going to be living in the same building.
“Rogan has been trying to acquire me for years. Every so often he finds out where I’m hiding and sends a bunch of his goons to try and capture me. I then end up having to move and start again.” Cora hoped that the vague answer would satisfy her best friend or that she would at least pick up on her less than hospitable mood.
Misty wasn’t that easily deterred though. “Have you ever been caught?” she asked and despite the worry in her voice there was a slight hint of curious excitement flashing in her eyes.
For a moment Cora thought about lying to her but after a slight hesitation, her conscience kicked in. If she could tell when Misty was lying and force the truth from her, she owed her the same courtesy.
“Yes.”
Well it wasn’t much of an answer, but it wasn’t a lie either and Cora didn’t feel the need to expand on it. Misty, however, had other ideas and the panic was evident on her face. Cora sighed, knowing what her next question was going to be.
“Wait, so you’re signed to Rogan?” Misty started to back away from Cora in fear. Her eyes and mouth had both opened wide as she kept moving further away. Cora sighed and when she moved to take a step towards Misty it only added to the pace of her retreat.
“Don’t be so stupid, of course I’m not signed to him. I got out of it every time. He’s just persistent in trying to acquire me.”
Misty relaxed a little, exhaling heavily as if the world had just been lifted off her shoulders. “But how? You know better than me that no one escapes Rogan if he wants them badly enough. And you’ve escaped more than once?” The disbelief in her voice rang loud and clear causing Cora to sigh once again. Having finished making her coffee, she moved back over to the sofa where she tried unsuccessfully to come up with a better way of explaining than the truth.
“He’s caught me three times. The first time I blackmailed him into letting me go. The second time I paid my way out and the third time I fought my way out, which believe me was like going through the nine circles of hell and back. You wouldn’t believe how many armed men he has in his place. The men give up when they can’t find me; they’re lazy and only do the minimum they can get away with.”
Cora knew what was coming next but she had no intention of revealing what she could have possibly held over Rogan’s head to secure freedom. She could see Misty’s mouth beginning to open in question and before she could utter a word Cora cut her off.
“Don’t bother. I’m not going to answer any more questions on it. All you need to know is that Rogan is after me and if he catches me this time I have nothing left to give. Besides myself, there is nothing I can offer him. Tomorrow I’ll find out what they sold me out for, make them pay, and then we’re moving. Make sure you’re ready to leave soon.” Standing up, Cora walked into her room, slamming the door a little harder than necessary to signal the conversation was over and release her anger.
Chapter 3
He was angry. Actually, he was beyond being angry at his men who had failed.
“You are a bunch of incompetent assholes who couldn’t catch anything unless it offered itself to you on a silver platter!” he roared at the men in front of him. He had his suspicions about the information he had been given and Rogan didn’t believe in coincidences, but he wasn’t allowing the thought that the False Finder in question was Cora just yet.
“We’re sorry sir...We didn’t even get a sighting of her...She had already left by the time we got there,” the man who had worn the sunglasses to the university stuttered, suddenly not so confident in front of his boss.
Remaining seated behind his desk, his unwavering stare never moved from the man. It caused him to start shuffling on the spot while his eyes searched frantically for somewhere to land, so as not to have to