Page 16 of Deserving Cora
“Lara’s the only family I’ve ever had,” she said after a moment, her voice low. “And I won’t abandon her.” Her head came back up, and she looked at both Owl and Pipe. “If you won’t help me, I’ll figure something else out. But I feel like you’re my best hope.” She flicked her gaze to Owl. “I can pay you. I’ve got the six grand I was planning on using at the auction, to win a chance to talk to Pipe. I know it’s not nearly enough, but if you tell me your price, I’ll pay you back. Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I’ll get you whatever you ask.”
Pipe didn’t like the desperation he heard in her voice. It was worrisome and simply…wrong. And he had a bone-deep instinct to fix it.
“Can you give Pipe and I a moment to talk?” Owl asked her.
She nodded and turned immediately, walking to the other side of the deserted restaurant to stare out the windows. Her back was ramrod straight, and it looked as if all it would take was one more stressor on her shoulders and she’d break into a million pieces.
“What do you think?” Owl asked softly.
He turned his attention to his friend. “She’s telling the truth.”
“I agree. But I’m not sure what we can do. It’s not like we can actually go to Phoenix and storm the house,” he said.
“Why not?” The words out of his own mouth surprised him, but he didn’t take them back.
Owl lifted a brow.
“I don’t mean kidnap her. If we put enough pressure on this Ridge guy, like going to his house every day, he’d have to let us see her eventually.”
“Or he could call the cops and claim we’re trespassing and harassing him and his girlfriend, just like he threatened to do to Cora,” Owl reasoned.
“We need more intel,” he said after a moment.
Owl nodded in agreement.
“We don’t even know if Ridge is this guy’s real name.”
He nodded again. “And if her friend reallyisbeing held against her will…we can’t turn our backs on her.”
Pipe wasn’t surprised at Owl’s thinking. He, more than most, wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye to someone who was being held hostage. He knew how it felt. He and Stone had been through hell, and nothing would keep him from helping anyone else who might be enduring a similar situation.
“I agree,” he told his friend.
“You think there’s any wayshe’llagree to stay here in DC, while we look into things in Arizona?”
Pipe snorted. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I’ll call Stone. Give him a head’s up on what’s happening, and that we’ll probably have a guest coming back with us. Maybe I’ll give Tex a call to see if he can start looking into this Ridge guy too.”
Pipe nodded, turning to look at Cora. She hadn’t moved. She had her arms wrapped around her belly as if she was holding herself together. It looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders, and he almost desperately wanted to carry that burden for her. “I’ll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning,” he told Owl. “I’ll see if I can get her to stay in DC and let us do some recon, but if she balks at that and insists on coming with us, she’ll need to go back to her place and pack.”
“Sounds good. Shoot me a text if she’s coming with us, and I’ll take care of getting her a ticket to New Mexico.” Then Owl cleared his throat, and Pipe turned to look at his friend.
“We’re all in on this, right?”
“Absolutely,” he said with a nod. “You didn’t hear the story of how she and Lara became friends. She was a foster kid, and she aged out of the system without anyone wanting to adopt her. Lara befriended her in high school and they’ve been extremely close ever since. They’re like sisters, and if Cora says Lara’s in danger…well, I’m starting to believe her.”
“You’re right, Ididn’thear that story. But I didn’t need to. The concern and love for her friend is easy to see. Besides, after what almost happened to Alaska, the thought of anyone else going through that…it turns my stomach.”
Pipe nodded, his lips pulling down in a frown.
“All right. I’ll let you tell her what’s up. Let me know if you run into any snags, otherwise I’ll see you in the morning,” Owl said.
“Copy,” Pipe said, reverting to military speak. Up until now, everything had been somewhat casual. He’d started the evening just hoping to satisfy his curiosity about why Cora wanted to win that auction so badly. Now that he and Owl had decided to check into Lara’s situation officially, things felt more formal and urgent.
He nodded at Owl and didn’t wait for him to head toward the elevators before walking over to Cora.
She turned as he got close. Her arms were still around her waist protectively, but she lifted her chin as if preparing for him to tell her bad news.
