heel off the tiles. Busy with removing the awful mystery goo, I didn't see him at first. But when Sean nudged me, pointing at a table in the corner... my heart stopped.
Those eyes, hard and cold as green ice, lit up when they saw me. This was a face I recognized most recently from a grainy television news feed.
Johnny Muse.
I crushed Sean's wrist and dug in my heels. My brother made a small noise, trying to pull away. “Sean.” To my own ears, my voice was a mere shadow. “Why is he here? What's going on?”
“Relax, Lola.” Untangling my grip, Sean motioned with his chin at Johnny. The former guitarist was eyeing us, not moving from his chair or the paper cup he was nursing. “You don't have to worry, he's not dangerous or something. He knows Drezden better than anyone.”
There was no way that was true. Porter. Colt. They both know Drezden, too. Why would I bother with Johnny? The answer weighed heavy in my guts. Because neither of them is going to tell me anything. Just like Drezden.
It was an awful, cold truth... but one that gave me strength. If Johnny had my answers, then fine. Plus, why was I so scared? I darted a look around the shop. This is a public place. Between Sean and the guy behind the counter, what could Johnny even do?
Balling my fists at my hips, I walked around my brother. Johnny didn't stand when I reached him. His only movement was a tiny, crooked smile. “So,” he said, voice rigid and sandy, “You're her. Lola Cooper, in the flesh.”
I stood as tall as I could. “That's right. And you're Johnny Muse.”
“Guilty,” he said.
That word was a little too appropriate. I'd seen the video of him getting arrested in the supermarket. “My brother says you can tell me about Drezden.”
Furrowing his eyebrows, Johnny looked around me at Sean. “Yeah. I called him a week ago. I wanted to get in touch with you, but finding your number was much harder.”
Nervously, I touched my phone in my pocket. The idea of Johnny reaching out to me was too weird. Did Sean sit on this information for a whole week?
My brother was dutifully avoiding looking at anything but the floor. Finally, he grabbed two chairs and set them at the tiny table. “Let's park our asses.” He took the one closest to Johnny, situating himself between us. That subtle protection didn't slip past me.
Under the table, I was acutely aware of how near my knees were to the former Headstone's guitarist. “Can we just get down to business?” I asked.
“Business, she says,” Johnny chuckled. A dirty fingernail scratched the rim of his coffee cup. “Sure thing, we can get right down to it.” I didn't like how he kept smiling. “What would you like to know about our dear friend, Drezden Halifax?”
This was it. This was what I had been waiting for.
So why did I feel so ashamed suddenly?
Glancing at Sean, I tried to gauge what he was thinking. His expression was neutral, lips bloodless as if he were trying not to make a sound.
He wasn't going to interrupt this moment. Whatever Johnny was going to say, Sean wanted me to hear it. Badly.
In my lap, I clenched my hands in a knot. My answer was brisk.
"Tell me everything."
- Chapter Twenty-Five -
Drezden
It had been years since I'd been back to upstate New York.
Home again, home again, I thought with little fondness. Sliding my sunglasses down, I pulled the shiny, pearl colored Corvette out onto the open road. I knew where I was going, even if I'd never been there in person.
The wind fluttered against my scalp, doing its best to clear the fog from my head. I was tempted to take the back roads, to roll down past my old school, my old home. There'll be time for pleasant memories later.
I had to finish what I'd set out to do—as spontaneous as it was. If I didn't, there could never be a future for Lola and me. Inhaling the crisp air, I filled myself with that realization.
For Lola.
The building loomed like a squat dragon, its mouth ready to swallow me up. The parking lot was dotted with police vehicles. One of them had an officer sitting in the front seat, the door cracked, his foot out on the cement while he sipped a paper cup of coffee.
He glanced at me when I parked nearby. I hid my chin in the thick top of my