“Have you had any luck in contacting him?” Jude asked.
“None. I’ve reached out to Bertha and Ronan’s mom, but they haven’t been able to find him either. Wouldn’t you think he’d be here, with his son?” Cope asked, knowing full well his father, Buford, wouldn’t be anywhere near him.
“I would be,” Ronan said, “but Rooster doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who gave a lot of thought to his son or his family. He did what he wanted to do.”
“I’ve been reading Rooster’s Wikipedia page while you all have been talking and the family really hit the skids after he died.” Fitz wore a sad look.
“What do you mean?” Ten asked.
“For starters, the maximum fine for going over the falls is twenty-five thousand dollars,” Fitz began, “that was put in place back in 1951 when Red Hill died in his attempt to survive the falls. Rooster’s wife was assigned his fine.”
“Holy shit!” Ronan whistled.
“Not only did she owe that money, but the search and rescue crews who’d gone out to find and recover Rooster’s body also charged her their fees,” Fitz continued.
“Wait! I thought Rooster and his wife were divorced before he died.” Jude asked.
“Not in the eyes of the law. They’d been separated for years but neither one could quite pull the trigger on ended the marriage for good. I assume she was waiting for Rooster to come to his senses and he was waiting for his wife to do the same.” Fitzgibbon sighed. “Last but not least, since the death occurred during an event the insurance company deemedhigh risk, they refused to pay out death benefits.”
“Wow, talk about getting screwed over.” Cope didn’t like the sound of that at all, but it might be something they could use with Cannonball. He might not have known the ins and outs of what happened after Rooster’s death.
“Yeah, his wife had to sell everything they owned, including their house and cars. It wasn’t enough to pay everything back. They lived with her parents for a while, until she married someone else. It didn’t sound like a love match, more something to improve her living situation.”
“So it’s history repeating itself all over again,” Ronan said. “That’s what you said would happen to Heidi and CJ.”
Cope nodded. “It is what I see, but there’s more.”
“More bad, or more good?” Jude asked, looking as if he already knew the answer.
“Bad. Heidi will make two attempts on her life.” Cope looked as if he didn’t want to say what happened next.
“Is the second one successful?” Jude asked. No one in the room breathed.
Cope nodded. He swiped at the tears rolling down his face.
“Cannonball nearly lost his mind when Everly said CJ was going to overdose on depression meds. I can’t imagine what his response would be if you told him Heidi’s fate.” Jude wore a worried look.
Cope could. The man would go nuts and probably tear his hotel room apart. “I mean, maybe that’s what Cannonball needs. A real wake up call. Man to man.”
“Who better to do that than the three of us.” Ronan pointed between himself, Jude and Fitz.
“Hell, we’ve been shot nine times between us.” Jude snickered. “I was clinically dead for almost a minute when the killer angel shot me up with his syringe last year.”
“I died on the operating table when I got shot at Jace’s shelter. I never told anyone, not even Jace, but I met Aurora’s spirit that day.” Fitzgibbon wiped away tears.
“You did?” Ten asked, sounding awed. “What did she say?”
“She told me I needed to fight. That she was going to need a strong Daddy.” Fitz shook his head. “She was so beautiful, but all I could see was the pain in her eyes. I knew I was the only one who could save her, so I did what she asked and fought like hell.”
“That’s an incredible story, Fitz,” Cope said. “I’m not sure that part of it will help sway Cannonball, but the part about you all getting shot will. Ronan can show off his bullet scars.”
“You know me, I love showing off my scars, but at least this time it will be for a good cause.” Ronan offered Ten a grin.
“All we have to do now is find him,” Jude said.
“That’s easy,” Ten said.
“Yeah, super easy when you use your brain powers,” Ronan huffed.
