The Mistaken (23 page)

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I find it hard to
understand what you could possibly dislike about living in a place
like this. It’s what most people aspire to in your country, isn’t
it?”

“My
country?”

“Well, anywhere, really. Everywhere. But here more
than anywhere else, I suppose. So, what is it about this place? I’m
just curious, because my wife would have given anything to live
here or at least a place like this anyway.”

She pondered her answer for a minute. “Yes…well…try
as I might, I just don’t seem to…fit in here. I wish I’d never left
my little house back home.” She kept her face turned away,
disregarding me entirely.

“Back home? And where would that be?”

She sighed again. “Anywhere but here,” she said
under her breath, but then reconsidered. She turned to look out the
windshield. “We moved up here from the Bay Area. All right?
Satisfied?”

I smiled. “I live in The City…San Francisco. I’ve
always loved it there. At least, I used to. Before.” My smile faded
away.

She continued to ignore me. The silence lingered
uncomfortably between us. It was like being stuck in a crowded
elevator with a bunch of strangers, on a slow crawl up a tall
building, waiting for the door to open. Her fingers tapped
restlessly against her knees, and she kept eyeing the central door
lock mounted in the center of the dash. I worried she might try to
jump out. I kept my left hand over the driver door locks, just in
case. I searched for things to talk about, hoping it would ease the
tension which seemed to swell as the seconds ticked by.

“You know, I don’t think you should change who you
are just because you’ve changed your address,” I reasoned out
loud.

“Is that so? Hmm. Strange, my husband doesn’t agree.
But then he was hardly ever home.” Again, she eyed me with a
contemptuous glare.

I focused back on the road, contemplating her
character. She was not what I expected. Money obviously hadn’t
bought her any happiness. The silence settled in again, growing
nearly unbearable as we both stared out onto the road before us.
Five, six, seven quiet minutes ticked by, each one more unbearable
than the one before

“Where are we going?” she asked, her mood a bit
calmer and her posture more relaxed.

“
Down the hill, off The Plateau. I
have a room at a motel near the freeway. I need to see my
brother.”

“Your brother? Is that who you were talking to on
the phone?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Hmm, and what is he going to think when you tell
him about me, I mean...that I’m not Erin?” Hannah looked at me with
concern creasing her forehead.

I turned back to her again. Worry nagging at me, as
well. “I don’t know. I need to explain everything to him. He’ll
understand, I think.” I faced the road. “I hope.”

As I said the words, my stomach knotted up. Neither
one of them would understand the quandary I now found myself in.
I’d made the situation impossibly dangerous for us all. Dmitri
would hunt us all down mercilessly. Nick, pleading ignorance, might
be able to extricate himself, but I doubt he would step aside while
Dmitri dealt with me.

And Hannah. God, when I thought about what would
become of her, it made me sick inside. Of course, the obvious fix
would be to find Erin and turn her over to them, but after all the
pain and humiliation I’d caused Hannah, I found that I’d lost my
appetite for that kind of revenge, or any kind, actually. I
recognized the immoral road my bitterness had led me down, and I
was hard-pressed to identify the man I once was within the villain
I had become.

I reasoned the alcohol had clouded my judgment, but
in reality, all it really did was dull my pain, making it
impossible to empathize with the misery my actions would
undoubtedly cause. I was no longer the man Jillian had loved and
married. I was appalled at how low I had sunk as I drowned my grief
in booze, malevolence pulling me down like an anchor.

I pulled into the motel lot and parked Hannah’s BMW
in front of our room. I fully expected Nick to throw the door open
and greet me with anxious questions. That he didn’t, concerned
me.

“Grab your stuff,” I instructed Hannah.

I was tense and nervous, in turn making Hannah wary.
I unlocked the motel room door and slowly pushed it open.

“Nick?” I called out as I surveyed the empty room. I
walked back to the bathroom and opened the door wide. “Nick?” I
felt a moment of dread press down on me. I tried to shake it off,
hoping he had simply left to get something to eat.

“He’s not here,” I explained. “He knew I’d be
returning, so I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

Hannah scanned the room from the doorway. Her face
screwed up in disgust as she spied the beer and alcohol bottles
strewn about. She looked up at me, her forehead lined with
worry.

“Sorry for the mess,” I said.

Embarrassed, I collected the bottles and threw them
in the waste basket. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
We glanced at each other, neither of us knowing what to do or say
next.

“Why don’t you throw your stuff down over there,” I
suggested.

Though she eyed the small table and chairs I’d
pointed to, she dumped her purse and overnight bag down on the
farthest bed and took a seat along its edge, her knees twitching
and her fingers drumming. I gathered she was trying to stay as far
from me as possible. I reached for the TV and switched it on to
drown out the quiet. When I turned back toward Hannah, Nick burst
into the room, startling us both. Hannah jumped up and cried out in
alarm. Nick looked at me in relief before he focused in on Hannah
standing near the rear corner of the room. He scowled at her with
the same hatred I imagine must have been on my own face when I
kicked in her door. Fear radiated from Hannah as she pressed
herself into the corner. When Nick rushed toward her, I jumped over
the bed and placed myself between them.

I pushed my hands against his chest. “Calm down,
Nick!”

He strained forward with his eyes locked onto
Hannah. “Get the fuck out of my way, Tyler.” He struggled against
me then twisted his body to the side, swinging his arm up and over,
trying to break my grip.

I grabbed him by the arms and thrust him against the
wall. “No, Nick, please, settle down. It’s not what you think!”

He broke his focus on Hannah and frowned at me,
confused and indignant.

“Not what I think? And just what the fuck is that,
huh? That she drove your pregnant wife mad, ruined your life, got
away with fucking murder?” He sneered at me. “You tell me exactly
what I should
not
think, Tyler.” With his hands tightened
into fists at his sides, Nick refocused back on Hannah.

“Please, just listen to me, okay?” I pressed my
forehead against my brother’s and placed my hands on his face,
trying desperately to get him to focus on me instead. “Nick, come
on, please, look at me. Look at me!” I screamed, and his eyes
finally locked onto mine. “I blew it, Nick. I’ve made a horrible
mistake. That girl over there, she’s not Erin. She’s Maguire’s
wife, Hannah. This is all a terrible mix—”

“What are you talking about, Ty? Look at her.” His
eyes flitted back and forth between us. “That’s her. That’s Erin.
Are you so fucking drunk you can’t see that?”

He broke free, shoved me back a step, and moved to
get by me again. I stumbled, still a little buzzed and clumsy, but
jumped back in between them. Nick fumed, his eyes burning at us
both.

“Nick, come on, stop. You’re not listening to
me!”

His face blazed red with rage as he pointed his
finger at Hannah. “Jillian is dead, and that bitch is to blame.
Don’t you forget that, Tyler. Now get the fuck out of my way!”

“No, Nick, not because of her, I swear. Please, if
you’d just let me explain.”

But he wouldn’t allow reason to break his focus. He
struggled with me in his quest to get to Hannah. I pushed him back
once more, but he lunged for me. I threw a desperate punch and
connected with his jaw. Stunned, he flew back against the wall.

“Nick, stop.” I stood before him with my fist raised
as he held his injured jaw, glaring at me with shock and anger.
“Listen to me.” I slowly lowered my fist and straightened my
stance. “I’ve made a huge mistake. That is not Erin. She’s Hannah
Maguire. She looks remarkably similar to Erin, I know but…this is
not her. I have proof. Let me show you, okay?”

He gaped at me, hearing the words, but not yet
believing them. I picked up the folder of photographs and held it
open. Then I grabbed Hannah’s purse from the bed and pulled out her
wallet, removing her driver’s license. I tossed it into the open
folder and held it out to Nick. He took it, though he glared at me
in challenge.

“Look that over carefully,” I told him. “It was
prepared by a private investigator hired by Hannah.” I gestured
back to Hannah who was still cowering in the corner. “She’s married
to Maguire. That sick bastard is having an affair with a woman who
looks very much like his own wife. I saw them both that day at the
spa and mistook Hannah for Erin. This is all
my
fault, Nick.
I followed the wrong girl.”

Nick broke away and studied the contents of the
file. He looked at the various photos and compared them to the ID
then to Hannah who stood ten feet away. Comprehension washed over
him as he discovered for himself the horrible misunderstanding. His
shoulders slumped downward, his face melting into concern.

“Oh shit, Ty. Do you realize what this means?”

Hannah’s breathing grew ragged as she measured the
distress emanating from my brother. Nick let the folder and its
contents fall to the floor as he raked his fingers through his
hair. We locked eyes.

“Fuck! We’re dead, Tyler. We’re both fucking
dead.”

I shook my head. “Nick, please, don’t do this right
now.”

He ignored me and started pacing the room. “Ty, you
don’t get it. You don’t know them like I do. If you don’t give them
the girl, they’ll kill us both...and then they’ll take her
anyway.”

“Nick, please!” I looked back at Hannah and gestured
toward the back. “Hannah, get into the bathroom and close the door.
Now!”

Not wasting a second, she took off and slammed the
bathroom door. I stepped toward Nick and lowered my voice.

“I know this looks bad, but…we have to stay calm. I
can’t handle her if she becomes any more hysterical. I’ve
already…hurt her. Pretty badly, too. I lost control, Nick.
Completely. I’ve… done something…or rather, I
almost
did
something. Something terrible. And this poor girl, she’s…she’s
innocent. She’s done nothing wrong, yet she’s paid a very steep
price regardless.”

Confusion crawled across his face. “What does that
mean? What have you done?” When I didn’t answer, he became angry.
“Ty, what the fuck did you do? Tell me!”

I simply stared back, willing him to understand so I
wouldn’t have to speak the offensive words aloud. As he held my
focus, a dim light of understanding sparked within him. With his
mouth hanging open, he stepped back from me, as if I disgusted
him.

“Oh God, Tyler. Tell me you didn’t. You wouldn’t.”
He shook his head and chuckled with a nervous smile, but it melted
away as he stared into my eyes.

I reached out to him. “No, Nick, I didn’t, but… I
almost
did. And I swear, I would have if…” I began, but I
couldn’t admit the truth, so I dropped my hand.

“Ty, most of that crap we talked about, they were
just fantasies, to help you get through the pain. I mean, getting
rid of the girl is one thing, but…doing that shit yourself? God! I
can’t believe
you
…of all people…”

“I told you. I didn’t go through with it.”

“No, but you almost did.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Nick, our plan was to
deliver that girl to Alexi and Dmitri. They’ve already sold her,
for God’s sake. Just what the hell do you think was going to happen
once they turned her over?”

He rushed forward and got right up into my face.
“That’s them, Tyler. They’re fucking monsters. You’re not.
You
don’t do that kind of shit. Even
I
wouldn’t do
that kind of shit. What the fuck were you thinking?”

He turned his back on me and walked away, and I felt
shame wash over me again. I had no response. I sat down on the edge
of the bed and rubbed my hands along the back of my neck, shaking
my head in despair.

“That’s just it. I wasn’t thinking. I never planned
any of it, believe me. I only wanted to scare her, you know. I
wanted her to know what it felt like, to be frightened, not knowing
whether she would live or die. When I saw her and thought she was
Erin, I just…just…snapped. I don’t even remember making that
decision. It’s all a blur. And now it’s too late. I can’t take it
back. All I can do is protect her until I can somehow make this
right, somehow come to terms with Alexi and Dmitri.”

He spun back around to face me. “Terms?” he asked
with a short chuckle. “You’re joking, right?” He shook his head.
“Tyler, there’s no coming to terms.” He pointed toward the
bathroom. “You deliver that girl unless you want us both dead.”

I shook my head. “No way. That’s never going to
happen, Nick. I can’t do that. You know it. I need you to call
Alexi and let him know I have to speak with him before I drive back
down there. Don’t tell him what’s happened. Just see if you can
find out how much he was paid for the girl. I have all that money
Jill and I saved for the down payment, and there’s Jill’s life
insurance. I can repay him, with interest, if he wants. He won’t be
out a dime. Shit, he’ll
make
money on this deal. A lot of
it.”

I tried to reason it all out, knowing full well how
desperate it sounded. Nick shook his head again and backed away
from me with his hands up.