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"You want to be helpful, Sullivan? Go keep an eye on her."
Sully felt the force of Nate's words stronger than a slap in the face. Nate never called him Sullivan, and he had never asked him to leave a job before.
The silence that followed hung heavily in the room. Seeing that Nate wouldn't look up to meet his eyes, Sully quietly placed the journal on the table.
"Whatever you say."
The silence continued as he walked towards the door, looked back at Nate one more time, and exited the room.
A dull ache weighed on his chest as he leaned against the other side of the closed door. His heart literally hurt. After replaying the events of the last few minutes in his mind, he couldn't believe Nate had refused to go after Elena and was instead going forward with hunting down Avery's treasure. He shook his head and finally forced himself to stand upright again.
As if in a haze, he found himself in front of another motel room without much memory of visiting the front desk, pretending to ask for something, and looking down at the ledger to see the room number Elena had checked into.
He knocked, to no reply on the other side. He tried again, louder this time. The sound of footsteps clearly echoed from the other side.
"Elena," he said, "it's Sully. Can we talk?"
"Not interested," came the reply from inside.
"Elena, please."
"Go back to Nate, Sully. You guys seem to be having a great time together."
Sully sighed heavily as he lowered his head. He didn't think he had it in him to stomach another rejection. Moments later, he almost fell into the room as the door opened forcefully from the other side.
"You wanna talk? Okay, let's talk," Elena said angrily, her eyes filled with tears. "When did you know, Sully? When did you get in on this treasure hunt?"
Sully's own expression gave away his guilt.
Elena quickly wiped at her eyes. "From the beginning, then. So you were there when Nate called me, time after time, saying there was this delay and that delay, and lying to my face. You were there."
Sully opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't defend himself.
"You let him back into this business that almost killed him, countless times. That you helped him get out of."
Again, he was silent. Elena wasn't nearly done with her rebuke, but something in his demeanor must've stopped her.
"Sully," she said simply.
He looked up at her slowly.
"What's wrong?"
Sully shook his head, but didn't answer her question.
"What is it?" Elena's voice turned to concern as she studied him more closely. She had never seen him so defeated.
Sully finally broke his silence. "It looks like Nate's going after the treasure on an island off the coast."
"When are you leaving?"
"He and Sam are going it alone."
"What? Why?"
Sully's expression shifted. The sting of Nate's words still rang in his ears. "I don't know. I guess…he doesn't need me anymore."
"That doesn't make any sense. You're the one he trusts the most."
Sully shrugged. "Sam's got a hold on Nate. He's family."
"So are you," said Elena, confused and even more worried. She wondered what could've possibly happened in the short time between when she left Nate's room and Sully showing up at her door. Sully almost looked as if he didn't believe her words.
"Do you trust Sam?" she asked.
"Not with my life. And not with Nate's."
Elena looked him in the eyes. "You think Nate's life is in danger?"
"Yes, I do," Sully said without hesitation.
She blinked, running through the options quickly in her mind, but she already knew. There was only one way forward.
"Sully, we need to find a way to get onto that island."