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She pushed off of his groaning form and picked up her phone.
“Everything good over there?” Johnny said, when he heard her breathing.
“Just perfect,” she shot back. She gave a quick look towards Gabe, where he was grimacing, pressing a hand to his forehead, which was now bleeding. “Can you give me a moment? I’ll call back.”
Johnny sighed. “It might be hard to get connection. Here, I’ll retake higher ground. One second.” There was more shouting, gunfire, and explosions in the background. Cora didn’t like to think that her ex-boyfriend was using his soldiers to attack some hill just so he could get good reception to talk to her, but she also knew Johnny. That was exactly the sort of thing he might do.
Still, she had her own problems. She lowered her phone and glared at Gabe as he was getting to his feet again. To his credit, he wasn’t bothered by the blood on his head, nor by the splintered chair leg still roped to his own leg. Both of his hands were raised, fists braced. He glared at her, preparing, it seemed, for any eventuality.
She scowled back. “Really?” She demanded. “Just sit down, Gabe.”
But he wasn’t in the banter mood anymore, it seemed. Piledriving one’s head into the ground of a dusty workshop had a way of doing that.
“I told you,” he snarled. “I had nothing to do with Rose’s disappearance. I’m trying to find her too. Believe me or not, but I’m leaving!”
Cora stared at him, her eyes cold and unblinking, like a snake’s. She said, simply, “One day,” she said simply.
“What?”
“I have a call, and you’re clearly not going to back down from this story. So, if it’s true that you really have been looking for Rose, you have one day. Got me?”
“One day for what?”
“To prove it. You said you have a lead. Well, bring it to me. And if you don’t, I’ll find you.”
He stared at her, breathing shakily and still bleeding.
She turned away from him, moving towards the exit to the small wooden structure. She called over her shoulder. “Run if you want. I’ll find you. Hide if you want. Same thing.” She shrugged. “If you run, I’ll take it to mean that youwereinvolved. And that little nick on your head,” she said, pointing towards where his brow was bleeding, “Will feel like a gentle kiss compared to what’s coming.” Her eyes flashed, and her tone went icy. “I loved Rose,” she said. “And if you had anything to do with it, you’ll find out how much.”
He just stared, still breathing heavily, doing his best to suppress the fear from his eyes.
But she didn’t care much.
Maybe he was a bit braver than she’d thought. Maybe a bit more defiant. It wouldn’t change the result. If he really did have something, then great. She’d wait a day. And if not...
She had always considered herself a woman of her word.
She stepped back out towards the waiting truck, phone moving back to her cheek. “Johnny?” she said once it reconnected. “So, speak slow and loud enough so I can hear. What’s up?”
CHAPTER THREE
Cora frowned as she navigated the old, farm roads, listening to her ex-boyfriend speak. “From Miami,” he was saying.
“I didn’t know your parents lived in Miami,” she replied, guiding the truck up another road and heading further south.
“Yeah, well,” he said, his voice bitter. “They moved there along with my sister. She’s dead.”
Cora went still. “What?”
She could hear more incendiary background noise, but as Johnny didn’t seem to care, neither did she. “Yeah. My big sister was killed, and I don’t know shit-all about it. Apparently, the press is suppressing it.”
Cora cursed, thinking of her own sister. She winced. “I…I’m sorry,” she said. She knew from past conversations that Johnny hadn’t been particularly close with his relatives. He’d had his own problems as a youngster, and the big Catholic Italian family hadn’t taken kindly to his indiscretions. Then he’d joined the Navy and never looked back.
But for Johnny...loyalty didn’t ever die.
As exhibited by this phone call.
“So...” she trailed off. “I’m very sorry that happened. Anything I can do?”
