Page 71 of Deserving Cora
“Oh, shit, I hadn’t thought of that,” Cora whispered. “So what do we do? I hate the idea of Ridge draining her accounts, but I don’t want him to freak out and hurt her if he can’t access her money anymore.”
“I’m thinking we go back to the house,” Owl said. “Maybe this time I go with you. Make sure Michaels and his goons know that this is about more than Cora wanting to talk to her friend.”
“So we threaten him,” Stone said sternly.
“Yeah,” Owl agreed.
“But they could still refuse to let us see her,” Cora said. “I mean, I’m happy to have you there, Owl, but how is that going to make CG or Ridge give in and let us see Lara?”
“It might not,” Owl said. “But we make it clear we aren’t leaving until we see her, and if they don’t bring her to us in a timely manner, we’ll call the cops. It’s not like they’ll call the police themselves and say we’re trespassing. I’m guessing they don’t want the cops anywhere near the estate.”
“And we’ll be armed,” Pipe told her. “In case they try anything.”
Cora’s face leeched of even more color. “Oh, God, this is getting out of hand,” she muttered.
Stone walked over to where Cora was sitting and crouched down in front of her. He didn’t touch her, but he definitely had her attention. “You think we can’t handle ourselves? That we can’t protect you and Lara?”
“It’s not that,” she protested.
“Then what is it?”
She took a deep breath. “When I decided to try to win a date with a representative from The Refuge at that auction, I didn’t think this is where we’d end up. And I don’t want any of you to get in trouble or—God forbid—shot because of what I’ve asked you to do,” Cora said.
“We aren’t going to get shot,” Stone reassured her.
“No way,” Owl added. “Stone and I may not be quite as good as the others when it comes to certain aspect of special forces training, but we aren’t slouches either.”
“It’s not that, I just…” Cora sighed. “You guys believed me almost from the start. You might’ve had some doubts, but you never treated me as if I was crazy or blowing things out of proportion. I’ve never…I can’t…I’m not used to this,” she blurted.
“Used to what?” Pipe asked, nudging Stone, who got the message and stood up and took a step back, letting Pipe take his place in front of Cora. He immediately reached out and put his hands on her knees. He needed to touch her, needed her to know he was there for her.
“Feeling supported. Or believed. Or important. And letting you walk into potential danger is no way to repay you.”
“We support you, Cora. We believe you. And you’reveryimportant. Your worth isn’t determined by who your parents were, how much money you have, or what kind of job you do. It’s what kind of person you are. And you, Cora Rooney, are a shining light in what can be a dog-eat-dog world. Your loyalty is…” Pipe shook his head as he tried to come up with the best word.
Owl beat him to it. His friend had shifted so his legs hung off the side of the bed and his eyes were glued to Cora. “Everything.”
Pipe nodded. “Yes. Your loyalty is everything. It’s worth a little danger. We’re going to find Lara. Get proof of why Michaels kidnapped her. He’s going to pay for what he’s done. If you believe nothing else I tell you, believe that.”
“We aren’t scared of this Michaels guy. Or his so-called bodyguards. Owl and I have been through hell and back, and we aren’t going to let these rich assholes get one over on us,” Stone said firmly.
“I want to say something, but Pipe gets weird when I do,” Cora said.
“Pipe is weird no matter what,” Stone said with a laugh. “Say it.”
“Thank you,” she said, the sincerity coming through loud and clear. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you guys weren’t here.”
“You would’ve figured it out,” Owl said. “From what I know of you, you’re stubborn and resourceful.”
“True,” Cora said with a small laugh. “So…Plan B is to go back to the house and knock on the door again?” she asked.
“Tryin’ to keep it simple,” Stone told her. “I think adding Owl to the mix is good though. A show of force isn’t a bad thing.”
“Not to mention a little threat thrown in for good measure. I’m guessing Michaels isn’t going to want a bunch of cops tromping through the house. There’s no telling what he’s hiding in there…besides Lara.”
“Is it weird that I feel a little bad for his dad? I mean, he probably doesn’t even know what his son is doing,” Cora asked.
Pipe hadn’t moved from his crouch in front of her. “Don’t,” he said a little too harshly. When Cora frowned, he took a deep breath and did his best to moderate his tone. “I don’t know how many houses that family has, but they made money off the people in this country and beyond who took the drugs John Michaels pushed. Yeah, they’re legal, but he had to know how addictive they were long before it was announced to the world. There’s no telling how many people moved on to more hard-core drugs when they couldn’t get prescriptions for the shit he developed. And through it all, he’s still flaunting his wealth. I mean, he has a bloodyhelicopter. For what? It’s excessive and unnecessary.”
