Page 73 of Deserving Cora
His friends nodded and Pipe headed for the door. He wanted to find Lara almost as much as Cora did at this point. For her own safety, but also so he could give Cora peace of mind…and bring her back to The Refuge, spend more time getting to know her. He had no idea what would happen between them, if they could figure out how to be a couple long-term, but he was going to do his best to make that happen.
Stone was right. Life was too short to not go after what you wanted. And Pipe wanted Cora. He just prayed she wanted him right back.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
“Okay, I’ll be here waiting for you guys,” Stone said solemnly. “If anything looks hinky, I’ll text, and I expect you to do the same. Watch your six,” he warned.
Pipe and Owl nodded.
“Six?” Cora whispered to Pipe as they headed for the driveway and the gate they’d used to enter the grounds the previous afternoon.
“Back,” Owl answered before Pipe could.
“Oh, right.”
She was nervous and on edge. She stayed close to Pipe as they neared the gate. This time, as she suspected, it was locked, and the gate across the driveway was also closed.
“As if that’ll keep us out,” Owl grumbled as he headed for the brick wall that surrounded the property. He jumped over it as if it was only a foot high, rather than the four feet that it actually was.
Pipe also cleared it without any issue, then he turned around and held out his hand. “You got this,” he encouraged.
It wasn’t as if Cora couldn’t get over the wall, she just wasn’t as graceful as the two guys were while doing so. She hopped up and got her belly on the wall, then one leg up and over the edge. Pipe took it from there, lifting her without making it seem like it was a big deal, putting her on her feet on the grass on the other side.
“You good?” he asked.
Cora nodded. She wasn’t sure she was, but she’d insisted on being here, so she wasn’t going to back down now. Everything about today felt more ominous than the day before. The area was quiet, the air still, as if the very environment was anticipating…something. Which made no sense, but that was how it felt.
They didn’t see anyone on their walk toward the front door, and before she knew it, Pipe was reaching for the knocker. Like yesterday, he slammed it down on the metal plate.
Cora was standing a little behind Pipe and Owl, which, to be honest, she was all right with. It wasn’t as if she expected Creepy Guy or Ridge to open the door and start shooting, but knowing both Pipe and Owl were armed and more than ready and willing to use their weapons to protect themselves and her, if necessary, had ratcheted up the danger she felt.
It took several minutes, and several more knocks, before they heard the locks clicking on the door. Cora held her breath as it slowly opened.
Creepy Guy stood there staring at them. She supposed she should start calling him by his name, but now that she’d been calling him Creepy Guy in her head, it was hard to stop.
“What do you want?” CG growled.
“To see Lara,” Pipe told him in an equally menacing voice.
“I told you yesterday, she’s sick.”
“Don’t care. We’re seeing her today whether you like it or not,” he countered.
CG laughed. And not in a humorous way. “Yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Pipe confirmed. “We’ve done a little inquiring about Mr. Michaels and hisstaff.” He emphasized that last word, making sure CG was aware that the inquiries included him. “And we were surprised not to see him at the Blue Moon last night. The girls were also disappointed…you know, considering how much he’s spoiled them in the last month.”
Cora held her breath as she waited to see what CG would say to that. He looked just as intimidating as he had yesterday. Had on a pair of black cargo pants, a short-sleeve gray polo shirt that showed off his bulging biceps, and black boots. He towered over her. His blond hair was cut short, in a military buzz, and his hazel eyes were cold as he looked down at them. The muscle in his square jaw ticked as he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
She felt the urge to apologize for interrupting him and flee, but Cora locked her knees. She wasn’t the kind of woman who was easily intimidated, but this guy? Yeah, he scared the crap out of her for some reason.
“And it’s fine if you don’t want to let us in,” Owl added. “We’ll just call up our contact in the Phoenix Police Department and have him come out with a dozen of his brethren to do a welfare check on Ms. Osler. There’s no telling what else they might find in the house…is there?”
At that, Cora was certain she saw alarm flare briefly in CG’s eyes, and her heart rate sped up. This was going to work. They were going to get in.
“There’s no need to get the cops involved. Nothing untoward is happening here. I’m sure Lara will be glad to see her friends.” With that, CG stepped away from the door, inviting them in.
As happy as Cora was that they were finally going to see Lara, something about stepping across the threshold made her hesitate. An old poem by Mary Howitt that she’d read in high school suddenly flashed into her mind. About the spider inviting the fly into his parlor. And everyone knew what happened to the poor fly. Right about then, she felt as if she was the fly and CG was the big bad spider.
