Page 76 of Craving Chaos

“At some point, I was going to start making you guys look bad. I figure better to retire before it comes to that.”

He yanks the pillow off the sofa next to him and flings it right at my head. I deflect it, of course, giving into a fit of laughter.

“Make us look bad,” he grumbles playfully. “Fat fucking chance.”

I flash him a feisty grin as I retrieve the pillow and put it back in its proper place. “Everything ready for the wedding next week?”

“I assume so. I’ve been putting together a surprise honeymoon.”

“Exciting! Where to?”

“It’s a surprise, loose lips. I’m not telling you.”

“I do not have loose lips,” I shoot back with exaggerated audacity.

“Regardless, I’m not telling you,” he says smugly. “But that reminds me. Did you know Renzo’s in Canada searching airstrips?”

I shoot to my feet, all levity instantly incinerated. “Are you serious? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” My reaction is so visceral that I surprise myself with the intensity of my emotions. What if he finds them? What if they outnumber Renzo’s crew and hurt him? A thousand questions amp up my fear and anxiety, rushing at me like a swarm of angry wasps.

“I didn’t talk to him myself,” Oran says in his defense. “Gino, his uncle, got in touch with Conner. Said Renzo had found the hangar. It was rented under the name Kola, but that didn’t mean anything to either of us aside from confirming our suspicions that they were Albanian.”

My heart loses its footing during a dead sprint and ends up slamming against my ribs.

Kola. It can’t be a coincidence.

“What is it?” he demands, his spine stiffening.

God, please tell me I’m wrong. Please don’t let this whole thing be my fault.

“The name might mean something to me, but I need to look into it. I’ll get back with you.” I don’t want to say anything more unless I have definitive proof.

“You do anything that needs backup, you call me.”

“If it gets to that, I will. I’m hoping to get an explanation about something before I cause an unnecessary stir.” I minimize my concerns to Oran, but the more I think about it, the more certain I am that I’ve been blind. Coincidences like that don’t happen out of nowhere. Not in my world.

I leave his place and rush home to my computer. I pull up the provider I use for background checks and enter the name Mari Cola along with her birthdate and anything else I know about her, which actually isn’t all that much.

Zero matches.

Fuck.

I spend the rest of the evening doing as much internet research as possible and decide to go by her place the next morning when I know she’ll be at work. I don’t have a key, but that sort of thing has never stopped me before. I let myself inside and take in the surroundings with new eyes.

She keeps everything surprisingly neat for a creative personality. Not evidence of anything, but something of interest. I carefully look through her drawers and closet. The place is small, so it doesn’t take long. I don’t find anything noteworthy. Not a single suspicious tidbit anywhere.

Could I be wrong? Kola and Cola are so similar that I can’t discount the possibility she’s connected. I’m going to have to talk to her in person.

I get out my phone.

Me: Hey, any chance we can get together and talk?

Mari: I had to pop out of town. We can get together when I get back next week.

Ugh, next week. I hate to wait that long, but I don’t want to alarm her. If she is behind the gun theft, the last thing I want to do is tip her off that we’re onto her. And if she’s not a part of this, I don’t want to fuck with her emotions and let her think I’m taking her back when I’m not.

Me: K, the 4th work? We could meet for coffee.

Mari: that works

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