Ride Hard (Raven Riders #1)(21)
Anyway, he had much more important things to be doing than sniffing around a woman—a much younger, way-too-innocent-for-him woman. He had two Southern criminals to track down. Before they found Haven first.
CHAPTER 7
“You’re going to be mad at me,” Haven said as they sat side by side on the bed in Cora’s room, watching an addictive cooking competition show. Shows about cooking had been among Haven’s favorites for as long as she could remember, and television had been her main source of entertainment growing up. The one nice thing she could ever remember her father doing was buying her a small flat-screen TV for the kitchen so that she could try new recipes along with the chefs on TV—and that was only because her cooking benefited him.
Cora sat the bowl of popcorn down on the bed between them. “I doubt it,” she said. “About what?”
Haven clicked off the TV and shifted to face her friend. Her conversation with Dare that morning had been weighing on her all day, but Haven couldn’t put off telling Cora any longer. Better to find out from Haven than from Dare, in case he cornered Cora, too. “Dare asked me a bunch of questions this morning.”
“I figured that was coming at some point. Did you stick to what we agreed to say?” she asked.
Haven fingered a pulled thread in the bedspread. “Not entirely.” She just hadn’t been able to lie or hold back all the key pieces of information when Dare’s concern for her seemed so genuine.
“Oh, Haven, what did you tell him?” Cora asked.
“Not everything,” Haven rushed to say. “I didn’t tell him about the reward.” From the minute they’d been rescued by the soldiers at the storage facility, she and Cora had agreed not to tell anyone about the reward. They hadn’t known who to trust and didn’t want to give anyone financial motivation to say they’d help them while all along they were planning to use them to cash in. The one thing they didn’t know was how much the reward was for, but Haven had no doubt that her father would want her badly enough to pay—or do—whatever it took to get her.
Cora sighed. “Well, that’s good, but what is it you did tell him?”
“My dad’s name, where we’re from, and that I was going to be forced to marry,” she said.
“Geez, Haven. If they can find your father, they can find out about the reward,” Cora said, her tone more worried than angry.
“I know, and I’m sorry. But I think we can trust Dare, don’t you? He says that everyone here wants to protect us, and we’ve been here for over two weeks and no one’s done anything to make that seem untrue, don’t you think?” God, she really needed Cora to feel the same way.
After a long moment, Cora released a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s right. But we can’t be too careful with you, Haven. You can’t go back there for any reason. Ever.”
“Neither can you,” Haven said.
A shadow passed over Cora’s expression, but it disap peared so quickly that Haven wasn’t sure she’d seen it at all. “No, I don’t want to go back either. But you . . . you’re the one who would be in real danger. I’m not mad at you, I’m just worried for you.” Cora reached across the bed and squeezed her hand. “I could never be mad at you. You’re a good person. Of course you’d want to tell the truth to someone who’s helping you.”
Relief flooded through her. “Right. Thanks.”
“But can we keep the reward to ourselves for a little longer? Just until we get to know the people here more and see what our plan is going to be?” Cora asked.
“Of course,” Haven said, pretty much willing to follow Cora to the ends of the earth. After all, Haven would still be in Georgia and probably married to a horrible, disgusting middle-aged man by now without her.
“Okay, then,” Cora said, settling back against the pillows again. “Don’t worry. Okay?”
Haven took a handful of popcorn. “Before I agree to that, can I ask you something?”
“What?” Cora asked.
“Are you . . . is everything okay?”
“I’m fine. Why?” Cora frowned as she took a bite.
“I don’t know. Sometimes I get the sense that something’s bothering you. I know I’ve asked before, but I want to make sure I’m not being so self-involved over here that I’m not there for you, too.” It wasn’t the first time Haven had asked in the weeks since they’d run away. Though Cora was almost always upbeat and funny, there were moments when Haven’s gut said it was an act. Just like it had been when she’d told jokes about her empty lunch boxes when they were little.
“Something is bothering me, Haven. Making sure you stay safe. I know you’re here for me, too. I promise. So don’t worry. Really.”
“Okay,” Haven finally said.
But that night as she lay in the quiet darkness of her bedroom, worrying was all Haven could do. God, if she wasn’t the oldest twenty-two-year-old on the face of the planet. Sometimes she felt absolutely ancient. Finally, she gave up on sleep, slipped into her clothes, and crept down to the kitchen. The clubhouse was dead quiet, which Haven appreciated, since it meant she could get elbows-deep in baked goods without worrying about disturbing anyone or being found out.