Gabriel - Jessie Cooke Page 0,59

of everything and everyone around him. I bought you a ticket too, but you’re welcome to not go if you don’t want to. All I ask is that you give me time to get out of Maine before you call him.” Gabe hadn’t called Blackheart and he’d gotten on the plane with Patrice. Blackheart was going to kick his ass for this one for sure, but he couldn’t let her go and confront this possibly dangerous man all alone.

Their flight would take six hours. The drive to Portland and the airport had taken a little over an hour and they’d waited almost two hours for their flight. Those were the most words she spoke to him in that entire amount of time. Gabe stayed silent until they were in the new rental car at the Shreveport airport before saying, “He remembered her.”

Patrice was about to put the key in the ignition but froze when he said that. She looked over at him, just staring at his face for a long time before finally saying, “All of a sudden?”

Gabe sighed. He was going to get his ass kicked anyway, so he might as well go all out. “Lowlife said Bernard was kind of obsessed with your mom. But that she came to one of the club parties and didn’t even act like she knew him. That was the night...Blackheart remembered being with her that night.”

Patrice digested that for several seconds before saying, “What does he mean, obsessed with her?”

Gabe shook his head, slowly. “I’m not sure, exactly. He said that Bernie used to sit across the street from her house on his bike and watch her for hours, follow her around, stuff like that.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah, from what I’ve heard, he was a weird guy.”

“Well, I hope we’re going to get a chance to find out face to face,” she said, putting the car in gear. Gabe let her get as far as the freeway before he pulled out his phone and pulled up the internet. She glanced sideways at him, probably thinking that she was texting Blackheart, but he was in too deep for that now. He looked up what he needed and said:

“I need you to get off at this next exit.”

“For what?” she asked.

“Trust me?” She didn’t look like she really wanted to, but before they got to the exit, she moved over into the right lane. Once they got to the end of the exit he said, “Make a right and go up about four blocks. I’ll tell you where to turn.” She didn’t say anything but did as he asked. They were about four blocks up when he saw what he was looking for and said, “Turn into this strip mall here.” She did that and he saw the moment it dawned on her what he was going for.

“A gun shop? You don’t think they’ll just let you walk out with a gun, do you?”

“Louisiana doesn’t have a waiting period for guns.”

“Seriously?”

Gabe laughed. “You did grow up in Louisiana, right?”

“Yeah, but I never bought a gun...I guess I never knew anyone who did. I thought all states had waiting periods.”

“Louisiana believes in the Constitution,” he told her with a wink. “I’ll be right back.”

“Huh-uh,” she said, “I’m coming with you.”

An hour later they walked out with a shotgun and two handguns, along with enough ammo to start a small war. Gabe didn’t know what they were walking into, but Blackheart had taught him well enough to know not to walk into anything unprepared. Patrice had never shot a gun so the idea of letting her carry one worried him, but lately, telling her no about anything was beginning to worry him even more.

“You think they were lying?” It was about an hour after they left the gun shop. They’d driven to the first address Patrice had, an Emma Hebert, and they’d spoken to an elderly man and woman through their front door. Gabe didn’t blame them for not opening their door to two young strangers, but it insulted Patrice, and made her suspicious.

“I don’t know,” he said, “they seemed sincere.” Patrice had just come right out and asked for Bernard. Gabe doubted that even if the guy were there that he would have come to the door for a couple of strangers. First off, he’d been working undercover for the government at some point, which was a dangerous occupation, and second, Gabe knew that if Blackheart had let him walk away all those years ago, still breathing, that