Hold (Gentry Boys, #5)(61)

“I don’t think it’s going to get sorted out, Chase.”

“Hmph.” I grunted and rubbed my eyes. Then I looked around. “Where’s Cord?”

“Cord.” Creed glanced all over the room as if Cord might be curled up in a corner somewhere. “He forgot his phone in my truck so he went out to get it and call Saylor.”

I rose and stretched, hearing bones crack. It had been such a long day. “I’ll catch up to him out there. I need some air anyway. Can you wait here? I don’t want Con to walk out and see an empty room.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait.”

As soon as I walked outside I could hear the Sonoran desert toads that always returned during the summer rains. You didn’t see them too often in the city but out here they were thick as carpet when it rained. And I smelled rain in the air.

I’d thought Creed had parked right near the door but I must have been wrong. I scanned the parking lot, looking for any sign of Cord or of Creed’s truck. I saw neither one.

A man was smoking a cigarette by the door. I knew him, although it took me a moment to match him to a name.

“Benji Carson.” I held my hand out.

“Chase.” He shook it. Then he stepped on his cigarette and craned his neck to see into the lobby. “Heard Conway was here and figured I’d come down and check on him. He’s been working for me, you know. Kind of a cocky little turd at times but overall a decent kid. Hard worker. Sucks that this happened to him. I don’t know the brother that well.” He scratched absently at his thick belly. “I was also sorry to hear about your mom. You guys have had a shit day that’s for sure. First one tragedy and then another.”

“Well, let’s just hope that bad things don’t really happen in threes.” I’d tossed off the comment lightly but it kind of stuck in the air. A split second of unreasonable panic followed.

“Did you run into my brother Cord out here?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Just a few minutes ago. We were chatting about your folks, and about Deck.” Then he frowned. “I think I pissed him off or something.”

“You?” I was surprised. Cord wasn’t one to get all agitated over nothing and it was unlikely that mild-mannered Benji Carson had done the job. “Why do you think that?”

Carson sighed. “I said something that I figured he knew about already. I mean, I knew, Gaps knows, there’s probably a few more who also know since Benton is the kind of prick that shoots his mouth off.”

My muscles tightened instinctively. I’d been hoping to make it out of Emblem without hearing Benton’s name again.

“Tell me,” I said.

Two minutes later I was back in the lobby, Benji Carson on my heels. Creed shot to his feet as soon as he saw the look on my face.

“We’ve got to go,” I announced.

He tensed. “Where?”

“To find Cord. He took off.”

Creed felt around in his pockets. “Shit, he’s got my keys.”

“I know.” I dangled the ring of keys Ben had handed over when I asked for a favor. “We’ve got a loaner. You remember Benji Carson. He’s going to hang around here in case Conway comes out before we’re back.”

I told Ben to please let Conway know that we hadn’t abandoned him. We would return. Then I hurried after Creed, who was already waiting at the door.

“You have an idea where he’d go?” he asked as we climbed into the Carson’s Garage tow truck.

“I have an idea,” I said grimly.

He didn’t ask me anything else. The three of us have always had a strong connection. Some might call it vaguely supernatural. Others might point to some scientific theories on the tangled blood bonds between those who started life together before they even knew they were alive. I wouldn’t know who to believe but what I did know was that whenever one of my brothers was hurt or in danger some primordial sense awoke inside of me, warning that a piece of my soul was at risk.

It was fully awake right now.

The things I’d heard in front of the hospital weren’t that terrible. I’d heard far worse where Benton was concerned. But Cord was walking a thin edge today. I knew it from the moment I saw him in the dim light of early morning. Our mother’s death had stirred something vulnerable inside of him. Creed and I didn’t need to talk about it to know it was true. Cordero, our rock, our solid center, was standing over a yawning precipice that could swallow everything he’d struggled so hard to build.

As soon as we were out of the center of town I hit the gas pedal hard. We careened into the dark desert silently, a singular thought between us.

Cordero. Don’t.





CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO


CORD



Chase had just disappeared behind the doors to go search for Conway when I realized I was missing something.

“Let me have your keys,” I told Creed. “I’ve got to grab my phone out of the truck and give Say a call.”

He tossed them right over. As I was heading out a familiar blonde woman was on her way in. She looked unwell and exhausted, preoccupied. She didn’t give me a second look though so I might have been wrong about knowing her.

A storm was brewing to the southeast. The sky had grown dark but I could see the flashes of lightning and smell the dust. The palo verde branches swayed in the wind. Sometimes these summer storms were deceptive. They would seem as if they were bearing straight down on you. And then they would veer off in the opposite direction or disappear completely. But wherever they did unleash the effect could be ferocious, complete with overflowing washes, flooded country roads.