by Brynne Asher
He squeezes me tighter and his eyes crinkle. “Despite the fact you’re in my bed, you haven’t told me shit about tonight. I’m here to make sure you stay in my bed. Consider me your chaperone.”
“I’m not a baby. I don’t need a daddy figure watching over me.”
His smile spreads from his eyes to his lush lips. “I could get into some Daddy kink.”
I roll my eyes. “We’re late, Cole. You said so yourself. I need to get there early enough to socialize and dump enough money to get noticed.”
He slides his hand out of my dress and tips his head. “Long live the Everglades.”
I push away from his hold and stalk past him on spiked heels. “Indeed.”
When I turn out of the bedroom, I hear male voices—many of them—discussing what sounds to be American sport. I come to a stop when I see Jarvis and Crew standing in the middle of Cole’s family room with Red.
“What happened to your hair?”
I look to my left where Abbott is sitting on a barstool eating cheesy noodles with her little face twisted into a frown. Had I not just inspected myself in the mirror, I’d be worried I looked like the scariest clown who strolled the earth only to terrorize small children.
“It’s a wig,” I explain without offering any reason for it. “What color is my hair in French?”
Her face blanks and I’m all of a sudden grateful Cole doesn’t have a teenager. She turns back to her noodles but answers correctly. “Noir.”
“Bravo!” I turn to our guests. “Jarvis, Crew. Good to see you. What are you doing here?”
All three men take me in from top to toe before Crew steps forward with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I hope you feel as good as you look because you certainly look better than the last time I saw you lying on the banks of the Chesapeake.”
I shrug and reach up to twist my fake hair around my manicured finger. “Thank you. I am feeling so much better. How are the baby and Addy?”
His face lights up, and if dark eyes could twinkle, his might. “Perfect. Amieé will be a month next week. Hard to believe. And nothing agrees more with Addison than motherhood. We need to get you over to Whitetail soon. It’s closed on Mondays—you can have a private tasting. Addison will set it up.”
Warmth settles on the bare skin of my back and Cole’s words brush my temple. “Thanks. Now that she’s feeling better, I want to get Bella out. If we can do it privately until we get this sorted, even better.”
“Gracie would be up for that,” Jarvis pipes in. “She and I are living on the vineyard right now and she’s really taken to you.”
I flip my hand, motioning to myself. “I adore Gracie. When she’s not busy keeping me from bleeding out, she’s playing my personal shopper. Not sure what I’d do without her while being held hostage.”
My lower hip is suddenly in a vise and Cole grits, “You’re hardly being held hostage.”
I hike a brow and glare at him over my shoulder. “Says the man who dragged me here against my will.”
“I can see things are going great,” Crew states. “Here. I have what you asked for.”
I reach for the small velvet bag he’s holding out and frown. “I didn’t ask for anything.”
“I did.” Cole reaches around me, snatches the bag, and turns me to him. “I might be your eyes, but if you think I’m going to let you waltz in there on your own without ears, you lost brain cells along with all that blood.”
He yanks the bag open and produces a handful of gold.
Jarvis steps forward. “Not only ears but this will record everything. You get the shady Senator to talk, we’ll have record of it.”
I look down as Cole clasps a gold cuff around my wrist followed by a choker with a gemstone set in the middle that matches my wig. “I couldn’t exactly set you up with equipment from work without anyone asking me a million questions. Sucks to not be in the field anymore so Crew took care of it.”
“We tested it before we got here—you’re good to go.” Jarvis tosses a set of keys to Cole. “Here. You want to look like you’re exhaling money, you need to act the part. No offense to your truck.”
“None taken.” Cole swings the keys around his finger and looks at me. His eyes are sharp and his stare cuts through me like the blade I have tucked in the lining of my clutch.
Abbott hops down from her barstool and runs to her father. “Daddy, when will you be back?”
Cole tosses her up into his arms and kisses her cheek. “It’ll be late and you’ll be asleep. But tomorrow is Sunday and you know what that means.
Abbott’s face lights up. “Donuts!”
“Have fun with your grandpa. Love you.”
She wraps her little arms around Cole’s neck, making him seem larger than life. “Love you, too, Daddy.”
He puts her down and I might as well not be here because she doesn’t spare me a glance.
But Cole does.
He extends his hand for me, not unlike an olive branch. “Like old times. Let’s do this.”
And that, right there, shouldn’t excite me. It shouldn’t settle low in my belly or make my lacy, hardly-there thong wet. And it definitely shouldn’t make my nipples so hard, I’m suddenly overly grateful Gracie thought of everything and added petal stickers so I didn’t nip out.
Working alongside Cole Carson again … well, it does all that.
And that scares me.
It also excites me.
And that scares me more than anything.
Chapter 14
Exoneration
Bella
“I hope there’s room in your big head to remember I’ve managed plenty long without you. An arsehole Senator is nothing compared to the roads I’ve navigated.”
“I know,” he states coolly. He might as well be a commercial for the most expensive cologne, or maybe bourbon, as he speeds Jarvis’s shiny black Porsche across the bridge over the Potomac, the Washington Monument coming into view as the sun sets. “You didn’t get yourself into a pinch until you stepped foot onto American soil. No one knows better than me that you’re more than capable of handling any situation on your own.”
“Then why have you insisted on squeezing your way into my overtly simple and straightforward op?”
His big paw lands high on my thigh bared through the slit of my dress causing it to inch higher. “How many reasons do you want?”
I place my hand on his to keep it out of the dangerous-to-my-insides territory. My focus needs to be sharp and I don’t need to worry about what Cole’s touch is doing to me. “I don’t know, I’d ask for your top-ten countdown but we’re almost there. I’ll settle for three.”
He throws me a glance before exiting the highway. “I know you’re better but you’re not up to taking down armies on your own yet and you know it. I watched you outside yesterday and saw you trying to jog. I know you’re still hurting and I can’t let you go in there by yourself when you’re not one hundred percent.”
I let out a breath and shift to watch the cars zip by as he waits to turn left. I had no idea he saw. Had I known, I would have pushed through, no matter the pain—and hell, the pain was bad.
He doesn’t stop talking. “I’ve also looked into Randolph and I get why we’re here. I had to dig, but I found the connection you’re chasing.”
My eyes widen and turn back to him. “You did?”
He lets off the brake when he gets an arrow to turn. “I did. I’ve got to admit, you’re swinging for the fences on this one, but if you’re right—”
“I’m right,” I interrupt.
“Like I said, if you’re right, then this is going to turn into the biggest spectacle our country has seen in years. The Iran-Contra affair is going to look like an Easter egg hunt in comparison.”
“I agree. This is only the tip of the iceberg, Cole. I’m nowhere close to finding out who framed me, but this is the trail. It’s hot—I can feel it.”
His fingers press into my skin. “Baby, you talking about the tip and hot an
d feeling it while you’re dressed for the hottest sex of the decade is going to do me in.”
“Cole.”
He pulls up to the Kennedy Center. Cars are lined—some dripping in luxury and others stretching around the block—dropping off socialites and movers and shakers of DC, no matter how sleezy or backstabbing they might be.
Coming to a stop, he moves his hand from my thigh to entwine his fingers through mine. Bringing my hand to his mouth, he does what he said he wouldn’t do until I begged for it—press his lips to the top of my fingers.
A kiss.
Not the one I’ve put off or the one I’ve secretly dreamed of, but a kiss all the same. He’s taken my hand plenty since this entire nightmare began, but not like this. He’s kept to his word and has held out on me.
My breath catches. Like I always am when it’s just us, I’m too transparent for my liking and his name tastes much differently on my tongue this time. “Cole.”
“Missed this,” he murmurs before catching my gaze in his killer trap. “Missed you. I miss the job, the excitement, but most of all, I miss it with you. When it was you and me … I was at my best. I’d like to think you were too.”
I swallow over the lump in my throat. “You taught me well.”
He takes my hand and I have to lean on the console to steady myself. He presses it against his cock—hard and long in his trousers—as he brushes the tip of his nose alongside mine. “I’d like to think I taught you a lot of things.”
Damn him for turning me on right here and right now. “If you’re considering laying a finger on me before I have to search out Randolph, you’d better think twice, Cole Carson. I do not need to be recovering from an orgasm before I walk in there.”
His hand finds my thigh again and slides dangerously close to Ground Zero. His smile says it all before the words fall from his lips. “We’ve done it before. I think it made you oddly more focused than your normal razor-sharp alertness.”
I give his erection a good squeeze in warning as I stop his hand from hitting its target—no matter how much my body fights my brain. It’s been so long since I’ve touched him. The feel of him and the thought of us whip into a weird little tango through my chest. “Don’t you dare.”
He tips his head in challenge. Or maybe it was because of my grip.
So, I might have squeezed his balls a bit harder than necessary. What can I say? This moment is extraordinary.
He leans in and nips at my earlobe. “I see you haven’t forgotten a thing. Been a long time, sweetness, don’t think I won’t call this whole thing off and drive you to a back alley to fuck your brains out right here in the driver’s seat. I promised not to kiss you ‘til you begged for it. Fucking you is a whole different beast and something I can’t wait to do.”
He presses into my hand before I rip it away and do the same to his, plastered to the inside of my thigh. “Not happening.”
“Baby, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. And you in that dress all night? The when is going to happen a lot sooner than it would’ve otherwise. My Bella Clock is a ticking time bomb.”
A horn blares from behind us and we shift away from each other. The line of luxury vehicles cleared while we were stuck in our own sex-charged world and it seems others aren’t in the mood for patience. Cole puts it in drive and pulls up to the curb where we agreed he would drop me before parking Jarvis’s car.
I reach for the door handle but he grabs my arm first. When I turn to him, an erotic smile sits on his face. “I know it’ll be hard since all you’re thinking about is my face buried between your legs, but be careful and stay focused.”
The man is exasperating. “That’s not what I was thinking about.”
He gives me a lazy shrug. “Right. But you are now, so focus.”
“Unbelievable.”
“I’ll be minutes behind you. You’ll have my eyes all night.”
I know I will. Cole has never let me down.
With my heavily-jeweled clutch in my hand, I climb out of the sports car with my fake ID and single ticket to the gala.
As I slam the door shut, I realize I haven’t felt this alive in years.
I’m not sure if it’s recovering from a deadly gunshot wound, working my own case again, or having Cole at my back.
There’s no time to contemplate. I have a Senator to hit on.
Cole
As I jog up the stairs to the Kennedy Center, my phone vibrates. I frown and pull it out of my pocket because she’s only been out of my eyesight for minutes.
It’s been a long time since we’ve worked together and I didn’t lie—I know she can handle her shit. She’s more capable than most operatives I’ve worked with, but seeing her on the brink of death has brought out a side of me I didn’t know I had. Not with her anyway. Not with anyone really, other than maybe Abbott, but that’s different.
I never thought about being a father. Hell, I never thought about settling down before I realized living a life without Bella was downright painful. I’m not proud to admit this, but Abbott was never in my plan.
It would take a much bigger asshole than myself to look down at the six-pound, seven-ounce pink bundle and not have your world shift on its axis in a way you’ll never find your equilibrium again. Even before the paternity test came back, I knew she was mine. Not only does she have my eyes and coloring, there was something about her. I knew it from the first moment she was born.
And I never question my gut instincts. Ever.
I’m beyond protective of my daughter and that includes keeping her far away from Tabitha. Just because I made mistakes doesn’t mean I’m going to subject Abbott to a lifetime of drama at the hands of her poor excuse of a mother.
With Bella, it’s the same but different. Protective isn’t the right word. Sure, everyone can use someone at their six, even if they are as capable as her.
But from the first time I laid a heavy hand so low on her back it was practically her ass, it started and never stopped. As much as we fought, butted heads, or disagreed on how to get from A to D, the pull only became stronger.
I exhale when I unlock my phone and find a text.
Jarvis – I don’t give a shit how long you two have been apart or how bad you need to get your rocks off. This is a warning—if you have sex in my Porsche, I will sniper your ass so fast, you won’t know what hit you.
I ignore him because something catches my eye. Something in red.
She’s been stopped at security.
Fuck.
My phone keeps vibrating but I don’t take my eyes off her. She’s been moved to the side and feigning confusion. The female guard pulls out a wand and swipes it up and down, front and back, left to right.
Nothing.
She opens her purse and I hold my breath.
Bella pulls out a compact, lipstick, credit card, a stack of bills, and her cell.
Finally, the guard nods and Bella smiles, motioning to her long skinny purse with more fake jewels glued to it than on a hooker standing on the scariest corner of the District.
I let out a stale breath.
Of course, even with me at her back, she wouldn’t go in unarmed. She didn’t tell me, which pisses me off, but I’d bet my old farmhouse she’s not packing a gun.
Damn you, Bella.
I unlock my phone.
Jarvis – On second thought, forget the bullet. I’ll tie you up and torture you for days if there are any bodily fluids spilled in my car.
Asa – Your woman has been stopped by security.
Jarvis – Is Bella packing?
Jarvis – Can’t lie. Her changing her accent to a plain-Jane American is equally impressive and freaks me out at the same time. I’m not used to this shit.
Asa – She talked her way out of it. You’re good to go.
Jarvis – What’s it like to sleep with someone who’s such a skilled liar?
Jarvis – BUT NOT IN MY CAR.
When I get in line for security, I respond to our group tex
t but ignore the getting my rocks off in a Porsche comments.
Me – I know this isn’t your thing but you cannot text me all night. I’ll let you know if I get separated from her.
Asa – Roger.
Jarvis – Just saying, if you two get separated, my car is safe.
“Sir, empty your pockets into the basket and step through the scanner.”
Unlike my partner, hidden weapons are beyond my boundaries and I slide through security smoother than lube.
I’m thirty feet behind Bella and move to a separate check-in table with my ticket. Once I collect my seat assignment for dinner, I stay far enough back for her to take the lead into the main ballroom.
Now it gets interesting.
It’s been years, and the thrill—not only the job but working with Bella again—hits me in waves. This is the adrenaline shot I can’t get any other way, a concoction that only comes from working with her.
When she walks to the bar to order a drink where Randolph is talking to another man, I know it’ll be a dirty martini.
Bella
“Dirty martini, please.”
“Coming right up.”
I turn to the side and open my clutch to pull out a twenty. Charles Randolph is an arm’s length away—how I’d like to reach out and choke the bastard. I would if he weren’t the only human I know who could lead me to my path of freedom.
Exoneration is so close, I can taste it.
“You know I can’t do that, Jack. I need to keep my constituents happy. Florida is a swing state and I have too many retirees to support the bill.”
Jack is not happy. “We need you on this issue. The party needs you.”
Why do they not sound like they’re talking about the manatees who are now on the endangered list in the Everglades? Yes, I did my homework before attending tonight.
“I get where you’re coming from but I can’t bend. I’m up for re-election this year—”
“You mean you’re going to make a move for Majority Leader,” Jack corrects him.