The Curse Of Spring (Book Two of The Seasons Trilogy)

Chapter 20

Cole

After finding Jay passed out on the couch, empty bottles of various alcohols strewn through the house, Harley had immediately headed back through the door and had climbed on her motorbike. The volatile emotions she was experiencing were evident as her bike roared to life, the sound of her revving shaking the house slightly.

“Dammit, Jay. You've got yourself f****d up properly now,” I muttered more to myself than the unconscious man on the couch as I bent down to collect the bottles.

Dropping them into a packet with as much noise as I could, an evil smirk on my face as he groaned. I repeated the process until the room looked somewhat less than the dodgy bar it had resembled, although I couldn't do much about the smell - a delightful mix of strong spirits, sweat and vomit.

“What the hell are you doing, Harley?” Jay groaned, gripping his head as his eyes remained shut.

I dropped the beer bottle I was holding loudly into the packet, relishing the groan which came from the man I was purposefully torturing.

“For f***s sakes,” he burst out, standing up and whirling towards me only to lose his balance and stumble back into the couch, landing with a thud.

“Thought you'd have a party for one, huh Jay?” I drawled, setting the packet on the kitchen counter.

“Nevermind what happened with me, where is Harley?” Jay grumbled.

I shrugged and let him stew for a bit until I saw he was on the verge of throttling me, his red rimmed eyes burning into me.

“She's gone to fetch your sponsor,” I announced, heading to the sink to wash the few dishes that were there - the last thing Harley would feel like when she got back would be cleaning.

Jay groaned and rested his head in his hands. “Crap. I screwed up, didn't I?” His voice was almost childish, and I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

“Yeah, you did.”

“How angry is she?”

My eyes met his and he swallowed hard. I knew my eyes had turned cold. “Very.”

Jay sighed loudly as I handed him a glass of water and two Panados for the headache I was pretty sure was kicking his arse. He accepted him gratefully and lay back against the couch, closing his eyes. I didn't give him much time to rest though, yanking him to his feet and giving him a shove in the direction of the bathroom.

Despite his protests, I had the older man stripped of his clothes and in the ice cold shower in a matter of minutes, ignoring his shouts as the cold water beat against his skin.

“You're not just a bloody photographer, are you?” Jay bit out, shivering.

I met his scrutinising gaze with a shrug. “You think?” my voice sounded as sarcastic as I felt.

“Yes, I do. I've had doubts from the moment I met you, but I'm pretty damned sure of it now,” his teeth chattered together as I put toothpaste on his toothbrush and handed it to him, ignoring his comment.

He tried to increase the temperature of the water but I smacked his hand away from the taps, nodding to the toothbrush. With a grumble, he brushed his teeth and rinses his mouth out.

“What do you do?” Jay finally asked outright, switching the water off.

I passed him a towel as he stepped out of the shower and turned to leave the bathroom.

“Are you going to answer me?” Jay barked angrily, his frustration evident.

I let a cold smile spread across my face as I turned back to him, still weighing up whether I should tell him the truth or not.

“I make people disappear,” I eventually responded before I left the bathroom and a rather pale Jay inside it.

The house was relatively clean and I didn't feel like hanging around with the grumpy Jay to wait for his sponsor. There's only so much self pity I can handle.

Grabbing a bottle of water and slipping into my trainers and a pair of gym shorts, I went for a run up the hill and through the trees to the lake - my go-to spot at that moment.

I pulled out the burner phone I'd picked up on the way back from the orphanage and dialed a number.

“Happy Hound dog parlour, how can I be of service?” The familiar voice exuded sunshine.

“Good day. I have a xoloitzcuintli, have you had any experience with this breed? I'd like the traditional breed specific haircut and I'm struggling to find a parlour for him,” I said, trying to change my voice as much as possible.

There was silence on the other side of the line, well almost silence. I could still hear the sound of a hairdryer in the background.

“Cole?” Alana practically whispered, uncertainty clear in her voice.

I couldn't contain my laughter, just imagining the confused look on her slightly freckled face.

“Cole, you dog! You had me going there for more than a few seconds,” she chastised as the sound of the hairdryer in the background faded behind a closed door. “Is that breed even real?”

“I had to search the web for it, but yeah it's real. Hideous looking little thing,” I grinned.

It had been more than a year since I'd first ran into Alana and Rhett. As far as the world - and the fake ID documents I'd supplied them with - was concerned, they were Lana and Rhett Cawood, highschool sweethearts turned married couple.

“Hold on, Rhett has just arrived. We were meant to go out for lunch today,” she said quickly. “Video call?”

I didn't have a chance to respond before the call was cut and seconds later the video call request popped up on my phone.

“Just as ugly as I remember,” Rhett teased as his face flooded my screen.

There was a sound that I could only presume was Alana hitting him before the phone was repositioned so that I could see both of them. They hadn't really changed much physically, Alana still had her bright auburn hair, green eyes and freckles on her nose. Rhett still looked similar to me - the main reason I had been drawn to the pair of them in the first place - his pitch black hair and blue eyes almost the same shade as mine.

“You look like you two are doing okay,” I commented, sitting down and leaning back against a nearby tree.

“Yeah, we're good, man. And you? You're looking a bit rough there,” Rhett responded as his brow creased with worry.

“Are you alright?” Alana echoed his concern.

I sighed deeply and looked out over the lake for a second before I response. “I'm fine. It's just been a rough few weeks.”

“Sorry man, but you won't be searching alone any longer. Alana and I are going on a so-called break, touring the country to look for April and August.”

“Well you can cross April off of that list,” I commented nonchalantly.

“Oh no, what happened? The military don't have her, do they? Don't tell me she's dead.” Alana's already ghostly pale skin turned even paler as Rhett rubbed her back to calm her down.

“I found her. Her name is now Harley and I'll fill you in when I see you - too much to tell over the phone,” I said meaningfully.

“Ah, that's great man,” Rhett was genuinely excited.

“We will need to meet up, I'll message you,” I responded with a wave. “Stay safe.”

With that, I cut the call, always aware of how much we said over phone conversations. There were just too many resources at the General's disposal.

After a few more minutes in he peace and silence, I jogged back to the house only to be greeted with a trembling Jay.

“They've taken her. They've taken Harley!”