Page 13 of Starting Over
“Wiz, can you help me or not? Like I said, Dream’s tried, but he can’t find shit on Danny or any of the guys he escaped with, and from what I could find online they still don’t even know who the fuck helped them escape,” Jude stated.
“Yeah. Yeah, I can help. Just give me some time and I’ll see what I can find. However, before I hang up with you, I’m going to say this. Call your mate. Please, Jude. Please, call Cas. He and Smoky know they fucked up on how they handled whatever the situation is. I can tell. Please, just call him… you’ll never fix this if you don’t talk.”
“I know, Wiz. Just, please find something. Rain really needs to know he can relax… even if it’s only for a few days,” Jude said.
“I’ll check it out and I’m also going to check out this bounty hunting team you told me the Mayor brought in,” Wiz said.
Jude was seriously confused, asking, “Why?”
“Because I have a feeling they might be paying you a visit soon,” Wiz said.
“Me? Why me? How the hell would they even know about me?” Jude said.
Wiz snorted, “Because if I was searching for Danny, I would be looking where the man plans to eat.”
Jude curled his lip, asking, “What the fuck does that even mean?”
“It means, if I was looking for Danny to show up, I would figure out that Danny is looking for the man that, in his eyes, ruined his cushy life. That man would be Rain. So wherever Rain might be, Danny will show up.”
“But again, they have no clue Rain would even be with me,” Jude insisted.
Wiz snorted, “Please, if their tech guy… and trust me, if the little I see here now is anything to go by, they have one… is worth his weight, he’s done a CCTV check and also used other business cameras to track Rain’s movements. You told me that he climbed in your car at a Shell in Montreal. They have cameras, and often they are shooting right to the pumps and are designed to check licenses in case of drive offs. He would then run your license and know who you are. He’d then continue following you until they knew where you were holding up.”
“Shit. Wait! If he runs my plates and learns my name, would that lead them to you guys?” Jude anxiously asked.
“Maybe, but I doubt they’d give us any trouble. I’m just saying, until we know more about them, keep an eye out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t already watching you guys,” Wiz warned.
Jude looked around and across the river, but saw nothing. Then again, the woods were still thick with colorful leaves so it wouldn’t be a shocker that he didn’t see them. Besides, if they were as good as they claimed to be, they would be able to observe and not be seen. “Okay, I’ll watch out for them. Just get me whatever you can as quick as you can. I really want to give Rain a sense of peace if I can, even if it’s just for a day or two.”
“You got it,” Wiz said, then jumped in, saying, “Call Cas!”
Jude hung up and looked around, then called out, “Thunder Bounty Hunters Plus! If you’re out there, Danny isn’t here. You’re wasting your time. Leave Rain alone. He’s going through enough. As long as I’m here, no one goes near him that hedoesn’t want to see, and trust me, you don’t want to fuck with me!”
With those words Jude walked to the outdoor patio furniture and sat down.
The sliding door opened and Rain looked around, “Is everything alright?”
Nodding, Jude answered, “Yeah. I put a call into a friend of mine, and he warned me that the bounty hunters Dream talked about might be watching the cabin. I was just letting them know what could happen if they try and fuck with you.”
Rain anxiously looked around. “Do you really think they would?”
Shaking his head, Jude said, “I honestly don’t. They’re trying to catch your nightmare. They aren’t the bad guys here.”
“Then why warn them to stay away?” Rain asked.
“Because you don’t need a bunch of strangers getting up in your face for answers you don’t have. It’s going to be alright, Rain. I promise. Nothing and no one is going to get near you,” Jude said.
Rain stepped back, stammering, “O… Okay. I… I’m going to g… go finish di… dinner.”
The moment Rain stepped back in the cabin, Jude looked at his phone and hit a number. It seemed to take forever before he heard the deep baritone saying, “Casper.”
Tears filled his eyes at just that one word, and a huge lump formed in his throat preventing him from speaking.
“Hello?”
Jude opened his mouth and only a tiny squeak escaped. However, it must have been enough for Casper, because the sound of movement, and gasped, “Jude? Jude, baby, is that you?”
Jude still couldn’t speak, but he didn’t have to, because his normally quiet mate seemed to have learned to speak, “Jude, baby, I’m so sorry. Please, come home. Come back to me. Gods, baby, I miss you so much. I love you. Smoky misses you… please, baby. I promise. You come home and we’ll talk.”