The last paragraph made her mouth go dry.
Tomi Tomlin seems to be impetuous, short-sighted but rational. Her inability to hold down a long-term job is noted as well as the traumatic death of her father at a young age, which seemed to trigger her hectic lifestyle. She won’t trust easily, and will run at the first hint of trouble. Ms. Tomlin will only be comfortable opening up to someone she knows and trusts.
The papers drifted from Tomi’s fingers and landed with a soft rasp on the pile in the passenger seat. Her personal profile workup was so accurate it made her teeth hurt. Cole had been in on this from the beginning. Every single word, every single act had been a deliberate lie.
Tomi’s stomach rolled, but this time she swallowed it down, her eyes watering with the effort. She couldn’t think about that…she just wanted to understand the why of it. This wasn’t just some attempt to get back at her. Something big was clearly going down. However hurt she felt, she knew Cole and the others were working to end the horror she’d so nearly become a part of.
With newfound determination, she grabbed the stack of papers, shoving her profile to the bottom, and quickly fingered through the rest. There were complete dossiers on Luis, the Frenchman who’d tried so hard to touch her at the auction, and four of the kidnapped women. Parked there on the side of the road in the dark, Tomi read their profiles. They were young and single and had no family. They were all missing. And the reason behind each one was Luis.
She pressed a hand to her lips and kept on going, her stomach rolling. The file was startlingly empty for such a devastating case, but then, what if each girl missing had no family? No one to care that they were gone?
No one but her and the men at Cole’s house.
Tomi carefully returned the papers to their original order, knowing someone had worked hard to build this case. After replacing the folder exactly where she’d found it, she turned and stared straight through the windshield into the darkness, her mind rolling.
No matter what part Cole played in this investigation, Tomi couldn’t let all those women disappear for good. She needed to help them.
27
“I don’t believe it,” Clint breathed out.
Cole shoved the duffel bag into the back of their SUV and straightened, following his brother’s line of sight. A pair of bright headlights appeared on the horizon. Headlights that lit a spark inside Cole.
“No way it’s her.” Carter threw in his own duffel and turned to stare with the other two Fury brothers.
“It’s her,” Cole said. He couldn’t see her, but he could feel her.
Could she have come back for him?
A minute later, there wasn’t any doubt that it was Tomi. Stahl’s black four-door sedan, standard government-issue, pulled to a stop a few feet behind them. She left the engine running for a minute, and he knew she was fighting herself. It took all his strength not to run to that driver side door, yank it open and pull her into his arms. She’d have to come to him. It had to be her decision. But damn him if he could breathe until she popped open that door and stepped out onto the gravel driveway.
Her gaze flitted everywhere, it seemed, but her eyes wouldn’t meet his. Was it her submissive nature or was she avoiding him? His brain was too frazzled to tell.
“What is she thinking?” Cole asked Carter, who stood right beside him.
Carter shrugged, lifting his hands in a hopeless gesture. “Damned if I can tell, brother.”
Clint approached the side of the car, coming to stand on Cole’s left side. All three of them formed a tense line behind the SUV.
With her gaze directed at the ground, Tomi approached them, stopping too far away for Cole to reach out and touch her. He watched her struggle for control for a moment before she looked up at Clint. “I want to talk to Stahl.”
Cole almost took a step in front of her and demanded she look at him. He needed her to acknowledge his presence, ease this terrible dread eating away at him. But some part of him knew it would be a huge mistake. Instead, he locked down his muscles like steel bands and didn’t move, but he couldn’t help but watch her like a hungry wolf.
“He’s inside,” Clint said.
Tomi nodded and made to walk right past him. Cole couldn’t stop himself from reacting. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Tomi?”
The look she gave him could have melted glass. He withdrew his hand on instinct.
She turned and strode into the house, slamming the front door behind her.
Clint let out a long whistle. “That, my brother, is one pissed-off woman.”
Carter slapped him on the shoulder, like he was going to congratulate him. “You royally fucked this one up.”
Cole glared at both of them before turning to stare at the curtained windows in the house, searching for any shadow of Tomi passing in front of them. “I need to fix this.”
“Why did she come back?” Clint asked, his tone incredulous.
Cole shook his head. He’d hoped for a second that she’d come back for him, but one glimpse at the betrayed fury in her eyes had proven otherwise. Which meant there was only one other reason for her return. She’d read the files in Stahl’s folder.
If she’d read that folder, she knew everything about him, down to the minute details of the role he’d played in the investigation. His refusal to tell her the truth was a betrayal, especially after what they’d shared. He’d stripped her down, demanding honesty about the most painful parts of her life…and then he’d gone and lied to her in return. There was only one natural human reaction to that kind of betrayal. Hate.
Cole rolled his shoulders, tilting his head to the right and then the left to work out the tension buried deep in his muscles. Hate he could deal with. If she cared enough about him to feel that level of emotion, he would find a way to make her love him again.
“You need my help. What can I do?” Tomi tried to keep a calm, distant voice when addressing the FBI agent. They were sitting across from each other in the living room—him on the couch, her in a chair.
He studied her in a way that made her feel like one of the insects they’d dissected in high school biology lab. She fought the urge to shift uncomfortably in her seat and instead stared directly back at him, biting her tongue to keep her face expressionless.
“What is your relationship with Luis?”
“I was his nanny,” she said bitterly, “until he kidnapped me and tried to sell me.”
“You’ve been with him for over a year. You’ve never worked for someone that long. How do I know you’re not working for him now?” Agent Stahl arched a dark blonde brow, the movement causing tiny wrinkles to form across his forehead. His hair was cut short, military style, and his jaw was clean-shaven. The only thing out of place on the man’s face was the dark purple bruise forming underneath his right eye.
“If you’ve done your research, then you know his child is an angel. I had no intention of leaving him anytime soon.”
“He does indeed have a son. A son who’s had multiple nannies, none of whom lasted as long as you.” Again the blonde brow arched, and Tomi had to fight the urge to scream. He was wasting time.
“Maybe none of them loved him as much as I did,” she answered honestly. Luis’s son had been the first person she’d let herself care about like that after walking away from her life with Cole.
Agent Stahl shrugged. “Maybe none of them saw the opportunity for wealth you did.”
Tomi was through playing nice. She shot to her feet and glared at the insensitive asshole sitting on the couch. “Maybe none of them were kidnapped and almost sold as sex dolls. Maybe I didn’t ask for any of this, dammit. Maybe I’m here because I want to help.”
Stahl smiled and Tomi took a step back, unsure of the agent’s reaction. Up until this point, she’d assumed he was a machine devoid of emotion.
“I knew you’d come back.”
His reaction caught her completely off guard. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve studied you thoroughl
y. You remind me a lot of my Rachel. You couldn’t live with yourself knowing he was hurting other women.” There was a strange look on Stahl’s face, one that Tomi couldn’t even begin to unravel. “Would you do anything to save those other women?”
Tomi answered without hesitation. “Yes.”
“No.”
She whipped around to see Cole standing in the front door, a murderous look in his black eyes.
Defiantly, she turned back to Stahl and lifted her chin. “Yes, I would.”
“No. You. Won’t.” Cole punctuated each word, staring at her furiously as he strode into the living room.”
Unable to help herself, Tomi shot to her feet. “You have no right to tell me what I will and will not do, Cole Fury.”
He grabbed her arms, walking her back until she was outside, surrounded by the night sky. Why had she let him do that? Why did she still tremble at his touch?
Why did she still want him?
“He is just using you to get inside Luis’s inner circle!”
“Like you used me?” she yelled right back, barely resisting the temptation to push against his chest and run. She didn’t want him to know he could still have that effect on her. “At least now I can choose to be the bait.”
“I was trying to save you, not use you, dammit.” Cole’s black eyes burned, his face turning savage. The ruthless honesty in his expression made her question her judgment. Had he really meant everything he’d said?
No, of course he hadn’t. Otherwise, he would have told her the truth in the beginning…he wouldn’t have hidden something so huge from her.
“Get your hands off me.”
He stared at her, his eyes full of dread. “I’m not letting you go, not until you hear me out.”
She gave him her best seething look. “I already heard you out. I heard you detail exactly how you used me for your own gains. I don’t need to hear it again.”
She couldn’t live through hearing it again. She knew she couldn’t. She was barely holding it together as it was.
“I think you’ve misunderstood some things. At least give me the chance to explain myself. Please give me that.”
But she’d already heard enough. She’d heard more than enough. And she knew that if Cole got her alone, he’d turn her defenses against her just like he had before. “I already gave you everything, remember?”
Cole stared hopelessly into her glittering blue eyes. “Please, Tomi. Please just listen.”
She shrugged off his hands like he was filth, but he could see the pain in her eyes. She was trying to hide it, but he knew her. He knew more than she wanted him to.
“I’m through listening to you, Cole.” Unlike earlier, she spit out his name like it was a curse. “The only reason I’m here is to help. I’m going to do what I can to bring those women home, even if it means going back to Luis to draw him out.”
“Like hell you will.”
A rush of near insanity ripped through him. Despite what Luis had done to Tomi, how he’d kidnapped her and held her against her will, she had no idea of the man’s horrific capabilities. Anyone tied to the cartel would murder without blinking.
“Cole,” Tomi’s voice got quiet and Cole’s gut clenched in response. “Your opinion doesn’t count. Not anymore.” She angled her body away from him, facing Stahl. “I’m yours.”
Cole watched helplessly as she slipped through his hands. Again. Like his life was stuck on a scratched DVD replaying the worst part over and over again. Only he couldn’t throw Tomi away and get a new one.
She was irreplaceable.
If something happened to her, something he could have stopped, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. His body moved before his brain could process the request—he grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the agent. “My opinion might not matter, but my decisions do. I partnered with the FBI on this mission as an independent contractor.” Cole jabbed a finger in Stahl’s direction. “And according to our deal, my time isn’t up yet. I still own her.”
Tomi trembled in his grip, tugging at his insides, but he’d be damned if he’d give in now. Stahl wanted to push him over the edge and Cole was crouched and ready to jump right over. If that meant breaking what shattered shards remained of Tomi’s heart to save her life, he’d do it.
“You don’t own me.” Tomi attempted to yank away from him, but he tightened his hold, locking down on her arm so that she couldn’t move.
“Yes, I fucking do.” Cole stared directly at Stahl, daring the asshole to deny the facts.
Stahl shrugged, that calculating gleam returning to his eyes. “Deals can be broken if the situation is extreme enough to warrant it.”
“Let go!”
Cole barely felt her attempt to jerk free. “Tomi, why don’t you ask your new friend why he came out here in the first place?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she replied briskly.
Cole continued, “The Frenchman is looking for you. Luis wants to see for himself you belong to me. You’re number one on his hit list. You really trust this bastard to use you as bait? He claims he came here to protect you.”
Tomi’s struggles eased but didn’t stop. Stahl watched them both and replied in a calm tone, “I’ve got an entire team of FBI agents to watch her back. We’ll do everything in our power to keep her safe.”
“You’re sending a baby lamb into a pack of wolves. She won’t survive.”
“You have my word that I’ll personally—”
Cole got in Stahl’s grill, his entire body locked down with rage. “After tonight we both know your word is worth shit. She’s not going.”
Suddenly, Tomi was shoving between them. She put her palms on his chest and tried to push him away. “Stop it! You’re acting insane.”
He finally looked down at her agonized face.
“Why do you care what I do?” she pressed. “Won’t this make your revenge against me that much sweeter?”
Revenge? He let his brows drop, but his jaw remained clenched. “What are you talking about?”
Her pulse thrummed at the base of her neck and her flushed lips parted. “It’s a little too late to play dumb now.” She made to step away from him, her sweet face twisted with disgust. Her hands left his chest and he felt their absence like a stab wound.
“If we’re going to act, we need to do it quickly. We can’t give Luis time to go underground. If we do, we’ll lose our opportunity to capture him and rescue the girls,” Stahl said.
Cole spun, ready to lay into the agent for forcing the issue, but Tomi beat him to the punch. “What do you have in mind?”
“No,” Cole said.
Tomi looked at him dead in the eye. “You can help me or get the hell out of my way, but either way I’m going with him. If you try to keep me here, you’ll have to spend the rest of your life trying to keep me locked up because, so help me God, I’ll spend the rest of mine trying to get away from you.”
Ice crawled up his heart with each word, freezing into a solid block in his chest. The ache he’d learned to live with all those years ago returned with a vengeance. Something in his brain short-circuited. He couldn’t live through that again. All those lonely nights and hollow days…he refused to go back to any existence without her.
Cole made a choice. The only choice that he could live with. Without warning, he bent at the waist, threw her over his shoulder and stormed down the hall.
“What are you doing?” Tomi beat on his back.
He stopped at the door to the makeshift playroom and kicked it open, carried Tomi inside and slammed it shut.
“You caveman!” Anything else she’d planned to say was cut off when he tossed her to the bed. With demented need, Cole followed her down. Her bright blue eyes glittered with anger. In that one moment, he felt a measure of logic return.
What the hell am I doing?
“You have no right!” Tomi threw her head to the side and bucked with all her might.
The small flare of rationality dissipated. She can li
ve with a broken heart, but she can’t live if Luis puts a bullet in her head.
Cole grabbed her right arm and forced it over her head, calmly snapping the metal cuff attached to the headboard around her delicate wrist.
“Don’t do this!” Tomi kicked and screamed, but he ignored her.
She fought his grip, but he quickly overpowered her. Forcing her left arm up, he snapped the cuff into place. “I can and I am.”
His nerves felt fried and out of whack. Tomi’s sweet body kept pressing against him. Unable to stop himself, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. “I love you.”
He wasn’t crazed or maddened anymore. He was determined.
Cole shoved off the bed and gave her his back.
“Cole!”
He’d figure it out…he’d figure out a way to convince her to listen. He just needed some time.
“I’ll never forgive you,” Tomi cried out brokenly from the bed.
Cole paused at the door, the hollow ache solidifying over him like an empty shell. He stared into the hallway, listening to the sound of her soft sobs with a hard heart. Grabbing the handle, he said, “If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”
And then he shut the door and turned the lock.
“Cole!”
28
Cole went outside and stared at the thick trees behind the house without really seeing them. He stood there so long the moon shifted from his right to his left side. The stars marred the dark sky, breaking up the blackness that he craved.
Cole didn’t know how long he stood out there. He didn’t care. He needed her.
But he couldn’t have her. Not anymore.
When he finally became aware of the cold seeping into his bones, he went back inside the house.
Cole reentered the living room on legs as numb as his heart.
His brothers had taken over the recliners once more, and they now stared at him with almost unreadable expressions. Almost. They were masters at hiding their true feelings from everyone but Cole. Their mouths were too tight. Their golden eyes too sharp. He’d shocked them…and not in a good way.
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