John parks far enough away so they won’t be detected, and they quickly set up their equipment in order to hear exactly what’s being said.
“Tim, what’s Denton’s new girlfriend like?” a younger woman asks from inside the kitchen. Cole hands his father a pair of earphones as he shifts his into a better position.
“Why you want to know, Gigi?” Tim laughs. “He’s not interested in you.”
“Screw off,” she hisses. “I just want to know if she’s agringalike you.”
The young girl shouts as someone smacks her.
“Sí, she’s agringa. Pretty little thing. Denton fought hard to get this one, but she’s already in the attic. She has a mouth on her.” He laughs again. “She called him a monster and said to go fuck himself.” They all laugh.
The old lady makes a tisking sound as she clanks some dishes. Cole and his men flinch at how loud it is over the earphones.
“Ha! You can laugh, but I know I can give Denton what he wants. Why would he want agringa? I can see myself in that grand house, just like the one from Skeleton Key. I would be wearing pretty clothes and…”
The men cut her off, laughing and teasing the woman, saying she should go there and kill the girl so Denton could see that she is the one he should be with.
Cole looks at Mark, who is the movie buff, waiting to see if he knows what the girl meant by the house from Skeleton Key. Mark clicks away on the laptop then turns it around to show him.
A Louisiana style home? Here in TJ? That’s different and should be easy to find. Mark nods and gets to work, and Cole mentally kicks himself as he remembers Savannah mentioning it looked like that.
In the house, a chair scrapes the floor as the girl asks, “So, did the GI Joe crew show up?”
Someone snickers something Cole can’t make out, then a cough. “No one showed. I think the girl was fucking with me, seeing if she could trust me. Too bad for her.” He snorted. “She’ll get hers. Denton will take his time breaking her and will enjoy himself the whole time. He’s a sick fucker.”
Mark makes a face at Cole, knowing he isn’t the only one itching to get a moment alone with this guy.
As night rolls around, Cole and Mark take the first shift, and the rest pass out in a matter of minutes. One thing about being in the Army, you can fall asleep anywhere, and when you’re told to sleep, you don’t think twice. You find a spot, and you’re out. Mark trades places with John later in case Tim decides to leave in the middle of the night.
They’re silent for a few hours, Cole’s mind spinning with thoughts of Savi. Wondering if she’s hurt, if she’s wondering where he is, wondering what she ever did to deserve this life.
“I didn’t think we’d be back here with Savi again,” Mark says quietly as he takes a bite of his power bar. “She’ll forgive you, Cole.” He turns to look at him. “Once you explain that photo with Rodrigo, she’ll understand and forgive you.”
Cole shakes his head, knowing how bad that picture looks, but it had to be done.
“She loves you,” Mark shrugs, “so don’t worry.”
Cole rests his head back against his seat, staring up at the sky full of stars.
“You’re a lucky man,” Mark says, settling into the seat. “People dream of having a woman look at them the way she does at you. Maybe it’s why this is happening?”
Cole shoots him a confused look.
“Maybe someone is testing your fate?”
“She’s been through enough.” Cole rubs the aching spot between his eyes. “But if there is someone up there calling the shots, I’d love to be alone with them for a few minutes.” His grip on his gun tightens. “No one deserves what Savi’s been through.”
“I’m not saying she deserves any of it, I’m just saying we weren’t meant to find a mate. We gave up that right when we signed on for Shadows. I think you hit a snag in our path of life, and this needs to happen in order for you guys to be able to work it out.”
Cole shakes his head, annoyed that Mark could be right.
“Perhaps, but it’s still fucked up.”
“Very.” His best friend squeezes his arm before he shuts his eyes. He hopes to hell Tim isn’t one for sleeping in, because come seven a.m., they are raiding the motherfucking house.
Savannah
I move my head side to side, tuning in and out of someone speaking.