Page 104 of Forged in Rain

I scratch my itchy skin, but the crawling sensation doesn’t wane. I can’t say it’s surprising based on what I know about the fucker but still. It also semi explains his desperation to find John.

“So, Jagger would be angry if he knew? Would John just leave?”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “But why? He had it all. Why leave his little empire?”

“Maybe someone else got to him?”

“Maybe. I don’t know, but everything is coming down now, and I have a bad feeling.”

“So then, what are we going to do? Fuck!” I turn away and rub my hand down my face. I’m so tired of the subterfuge. I can’t sleep for shit. I can’t eat. I’m perpetually walking on eggshells, and I have dangerous men following me.

Is there no fucking end?

“I think we need to go to the source,” Iris says, bringing me around.

“The source? What the fuck does that mean?”

She raises her dark eyes to mine, and I frown because this could be a huge mistake with her, but I’m out of options. I need this fucking horror show to be over, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes. At this point, I’m not sure I’m not above taking out Pam as I suggested before.

“The cabin up north. Where we used to go when I was a kid. We’d fish and shit. But we haven’t been in years.”

“You want to go to wherever this is by ourselves and see John? Have you lost your fucking mind, Iris?”

“Relax, it’s not like we’re going to talk to him. We just need to see. What other choice do we have? If he comes rolling back in, we’re fucked.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know about our plan. Maybe he left before anything could happen. In which case, he won’t be angry with us.” I’m trying to be reasonable. I mean, I have no desire to see the douche canoe again, but if he truly left of his own free will, then Pam is the greater concern.

“Rain,” Iris says, giving me a pitying glance. I’m starting to hate that look. “Something is going on, and if we don’t know what it is, we can’t stop it. Even if John did leave freely, whatever he’s up to will come back on us. He has pictures. He has evidence. He’s not a nice guy. This is not going to end well. Besides, if we find John first, maybe Mom will back off her crazy scheme.”

“So, we’re going to—what? Check out the cabin and spy on him?” I grumble, turning away.

“Yes. If he’s there, we’ll leave and worry about what to do another time. But if he’s not, maybe there’s evidence there. I don’t know, but we have to figure out what’s going on. With the whole McCafferty shit, this just went next level.”

“Okay, okay. Where’s this cabin?”

I’d like to refuse. I would. But I’m at the end of my rope, and if Iris thinks this will yield answers, I’m willing to entertain it.

“It’s four hours north of here in the forest. We can leave now. We’ll be there when it’s still dark and scope out the place.”

“Now? It’ll be the middle of the night before we get there!”

“Yeah, well, we can’t roll up during the day. It would be too obvious. It’s in the middle of nowhere.”

I roll my eyes at her sour expression but nod, praying I’m not making a huge mistake. Please let this be the answer to something, because I’m about to lose my fucking mind.

“Where are you going?” I grumble.

“We can’t take my car,” she tosses over her shoulder.

“Then what? We walk?” She ignores my sarcasm, and after retrieving my phone, I follow, ruminating about all the reasons why this is a bad idea.

The middle of nowhere? Shit, I’ll be lucky if Iris doesn’t leave me for dead or try to do the deed herself.

I’m just about to decline, having talked myself out of the insanity when a car pulls up beside us and Iris stops. With dread, I turn to the vehicle, confused to see Rand behind the wheel. He smirks, putting the car in park, and Iris opens the passenger door.

I look between the two in confusion as Rand exits the driver’s side and rounds the car. Ignoring me, he says to Iris, “You owe me.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” she says, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

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