exhaustion, but emotional as well. He knew by the ache in his heart that didn’t belong to him.
“Thank…you?” Simon furrowed his brow in mock confusion. “I don’t understand. What?”
Aaron actually chuckled. Chuckled. At one of Simon’s jokes.
He glared at the shorter man. No. He was not going to consider anything about the overly pomaded, greasy, revolting little creature redeemable. Not even appreciating Simon’s sense of humor. “I despise you. Immensely. Do you understand that?”
Barker drew back in wide-eyed concern and confusion. “What’d I do?”
Cora shook her head and, taking Simon’s hand, started to pull him toward the boxcars. “C’mon, crazy. I need a shower and a nap. I’ll see you later, Aaron.”
“Y—yeah. Later.” It was clear Barker still wasn’t quite sure what he had done to offend Simon. Simon wasn’t sure what Aaron was so very perplexed about. He needn’t do anything special.
It was when they were twenty feet away that Cora looked up at him. “I’m sure you’re pissed about the fact that I’m letting people vote.”
“A little. Why bother, Cora? Let’s take Ringmaster on in a fight. Right now. Find him wherever he has holed up and rip him to pieces.” He grinned darkly. “This time…you have to let me have some fun, too, hm? As sexually gratifying as it was to watch you drain Duncan dry, I have a vendetta with the fat man, as well.”
“You’ll get your chance. I promise.” Cora’s jaw ticked. “We’re going to win, Simon. The others will listen to reason, and they’ll join my side. I’m sure of it.”
“And what if they betray you like Jack and Amanda?” Simon sighed. “You really cannot trust anyone, Cora. Not until this war is over.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah. I know. I just…I’m trying.”
“Trying may not be enough.” He reached out and stroked his hand over her hair. It was matted with blood. “But I will hold on to that hope with you for now.”
She looked so…broken down. It made him want to shove her or tease her. He wasn’t quite sure why he always felt the need to torment the people whose company he enjoyed. He wanted her to laugh. Smile. Swat at him and tell him to stop being so very much himself. But he also felt as though someone had run him over the washboard and had little energy to do anything more than put one foot in front of the other.
They went to her boxcar. He supposed they should check on her fish. He couldn’t have all the little Simons dying of neglect. Oh. Well. It had been three weeks, hadn’t it? They were likely dead.
She pushed her door open and walked inside. A moment later, she chuckled.
“What?” He shut the door behind him and locked it, and then threw the deadbolt. Turning, he saw her by her little gurgling fish tank. She must have had the same thought. It wasn’t brown or murky, and to his pleasant surprise he saw all the little basically-brainless animals zipping around unharmed.
Cora plucked a note from the glass that had been put there with a small bit of tape and handed it to him.
Taking it, he crooked an eyebrow as he read it. The handwriting was barely legible. It was mostly chicken-scratch. But he managed to squint hard enough to make it out after a moment. “I fed them.” Followed by a simple letter R for a signature. Rudy. He shook his head. “I’m surprised he didn’t eat them for a quick snack.”
She smiled faintly and walked away, peeling off her ruined coat and tossing it in a ball in the corner. It was then that he could see the extent of the damage that must have been caused by the sculpture she had been thrown on top of. Gashes in her shirt and dark bloodstains were the memories of wounds that had healed.
But he knew the memory of the pain would linger long after the physical evidence was gone. “Cora…are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” She went toward the bathroom. “I need a shower.”
“I—” He didn’t get a chance to say anything else. She stepped inside the bathroom, shut the door, and…locked it. He blinked then scowled at the closed door. Why on Earth had she locked the door?
He went up to it and rapped his knuckles on the surface. “Cora?”
She didn’t respond. He heard the water turn on with a quiet rush.
“Cora?”
Still no answer. He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and contemplated leaving. If she had no