Page 59 of Deserving Cora
“It’snota tennis court.” He lowered the binoculars and turned to grin at Stone. “It’s a helipad.”
“No shit?” Stone asked, sitting up straighter and staring at the house.
“Yup. I can just see the blades of a chopper sticking out from around the house.”
“Ridge has a helicopter?” Cora asked. The base of her spine was tingling. She remembered Ryan’s words about stealing the chopper, just like Ridge had stolen Lara, and wondered anew if the other woman had somehow known about the helicopter or was just guessing.
“Apparently,” Owl said, lifting the binoculars again. “Looks like an R66 Turbine.”
Stone whistled low. “That’s not cheap. I mean, it’s not the most expensive civilian chopper out there, but it’s not exactly inexpensive.”
“How the hell can he afford that if he’s using Lara’s credit cards?” Cora asked.
“That’s what I’d like to know. Although, it could be Daddy’s. And why does he evenneedit?” Pipe added.
“Well, I guess right now it doesn’t matter. I’m getting more and more nervous sitting here. Can we just go and do this?” Cora asked. “I want to see Lara for myself.”
Stone turned around. “Be careful,” he said.
Cora wanted to roll her eyes, but instead she simply nodded.
“Intel only at first,” Owl added. “We need to know what’s going on inside that house. If the hired help is assisting him with whatever he’s doing with Lara or if they’re clueless. Best-case scenario, Lara leaves with you, but if he doesn’t let you see her, don’t lose your cool, Cora. We’ll simply come back with another plan.”
“You guys and your plans,” she mumbled.
Stone chuckled.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Pipe said.
He squeezed her fingers before letting go and reaching for the door handle.
Cora got out on her side and was having a hard time believing she was actually here. And that she had three badass ex-military guys at her back. It was so much more support than she’d dreamed she’d have. “Please let this work,” she mumbled under her breath, then Pipe was there. He reached for her hand, and the feel of his warm fingers around hers went a long way toward easing her nervousness.
Pipe started walking toward the house, talking under his breath as he went. “Stay calm, no matter what he says. Don’t let on that you know about the credit cards. Just say that you’re here because you’re worried about Lara, and you took vacation time to come out and make sure she’s okay.”
“I know,” Cora told him. They’d been over this before, but she was still afraid she was going to screw everything up by saying the wrong thing.
They headed for the long gate to the driveway. There was a walk-in entrance next to the gate, and to Cora’s surprise, it wasn’t locked. They walked right inside and down the driveway.
The house was large, but not as huge as some mansions she’d seen. It had huge white columns on the front, which looked a little tacky here in the southwest, where something that blended in with the xeriscaping would be more appropriate. There wasn’t a lot of grass in the yard, it was mostly crushed rock. Cora saw one person to the side of the house, doing some work on the yard, but otherwise felt as if she and Pipe were the only people on the grounds.
“Deep breath, you’ve got this,” Pipe told her, squeezing her fingers.
Cora didn’t think she’d be able to do this at all if it wasn’t for the man at her side. She’d do anything for her friend, but this was actually kind of scary, especially after learning more about Ridge. If she hadn’t known anything, she probably would’ve marched up to his door with her usual bravado, but now that she knew he was lying his ass off for some unknown reason, and not knowing if Lara was even still alive, she was kind of freaking out.
Before she was ready, they reached the front door. She turned to look at Pipe and saw his head was on a swivel. He was on the lookout for…what? Danger? Bad guys jumping out from behind a cactus with a knife? She had no idea, but again, she was glad he was there.
Without hesitation, he reached for the door knocker and slammed it down a couple of times. The loud bang it made each time it hit the metal plate made Cora flinch. Her hands felt sweaty, but she held onto Pipe for dear life.
It took a couple of minutes, and Pipe even knocked again, before they finally heard someone on the other side of the door. Cora couldn’t help but wonder if it had taken so long because Ridge was trying to hide Lara. Or threaten her. Or something else equally scary.
When the door opened, it wasn’t Ridge on the other side. It was a man probably around Cora’s age. He was a little taller than Pipe and extremely muscular. He immediately intimidated her.
“Whatever you’re selling, we don’t want,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
His attitude irritated Cora, making her find her backbone. She straightened her shoulders and met his glare with one of her own. “Good for you, but we aren’t selling anything. My name is Cora Rooney, and I’m here to see Lara Osler.”
“She isn’t seeing visitors,” the man replied without hesitation.
