clearer, though still hoarse and quiet.
“Vivi?” He looked between the two of us, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. It hadn’t even occurred to me that until that point, I’d only ever addressed her as Octavia in front of him. “Wait. Are you two banging?” And… he’s back. His voice grew stronger with every word.
Now that I knew he wasn’t dead or dying, I was ready to kill the little fucker myself. As though reading my mind, Vivi shot me an icy glare that very clearly said “Don’t you dare, or I’ll literally break your balls.” I was quite attached to my balls, in both senses of the word, so I knew better than to test her. I kept my thoughts to myself.
A master of tact and diplomacy, and very much what I would expect from a talented corporate lawyer, Vivi acted as though he hadn’t said anything, her voice laced with genuine concern.
“You don’t know how relieved we are to see you awake. You had us worried there for a moment. Are you in pain? Should I call the nurses?”
Xavier scowled and shook his head resolutely.
Hmm….
I touched her lightly on the elbow and motioned to the corner of the room. She came with me without question.
“Both the police and the school gave strict instructions to the nurses to call them when he came to. Once they’re here, we probably won’t get a chance to even speak to him again. I think it could be worth trying to find out what the fuck happened before a cast of thousands is involved, don’t you?”
“You’re right. He looks okay for now. Shall I see what he’ll tell us?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. Good thinking, by the way.” She beamed at me as though I’d hung the moon, and I made a mental note to try hard to make her smile at me more often.
One thing doing time had taught me was to trust nobody, unless they’d earned it, especially not law enforcement personnel. While I had no specific reason to suspect that those involved in Xavier’s case weren’t solid, I had no reason to think otherwise, either, and I didn’t want to take any chances.
We returned to Xavier’s bedside, and I knew to let Vivi do the talking. She smiled and spoke calmly and kindly again.
“So, I’m going to have to call the nurses in soon to have a look at you now that you’re awake, but they are under strict instructions to call the cops and the principal as soon as you come to, so before that happens, we wondered if there was anything you wanted to share with us, like who did this to you, and why? Totally off the record.”
I looked at his face—the fat nose and busted lips, the two black eyes, and the scabbed cut above his eyebrows—and my fists clenched involuntarily. It was definitely best that I kept quiet.
Xavier looked past us and said nothing, shaking his head and then wincing as though instantly regretting his decision to move so vigorously. We needed to call the nurses to look him over sooner rather than later. He was going to have to speak now or forever hold his peace.
He maintained his silence.
“The thing is the police are going to have a lot of questions, and they’re not going to accept silence as an answer. Not forgetting your father—” Ever the master lawyer, Vivi knew just which buttons to press. At the mention of his father, Xavier turned back to us.
“Off the record?”
“Of course.” She nodded emphatically.
He hesitated as though still weighing his options before speaking.
“Pixie.” It was so quiet as to be almost inaudible.
“What was that? Pixie? Is that a person?”
He nodded, looking pained to have even said that much.
“Who? How do you know her? I need more information to go on than that.”
“Him.”
“Pixie is a guy?”
Another small nod from Xavier.
“Okay. So who is he? Where is he?”
“Dealer.”
This was going to be painful if he was going to give us one word a time. I could feel my patience waning. Thank God Vivi was there too. Though I knew from personal experience that she could be hotheaded and volatile at times, it was clear she could also be cool and calm under pressure when the situation called for it.
“Dealer. As in drug dealer?”
Xavier nodded slowly.
I couldn’t hold my silence any longer. “Don’t tell me you’re using.” I totally lacked Vivi’s finesse and diplomatic skills. I was mad as fuck, and there was no way I could hide it.
“What? No. Do you think I’m a total dumbass?” He seemed to have to strain to speak that much and that loudly. Given the way he’d come into my life, there was no way I could answer that question without being rude, so I avoided it altogether.
“Why the hell would you have been beaten by a dealer if you don’t do drugs?” I knew I sounded accusatory, but it was the most civility I could muster.
“Skimming.”
“Xavier, honey, I’m sorry, I know it’s hard, but you’re going to have to speak in sentences of more than one word. Like I said, I’ll need to call the nurses in soon, so we need to move this along.”
We were like good cop, bad cop.
He hesitated again, looking like he wished we’d disappear. Then he nodded again, as though finally making peace with the act that he needed to speak to us.
“I’ve been dealing for him at school, and he found out I was skimming.”
Jesus Christ. This little punk. I felt like I might need to leave the room before I said or did something regrettable for us all.
“Oh my God, Xavier, really? I don’t even know where to start with that.”
You and me both.
“But how about we put aside the illegality and immorality of dealing drugs and cut straight to the big questions. Why the hell would you want to deal when you have an allowance bigger than most people’s paychecks? And within that, what in the world would make you want to risk life and limb stealing from a dealer named Pixie?”
“I’ve been working for him for years and taking something off the top the whole time. He had no idea. He’s as dumb as a stack of bologna, so it wasn’t a risk.”
We both leaned in, straining to hear his quiet, cracked voice.
Vivi scoffed. “I don’t think that as you lie there broken in a hospital bed looking like you’ve been ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer, you’re in a position to say there was no risk. There was clearly a risk, and you fell foul of it.”
“What I meant was that it was a calculated risk, and the odds of it fucking up were low, except when you factor in an ex-friend I have beef with blowing my cover. If it weren’t for that asshole throwing me under the bus, I’d be fine right now, and for years to come. Pixie was never going to get wise to what I was doing.”
“The thing is, there will always be some asshole, and when you take that fact into account, your risk calculation looks a little different, right?”
Xavier shrugged, the male equivalent of admitting a mistake.
“Okay, so that kind of answers some of the questions, but not the most burning one, being why. Why would someone who has the resources at their disposal that you do run a racket like that for several years, or at all? What aren’t you telling us? Why do you need the money?” She was totally right, and if he genuinely wasn’t using, it made even less sense.
“You don’t need to know, and even if you did need to, I wouldn’t tell you. Let’s remember that Father Dearest pays your exorbitant fees, and therefore pretty much your salary.”
God, he was a rude little prick, but Vivi took it in stride. “That’s not strictly true, but let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good story. So you need the money for something you don’t want your father to know about?”
“You could say that, but that doesn’t narrow it down much, seeing as everything I do fits in that category. Either way, it’s all you’re getting.”
Maybe I would just choke him out and put us all out of our miseries.
32
Vivi
This kid could try the patience of a saint, and I didn’t even come close to being one. Still, I realized he was a product of his hollow upbringing, and that he was probably acting out a little to cover his embarrassment at needing to call me to come to his rescue.
Both Zed and I had obviously seen some redeemable characteristics in him, which was why we gave any kind of a fuck, though I couldn’t recall exactly what they were at that point. Still, I used that thought, and the fact that he’d been through a shocking ordeal with no parents to comfort him through it, to allow me to see past his current bratty behavior.
“Okay, so I guess you’re going to thank me later for finding you in that theater.”
His eyes took on a sheen of remorse, but I wasn’t banking on a show of gratitude or an apology, so I continued with my line of questioning.
“In the meantime, tell me everything you know about this Pixie person, and I mean everything. Where he lives, if he has a day job and if so, where he works, where he operates, who he hangs with, what he drives, what his routine is—hell, I want to know what he has for breakfast, what time he shits in the morning, and what side he dresses to.”
As Xavier told me what he knew, I listened intently. Given I wanted the information he gave me to be untraceable, should that ever be required, I eschewed recording the conversation as a voice memo, which would have been my usual recourse in a situation where I didn’t have my iPad for note-taking. It was a good thing I was both naturally blessed with a steel-trap mind and, after years as a lawyer, well trained in recalling important details.
When I was sure Xavier had told me all he was able to, I could see he needed to rest. I also knew it was high time he got looked over by the nurses, given that he’d been awake a while.
As we wrapped up, he grabbed my arm. “You’re sure we’re off the record?”
“Yes, you can trust me 100 percent.”
“Good, because when the cops come, I’m not telling them any of this shit.”
I couldn’t say I was surprised to hear that, but it didn’t stop me from being more than a little disappointed. This Pixie character who was using kids to deal drugs in schools seemed like just the kind of person the police should know about.
“But Xa—”
“Save it. I’m not saying shit. I’m not going to jail, and I’m not going to have Pixie hate me any more than he already does—he’ll come after me. I’m going to tell them I was hanging out drinking, and must have passed out. The next thing I knew, I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck, and everyone was gone.”
“I’m sure they’ll ask why you called me and not them, which is the logical thing.”
“And I’ll say that I didn’t really know what happened, and I stupidly hoped my dad and the principal wouldn’t need to find out about me drinking and being off school grounds out of hours.”
Damn, he was good. I knew that not only did we not have the time for a long and protracted debate on the subject, but more to the point, Xavier had already made up his mind, so I saved us both the time and effort in arguing. Besides, I already had the information I needed.
As though timed to perfection, just as I reached for the assistance button to call the nurses, one appeared in the doorway, ready to carry out the next scheduled round of observations. Expecting just to take his vitals, she was quite surprised to see Xavier awake and talking.
We stepped out of the room to let her do her thing, and I called Nate again.
He picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Vivi, how’s it going at the hospital?”
“Okay. He’s awake and seems all right, I guess. The nurse is with him now doing his observations. He’s lucid. I think he’ll be in a lot of pain with the cracked ribs and busted nose, but hopefully there’s nothing more serious than that.”
“Yeah, fingers crossed.”
“We’re gonna be here at least overnight, though. So I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Sure, shoot. Anything.”
“We ended up at a hotel just down the block, so that’s all good, but we have no spare clothes or toiletries or anything. Could you swing past my place and grab me a few things, and maybe loan Zed some stuff, and bring it all here to me? You’re kind of around the same size.”
“Zed, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s his name, the guy I’m here with.”
There was an extended pause, and I could practically hear the cogs of Nate’s brain turning. I didn’t fill the space, just hoped that somehow he’d work out what the hell was going on.
“Uh. Okay, sure. No problem. I was just about to leave for this awards thing with the guys from the agency. We’ve won some more hardware. We’re going together in a limo. I’ll head to your place now and get them to pick me up from there. Then we’ll swing past and drop off the stuff on the way to the venue, okay?”
“Yeah, cool. Thanks, Bumble.”
“No thanks needed. See you soon, sis.”
“See you.”
I hung up the phone to see Zed giving me the side eye.
“What?” I could feel the vibe in the weight of his stare.
“What, what?” That was an incredibly annoying habit of his.
“What are you looking at me like that for?”
“Like what?” Ugh. He could be so frustrating.
“Oh my God, Zed, really? Are you seriously going to answer every question with a question? You need to stop. I really just don’t have the patience right now.”
“Okay. I’m looking at you quizzically because I’m trying to work out what the hell is going on.” I had no idea what he meant.
Now it was my turn to look at him questioningly as he leaned against the hall wall, one leg bent, his foot propped against the hospital-issue cream-colored paintwork, hands shoved into his jeans pockets. I loved the way his thick blond hair hung in heavy waves over his forehead. Hell, I liked what I saw period.
Lottie had been right when she’d told Connie that he was serious and broody. He really was—in spades. The biggest surprise was how much I liked that vibe. All my exes had been total peacocks, swaggering about the place actively courting attention. Zed couldn’t be further from that if he tried. Turned out I like the mean and moody thing. A lot. Who knew? Definitely not me.
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” I asked.
This game was going around in circles and getting us nowhere fast.
“Now who’s answering questions with questions?” he fired back at me.
“You are again. In point of fact, you didn’t actually ask me a question, you made a statement, which was that you’re trying to work out what’s wrong.”
“Touché. You got me there, but you’re not lawyering your way out of this that easily. I’m pretty sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. We may be new ‘friends,’ but I know you well enough to catch the fact that something was weird with that phone call with your brother just now.”
He had me there.
“Hmm… well, the less you know about that, the better. Let’s just leave it at that for now.” I watched and waited as he weighed up that information.
“All right. Shall we go back in, see what the nurse says about the prick—I mean Xavier.”
“Zed!”
“I know, I know, but you’ve got to admit that he can be a total dick sometimes. Like most of the time, in fact.”
“Agreed, but I guess that’s all part of the ‘charm,’”
“Is that what we’re calling being an asshole these days? Well in that case, Xavier is extremely ‘charming.’”
“Ha! You know what I mean. Let’s go.”
When we reentered the room, the nurse was just finishing up. She excused herself, saying that Xavier seemed okay, but he would also need to be fully examined by a doctor to be sure. She was going to page one, and also call the police and school, as instructed. Xavier rolled his eyes at her back, and I stifled a smirk. He was incorrigible, that kid.
A little under an hour later, a text pinged from Nate.
Nate: Downstairs in the car with the guys. I have a bunch of stuff for you. Come grab it.
Me: K, thanks. Be right there.
“My brother is here with some overnight stuff for us both. I’m just going to run downstairs and get it from him. I won’t be long.”
Zed quirked his eyebrow in a look that seemed to say “I know you’re up to something.” He had good instincts, I’d give him that.
I quirked my eyebrow right back. Two can play at that game.
“I’ll walk out with you,” he stated. “I need to stretch my legs, and I’m desperate for coffee. You want me to grab you something?”
“Coffee? At this time of night? Not for me. I’ll be bouncing off the walls, and the last thing I need is to lose more sleep. I guess I could go for something sweet though—a brownie or a donut, something like that, if you happen to see anything.”
“Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot that not everybody drinks coffee at all times of day or night like I do. I’ll look out for something sweet for you. And what about you, kid? You hungry? Want me to grab you something?”
“I’m not a kid, but yeah, I am starving. I could destroy a burger right now. A quarter pounder with the works, and extra pickle. And fries. And onion rings. And a serve of poppers.”
I’d forgotten how much teenage boys ate.
“And a large Coke. Please.” He grinned sheepishly, reminding me of his occasional charm.
“Okay, so that’s one brownie or similar for you, and half a burger joint for you. Got it.”
We left the room and headed downstairs. As we got to the main entrance doors we went our separate ways—Zed in the general direction of the hotel, and me toward the edge of the parking lot, where I could see a limousine parked horizontally across four other cars. I hoped nobody needed to actually move them in the near future. Nate was resting against it, his leg bent at the knee, foot propped on the side panel, mirroring Zed’s earlier stance in the hall.
