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“That’s right, Carson. You keep her on a leash. At least until your brother’s done playin’ politician.” The guy tries to goad me.
“Come on, Red,” I tell her in a much firmer tone.
“Not wantin’ to fight today, huh?” That fucker just keeps on comin’ at me
“No, I don’t wanna fight.” I turn back around to face him. “But I will if I have to. Now I figure if you make the first punch, all I’m doing is defending myself. You just gotta ask yourself if you're man enough to throw it?” I stare back at him and watch the cocky smile drop off his face when all his buddies take a slight step back.
“Thought not. You touch another poster or talk disrespectfully about that missing girl again, and it’ll be your face that's plastered on a missing poster all over town.”
“Sounds like a threat to me,” he calls after me once I’ve turned my back and started guiding us toward the door.
“Carsons don’t make threats,” I yell back at him.
“You handled that real good,” she tells me once I’ve started up the engine and we’re heading toward home.
“Yeah, well it wasn’t easy. I really enjoy beating up Mason employees.” I just about manage a smile for her but she doesn’t return it, she’s too distracted by the poster that's still in her hand.
“It’s just awful, isn’t it?” Her words come out weakly.
“Yeah, it's awful,” I agree, thinking of all the years we spent wondering why Breanna threw herself off Blackdrop Point. I still don’t know what's worse, all the torture of not knowing, or actually knowing the truth. Sometimes I see my sister in my sleep, reaching her arms out to me as she falls. I never get to her in time. There's a constant burn in my chest because I wasn’t the one who got to kill the man responsible for taking her and Aubrey away from me.
“If I told you somethin’, could ya keep it from Leia?” I ask, knowing the information I got from Zayne could potentially throw some light on this case that is clearly important to her. I also know that Wade doesn’t want Leia getting stressed. She’s been through enough.
“Depends what that something is.” She shrugs.
“It’s something that would upset her, and you know how Wade feels about that happenin’.”
Savannah nods her head, still seeming a little distant. Am I actually missing that sassy, clever mouth of hers?
“Zayne approached me tonight. Told me that he recognized the girl in the poster. Apparently, he picked her and Karina Walker up from a party, and he…” I pause because as soon as I say the next part, the can of worms is gonna be opened.
“Cole…” There she is again. Her eyes burning into mine like fire, daring me not to finish my sentence.
“He dropped them off at Walker’s place,” I inform her, watching her chest sag and that fire in her eyes fade to helplessness.
“Shit… Someone needs to speak to Karina.”
“I’ve asked Zayne to call her and make sure she doesn’t talk to Leia about it yet. This could be nothing, no point making her worried.”
“But it could be something.” Savannah stares at the picture again and smiles sadly as her fingers touch over the girl’s face.
“This is real important to you, ain’t it? I get Leia’s reasons for wanting to help but I’d like to know yours.”
“Maybe one day.” She leans back into the head rest and offers me another sad smile. “Not today.”
I’m about to tell her that's okay, but she interrupts me instead.
“Cole Carson, are you gonna take me somewhere where you can fuck me? Because you’ve made me wait long enough.”
Anticipation mixed with nerves and excitement build higher as Cole pulls up in front of the cabin he likes to hide out at. Everyone calls this place the line camp. I don’t know why, it’s one of the many things I don’t understand around here.
“You want somethin’ to drink?” he asks as he opens the door to let us inside. It’s pretty basic here. There’s a double bed with a nightstand and an armchair beside it, a wood-burning stove in one corner, and a basin in the other.
“Sure.” I nod, watching him reach into the closet and take out a bottle.
“I’ll light the fire,” he tells me as he hands it over and sets straight to work. I unscrew the lid on the whiskey and take a seat on the edge of the bed, starting to feel nervous again.
But this is what I’ve been waitin’ for. We have rules set in place, it couldn’t be any simpler. Yet when Cole twists the wood burner door shut and stands back on his feet, I can’t help thinking things are about to get real complicated.
