Part 70 (1/2)
”What?”
”He got that from Rinna. She was watching a cop show on TV the other night. And a guy was holding people hostage. That was the demand the guy made, and Rinna fed the line to Falcone. And she probably told him how to work the phone.”
”So she's got some kind of plan.”
”Yeah, but what?”
”Stalling. It's got to involve stalling.”
”Why?”
”Because we know that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Falcone isn't going to the Middle East. That's her idea.”
Logan looked toward the back of the house. It was dark, and there was a fair amount of cover. Maybe enough for a wolf to get close without getting shot by the guys inside or the cops.
He turned back to Ross. ”I have an idea, but it's risky.”
”Let's hear it,” his cousin said without hesitation.
”WE should sit down where we can talk.” Rinna led the way into another room. As she pa.s.sed one of the tables, she picked up a gun and shoved it into her waistband, under her s.h.i.+rt. She knew one of the soldiers had seen her.
Hoping he wouldn't tell Falcone, she sat down on the couch.
Falcone looked at one of his men. ”Go back to the television thing. Tell me if they say anything that we don't know.”
”Yes sir.” The man hurried back to the kitchen, and Falcon leaned casually against the wall. He was acting like he was perfectly comfortable here. Fine with her. The more he pretended, the more he was likely to mess up.
”Sit,” she said to Avery and Brusco.
They sat.
”Have you ever opened a portal?” she asked.
”I was part of a group that did it,” Avery answered. ”And we closed the other one.”
”I saw you.”
Avery nodded.
Rinna asked, ”But you couldn't open another one before Falcone came to this world, that was why you used the one in the Easy Shopper?”
”Yes,” Brusco snapped.
”Have you opened a portal?” Avery asked her.
”Yes,” she lied. Of course she had never done it. But she'd been secretly studying the process since she'd first discovered that Boralas had broken through to this world. Haig had scoffed at her attempts. But he had been wrong to discourage her.
Haig. Her heart squeezed when she thought of him. He had been like a father to her. And she had lost him to Falcone's cruelty. She knew he was dead because she felt his total absence from the world. Now she must punish his killer.
She dragged in a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking at Avery and Brusco. ”I have to meditate. I have to look for the... plates between the world. They can slip and slide. And I have to find a way to push one aside.”