“No, it’s Cora,” I whisper, staring at the message as my heart races. I’m suddenly awake, wide awake, like I didn’t just stay up all night. “She’s in trouble.”
“What the fuck?”
I read the text out loud to him. He stares at me, bewildered, and shakes his head. “It could be a trap.”
“I don’t care.” I stand up and shove the stool back. “I’ve gotta talk to her.”
He only watches me as I call the burner phone. I let it ring, ring, ring, and curse when it goes to voicemail. “Come on, Cora,” I whisper and call it again, again, and again, until I’m about to give up—
When it calls me back.
“Cora?”
“Nolan.” It’s her, it’s really her, but she sounds terrified. “Can you hear me?”
It’s windy and she’s yelling over an engine, but I hear her. “Where are you right now? What’s going on?”
“We went to Jaxson’s cabin to hide out until the war’s over. I’m so sorry, Nolan, I didn’t mean to leave you, but Kady’s pregnant. I have to protect her, you understand that, don’t you?”
“Where are you?” I growl at her.
“Louisiana,” she shouts. “Catahoula Lake! Craig’s here with a couple of his buddies. They killed Jaxson and I’m running with Kady. We lost them on the water but I’m afraid they’re going to come around on their bikes.”
“Keep moving. I’m heading to you now.” I put the phone on speaker and pull up my maps. Marietta is nine hours away from Catahoula Lake. My heart sinks and I feel like I might be sick. She’s so fucking far away, almost an entire day away, and I haven’t slept since the night before.
But she’s in trouble and I’ll move the ocean to get to her right now.
I give Eric a look and he seems grim, but he nods. “Go,” he whispers. “I’ve got this.”
I nod and turn away. He’s a good man and a good friend, and I need to make sure I let him know that when I get back. If I get back.
I run out to my new Rover, climb in, and start driving fast.
“Where are they right now?” I ask as I hit the road. “Talk to me.”
“I can’t see them.” The wind’s loud on her end and I can hear the fear. “Kady’s driving. Captaining? Piloting? Shit, I don’t know.”
“Driving is fine. I’m on my way, Cora, but listen to me, it’s going to take me nine hours.”
She groans. “Fuck, why did we go so far?”
“You were trying to be safe.”
“Want to hear the stupidest part of all this? That cabin was Jaxson’s uncle. And Craig is that uncle’s kid. Which means Craig knew exactly where to find us and he did. He walked right up to Jaxson and said something and shot poor stupid Jaxson right in the head and killed him.”
“You saw it?”
“I saw it,” she says, her voice choking. “I watched it, Nolan.”
“Don’t think about that now. You said Kady’s driving?”
“That’s right.”
“You have to get somewhere it’ll be hard for Craig to follow. Are there lots of trees around? Is there a lot of forest, maybe somewhere the roads don’t go?”
I grip the steering wheel and throw myself toward I-20. Fortunately, it’s early and the traffic’s light right now. I go as fast as I can without getting pulled over. This is a nine-hour drive, maybe eight if I do it smart, and I need to keep it together if I’m going to get to her in one piece.
Fuck, I wish I could be with her right now. I wish I could see what she was going through. But all I have is the phone.
“There are trees all over. I see a few docks and a few other cabins nearby, maybe we could try that?”
“No, don’t go to a dock. If there’s a dock, that means cars can get to it, and that means Craig can find you easier. Where are the trees thickest?”
“Across the lake. There aren’t any cabins on that side.”
“Go that way. And hurry. When you get there, beach the fucking boat and ditch it and run as fast as you can for as long as you can.”
“But where are we going to go?”
I grind my jaw. She’s got a point. If they go running off into the woods and get lost in some enormous Louisiana State Park, they might get trapped in a swamp and eaten by a fucking alligator. There are a dozen ways this can go wrong, but this can go right too, and Cora’s smart. I have to keep reminding myself that she’s smart and strong and capable, and Kady’s strong too. They can do this.
“Get to the woods. Ditch the boat. Get away from the shoreline, but start following the lake toward the nearest cabin.”
“What if that’s where Craig’s going?”
“You’ve gotta take that risk. If you see or hear him, run into the woods and keep running. Keep the phone with you, but turn it off until you think I’m getting close. Don’t run out of battery. You’ll need to send me your location so I can come find you.”