Page 68 of Cognac Secrets

“True,” I said patiently, and when she didn’t respond right away, I had to try again. “True.” She dragged her too-wide eyes away from the cop and fixed them on me. I smiled a little wanly and said, “Girl, you’re hurting me.” Her mouth popped open in a little ‘o’ of surprised and she let go of me, her hands leaping back from mine like I was suddenly made of hot cast iron and burned her to the touch.

I put my hands on her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “You stayright herewith the nice medic, and I will beright back.”

“Okay,” she said and it was a scared whimper.

“Hey, medic?” I called softly and he came around from the side of the ambulance clipboard and pen in his hands. “Sit with her a minute for me?” I asked.

“Sure thing,” he said kindly and I gave him a grateful smile and a nod of thanks.

The officer put his hand to the back of my blanketed shoulder and propelled me across the glass littered parking lot, the shimmer of the tiny broken shards from True’s car’s windows crunching beneath our feet and grating against the cement in a way that set my nerves on edge.

Just another stark reminder of what’d happened here, both auditory and visually.

I hated it.

“Honey,” the cop said kindly to me. “I don’t know what all happened with you and your folks back home, but they ain’t stopped looking for you. This report is fresh and ain’t but a few weeks old.”

“It’s the only form of harassment they have left. They don’t know where I am for a reason, and I would really like to keep it that way,” I told him.

“Yes, but?—”

“No buts,” I told him firmly. “I left when I was seventeen and didn’t look back for a reason. I have absolutely no interest in making contact with them and I know you can’t make me.”

“Well, no, you’re right, but I can try to appeal to your better nature sugar. Now I’m gonna need you to look around you, honey.”

I looked around at the flashing lights, at the cops standing around in counterpoint to the bikers in their dirty leather cuts and sweat and blood-soaked tees. My eyes locked with Bennie’s from across the parking lot and I instantly felt… calmer. Safer, somehow.

I looked back at the cop and said, “What am I supposed to be looking for?”

He scoffed and huffed an incredulous laugh and said, “Honey, these men arebadmen. Criminals… now, they’re so bad, one of them found hisself shot to death tonight and I don’t know if you noticed, but that could have just as easily been you, or your friend there.” He didn’t like the look on his face because his turned grave and he straightened some.

I asked him, “Are you done?”

He sighed, “All I’m sayin’ is you clearly got kin folk back home that love you. You should maybe consider makin’ amends…” he looked back at the coroner’s van pointedly then back to me. “A’fore something bad really does happen to you. Now you got lucky tonight, darlin’, that luck ain’t liable to hold out.”

I stared at him passively and asked him, “Now are you done?”

His hand that I think he thought was meant to be comforting dropped from the back of my shoulder and he sighed.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Thank you,” I said and I turned on my heel and marched resolutely toward Bennie, the hair standing on the back of my neck and warning bells clanging in my mind complete with flashes of neon light.

“What was that about?” he asked me and I stared him in the eyes and just something in my gut told me, I needed to tell him.

“We need to talk,” I said.

“Right now?” he asked.

“Now, maybe not so much. Before the night is through?” I looked back at the cop who was striding back to his car. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“What is it?” he demanded. “I can tell if you’re pissed or you’re scared and it’s kind of freaking me out.”

I swallowed hard and told him, “A little of column A and a little of column B and with good reason,” I told him. I looked back at him and said, “I’m a lot freaked out.”

“Okay,” he said, carefully and I loved him for taking me seriously. “Stay close to me,” he ordered. “Within eyesight. As soon as this place clears out, we’ll get you and True home wherever you want to go, her place or yours, it makes no difference.”

“Thank you,” I told him.

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