by Hadley Quinn
She paused on the sidewalk and took a very obvious deep breath of air. But then she walked over to Cole’s truck, and instead of getting in, waited until he rolled the passenger’s window down.
“You’re not giving up, are you,” she stated.
“Nope. I’ll follow you down the street if you turn down my offer to drive you home.”
“Because that wouldn’t look creepy at all.”
He smiled but shrugged. “Whatever I have to do.”
“Whatever you have to do for what?” she asked cautiously.
“To make sure you get home safely.”
“Well I already told you I had it covered, so from here on out was for your own gain not mine.”
He couldn’t help but smile again. Damn, she was candid. Shy when it came to some of their interactions but tough when it came to standing up for herself.
He liked that.
“Hop in. I’ll tell you my name in the five seconds it will take to get you home.”
“I don’t really care what your name is,” she countered.
“Hmm, very well. Hop in with a nameless stranger and I’ll find some other useless fact to tell you.”
She leaned her forearms against the door and studied him for a few seconds. “Answer me one question and I’ll consider it.”
He shrugged again. “Ask.”
“Why did you just leave me a twenty-dollar tip?”
Not exactly what he was expecting to hear, but if she wanted to know… “Because I felt bad about what an asshole I was the other time I was here. Guilt. I was hoping it was a good start to saying I’m sorry. You were trying to be nice and I was an ungrateful shit and was too selfish to tell you thanks.”
She raised both eyebrows at him and scoffed with a smile. “Wow, I didn’t really expect an honest answer.”
“No? What were you expecting? Me to lie and tell you what amazing service I got today?”
She tried not to smile, but when she did, it was a guilty one. “I’m sorry, I just…” She sighed and shook her head. “I wasn’t being rude, I just wasn’t willing to give you more of my, um…”
“Personal attention?”
She looked embarrassed again and glanced away. “Look, I wasn’t being a woman scorned or anything—I don’t have that big of an ego to take a rejection.” She made eye contact again. “But I refuse to give my time and extra attention to someone that doesn’t want it. Been down that road. I’ve learned the hard way. I’m sorry if you feel like I was being a rancorous bitch.”
He had to laugh at that and was glad to see her finally smile too. “You weren’t. And I respect that decision. I totally agree. But…you’re mistaken. It’s not that I didn’t want your interest. I was just…not sure what to do with it.”
Again she looked surprised. “Hmm, that’s funny. You seem very capable of going with whatever decision you’re set on.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you’re the type of guy that knows exactly the effect he has on women. I don’t normally make any sort of effort toward guys like that—or any, for that matter—so when I finally chose to and you pretty much confirmed the stereotype, I felt like a fool. It was my mistake, not yours, and I shouldn’t be upset over it. Like I said, I know when to move on.”
She was about to walk away, but Cole opened his door and got out of the truck. He came around the front to the passenger’s side and pulled the door open for her when she stepped back. “Well again, you were mistaken. I may seem like that on the outside, but don’t judge me based on that. Please.”
He remained holding the door for several seconds until she finally seemed to give in and sat down inside.
He returned to the driver’s seat and turned the key. “I’m Cole, by the way, whether you care to know or not. Where to?”
He immediately pulled onto the street and drove for a block, waiting for her answer.
“Here,” she pointed to the right.
He chuckled and pulled over. “A hundred yards, huh?”
“I told you it was an easy walk,” she smiled at him.
He paused as they looked at one another. She had a beautiful smile, not at all shy right now after she’d loosened up a little. But then she seemed to shut down again like she was unsure how they were supposed to end the night.
“Take care, Julia,” he told her, trying to alleviate whatever worry she might have had.
She didn’t get out right away and just sat for a few seconds. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and said, “Thank you for the ride, Cole.”
When she reached for the door handle he instinctively pulled her back to him and kissed her on the lips. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but there was something about her that totally turned him on. Fuck all the work he’d had on his mind lately. He was in need of something else for once and threw all his reservations out the window.
She seemed surprised at first, but then she started to kiss him back. Her mouth was warm and welcoming, so he took the initiative and accepted the invitation to explore further, testing her reaction with his tongue as he slid his hand behind her neck to pull her closer. He was also wondering if this was going to be a huge mistake because he was totally turned on by her, a complete stranger, and wanted it to continue to whatever level she allowed.
Julia pulled away and took a deep breath as she studied Cole’s face for a moment. “I should slow down,” she swallowed, and then returned to her seat to release a huge breath of air.
He examined her actions briefly to get a better idea of what they meant. She hadn’t bolted out of the truck and made a beeline for her apartment, so that was a good sign. But it almost seemed like she felt bad for kissing him.
“That was pretty amazing,” he decided to say. “Thanks for humoring me.”
She looked at him and finally smiled again, still seeming short of breath. He was too but managed to keep it under wraps. It was in his nature to remain totally in control of himself in any situation, but he had to admit, being here with Julia after a kiss like that was causing him to have all kinds of random dirty thoughts.
“It was pretty amazing,” she agreed. But then she looked ahead through the windshield and took another deep breath. “And I wasn’t just humoring you. I’ll be honest and say I really want to invite you up tonight but… Um, I just…”
“You absolutely do not have to have a reason,” he told her honestly. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”
He came around to her side and held the door open for her. She seemed to pause, but ultimately followed his lead and stepped out. She was back to glancing anywhere but at his face again, but he disregarded it as shyness and walked with her to the front entry.
She flipped open a keypad on the wall outside and positioned herself in between it and Cole so she could punch in numbers without him seeing. He wanted to praise her for playing it smart but thought against it in case it sounded condescending. She was obviously a woman that knew how to maintain a bit of safety.
When the keypad buzzed, she reached for the door to pull it open. Cole held it while she stepped inside, still waiting for that last minute surrender by Julia to invite him up.
“Goodnight, Cole,” she smiled at him.
No such luck.
But she paused like she was considering it again, and even though he knew just how he could convince her to give in, he only leaned forward, kissed her on the cheek and said, “ ‘Night, Jules. I hope I see you soon.”
Then he left. There was still a tiny thought that she’d stop him from leaving and call him back, but he actually wasn’t hoping for it. He kinda liked ending it on that note.
Even though he had self-gratification on his mind the entire three-minute drive home…
Chapter Seventeen
Cole woke to the smell of bacon cooking.
What. In. The. Fuck.
He sat up abruptly on the couch, spotting Leah in the kitchen at the stove. How in the hell did she start cooking breakfast without waking him up?
He stood from the couch and eyed her from the living room. She raised an eyebrow at him and said, “Well good morning, big grizzly bear.”
She’d still been sound asleep when he got home after one in the morning. Cody had been watching TV on the couch but immediately left for his own apartment without any questions. Cole had gone straight to the bathroom, relieved himself of some pent-up frustrations, and then lost consciousness as soon as his head hit the couch.
And now Leah had been moving around his place for God knows how long without his knowledge.
“You okay?” she finally asked as she paused from mixing pancake batter.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered. “You sleep alright?” He stretched and headed to take a leak.
“Yeah, definitely. And apparently you did too,” she added as he shut the bathroom door behind him.
Yeah, apparently so. And now he felt like he needed to draw some blood in an octagon for a bit. After throwing on some clothes for the gym, he joined Leah in the kitchen. She’d already set some food on a plate with a glass of orange juice on the counter and told him to start eating.
“Thanks, this looks amazing,” he replied, sitting down.
She smiled at him and dropped another pancake on his plate. Sliding the syrup across the counter she said, “Amazing what a few groceries in the house will do, huh?”
He still felt regretful he was such a lame ass when it came to stuff like that, but he stuffed his face with a piece of bacon to avoid answering.
Leah turned off the stove and sat on a stool next to him. “Look, I just want to apologize for how difficult I’ve been lately. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with all of this shit and… I just want you to know that I appreciate how much you care about people and their safety and…thank you for all you’ve done so far.”
He studied her very carefully. It was almost the sound of defeat coming out in her tone and it worried him. But she smiled at him again and stood to clean up the kitchen, like she didn’t want him to see how completely heartbroken she still was. He knew she didn’t want him asking her about Emilia and he’d respected her wishes so far.
“Leah, I’m not done helping you. It sounds like you’re giving up. Are you? This is far from over. You know that, right?”
She sighed as she turned around. “I’m not giving up, I’m just… I’m just so…scared right now,” she ended softly. “I don’t know what has happened and what’s going to happen, and I’m just…almost afraid to put anymore feeling into it because…”
He didn’t need her to finish for him to understand. He could feel it from her pretty clearly. He pushed his plate aside and said, “I learned a long time ago that there are some things you can’t help in life. There are things you don’t have control over. There comes a time when you realize this and you feel you should give up on it, but sometimes you think there’s just a little bit more you can do to make a difference.” He waited for a response but didn’t get one. “Where are you at with that, Leah? Are you completely without options right now?”
She scowled noticeably and leaned against the counter, but didn’t answer.
“Hey, think of this,” Cole added. “If Damien did this to send a message to someone…what does that mean to you?”
She studied him with a bit of hope in her eyes. “That Alex is still alive?” she asked softly.
He nodded. “That’s my guess.”
“I’m gonna say this and want it to stay between us, okay? Do not tell Van,” she added firmly.
Cole shrugged, but since she didn’t wait for him to agree, he silently told himself he wasn’t going to promise something if he felt he shouldn’t.
She added, “I want to go back to Miami and—”
“Fuck no,” he exclaimed, dropping his fork onto the plate. “No fucking way, Leah. That is not your place; it’s not your job.”
“Well this is all my fault,” she glared at him. “I think Damien will talk to me and I want to see if there’s something he’ll tell me. I honestly feel like it’s worth a try. I chickened out before. I really did. I had the chance to talk to him about it and I didn’t. I was scared because I knew I’d put myself in a bad situation by being there but I blew it. If I go back, pay him what I owe him…maybe I could find a way to bring it up. It can’t hurt, right?”
Cole released a heavy sigh. “You know what? I totally see where you’re coming from but… That’s not something you’re equipped to deal with and you shouldn’t have to.”
“Then come with me.” Her face was practically pleading with him as she waited for a response.
Truthfully, he actually had considered it. But having Leah there, no matter how helpful she could be, wasn’t going to settle with him. “I can’t let you come with me.”
“Come with you? So you really are going to Miami?”
“I don’t know,” he exhaled. “It’s crossed my mind. But really, this is not my case, Leah.”
“But what about Emilia?” she asked softly. Swallowing, she was trying to hold back her emotions. She took a deep breath to compose herself. “This is my fault. Somewhere along the line I messed up and people found out about her. I don’t know who is to blame ultimately, but I feel like I could have done something to prevent it.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed. “But ever since Alex disappeared… Things have changed, Cole. I don’t know what happened or why this is happening, but something changed when he left. You know I’m still imagining the worst.”
“Why would Damien kill Alex?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” she retorted, almost like she was challenging him like he had about trusting Scarlett. She had a point. Cole never disregarded any possibility until he had proof it was off the table for sure. “And maybe Alex did find him and confronted him about his dad. What if something happened because of that?”
“Well, there are definitely more questions than answers right now,” he said. “I can only hope the authorities take care of it. You need to take a step back and let them handle it.”
Leah didn’t look convinced and he couldn’t blame her. He also saw something in her eyes that said she was going to take matters into her own hands if someone didn’t give her answers she could work with.
“Please, Cole,” she pleaded softly. “I will give you everything and anything I have if you can find her. It’s not much, but—”
“You don’t need to do that, Leah.”
Cole sighed to himself. He didn’t feel like he had a choice right now; Miami was on the table. However, he didn’t want her involved in any of this when he didn’t know how she fit into it all. After last night’s head-clearing outing, he realized he’d never even come up with a solution.
“I have another case I’ve been hired for,” he said. “Just let the police handle Emilia’s situation right now. I’ll make some phone calls after the gym and see what’s up.”
“Can I come? To the gym, I mean.”
He pulled his plate back toward him as he considered it. “I guess if you want to.” He felt he was probably the worst gym buddy in the world because he never talked to anyone unless he had to. Being social wasn’t his goal when he was there.
He also glanced down at the food he was consuming. Pretty soon he needed to get back on track with his training diet because food like this was not gonna cut it…
***
Ninety minutes later, Cole walked into the Divehouse with Leah. As usual, he got a dozen sets of eyes staring at the two of them together. It was only the second time she’d been there with him but he didn’t miss all the curious gossip that floated around immediately after. This time was no different. He could tell just being there with her was going to stir up another round of rumors.
“Ah, just the guy I wanted to see,” Mickey called as he came out of the office. He stepped next to Leah and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hello to you too, beautiful.”
“Hi, Mickey,” she smiled.
“Cole, have a few
words with me,” he said, and then he turned for his office again. It was a command, not a suggestion.
Leah cocked an eyebrow at him. “Sounds like you’re in trouble.”
“Hmm,” was all he replied. He didn’t believe he was and had a pretty good idea what Mickey wanted from him because he’d already caught bits and pieces of the buzz. He walked up to the office and paused in the doorway.
“Gary’s still got the flu,” Mickey told him. “His fight tonight’s gonna be canceled unless you wanna take it for him. The guys from Antonio Mendoza’s club are all betting you’re too pussy to take it.”
Cole smiled, completely amused by Mickey’s dry sense of humor. Well, his honesty, rather. “Yeah, I’m too pussy to take it,” he nodded his head.
“Bullshit,” Mickey spat out. “I already told ‘em you’d fill in. You got a problem with it, you’re gonna have to cancel it yourself.”
Cole’s smile disappeared. That was going a little too far. “I don’t think you really understand what you’re doing, Mick. And I just won’t show up. I don’t really care what that says about me but something tells me you won’t allow your reputation to get smeared like that. And I’m not even prepared for matches. My diet has gone to shit since I’ve been traveling. Let me get back on track and I’ll think about it for another time.”
Mickey groaned. “Come on, kid. When you gonna take a chance? Why don’t you just give it a try, huh? One fight. And it’s an easy one, you don’t even have to bring your best game. Just take it like a practice spar, eh? What do you say?”
“I say no,” Cole answered as he turned for the gym. But he ran right smack into Leah.
“Just give it a try,” she shrugged, looking him over. “What do you have to lose?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering if she’d already forgotten what he’d told her of his past. Why was she going to challenge him on it right now?
“I have a lot to lose,” he answered calmly. “And you know that.” He walked past her and stripped his shirt off when he got to an open punching bag. He slipped on a pair of pre-wraps and grabbed a roll of tape from the wall for reinforcement.