Page 5 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
“Talk to me,” Tanner says, standing from the sofa he was sitting on, drinking a beer. “I’m done waiting. I want to know where they are.”
“Managed to get a fella to speak,” Ethan says. “Acted like I was part of it all, and the stupid junkie fell for it. Told me he has heard that he didn’t get arrested and is hiding out. Said he had been to the place he frequents a few times to buy drugs, and that it’s really well hidden. Figure it’s worth a look. At the very least we might find someone who does know where he is.”
“It’s dangerous,” Tanner says, “but I’m not waitin’ any longer. If we don’t find them soon, there is a chance we won’t.”
Ethan nods. “We go tonight.”
“I’m coming!” I say, heart racing at the thought of finding my best friend.
Both men look at me like I’m losing my mind.
“You’re jokin’ right?” Tanner mutters.
“No, I’m not joking. That’s my best friend. I’ll stay in the car, but I’m coming.”
“Yeah,” Ethan says, not looking at me as he pulls out his phone and punches something into it, “you’re not.”
“Since when do you two get to make choices for me?”
“Since you got shot,” they both say at the same time, and then their eyes meet for a split second.
I wonder how long it’ll take for them to talk about what happened all those years ago and maybe bring their friendship back to life.
“I’ll stay in the car,” I repeat again. “That’s Jo. She’s … she’s everything to me. I’m not leaving her when she needs me.”
“You’re injured,” Tanner argues.
“She’s my best friend, she’d do it for me. I know she would. Nothing would keep her from being there when I got found. Nothing is going to stop me from being there when she’s found. I’ll hold a gun, lock the car, stay low, but I’m not staying here.”
Tanner exhales and looks to Ethan. “She ain’t goin’ to give this one a rest, is she?”
Ethan shakes his head. “Not until she drives you crazy enough to give in. Might as well let her come, or she’s as likely to catch a cab and follow us.”
Now there’s an idea.
I grin.
Ethan shakes his head, and Tanner scowls at me.
“You don’t move from that fuckin’ car, you follow all my commands, you don’t fuckin’ do anythin’ without me tellin’ you first. We clear?”
“Yeah,” I say, holding his eyes. “We’re clear.”
He nods, and Ethan goes back to his phone.
I glance out the window, taking a shaky breath.
Hang on, Jo.
We’re coming.
3
JOANNE
“You gotta stretch, stretch until your body feels like it’s goin’ to break, Jo.”
Tatum’s voice penetrates through the darkness, through my panting, through the angry grunts that are coming out of my throat as I fumble around in the darkness, looking for a piece of abandoned metal he happened to notice lying under an old cabinet when the lights were on. He said I’d be able to reach it, but it’s been well over an hour, and I can’t find the damn thing.
“It doesn’t help that I don’t know where I’m fucking looking, Tatum. I could be way off. It’s not easy when I can’t see.”
“Just keep patting around, you’ll find it. It’s there, I know it is.”
“Where exactly, because right now I haven’t felt a thing except what I pray isn’t rat shit.”
He goes silent for a moment as I grunt and puff, stretching my fingers out in front of me as far as I can. I shuffle and reach, feeling around anywhere I can. I’m probably right near it, it’s probably inches in front of me and I’m too short to reach it. Tatum was sure I could, but I’m starting to think he’s full of damn shit.
“Have a break,” he murmurs into the darkness.
“No,” I growl. “No, I won’t.”
“Jo, fuckin’ stop.”
“Go fuck yourself, Tatum.”
“You’re being irrational.”
“You’re being a jerk.”
“Jo …”
My fingers hit a hard piece of wood, a good way off to my right. I’ve been searching the wrong damn area. He told me it was to the left slightly, but mostly in front of me. He was wrong, it’s to my right and not in front of me at all.
“I found it,” I say, my fingers sliding up as I stretch my body to its absolute limits to reach the dusty old cabinet.
“It was just underneath it. Trace your fingers down to the bottom and very carefully feel around.”
“For what it’s worth,” I pant, stretching as hard as I can, “it was to the fucking right.”
Tatum makes a snorting sound but doesn’t say anything else. A moment later, I reach the bottom and feel a cold, rather small, piece of metal beneath my fingertips. It’s not a great deal bigger than a nail—hell, it probably is a nail.
“This tiny thing is the metal you’re talking about?” I mutter, curling my fingers around it. “What’s this going to do?”
