Page 23 of Riptide

“Was it?”

“We all saw Evan die. We saw his dead body,” Garrett insisted.

“But did we?”

Garrett shot him an annoyed look and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “We were all there.”

“He was nowhere near any of us when he hit the ground. Maybe a half mile from the target.”

“We saw the body. I touched it.”

“His face was hamburger. Smashed beyond recognition.”

“That’s what happens. He took off his helmet.”

“Which is another fucked up thing. Why would he do that? We lost communication. There’s no record of him saying anything on that dive.”

“It happens. Accidents happen.” He shrugged.

“Come on, Garrett.” Seth leaned forward and stared at his friend.

“We saw what we saw.”

“Did you see him board the plane?”

“Yeah, I think we all did.” Garrett stared at him with a blank expression.

“He was wearing his helmet that day when he got on. Do you remember? He was the last one on the plane and he jumped up front with the pilot.” Seth leaned forward, recalling the day it happened. “You couldn’t see his face. He literally just waved and got in a seat. He didn’t say anything.”

“So what? We all get in our head sometimes. It’s loud in the plane. And yeah, it was weird he had on his helmet, but you know, it’s not the first time he did that.” Garrett shot to his feet and began to pace. “I can’t believe we’re talking about this. This is crazy.”

“I don’t remember him ever putting on his helmet before going up. Do you do that? He was wearing a full-face helmet that day.”

“Jesus. I don’t know. Who knows what he was thinking? It’s not that big of a deal. Most of us wear helmets. He always liked the full-face ones.”

“But he didn’t always wear them. And why would he take it off? Especially if your chute isn’t opening?”

“You know Evan was one of the best. He did what he wanted. Just because he decided to wear the full face…that doesn’t mean anything. The thing is—” Garrett stopped cold, raked both of his hands through his hair, blew out a breath and locked eyes with Seth. “His death just about killed me. You know that. I can’t go there, man. I just can’t do it.”

Seth shot to his feet, his voice raised as he spoke. “We’ve got to go there. I know it’s all sorts of fucked up to go there, but if it’s true—”

“It is true.” Kaimana stood in the kitchen, holding a gun pointed at Garrett.

Seth immediately stepped in front of his friend, his palms up in the air. “Whoa, whoa, whoa…Kaimana. What are you doing?”

“Garrett Emerson. CEO of Emerson Industries,” she stated, her voice calm but strong.

“Yeah. He’s cool. He’s here to help us. Remember?” Seth’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

“But did he help Evan? You all just bought the lie. And here he is arguing with you about facts. Why would a friend not want to find out if he’s alive?” She shook her head. “Unless maybe he knew. Maybe he was in on it?”

“Evan was one of my best friends,” Garret asserted as he stepped beside Seth.

“I already told you Garrett’s not involved with Marretta or Giordano. He’s not going to hurt us,” Seth insisted. “Come on. Put the gun down. We need him if we’re going to stop them.”

“Who was Evan to you? Why do you care so much anyway? He never even mentioned you.” Garrett crossed his arms, anger flaring in his eyes.

“Evan was everything to me. He saved my life. And I’m going to save his. The question is…” She lowered the gun, her hands steady. “Are you going to help me? Or are you planning on standing in my way? Because if you aren’t going to help find him,” Kaimana looked to Seth then Garrett, “I can do this on my own without either of you.”