This is for the wonderful people who regularly read and review the chapters of my stories, especially yesterday with "Hooked", which was a far more controversial chapter than I intended! I was having a really bad day so thank you for making it better. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty Five
Gina was beside herself with worry. Xavier had failed both to come home and answer his phone. She had his number on redial every time he didn't pick up and she had clogged his inbox with messages. She had even sent texts but he hadn't replied. She didn't even know if he had picked them up. With the danger that Hugo had brought to their lives, she was terrified that something had happened to her youngest and secretly favourite son. She looked anxiously out of the window as the rain began to pour, the weather mirroring her mood.
"So, Hugo's been hiding out at the farm all this time?" Charlie asked.
She had suspected it for a while but having confirmation felt like the closest she had come to a solution since the whole mess had started.
"Yes," Ruby said. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you the truth when I should have."
"It's okay," Charlie said gently. "It's just good that you told us eventually."
Ruby privately admitted that she was surprised by Charlie's lack of anger. But then, she supposed to had mellowed rather over the last year and become a lot more reasonable. She silently thanked Joey for her influence.
"What will you do now?" Ruby asked.
"Well, we'll have more grounds to go into the property and try to catch him," Charlie said.
Ruby looked stricken.
"We don't have to advertise to the Austin family that it was you who told us Hugo was there," Charlie promised.
"They'll guess," Ruby said sadly. "I already threatened Xavier with it this morning during a row."
Joey put her arm around her.
"You've done the right thing by telling the truth," she said. "I know Xavier important to you but this is way bigger than that. Hugo might be a loving brother and boyfriend and son but he's also a criminal. He's killed people, he's hurt people, he nearly killed Charlie."
Ruby winced at the memory and wiped her eyes.
"He needs to be brought to justice," Joey continued. "You've just done a really good thing."
At the farm, having alerted the rest of her family, including Tony and Rachel, to Xavier's disappearance.
"We should call the police," Rachel said worriedly.
"We can't," Martha said. "They won't care about Xavier. They'll only be focussed on bringing Hugo in. You know Charlie and Angelo have been circling like vultures for weeks now."
She pulled a face. Hugo turned away and began to pace. He had stayed too long and he had put his family in the danger he had been so desperate to avoid.
Charlie, Joey and Ruby had moved onto a large helping of ice cream each and resumed dissecting Ruby's tangled love life. Analysing the Hugo situation any further wasn't helpful at that particular moment in time. But Charlie fully intended to surprise him first thing in the morning.
"But, you do know that nothing can happen between you and Liam, don't you?" Joey ventured.
"Why not?" Ruby asked glumly.
"Well, he's a lot older than you are," Joey said delicately. "He's older than I am!"
"Charlie's older than you," Ruby pointed out. "And you're still together."
"Yes, but five years is a bit different than eleven years," Charlie said firmly.
"He went out with Nicole," Ruby said. "And she's only a couple of years older than me. We're best friends!"
"Yes, but Nicole wasn't his student," Charlie pointed out. "It's illegal, if nothing else."
Ruby sighed heavily.
"I just… I like him so much," she said. "I haven't felt this strongly for someone since… well, since Geoff."
"What about Xavier?" Charlie asked.
"I hate Xavier," Ruby stated.
"No, you don't," Joey said. "You're just upset with him."
"And you must have loved him once," Charlie added.
Ruby sighed.
"I love Liam like I loved Geoff and like I loved Xavier the first time," she said. "And I don't know what I'm meant to do with that."
Charlie hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop thinking about Hugo.
"Look, I'm really sorry but I think I'm going to have to call the station," she said awkwardly. "If Xavier's tipped Hugo off that you might tell us where he is then he might have skipped town already."
Ruby nodded. Charlie left her in Joey's arms while she went to the phone. She stopped when there was an urgent knocking on the door.
Against Hugo's wishes, both Martha and Gina had gone out separately to look for Xavier. Hugo felt useless, trapped at home with Rachel and Tony but there was nothing else he could do. He paced the length of the room, fully expecting a ransom for his brother at any moment. There was no way that Xavier's disappearance was a coincidence or an accident. He had pissed off too many people and now they were out for revenge.
"Gina!" Charlie said in surprise when she pulled open the front door.
The head teacher looked utterly frantic as she was allowed into the apartment.
"Have any of you seen Xavier?" she asked urgently.
Ruby looked up tearfully from the sofa, turning so she was facing her boyfriend's mother.
"We're not speaking," she said. "Why?"
For a faint moment, Gina hoped that her son might have gone off in a huff with a broken heart. But she knew it was doubtful.
"He's disappeared," Gina said. "I don't know what's happened to him."
"Well, maybe Hugo's enemies have got him," Charlie shot back rather more bitterly than she meant.
Gina froze.
"I don't know what…"
"We know Hugo's been hiding at the farm," Charlie said. "And you really need to start co-operating if you want to get Xavier back in one piece."
Gina swallowed, unsure of her next move.
"What am I meant to do?" she finally asked.
Hugo continued to pace the floor. He was making Tony and Rachel agitated and dizzy but neither of them had the heart to criticise him.
"I should hand myself in," he decided. "It's the only way."
In a water tank, deep in the woods and far away from their loved ones in Summer Bay, Xavier and Martha were tied up and frightened. With the rain pouring, the water level was rising too rapidly. Neither Hugo's brother nor his girlfriend had any hope of surviving the night.
"Okay, is everyone set?" Charlie asked.
Having reluctantly left Ruby at home, she, Gina and Joey had arranged to meet Alf, Miles, Elijah, Leah, Angelo, Watson and Monica at the Surf Club.
"I'd rather search for him on my own than with him," Gina stated.
Without waiting for a reaction, she marched out of the Surf Club and into the night.
"Ever popular," Joey remarked under her breath.
Gina had objected to searching for Xavier with Angelo and in light of circumstances, nobody could disagree.
"Fine," Charlie said. "You're on your own. But everyone has to keep in touch, okay?"
"Understood," Alf said, nodding.
He headed out with Miles, not willing to rest until Xavier had been found safe and sound.
"Why are you turning this into a community event?" Angelo hissed while everyone but he, Charlie and Joey filed out in pairs.
"Because we're short staffed and there's a kid missing," Charlie replied curtly. "Nobody has to know about Hugo and all that stuff. We just have to find Xavier."
Defeated, Angelo nodded and left the building.
"Ready?" Charlie asked.
Joey nodded and took her hand. They just hoped the night would bring some sort of success.
Oblivious to the potential tragedy around him, John brought Jill back to his place. They were both a little inebriated but Jill was far more in control than he had seen her so far. They'd had a nice time together and in the absence of Gina, John couldn't think of a better way to spend his night.
Gina was trudging along the side of the road when a car pulled up.
"Xavier?" she asked fearfully when the driver wound down the window.
"Looking for your son?" the driver asked darkly.
"Yes," Gina said, fighting tears.
"Then I think you'd better come with me."
Knowing she was putting herself in danger, Gina climbed willingly into Killer's car.
Next time… Hugo, Tony, Angelo, Charlie and Joey all try to save Xavier, Martha and Gina…
