Perfect Fling

by Carly Phillips

  Cole pushed those thoughts away and shook his head. “Nick is going to drive me around the lake and show me the house he built and is ready to put on the market.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, another Nick Mancini masterpiece? Can I come?”

  “Sure thing,” Nick said, pride in his voice.

  Faith took her wriggling daughter from Erin’s arms. “I told you that’s the good thing about being a friend or relative. You can enjoy the baby and give them back!”

  Erin laughed. “Soon enough I’ll be looking for people to relieve me,” she said, and everyone around them slid into stunned silence.

  “What?!” Kate asked, her voice rising in pitch.

  Cole froze.

  Erin’s eyes opened wide and her cheeks turned bright red as she realized her slip of the tongue. “Umm . . . I—”

  Cole met her gaze. Gave her permission with a slight tip of his head. It was her call if she wanted to cover or reveal. But he couldn’t deny his stomach was in knots as she pondered her decision.

  “Erin?” Faith asked softly.

  Meeting Cole’s gaze, Erin gave him a tiny nod back.

  But he saw how awkward things had become and he didn’t want her to think he was dumping it all on her. “Erin’s pregnant. You all would’ve figured it out soon enough,” Cole said, reaching out a hand toward the water.

  The tightness in her face gave way to relief. She clasped his hand and climbed out to stand next to him. “We’re having a baby,” she told them.

  There. It was out, Cole thought. Dizziness that had nothing to do with the heat assaulted him as the women around them shrieked. The other guys came running to see what the commotion was all about. As they found themselves the center of attention, they were separated by the surprised well-wishers patting Cole on the back and kissing Erin’s cheeks.

  He accepted the congratulations, ducked most of the questions, and finally managed to catch Erin’s gaze. She appeared flustered and overwhelmed by the attention and when she lifted a hand and tugged on her ear, he knew he’d read her correctly.

  “Hey, Nick, you going to show Erin and me that house sometime this century?” Cole called out to his cousin.

  Nick caught on quick. “Yeah. Let’s go through the house so I can grab my keys. Everyone go back to your regularly scheduled programming,” Nick ordered.

  Cole grabbed Erin’s hand and pulled her away from her well-meaning, question-hungry friends.

  “Hurry back,” Kate called to their retreating backs. “The natives will be getting hungry soon.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Nick grumbled, but even Cole could hear the good-natured chuckle behind the words.

  With Cole’s hand on Erin’s back, they followed Nick to the house.

  Erin didn’t say a word but Cole sensed her need for peace, quiet, and space. If she didn’t get better after the house tour, he’d make their excuses and get her home. Ironic, that she was the one who’d needed to get away from the crush of people, not him.

  Surprisingly, even between Nick’s pushing Cole on personal issues and the public reveal of Erin’s pregnancy, Cole didn’t feel a hint of the anxiety he’d anticipated. They drove to his cousin’s place and walked around the massive house, which Erin loved, and the tour seemed to draw her out of her shock. Nick had even had a decorator come in and furnish it, so selling the house really would be like selling a model home.

  While Nick explained each room and the extras he’d built in, Cole’s mind drifted and he contemplated the day further. Cole hadn’t been the outsider he’d expected to be. Everyone talked to him, wanting to catch up and make friendly conversation. Shockingly, Cole had been not just receptive but he’d also enjoyed hearing what was going on in old acquaintances’ lives. In return, some of the guys suggested they meet up for drinks at Joe’s or that Cole join them for poker one night soon.

  Cole’s conclusion was startling. When he didn’t withdraw into himself or put himself on the fringe of the crowd, he seemed to be accepted readily enough. Which made him wonder if his reception on his return was more about his own behavior toward everyone else rather than their feelings about him.

  It would be something to think about if he’d planned on sticking around. But he didn’t. He ignored the sudden uncomfortable feeling that arose at the thought of leaving Serendipity.

  Twelve

  Erin was exhausted. She lay her head back against the seat while Cole drove them home. Boy, would she miss this chauffeur service when his time was done. She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d gotten used to being taken care of. Such a dangerous proposition, but at this moment, as she kicked off her shoes and curled into the seat, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Although she’d long since accepted being pregnant, she hadn’t thought about the world knowing. The exposure had taken everything out of her. So had watching the happy couples. Families, she amended. A melancholy sadness washed over her for what she’d never have with the father of her child. But Erin knew once the exhaustion went away, the sadness would go with it, to be replaced by her determination to make the most of their time together and see where things led.

  After all, Erin had always prided herself on being a go-with-the-flow kind of person. All things considered, she’d dealt with the pregnancy news, the shooting, and the stalking, and she hadn’t fallen apart. Yay her. Maybe it came from having such a stable family behind her, something Cole didn’t, and which he’d admitted had affected how he viewed life.

  She sighed and closed her eyes, determined to let sleep overtake her, at least for the ride home. Better than talking about what was bothering her, something Cole, with his perceptive personality, was sure to notice.

  Unfortunately, her mind was too worked up to slow down and just be, even for a few short minutes, but she kept her eyes closed. Just in case.

  Of course, her thoughts went to Cole and that moment before they walked into Nick’s, when she’d caught the hint of vulnerability in his expression. She was as attuned to him as he was to her. She hadn’t expected him to admit why the day would be difficult for him, but he had. He’d let her in a little more.

  And in the end, he’d not just survived the day, but he’d found a place with these people—if he wanted one.

  Please let him want that place with them, but most of all, with me, she thought. Because though she wouldn’t let herself use the word, not even in the most private recesses of her own mind, she was falling in . . . everything with Cole Sanders.

  Even if she couldn’t sleep, she let the lull of the truck soothe her wayward thoughts until she felt the familiar set of turns into the condo complex and, finally, into her driveway.

  “Stay here.”

  Cole’s voice pulled her out of her stupor, and she forced her heavy eyelids open to see two police cars in front of her house, lights flashing. Her neighbors had congregated on their lawns. Cara and Sam, who’d left Nick’s before Cole and Erin had arrived for their evening shift, stood on her front porch.

  Erin threw open her car door and headed for her brother.

  “I said wait in the car,” Cole called after her.

  She still ignored him. “What’s going on?”

  Sam eyed her with concern. “Break-in.”

  “Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t the alarm company call me?”

  Cara answered, her voice calm, but her blue eyes warm and sympathetic. “Someone cut the phone line. The alarm went off but the call never went to Central Station. The old woman on the right is almost deaf, and the ones on the left are on vacation. At least, according to Mrs. Flynn.”

  The nearly deaf neighbor, Erin thought.

  “Someone nearby must have finally realized the noise meant something and called it in,” Sam said. “You arrived before we could call you.”

  “What happened?” Cole asked.

  Sam tipped his head toward her condo. “Went in through the side window. Broad daylight, brazen as you please,” he muttered.

  “She was in my house?�
� Erin asked, feeling a very unusual bout of hysteria coming on.

  Cole’s hand clamped down on her shoulder.

  “What did she do in there?” Erin started forward, but he held on fast.

  Sam met Cole’s gaze over Erin’s head.

  She stiffened, unwilling to be left out of the loop this time. “Oh no. None of that silent male communication crap. Talk to me.”

  “There’s some damage,” Cara said to her. “Erin, look. Assuming it’s the same person behind everything else, and assuming we’re right that it’s a woman, she went for your personal things.”

  Nausea, which came so easily these days, rose in Erin’s throat. “I want to see.”

  “No!” Cole and Sam said at the same time.

  Erin froze at the unilateral command. “Do not tell me what I can and can’t do. Not now.” She shook Cole’s hand off her arm and stomped toward her home.

  “Let me,” Cara said, catching up to Erin as she approached the front door. She touched Erin’s arm. “It’s more the emotional aspect of what this person did that will affect you,” she said softly, more as a friend than a cop. “It’s a violation, sweetie. And you’re going to feel it. Are you sure you’re ready?”

  Erin nodded, certain no matter how shaky her insides had become.

  “Then I’m right there with you. Let’s go. Just remember—”

  “Don’t touch anything. I’m still an ADA. I know the drill.”

  Cara sighed. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget when you’re also the victim.”

  Victim. Erin hated that word, had avoided using it or thinking of herself in those terms since all this had started. But as she entered her house, which now smelled of another woman’s strong perfume, she felt every inch the injured party. The same people whose rights Erin usually fought for.

  “Upstairs,” Cara said.

  Erin pushed forward and headed for her bedroom without having to be told. She knew Cole and Sam had joined them, felt their presence behind her, silently following Erin and Cara.

  She stepped into her room and came to a halt, taking in the carnage with her own eyes, yet unable to comprehend what she was actually seeing. Her clothes—her new maternity clothes that she’d spent so much money on—were scattered around her bed and floor, shredded, cut, torn in pieces.

  “Son of a bitch,” Cole muttered.

  Ignoring him, Erin forced herself to take in each item, until her gaze fell on the distinctive lapis blue dress she’d worn Saturday night, cut in pieces. From there, she was compelled to shift her gaze to her dresser, where she’d proudly put her award. Sure enough, the star had been snapped off the base. But that wasn’t what caused the lurch in her heart.

  Her large mirror had a message scrawled across the glass with red lipstick: HE’S MINE.

  Erin’s gaze flew to Cole’s in question, because who else could he be referring to? Why go after Erin’s maternity clothes and nothing else unless she felt possessive of him? There was no other he in her life, none that would elicit this kind of reaction, anyway.

  Color highlighted his cheekbones, anger and a hint of regret in his expression. Clearly they’d come to the same conclusion.

  “Who is she?” Erin asked him directly, ignoring the dizziness flooding through her.

  He didn’t answer immediately, but Erin could see the wheels turning in his mind as he ran through possibilities.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Cara suggested, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Sam and Cole can talk some more.”

  Erin shook her head. “I want to hear what they say.”

  “I’m not hiding anything. Hell, I don’t know anything.” Frustration laced Cole’s tone. He met and held her gaze, his expression angry but open.

  She believed him.

  “Go downstairs with Cara. Sit down. You’re pale and look like you’re about to collapse.”

  Erin didn’t want to admit it, but Cole was right. She was shaky, and it wouldn’t hurt to get off her feet for a little while.

  “Go,” he said firmly. “I’ll talk to your brother and make some phone calls, see if there’s something going on with any old cases that I don’t know about.”

  “Fine.” She spun around and walked out.

  • • •

  Cole’s head pounded as he turned to Sam. Usually considered the mild-mannered Marsden brother, but no less intimidating than Mike, Sam glared at Cole, full-on fury in his expression.

  “If there’s another woman, if you’re fucking with my sister, I will kill you.”

  If Cole had been hiding anything from this cop, he might be worried. “I’m as in the dark as you are.” Ignoring Sam’s snort of disbelief, Cole grabbed for his phone and called his boss on his home number. No more screwing around.

  The man answered on the first ring. “Rockford? It’s me.”

  Cole listened as the older man reamed him for not returning his calls, for falling off the grid, and immediately jumped to wanting to know when he’d be ready to return.

  “No time soon. I’ve got a situation.” He spelled out the entire deal with Erin, from her being pregnant with his kid to the shredding of clothes in her room.

  No time to hide the truth from his boss, not if Cole wanted to call in favors and help. Besides, much as he tried to ignore the truth, Erin and this baby would change his life. How remained to be seen. But Cole owed the other man the truth if it affected his job, and it did. Already Cole was operating differently, ignoring calls and remaining on leave longer than ever before.

  “Pull recent cases, names of people who had a hard-on for me, and women who’ve indicated interest.” As Cole spoke, a vision of the one female he’d done his best to forget about came back to him in vivid detail.

  Victoria Maroni wanted Cole for herself. And that was her scent he’d smelled downstairs. She’d always had a heavy hand with the perfume.

  Son of a bitch.

  “Call Witsec. Check on Victoria Maroni,” Cole added.

  Sam’s eyebrows rose at the mention of a specific name.

  Cole held up a hand. “Right. They were holding her to testify in another case involving her husband’s associates.” Last time Cole saw Victoria, it was right after he’d shot her husband during the raid that took down his operation.

  His boss said he’d get back to him when he had something. Cole ended the call and turned to Sam. “Before you say a word, she’s the wife of the last guy whose organization I infiltrated. He treated her like dirt and as I moved up in his inner circle, I befriended her. When things went down, I made sure she was protected. She misread the situation.”

  She’d looked to Cole as her savior, her white knight, a man who’d rescued her from a life of hell for no other reason than his love for her. He’d just been doing his job. He remembered how he’d thought of her as a poor deluded woman, one deprived of love and affection.

  “She mistook my friendship and protection as something more than it was. I felt sorry for her, but I never perceived her as a threat.”

  “Maybe you were wrong,” Sam said in disgust.

  The way Cole’s stomach was churning, he agreed. “And that mistake put Erin in harm’s way.” Nothing he could do about the past, but he could do something now. “I need to get her out of here while you do your jobs.”

  Sam nodded. “Where?”

  Cole remembered the look on her face when she’d walked through Nick’s spec home. “I’ll talk to Nick.” He explained his idea and Sam agreed.

  “How are you going to get Erin to go along quietly? And miss work until this is over?”

  “She’ll go if I have to tie her up for a goddamned month,” Cole muttered.

  Sam barked out a laugh. “I don’t like one thing about this mess, but I have to admit I’d pay to see that.”

  Cole didn’t reply, because if he had Erin tied up anywhere, her brother was the last person he’d want around to see what he did with her.

  “I need you to help me get her out of here unnoticed,” Cole told Sa
m. “And I need you to talk to your mother. Whatever clothes Erin bought when they were together? Tell her to replace them and have them sent to you. On me. I’ll make arrangements to get them from you.”

  Sam’s expression turned from wary to something more akin to respect. Cole didn’t deserve it. As far as he was concerned, Jed finally had a point. All Cole had done was mess up Erin’s life from the second he’d come into it. The best he could do now was to make sure she remained safe.

  • • •

  This is what her life had come to. Hiding under a blanket in a car as Cole drove her away from her house. Seriously? Where was the dignity?

  She groaned.

  “I’ll make it up to you,” Cole said from the driver’s seat.

  She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but rationally she knew this wasn’t his fault. At least, it had better not be his fault. Whoever this woman was, he better not have led her on. She bit the inside of her cheek and thought about what she knew of Cole. He’d never pretended with Erin. She knew exactly where she stood with him from day one. But he’d been undercover. Who knew what he’d had to do . . .

  The car came to a stop.

  Erin didn’t know where they were headed. Cole said it was a surprise, and since she’d had to pack what she could of her personal things and toiletries, she hadn’t been privy to his phone conversations to set up a place for them to go. Sam stayed behind at her house, supervising the forensics team that was dusting for prints and making sure everything was bagged and tagged. So to speak.

  “Hang on,” Cole said.

  She heard the sounds of him opening the car door, getting out, then returning and shutting the door again. Soon the car moved another few feet. Not long after, he rescued her from her hiding place in the back seat.

  She stepped out of the car and into a darkened garage. “Where are we?”

  “Guess.” A dimple flashed in his cheek.

  She loved it when he got playful. He didn’t do it that often, but when he did, it was downright adorable. Not that Mr. Tough Guy would want to hear that about himself, so she remained silent.