Chapter 68:

 

Agony

Kevin grabbed the drink from Howie's offered hand and ordered AJ to down it one gulp. Needing no further prodding, AJ tossed it back, grimacing a little as the fiery warmth slid down his throat. He shook his head as another drink presented itself, then slumped dejectedly in his seat, viewing the concerned faces surrounding him.

"Jesus, man, I've never seen you look so upset," commented Kevin, sitting down next to him. "What's all this about Brian being in trouble?" AJ rubbed his forehead for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then motioned with a shaky hand for Nick and Howie to sit down across from Kevin and him.

Nick dropped into the leather seat, concerned. He spared Howie a quick look and Howie returned Nick's, apprehension written all over his face.

AJ sighed heavily. "I know what's going on," he began painfully, his voice so low all three strained to hear him. "It took me forever, goddammit, but now I know."

"Know what?" asked Nick quietly.

Shaking, AJ hoped he could tell them before he broke down. He clenched his hands as if in prayer, pressing them against his forehead. "Guys, …Xavier has been blackmailing Brian." Declaring it verbally proved to be too much for him and he leaned over, trying to choke back sobs of despair, but failed. AJ began to weep, rocking his body with cries of such anguish that Kevin grabbed him into a tight hug, afraid.

"Bone, Bone! Hang on buddy. It's gonna be okay." Kevin looked up to see the shocked faces of Howie and Nick.

AJ moaned, shaking his head. "No, no, it's not going to be all right." He wiped the tears away from his face with the back of his hand. "Oh God! Listen! Remember when we ate that candy? Well, it tasted so bad I went to the refrigerator to get some water. Brian had placed his duffel bag next to the refrigerator, so I shoved it away. Only it was so heavy I couldn't! So I opened the bag to see what the hell was so heavy." AJ turned tear-stained eyes to Kevin. "There was a lot of money stuffed into it. A lot. Thousands! What's Brian doing with that kind of cash? And then a few minutes later Xavier came in, went straightt over to the bag and took it! He knew! He knew what was in it!" AJ shuddered, remembering Xavier's little smile.

Nick, Howie, and Kevin sat in silence for a minute, stunned, letting the information sink in. "AJ," began Nick, "don't take this wrong, but are you sure?"

"Nick, I'm positive. I'd stake my life on it."

Nick saw the unmistakable firmness in AJ's eyes, the conviction in his voice and sighed heavily. He leaned wearily into his seat, convinced but troubled.

AJ stood up slowly, gripping the back of the seat tightly. "There's more guys."

Howie sucked in his breath and closed his eyes, not sure if he wanted to hear it. "More?"

AJ nodded. "Umm…" he started, not sure how to soften the news.

"AJ? Come on, tell us."

AJ took a deep breath and plunged forward. "I'm pretty sure Xavier has been abusing and threatening Brian too."

"What?" cried Howie, jumping up.

"Oh, God," Kevin moaned, shaking his head.

"No, no! We would have known! I don't believe it," stated Nick flatly.

"Why?" shot back AJ, suddenly irritated at Nick's denial. "Because you don't want to? Because you're afraid you'll see the truth?"

Nick shot AJ a look of pure acid. "I'm not afraid! Go ahead, prove it to me!"

AJ glared at Nick, then softened, realizing Nick was scared. "Look, let's think this one out, okay?" he reasoned quietly. AJ paused for a moment, glancing at Howie and Kevin. "All of us." He saw Nick relax a little, then nod to AJ.

"I'd like to think we all know Brian, probably better than anyone else," he began. "He's like a brother to me, hell, you all are! And we've never seen him change, never seen him stop being the Brian we all know and understand, until now. Until Xavier. Think back. When did all this shit start happening with Brian? After Xavier. Not before! I've caught the looks of disgust, the hatred Brian displays at Xavier when he thinks no one's watching. When I questioned him a while ago he was this close to telling me what was wrong, what was happening and then he suddenly backed off, afraid. I'm sure he was going to tell me Xavier was the problem. You know, I've hated that asshole from the start."

Howie shook his head. "But Xavier saved Brian from that intruder!"

"D! Think about it! Xavier was the intruder! Xavier was the one who announced it, not Brian. Xavier was the one who always had access to our rooms!"

Kevin nodded. "AJ's right. I woke up one night and found Xavier in my room, just staring at me. Scared the shit outta me."

AJ glanced sharply at him. "He did? You never told us that."

Kevin shrugged. "I forgot to tell you because of Sam…." He trailed off, remembering. "Oh God!" exclaimed Kevin, wide-eyed. "When Brian saw the mutilated picture of Sam he started moaning, saying over and over that he was so sorry, that he was 'going to get that asshole…' "

Kevin now understood and he looked at his friends, stunned. "Brian was talking about Xavier. Xavier killed my dog."

Nick jumped up, agitated. "Xavier killed Sam? When could he have done that?"

Kevin smiled grimly. "Remember our cancelled concert? He took some days off…" Kevin's voice faltered, a look of horror crossing his face. "Harold!"

The tall singer jumped up, pacing back and forth. "Mom told me a stranger had tried to run Brian's brother off the road. And Mom happened to mention that Xavier visited Aunt Jackie, to see if he could help them! Shit!" Kevin ran his fingers through his hair, angry. "Why didn't I put two and two together?"

AJ shook his head. "Kevin, don't beat yourself up, man."

Howie spoke up. "Could Xavier have torched my house? It was arson."

Nick groaned with understanding. "Remember the first thing Brian did when he found out?"

Kevin nodded. "He went to find Xavier. It pissed me off because he wanted to go see Xavier, instead of staying with us."

Howie looked at AJ. "What about your accident with the rope?"

AJ snorted. "That was no accident. Remember who investigated it?"

All four thought back to the near tragedy. "Damn," said Nick, shaken. He suddenly remembered Aaron's visit, how Xavier insisted on picking his brother up, how Brian instantly objected. As plain as day Nick saw the fear and frustration in Brian's face when Nick confronted him after finding out Brian was the cause of Aaron's sudden departure. Nick had been livid, wanting to beat Brian senseless for that. His mind flashed instantly to Brian's chest and stomach injuries and he groaned, his fear growing. "Brian's bruises," he said softly, catching Kevin, AJ's and Howie's attention. "Guys, Xavier caused the bruises. He's been beating Brian!" Everyone was silent for a moment, not wanting to think about it. Nick began to shake and sat down, covering his face with his hands. "Oh no, oh no," he moaned, his voice cracking from the strain as he realized who had caused the massive bruises. And he had added to them! He looked up at the three, his voice quavering. "I hit him! I hit Brian! I broke his wrist! I was angry, angry at all the shit he was doing, and all the time it was really Xavier!"

He broke down, shaking, tears silently falling in the realization of what he had done. Howie reached over to console him, only to find AJ shaking his head.

"Don't," he advised Howie, his voice cracking with emotion. "Let him get it out of his system." Howie nodded and sat quietly next to Nick, offering his silence and companionship.

Kevin waited in agony as Nick continued rocking back and forth, the youngest Backstreet member crying with ashamed guilt. Not being able to stand it any longer, Kevin reached out, grabbing Nick in a firm embrace. "Nick. Nick. I know. I hit him too." The enormity of what he had done to his cousin struck Kevin hard and he clung to Nick tightly, a wave of grief overwhelming him. Kevin felt Howie's and AJ's arm reach over for support and they all sat there, each overcome with emotion.

Howie finally let go, sighing heavily. He got up and found some bottled waters, along with some Kleenex and passed them out. He didn't want to bring up the subject of Xavier but knew he had to.

"So what are we going to do about X?"

Kevin rubbed his eyes, too overwhelmed to think clearly. "I don't know."

Nick finally raised his head, the anger in his blue eyes intense. "I'm going to kill that son-of-a-bitch!"

"Me first," said AJ.

"I have an idea," Howie said softly.

AJ smiled tiredly. "Good old D. What is it?"

Howie chewed his lip in contemplation. "I think we need to find out more about Xavier."

Nick nodded, listening intently. "Go on."

"Well, what do we know about him, anyway? That he's a bodyguard? What else? What about him, his past? Was he ever in trouble with the law? Just how dangerous is he?"

AJ snorted in reply and Howie went on. "We need to investigate, check him out."

Nick shook his head. "How can we do that?"

Kevin pressed his lips into a thin line, his self-control coming back with a vengeance. "Nick. We are the fucking Backstreet Boys. We can do anything." His voice shook with the assertion, his green eyes firm with determination.

AJ crossed his arms. "Damn straight. Let's use our influence. Let's get that bastard."

Howie cut in. "Not so fast guys." Kevin, Nick and AJ turned to stare at him. "You're forgetting one thing. Brian. He's with Xavier. And we don't know where they are." Howie's final sentence struck home, the ramifications of it hitting hard. "We need to be careful, go slow."

"We can't!" cried Nick. "Brian's out there, right now, somewhere with him, and we don't know what kind of trouble he might be in!"

AJ rubbed his hands nervously. "D's right. Xavier doesn't know that we know. We have to use that to our advantage. If Xavier discovers that we're on to him, God only knows what might happen to Brian!"

"Let's notify the police," suggested Nick hopefully. Kevin shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. The media would catch wind of it and then so would Xavier. I agree with Howie. We need to be careful, but we can't be slow. We need to find out, right now." He turned to AJ. "Looks like our vacation is going to be cut short."

AJ nodded. He sat down, motioning for the others to do the same. "Come on. We've got a lot of planning to do before this plane lands."

***

 

 

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