Cordero raises a hand.
I stop and the pine room filters back to me as the beach fades away.
It’s quiet in here. Cordero is legitimately gaping at me. Behind her, Texas and Beretta wear identical you-gotta-be-kidding-me expressions.
“War?” Cordero says. “War, as in the embodiment of the concept?”
“That’s me.” A chemical taste is seeping in my mouth from the drugs. I swallow, but it doesn’t go away. “In the flesh.”
Texas catches a laugh in his throat and tries to cover it with some coughing. Beretta blinks fast a few times. I get the feeling he’s trying not to smack his partner.
Cordero sends them a quick, annoyed glance. She looks back at me and sighs, absently scratching her knuckles. “War,” she says, more to herself than to me. Then she removes a cell phone from her blazer and checks it. “I have to step out, but I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Her eyes mouth curves. “Don’t move.”
What do you know? She’s got a sense of humor.
“So you piss people off? That it?” Texas says, once she’s gone. His voice is all easygoing drawl, but his posture is rigid and his blue eyes are intense.
“Something like that.”
A grin appears. Half of one. “I’m thinkin’ I got that superpower myself.”
“Hey, kid. The necklace.” It’s Beretta now. Look at that. Cordero leaves and the vibe’s totally different. “The one the girl was wearing. It’s significant, isn’t it?”
It’s an observant question. Impressive, even for a guy who’s probably trained to pick up stuff like that. But I’m not answering without Cordero here.
He tries again. “What’s really going? ’Cause you? As one of the four horsemen?”
That’s technically incorrect. I thought I was pretty clear about being an incarnation of War. But again. Not taking the bait. “You really want to be the guy that compromises this investigation?”
Beretta snorts. “You mean this fairy tale? But I’ll hand it to you—you got a good imagination.”
Texas tips his chin, already smiling at what he’s going to say. “There’s gonna be horses soon, right? I can’t wait. My family trains cuttin’ horses. Best in North Texas. I’m guessin’ they wouldn’t stack up to War’s horse.”
“Probably not.”
“I’d be disappointed otherwise.” He shifts his weight, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “Least tell us what Death’s like. We’re dyin’ to know.”
“Good one.” I’m actually starting to like the guy. He reminds me of Cory. “You could find out.”
“Yeah, how’s that?” he asks.
“You brought us in together from Norway. Marcus is right next door, isn’t he?”
Texas shakes his head like nice try. He won’t give up any intel either. But even in his silence, I get the sense he’s met Marcus, and that Marcus made a lasting first impression. As he tends to.
These guys aren’t supposed to be talking to me. Or maybe they were, and I failed to give them what they were after. Either way they go quiet, setting up in their positions again like drying concrete. Party’s over.
I’m thirsty again. So thirsty my head’s starting to pound, but as long as my stomach doesn’t get involved, I’m good. My knees ache from sitting in this chair.
Behind me the radiator goes on, giving yet another encore performance. Tink, tink, tink, tink. The warmth slowly comes up on my back. Hard worker, that heater. The bulb, on the other hand, is doing a flickering thing, showing some signs of fatigue. You’re losing, bulb.
Weird that I was in Norway yesterday, probably. Now I’m wherever here is. I haven’t had time to think about Daryn much. Now I do.
She’s gone.
Just freakin’ deal, Blake. But was I really that easy to walk away from?
The door opens and Cordero enters. She sits down, smoothing her hands along her suit. I’d forgotten about her perfume, but now it’s back. Like getting pelted by fashion magazines. Roses, oranges, lemons, fertilizer. I suppress a cough.
“Gideon? Ready to pick back up?” Cordero says.
I swallow. “Yes.”
But she waits a moment longer, like she’s making sure she believes me. Her elbows settle on the desk and she weaves her fingers together. “You’d gone to find Daryn on the beach.”
“Wait. I have some demands first.”
“We had a deal. I already accepted your demands. You asked for Colonel Nellis. I’ll bring him to you as soon as we’re done. And you’ll be free to go.”
“I have new demands.”
Her lips go flat. “And they are?”
“I need more water. I want my legs untied. And I want to see the guys I came in with.”
“Yes to your first request, no to rest.” She looks at Texas, who picks up the water bottle at his feet and comes forward.
As I drink from the straw I notice him eyeing the cuff. Interesting. Maybe he is starting to believe me.
Back in our positions, Cordero’s ready to go again. “You’d been abandoned on the beach by Daryn. You said an hour passed before you went after her?”
Did I say an hour? Can’t remember. “No. It was closer to half an hour.”
I draw a breath, preparing to wade back into the past. I was so shaken up that night, standing by the Jeep. The muscles in my arms and shoulders had knotted with tension. I remember how the ocean smelled different than by my house. How the fog was growing thicker, like smoke rolling over the beach as I stood there, trying to make sense of what I’d just been told.
I remember Daryn, that very first day.