The Mafia Part II: April's Return

Chapter 5

April looked upon the scene with barely veiled contempt and wordlessly got up. She shook her phone free of a few stray droplets of water and wrung the rest of her outfit as dry as possible before walking off with a huff.

“What’s her problem?” she heard Zander ask, but did not bother to stop. Henry was more emotionally intelligent than he was and would doubtlessly explain it to him.

She decided that it was the best time as any for a shower and was glad to see her room had been put back to order. As she stripped herself of her wet clothing and wiped her phone dry with a towel, she started to feel the feeling of snitching on Zander to her sister fade. Actually, as she hopped into the shower, she definitely regretted not adding yesterday’s fiasco to her complaints.

After the shower, April tied her hair into a lazy ponytail. She slipped into a light thigh-length dress and decided to hold onto it just in case she decided to blackmail her cocky companion in the future. Knowing Zander, the opportunity would arrive shortly. By the time she made sure her phone was still functioning and went back downstairs, she found that a brunch spread had already been set on the biggest poolside table. She felt a slight twinge of guilt at all the food that went to waste around there, considering they never came anywhere close to finishing it all, but shrugged it off, deciding the kitchen staff would find a way to make sure it was all consumed.

April noticed that Henry had given in and dived into the pool for a swim when she sat at the table heaped with food. He perked up when he noticed her loading up a plate of savoury delights. Moments later, he pulled himself out of the pool to join her. She raised a silent brow at him as he reached for a plate of his own.

“Didn’t you just eat breakfast?” she asked.

“That was breakfast,” Henry said unabashedly. “This is brunch. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the difference.”

April merely chuckled. “How fair is it that you eat seven meals a day and still get to look like that?”

“This is a result of hard work,” Henry said as he proudly flexed a muscular arm, taking delight in showing them off. If you ever see me disappear in the evenings for a couple of hours, now you know why.”

The sound of a clearing throat interrupted their conversation. They swung around to look at an unamused Zander. He was standing waist deep in the water with his arms crossed in what seemed like disapproval.

“Can we help you with something, Zander?” April asked when the silence went on for a bit too long.

At her words, his entire demeanour shifted. His arms uncrossed and one hand came to rub the back of his neck ruefully as he glanced down. Had anyone else worn the expression on his face when he glanced back up, April would have described it as sheepish. The very idea of using that word to describe Zander seemed ridiculous.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“I just wanted to apologise,” he said, so softly one could have easily claimed to have misheard him.

“Apologise,” April repeated dryly, ignoring the admonishing nudge Henry gave her arm with his elbow. “Whatever for?”

“For, you know, drenching you earlier,” Zander said, finally lifting his eyes to look directly into hers. “It didn’t even occur to me that you’d have your phone out here. Sometimes I do things without thinking them through.”

April waited for more. She was hoping he would also apologise for the state in which he had left her room, but she realised that her earlier assessment had been right after all. He thought of them being even since that was an act of retaliation. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to crawl back to the bowels of hell from which he had originated when Henry gave her a pointed look. It was obvious that for this apology to even be forthcoming, he had spent some time and energy talking to Zander as well. So, she told her she was doing this for Henry’s sake.

“I appreciate the apology,” April said graciously with a reluctant smile on her face. “I know what an utter bastard you can be, but I also know when you do things on purpose. I could tell it wasn’t deliberate.”

“Wow,” joked a ‘wounded’ Zander. “You could have just said you forgive me.”

“As if I’d ever let you get away with that,” April laughed easily.

“I definitely should’ve seen that coming, princess.”

Her good humour was immediately replaced by a scowl as she prepared to warn him against using that stupid nickname on her. Ultimately, it was not to be. Lance chose that moment to come into view as his overly confident strides led him directly to them… and he was not alone.

April watched with rising dread as the blonde man led Nate and several other familiar faces right up to the pool. Every single one of them had been a part of the pompous circle that she had spent the entire yacht party trying to avoid and they were each making themselves comfortable around the pool.

“I hope it’s okay I brought Nate and the rest along,” Lance the Oblivious said as he dumped a duffel bag of who knew what on an empty table, clearly never ones to rely on their host having illegal substances on hand. “He wanted to lay low for a couple of days and this seemed like the perfect spot.”

At his words, April’s eye immediately swung to glare meaningfully at Zander. He had to tell them that the longest they could stay there was until the evening. A ‘couple of days’ just would not cut it. Every single one of them were people of interest in an ongoing murder investigation. It was bad enough Lance was there. She sincerely hoped he knew the danger of the other five people's presence as well. Unfortunately, she had no idea what he was thinking because he placed on his best ‘easy-going, welcoming host’ smile as he walked out of the pool and greeted everyone individually. Henry must have noticed the strained grasp both of her hands had on the breadstick she had in her grasp because he gently extricated it from her fingers before she could snap it in half.

“Relax,” Henry chided quietly, setting the bread aside. “He’s just being the charming guy everyone knows and loves. At some point, when everyone is drunk enough for them not to take offence, yet not too drunk to make other arrangements, he’ll tell them they have to go.”

“He better,” April muttered heatedly. “If he doesn’t, I will. I am not above being abrasive, let me tell you. Apparently, I’ve built up quite a reputation for it. I wouldn’t mind actually earning it.”

Henry laughed in genuine amusement, but it was cut short when a shadow fell upon them. They looked up into the shrewd eyes of Nate, who was watching them with undisguised interest.

“Well, hello April and Hank, was it?” he greeted them with an easy smile.

“Henry,” April corrected shortly, clearly not amused at his attempt to minimise her friend, let alone actually talk to them.

“I’m sorry. I meet so many people. It’s hard to put faces to names sometimes,” the redhead said, not sounding the least bit sorry. He was also speaking at a volume that sort of forced everyone in their immediate vicinity to pay attention to them. “I had no idea you two were so close. Look at the two of you, sitting here away from everyone else and laughing among yourselves.”

April had no idea what this guy’s game was, but he was clearly up to something. She did not miss the frown that flashed across Zander’s face when Nate’s words reached his ears.

“Yes, well, we’re friends. Friends chat. I’m sorry if the concept of this is lost on you,” April said in a bored tone. “Besides, all three of us were talking before you guys came in. Is there an issue here?”

Zander now looked less than impressed and began to make his way over to them.

“No, no issue,” Nate hastily rectified. “I just find it interesting that you bonded so quickly with him. I’ve known you much longer than he has and I don’t think you’ve said nearly as much to me as you have to him.”

“Maybe that was a deliberate choice,” April said without a hint of a smile. If they wanted to see an ice queen, she would show them one.

Zander reached them and clapped a friendly, yet cautionary hand on Nate’s shoulder. The man swayed a tiny bit and she realised he must have been drunk, or at least extremely tipsy. It made sense when April thought about it. While she was no fan of Nate’s, he was never so brash and bold. He much preferred to be subtle in his dealings. Knowing this cooled her down considerably, because she had been preparing herself to deliver the verbal onslaught of a lifetime.

“Hey, buddy,” greeted Zander, snapping Nate out of his liquor-induced trance. “What’s going on?”

“Just doing some catching up with April and Henry,” Nate said with a nonchalant shrug.

“Well, why don’t you sit down,” Zander suggested, but did not really give the man a choice as he led him away and pushed him into a chair far enough from the other two to discourage conversation, yet not far enough to be out of earshot. April sighed. It was not an ideal situation, but it was better than nothing.

“What can I get you?” Zander asked the other man, now slumped against his chair.

“Some tequila shots would be great,” Nate said after some deliberation.

“No,” Zander laughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of food. I can tell you haven’t eaten in forever. How about I fix you a sandwich and some juice? Maybe even a glass of water while we’re at it. Then you can keep having your tequila shots.”

They could all tell Nate wanted to put up a fight. Had it been anyone else, he might even have put up a fight, but this was Zander. Underneath that beaming smile, helpful attitude and charming words, each and every single one of them there knew him for what he truly was. When someone who had as much blood on his hands and as little compunction about it told you to have a sandwich… you ate the f*****g sandwich. As he fixed his friend something to eat from the assortment of food on the brunch table, conversation steadily went back to normal around the pool. Even April had begun to relax until the subject changed to the night before.

“Where were you last night, Zander?” a female voice asked. April noticed that it was the woman Lance had latched himself onto at the yacht party - Betty. “Lance said you’d be at the club opening for sure.”

Zander stayed silent until he carried the plate and bottle of water to Nate. He made sure the other man started eating before he even deigned to answer.

“I was busy,” he replied simply.

“With what?” Betty asked insistently. “What could be more important than the opening night of the newest hottest nightclub in Malé?”

“I’ve been to hundreds of those things,” Zander shrugged. “Once you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all. Besides, something came up.”

Lance snorted in disbelief and Zander sent a silencing glare his way, which he soon found out was ineffective.

“What he means to say is that April wouldn’t let him go out,” Lance said, with a pleased snicker to himself.

All eyes turned to April. Since when had Zander let a woman tell him what to do?

“You totally should’ve come along too,” Betty said to the other woman, who grimaced and pushed her plate away. Her hunger had suddenly disappeared.

“No, I was fine staying home,” April said. “That isn’t really my scene.

“So, just because it isn’t your scene, you wouldn’t let Zander go?” Lance snorted disdainfully. That is not cool. You should’ve let the guy go out and have some fun.”

It was April’s turn to snort in disdain. She leaned forward and made sure to meet Lance’s gaze with her own head on, despite how far away they sat from each other.

“Only an i***t would choose to go out the night after a murder of that calibre was committed. That idiocy would increase tenfold if it included a very public outing with some of the most infamous persons of interest in that case,” April said snidely because she leaned back, face clear of all emotion. “I assure you, I am no i***t… and neither are the people I choose to associate with.”

Had the matter been different, the astonished and affronted faces of those before her would have made her fidget, but she had a point and it was dying to be made. April heard footsteps approach her and was not entirely surprised when she felt Zander’s large hand, gentle but firm, grab a hold of her elbow to drag her into the kitchen. Judging by how red his face was, this was probably the first time she would ever see the man lose his temper.