Oren nodded. “At least it’s their turn and not mine.”
I flipped him off, then Joe laid a hand on top of mine. “It makes sense for me to be the one to lure him out.”
“We have to find him first.”
“Oren will find Donaldson,” Giorgio said. “Don’t worry about that.” I believed him, and I wished I’d called Oren earlier. I wished Joe had told me what was going on, and we’d called him before we’d left Boston.
We brainstormed a number of options and finally decided on a plan I hated, even though I knew it was solid. I hated Joe taking such a serious risk, but I knew with my injury I had to take a smaller role than I wanted. If I wasn’t confident in Giorgio’s ability to always hit his target, I would’ve taken Joe and run rather than let him confront the killer.
19
Joe
I tossed and turned all night, finally getting out of bed well before dawn. I knew Oren would wait until it was light outside to start poking around in the woods, but that didn’t stop me from pacing the cabin, anxious to hear something from him or Giorgio. I wanted this over.
I routinely looked out the front window, but I never got the sensation we were being watched or saw any movement I thought could be human.
It had taken Devil a long time to fall asleep, but once he had, he’d slept deeply. He’d woken midmorning, but after he drank some water and took another pill, I insisted he sleep some more. He protested, but I reminded him there was nothing he could do until we heard from Oren.
Finally, in the early afternoon, Devil’s phone buzzed. “Thank fuck,” he muttered. “You’re driving me insane.”
We were supposed to be watching a movie, but I hadn’t been able to sit still for more than five minutes at a time. I suspected the only reason he wasn’t as restless as me was that he was enjoying me being the one who couldn’t stop fidgeting for once.
Devil answered the call, and based on his responses, I knew it was go time. When he hung up, he gave me more details as we pulled on our boots and grabbed the packs I’d prepared for us the night before.
I could tell Devil was in pain, but I knew there was no way he’d stay behind, and mentioning it would only cause him to deny it. Before I opened the door, he pulled me into a tight hug.
“You damn well better be careful out there. If he hurts you, I will rip him apart with my bare hands. I don’t care that I’m hurt. I don’t care about fucking stitches. I will burn everything to the ground to avenge you.”
“Devil, I’m choosing to take this risk. Taking Donaldson out is more important than—”
“No. Nothing is more important than you.”
He kissed me, and I clung to him. I prayed our plan would work. We both needed this to end so we could relax and enjoy our time together. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll take care of Donaldson, then we’ll come back here and…”
“But you believe in following instructions, and the doctor says I’m not supposed to—”
Joe scowled. “We’ll figure out a way that won’t hurt you.”
“Fuck right we will because if you think I intend to go days without fucking you, you’re out of your mind.”
“I never thought you would, just like I knew we couldn’t convince you to stay here while the three of us took care of things.”
“Hell no… I swore to protect you, and I’m not letting a few stitches keep me from doing that.”
“Let’s go get this over with.”
We met up with Oren and Giorgio near the place where we’d cut down the Christmas tree. Oren led us deeper and deeper into the forest. I tried my best to walk quietly, but I couldn’t help making some noise even with the snow to cushion my steps. Oren moved with eerie silence. I would never have known he was there if I couldn’t see him. It was impressive and also scary.
When we turned a sharp corner on what I supposed Oren saw as a path—I could never have followed it on my own—he pointed to a small cabin, more of a shack really, with a dilapidated porch. Smoke curled from the chimney, but there were no vehicles or anything else to indicate someone was living there.
When I turned to whisper to Giorgio and Devil, Giorgio was already gone. I hadn’t heard him walk away, but I knew he was getting into position, climbing a tree to give himself the high ground. We waited until we heard a chickadee call, his signal that he was in place.
Devil kissed me once more, then waited with Oren as I approached the shack. The rotted wooden steps creaked as I climbed them. I thought the last one would give way, but it held as I stepped onto the porch. My heart slammed against my ribs, and I had to force myself to keep taking slow, steady breaths. I could do this.