“You didn’t go on the boat?”
“No.”
Okay, maybe his theory about it being better that Leo had been there was panning out. “What else?”
She yawned, and he could hear her moving things around. “I’m so tired, Angel. Maybe I can just tell you about everything else tomorrow. There’s just so much. All I know is I’m never doing something like this again. It was too nerve-wracking with all the drunken guys and girls and fighting—”
“Fighting? Who was fighting?”
“Everyone,” she whispered, but he noticed the tiniest change in her voice.
She sounded sad, and it made him sit up straighter. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, but there was definitely something wrong.
“Sarah, babe, don’t lie to me.”
“I just . . .” She took a deep breath. “I just should’ve never come here without you.”
“Tell me why?”
“It seems my stomach’s been in knots all day.” Her voice sounded less upset now, and it made Angel feel a little better, but she was still being cryptic.
She lowered her voice and told him the rest. The other girl who had gone with them, Monica, had gotten really drunk. So instead of leaving her on the boat alone with all those guys—all four of them wouldn’t have fit on Leo’s Jet ski when he and Sarah had gone to pick up Valerie—Leo dropped off Sarah with his friends on the shore and went back alone. He got Monica and Valerie back just fine, but a few minutes later the drunken guys from the boat came looking for them in their Jet skis, and Leo and his friends had stepped up. “Leonardo beat one of the guys so badly,” she whispered, and Angel couldn’t tell if she was crying. “I thought he was going to kill him. It was just so scary. It was a side of him I didn’t expect. That’s all. It’s just a reminder that I know so little about him.”
A part of Angel was glad Sarah was feeling cautious about Leo, but another part of him was even more concerned about her brother. From what she was saying, the guy was unpredictable—dangerous.
“Anything else or are you too tired?”
He was trying to be mindful that she was three hours ahead of him and that not only had she had a long day she’d just finished telling him she was getting up super early—for him. But he got the distinct feeling she was holding out on something even bigger than just the fight.
“There’s more,” she said, yawning again. “But I really need to get some sleep, Angel. Valerie and I are gonna take turns driving tomorrow. If I get into this now with you”—she inhaled and exhaled—“it’s not gonna be short.”
Great. Now he really wanted to know. “That bad?” he asked, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the headboard of the bed.
“No,” she said, yawning again. “It’s just long. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Okay? I promise.”
They hung up, and twenty minutes later he’d nearly conked out with the TV on until Alex walked in and woke him.
“You talked to Sarah?” Alex asked, pulling off his shirt and throwing it on the chair.
“Yeah,” Angel nodded, turning the TV. off, hoping Alex wouldn’t turn it back on again.
Alex walked into the bathroom, and Angel could hear him brushing his teeth. As soon as the water stopped running, Alex called out. “So you know?”
“About what? The fight?”
“You mean fights.” Alex chuckled, walking out of the bathroom, and sat down on his bed. “From what Valerie tells me, Leo’s worse than Romero.” Alex untied his shoes and shoved them off using his feet then started pulling off his socks. “And you said he wasn’t like us with Sof, but sounds to me like he is. First, he beat the shit outta this one guy. Valerie said she was pretty sure if they’d left her friend with him he would’ve taken advantage of her. Leo made sure he got the girl off the boat, but then later that same guy turned to Sarah and told her the other girl was too drunk to be any fun but she’d do just fine.” Alex laughed again, shaking his head. “Idiot. Val said Leo beat the guy until he was barely moving.”
“She told me about that fight,” Angel said, sitting up on his elbow, surprised Sarah hadn’t mentioned that detail about it. “There was another one?”
Alex peered at him as he stood up and unzipped his pants. “Well, not so much a fight as much as Leo knocked someone the f**k out again. She didn’t tell you about that?”
Angel shook his head but already had a bad feeling about it. “She was tired. She said she’d tell me the rest tomorrow.”
“He walked them back to their room, and a couple of drunken idiots were waiting down below for them,” Alex said, sliding in under his sheets. “Said they were hoping to be invited up to their room again.”
“Again?” Angel asked, instinctively glancing at his phone, ready to call her back if he had to.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Alex frowned. “I guess last night the girls were hanging out on their balcony, people watching, and these two guys started talking to them, so the guys decided to invite themselves up their room. According to Valerie, the guys knocked on their door, but they didn’t let them in. Anyway”—Alex yawned—“Leo was cool until one of them said something to Sarah, and he dropped him on the spot with a single punch.”
“What did the guy say to her?” Angel asked, wondering what would make Leo so mad or if the guy was just as feral as he looked.