Devotion (Club Destiny #7)

by Nicole Edwards

  “You mean not keep the membership secret?”

  “Yes, in a sense. It’s not like we’d have to broadcast who belongs to the club, but if we make sure applicants understand we aren’t risking our own necks up front, maybe we’ll get a different type of clientele.”

  The idea had merit. Luke had specifically closed the doors to his club because the members were more interested in protecting their own asses than helping to ensure Luke’s family weren’t thrown to the wolves. As far as he was concerned, Cole and Sierra came first and foremost before anyone else. He’d protect them and his brother with his life if he had to. And they knew it, which was why his family had supported him in his decision.

  “Let me think on it,” Luke said. “I like the idea, and I think it’ll be easier to manage that way, but it will also expose us publicly. What does that mean for you? If we go public, where do you stand in all this?”

  Trent had always been silent, and his association with the club was buried deep. So deep, Luke was almost certain no one would be able to link the two.

  “Well, if you go public, I go public,” Trent replied.

  Luke expected to hear concern in Trent’s tone, not the shit eating grin beaming back at him tenfold. From the looks of it, Trent was actually fond of the idea and Luke couldn’t help but wonder just what he was going to get out of this.

  Chapter Six

  To think that this was what his life had come down to. Only fifteen minutes in and Cole didn’t question whether this was about to take the same turn as the majority of other meetings he’d gone on for Alex in the last few months. Just like the others, it appeared that his boss was setting him up for failure. Thankfully, Cole only had to drive less than twenty miles for this head on collision.

  Cole stared back at the uptight man sitting across from him, pelting questions at him left and right, practically begging Cole to prove to him that CISS was the best security firm in the state. It was the same song and dance, just different office and different asshole. What the hell was Alex thinking?

  Mr. Carson Throckmorton was not the nicest person that Cole had come in contact with lately. In fact, he was getting damn tired of the man’s condescending attitude, and he was about ready to walk out the door. This was well out of his job scope, and as far as he was concerned, Alex could deal with this shit.

  Instead of getting up and leaving, Cole smiled and continued with his spiel, informing Mr. Throckmorton of their proven success rate as a corporate security firm. He’d gotten rather adept at the whole pitch, but he was growing more and more irritated as the days passed. This wasn’t his job, it was Alex’s job. Except, for some reason, Alex continued to delegate these shitty assignments week after week.

  He was supposed to be the guy who came in after the deal had been made so he could get a decent feel for what would best protect the company. Throckmorton was nothing more than an arrogant show off who wanted people to believe he was bigger than what he was, and honestly, Cole was getting tired of the bullshit.

  “And you’re going to guarantee –”

  Carson’s voice brought him back to the present and Cole stared at him, trying to figure out what he was saying. That’s when the words sank in. Guarantee. Right. Figuring he was about three seconds from losing his temper, Cole stood, putting his hands out in front of him, signaling his surrender, and staring down at the creepy guy who’d been shunning everything he tried to tell him for the last half hour.

  “Mr. Throckmorton,” Cole dropped his hands and glanced over at the door, then back, “it’s clear that you’re not interested in what my company has to offer you, so rather than wasting any more of your time, or mine, I think we can safely conclude this meeting.”

  “That’s it?” Mr. Throckmorton asked incredulously. It dumbfounded Cole at how obtuse some people could be.

  “As far as I’m concerned, yes. You and I both know there are no guarantees in this world, and I’m not going to sit here and shed blood to try and prove to you that we are who we say we are. Nor am I going to risk the possibility that we can’t please you. I think it’s in both of our best interest if you go with the other choice of security firms. I’m sure they’ll be able to suit your needs just fine.”

  Cole turned on his heel and moved to the door of Mr. Throckmorton’s office. He didn’t bother stopping when the asshole began to tell him exactly what he thought of his attitude.

  Quite frankly, Cole didn’t have it in him to deal with a lot of shit these days. He was too busy elsewhere to bother with it. It seemed like Alex McDermott was sending him to these asinine meetings at least once or twice a week, and for some reason, he wasn’t handling them well.

  It was almost like CISS had too many hands in the pot, even if they were apparently one man down for whatever reason. Jake, the young man Dylan had hired to handle the residential sales, was getting restless being under Alex’s thumb all the time, considering he’d certainly had more free rein when Dylan was at the helm. Cole couldn’t blame the kid. Dylan didn’t take a turn for the better like they all thought he would shortly after Nate, Dylan’s son, graduated from high school. From where he stood, Dylan was digging himself deeper and deeper into depression, and he seemed to be chasing the demons with alcohol which somehow had left Cole picking up the slack.

  He was pretty sure he’d get an earful from Alex after Mr. Throckmorton gave him a call.

  He really didn’t care.

  As Cole was walking out of the office toward his truck, his cell phone rang, and he almost laughed. Glancing down at the caller id before answering, he noticed that it was Sierra and not Alex as he expected.

  “Hey. Everything ok, baby?”

  “Absolutely perfect,” Sierra replied sweetly, her cheerful tone immediately making Cole feel better. “I wanted to see if you could meet me for lunch.”

  Cole glanced at his watch. He didn’t even realize it was after noon. “I’d be glad to. Want me to pick you up? Or do you want to meet me somewhere?”

  Cole loved these impromptu lunch dates with Sierra. Since her business was still growing and she had decided to work out of the house, they had more time to spend with her these days, although they generally revolved around an hour or two at lunch. Granted, he was hoping one of these days they’d have the opportunity to spend more time together, all three of them. Life seemed to be getting in the way of that dream though.

  “I’ll meet you. Where are you at?” Sierra answered.

  Cole explained where he was and which direction he would be heading. They worked out where to meet and what time before Sierra hung up.

  Rather than wait for Alex to call him and chew his ass out, Cole called his boss from the truck on the drive to the restaurant.

  “I didn’t expect you to call so soon. I figured you’d need some time to cool off. Didn’t sound like it went well?” Alex stated in lieu of a greeting when he answered the phone.

  Apparently Cole wasn’t as quick as Mr. Throckmorton.

  “That would be one way to look at it.”

  Pulling out of the parking lot, Cole aimed his truck for the restaurant he was to meet Sierra at while Alex’s voice reverberated through the Bluetooth speaker in the truck.

  “Can’t say I blame you.”

  Cole’s eyebrows shot skyward. Did Alex expect him to walk out on the asshole? If so, why the hell had he set him up like that? He was trying extremely hard to look at the situation from Alex’s perspective, but the more and more he found himself in situations like this one, he couldn’t help but wonder what was actually going on with Alex. If the man was in his right mind, he wouldn’t be dealing with this type of shit either.

  “Getting burned out already, Cole?” Alex asked.

  The question took him by surprise, and he wondered whether that was actually the case. Was he getting burned out? He hadn’t thought about it like that, but yeah, he might just be. Seemed rather unexpected since Cole hadn’t worked for Alex for long, but considering he’d been self-employed for most of his life,
working for someone else wasn’t doing it for him.

  Especially when he seemed to be taking over the role of salesman instead of what he’d originally been hired to do.

  Rather than answer the question because he wasn’t sure he wanted Alex to know the truth just yet, Cole opted to redirect back to the original subject. “I don’t appreciate being sent to slaughter. There was no way that asshole was going to be satisfied with our services, no matter how I tried to convince him,” Cole explained, feeling a rare burst of anger penetrate his bloodstream. For some reason, he felt set up.

  “Sorry about that,” Alex began, “I don’t disagree. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you ahead of time. Things have been a little crazy lately.”

  Cole detected something in his boss’ tone, and from what he heard, Alex wasn’t telling him the whole story.

  Instead of questioning Alex, Cole opted to put the conversation on the back burner for a little while. It would give him time to cool off, which he desperately needed. He had no desire to be pissed off when he was looking forward to lunch with Sierra. He’d rather be preparing for the conversation he was hoping to have with her. It seemed as though she were trying to give him and Luke more alone time these days, but he didn’t quite understand why. For the last few nights, when he finally made it to bed, Sierra had been fast asleep. He knew she was tired from the pregnancy, but he couldn’t help but wonder if something else was bothering her. At least he would have the opportunity to ask her.

  “I’d appreciate some warning in the future. It’s done and over with. I won’t try and convince the man, and as far as I’m concerned, our services aren’t right for him anyway.” It felt like déjà vu. Cole was pretty sure he’d said the same thing to Alex about the last dozen sales calls he’d gone on.

  “Agree.” Alex paused, and Cole waited patiently for him to continue. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  The abrupt end to the conversation took him by surprise, but Cole disconnected the call and focused on driving. Only five more minutes and he’d be with Sierra. A little alone time with her was just what he needed at the moment.

  ~~*~~

  “Are you all right?”

  Sierra’s blunt question surprised Cole a little as he finished eating, having spent the last half hour trying to conjure up enough courage to ask her basically the same question she just spouted.

  For the most part, neither of them had talked much, aside from discussing what they’d done that day and how their afternoons were lining up. Based on her question, Cole hadn’t been as effective at hiding his pent up frustration nearly as well as he thought he had. Focusing on her was easy, but his conversation with Alex kept pricking at him, leaving him with more answers than questions.

  “Fine, why?” His answer didn’t sound exactly truthful, even to his own ears, but he wasn’t sure what else to say. It wasn’t like he was going to burden Sierra with his problems at work. The goal was to keep her as stress free as possible these days.

  “Well, aside from the fact that you’ve been quiet almost the entire time we’ve been here,” Sierra replied, a small smile on her lips as she sipped her water.

  “Quiet?” Cole laughed. If anything, he felt as though he’d been talking too much.

  Sierra’s smile grew, and Cole’s heart constricted. He loved when she smiled, even if it was one of those small ones that said she was still worried but she wasn’t going to push him to talk. She had learned early on not to push because, between him and Luke, they very rarely shared much emotion.

  “How’s work?” she asked after the waiter returned to the table to clear the plates away.

  “I’d prefer to talk about anything but work,” he said hastily.

  “Ok.”

  “Sorry. Things aren’t going that great right now, and I’m not sure what Alex is up to.”

  “Ashleigh told me she’s worried about Dylan.”

  “I’m thinking that might be it. He’s been sending me out on these ridiculous sales calls, when in reality he should be the one handling them.”

  “Well, it makes sense if Dylan’s not pulling his weight at the office. Have you talked to him about it yet?”

  Sierra was always the sensible one. Talking to her, even briefly, often had Cole rethinking his reactions to certain situations. This was one of them.

  “No. Not yet.” Shit. He really needed to talk to Alex. Hell, he probably should make a pit stop and have a conversation with Dylan while he was at it. “Luke mentioned that Dylan’s drinking again.”

  “Yeah. It seems he’s gone a little overboard this time. Ashleigh mentioned that he broke up with Sarah a couple of weeks ago. Something about needing some space.”

  Cole didn’t know Sarah personally, but he’d met her at Nate’s graduation party. He was also familiar with her because she was Jake’s aunt, and it was because of her that Dylan actually hired the kid to come work for CISS.

  Cole knew that Alex had previously had a conversation with Dylan back when he first came on at CISS. Dylan’s grief over losing his wife eight years prior was still very much alive and churning inside of him. They all thought he was progressing, moving forward, but it appears he was suddenly back tracking.

  “What if Dylan can’t cut it at work? Are you going to be satisfied handling the commercial sales?” Sierra’s question was the same one he’d been asking himself for the better part of the last month, and one he really didn’t have an answer for. He’d always been loyal to his friends. Often sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of others. For some reason, he had difficulty doing that these days.

  “Is there something else you’d rather be doing?” Sierra asked, apparently thinking he didn’t intend to answer her.

  Cole cocked his head slightly, staring into the crystal blue eyes that captivated him to the point of distraction. She was absolutely, beyond doubt, the most beautiful woman in the world. Inside and out. He grinned at her, and when she blushed, he realized she recognized her double entendre as much as he did.

  He lowered his voice and responded to the unintended question so that only she would hear. “You, baby. I’d much prefer to be doing you. Always you.”

  Sierra’s sexy laugh sent a blast of heat straight to his groin, and he fought the urge to fidget. When her hand moved down to her belly, as though the baby was moving and she was trying to cuddle her, he grinned even more. Cole could’ve watched her all day, the way her face softened when the baby kicked made him smile.

  It was a reminder of how fortunate he was these days. To have Sierra and Luke, not to mention a precious gift on the way, Cole had to remind himself not to let the small things get to him. In just a few short weeks, the three of them were going to be parents. The idea of it all still took his breath away.

  Not to mention sent his nerves rioting.

  “What happened to you the other night?”

  The night they had come home from the tour at the club, Sierra chose not to join them, and at the time he figured she was tired, but as he sat here with her now, he wondered if it was something else. It wasn’t like she was dodging his questions, but she did seem as though she had something on her mind.

  “I was tired, and I knew that you and Luke needed some time together.”

  “And you didn’t feel like watching?” Just the thought made his cock swell behind the restrictive confines of his jeans.

  Cole couldn’t deny how fucking hot it was when Sierra watched the two of them. It was the best of both worlds for Cole. It was even better when she joined them, but that had happened less and less over the last few weeks. She claimed it was the pregnancy, but Cole couldn’t help but wonder.

  Sierra smiled again, this time her face brightening. “I love watching the two of you. I sometimes think that the two of you might want to be alone, though.”

  Cole reached over and took Sierra’s hand in his, twining their fingers as he stared back into those brilliant blue eyes. “Honey, you know it has never been like that. It’s always been the three of us.
The way it should be.”

  He was a little surprised they were having this conversation in such a public place, but he realized they hadn’t had much time just to sit and talk recently. With all that was going on with the club, entertaining the Walker brothers, Sierra’s new prospective clients, and Alex sending Cole on sales calls while Dylan was out, at least one, if not all three of them, was usually working late. Luke was even more wrapped up in trying to figure out the future of Club Destiny, which resulted in exceptionally little time at home.

  “I don’t want you and Luke to drift apart,” Sierra stated, and Cole’s stomach churned. Did she know something he didn’t? Was Luke unhappy? He hadn’t noticed anything different about their relationship.

  “Why would you say that?” When Sierra looked away, Cole released her hand and tilted her chin until she looked him in the eye, moving his chair closer to hers.

  He knew he wasn’t able to hide his own insecurities exceedingly well, but he hadn’t expected Sierra to be worried about anything. The one constant in their relationship was her. Both he and Luke made it a point to ensure she was always taken care of. And yes, there were times Cole wanted more. More from Luke, more from Sierra, but he wasn’t about to disclose as much.

  “The two of you are always doting on me. I don’t think an hour goes by without one or both of you calling to check up on me. And yes, maybe it’s because of the pregnancy, but I sometimes feel as though the two of you don’t get enough time alone.”

  Alone? Cole wasn’t under the impression they were looking for alone time together. They weren’t separate couples. They were in this together, the three of them as a whole. Sure, Cole wouldn’t mind stealing a few minutes with either of them separately, but it was the times they were all three together that he felt most complete.

  “Luke and I are close, baby. I’m not looking for anything more than what we already have.” But now that Sierra had planted the seed of doubt in his mind, Cole wasn’t sure that Luke might not be looking for something different.