by Hadley Quinn
He barely smiled. “Yes, I think I can manage.”
“Dani’s pregnant. About six weeks. They’re keeping it a secret for now because she’s already had one miscarriage a few months ago; they wanted to make sure everything was okay before they shared the news. She was having a lot of cramping yesterday, so Van took her to get checked out. I’ve just been texting now and then, asking for updates. He says she’s doing okay and they sent her home to rest. He knows I’m with you, so that’s probably the only reason he’s not questioning the shit out of me. He’s busy worrying about her. I haven’t even mentioned that we’re in Florida.”
She watched Cole take the news silently. He was always assessing things internally like that.
“Listen,” he said gently, almost hesitantly. “They haven’t found Emilia yet. I know all of that is hard for you to take in, but I just thought I’d update you. We’re done here, you and me. We can go back to Jersey if you want.”
She nodded but really didn’t know what to say. All she wanted was for Emilia to be returned to her family. Leah’s own life may have been completely turned upside down, but she would survive. She’d been given a tough hand from the very beginning, but she sincerely wanted to prevent one little girl from having to go through something painful if she could.
“Okay, yeah, let’s head home,” she replied.
She mindlessly followed Cole to the car. Another rental, another flight…it was getting old. Every day she felt more and more like a vagabond; a drifter without an actual home. At one point she needed to fix that, but it had been nearly impossible to feel comfortable even in her own skin with the direction her life had taken her.
Leah stared out the window as Cole drove them to the airport. The city lights flashed over her face but she closed her eyes to an array of thoughts. As furious as she was with Alex, she was actually more heartbroken than anything. And she felt stupid, completely played. Again, hindsight told her so many things. She didn’t really know what true love was, but she thought he loved her. Being tossed around to a bunch of homes had never really given her a chance to know anyone. Alex was the first person who actually seemed interested in her.
What a fucking joke.
Cole remained quiet. That guy was probably sick to death of this entire thing. That was even more humiliating. She didn’t give a damn about Alex and what he thought of her, but Cole… She cared way too much what he thought. And she hadn’t exactly been a peach to him. She’d probably never get him to understand how badly she felt like a piece of shit, unworthy of anyone’s time and attention. She’d never been the center of anything like she’d been lately; she didn’t know how to handle it.
Poorly, was all she could conclude. She’d handled it very poorly. Looking back, she would change about a thousand things, starting with trusting Cole from the beginning. Apparently she had a lot to learn about the male gender and it wasn’t going to happen any time soon.
“You need anything to eat?” he asked as they passed a few restaurants.
She shook her head. “No thanks.”
But a minute later, they passed a McDonald’s and something familiar struck her memory. It was a culmination of previous conversations with Alex and spending time with Scarlett.
“Hey, can you take a right up here?” Leah asked, sitting up straighter.
“This next street?”
“Yeah.”
He obliged, taking a right at the next light.
“Just drive for a bit…” She had no idea where exactly she was going until she saw particular landmarks. “Here. Turn left.”
Cole turned left. He didn’t ask any questions, just allowed her the contemplation.
“When the FBI questioned me about places linked to Alex, I don’t think this one ever came up,” she said. “I was with Scarlett when we stopped here, but I don’t know if it means anything. She was kind of weird about what she was doing.”
“Why? Where are we headed?”
“It’s a house. She said she knew someone here but she wouldn’t say anything more about it.”
“Did she go inside and talk to someone?”
“Pull over right here,” she pointed. “Well she got a phone call, and from what I remember, she was asked to meet someone but I got the impression that she wished I wasn’t there with her. But she played it off, said she really didn’t want to deal with it. I specifically asked if it had anything to do with finding Alex and she assured me it didn’t. So…I didn’t care anything about it.”
Cole looked at the house that she’d pointed out to him. “When you stopped here, how long was Scarlett in there?”
Leah shrugged. “Just a couple of minutes, I guess. Not long.”
He used his phone to make a call, requesting more information on the house and to send someone to check it out. When he ended the call, he asked, “Did she ever come back here?”
“No. Not with me, at least. Like I said, I think that’s why I’m reflecting on it right now. Passing that McDonald’s triggered the memory. I felt like I was in the way of something when Scarlett took that call. I just remember feeling that—like she was in a bind but had to take care of something even while I was with her.”
Cole turned the car off and proceeded to get out. “I want you to wait here, okay?”
She nodded as he shut the door and walked toward the house. An uneasy feeling crept into her chest, one that she didn’t like one bit.
Leah got out of the car and followed him. When she caught up to Cole along the side of the house, he turned around with his gun drawn.
He let out a frustrated breath of air. “What part of ‘stay in the car’ do you not understand?”
“I have a really horrible feeling right now,” she explained. “I can’t shake it.”
“I do too, but you can’t be here, Leah. Go back to the damn car.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing the panic to go away. Something wasn’t right, and by the look on Cole’s face, he felt it too.
A sound from inside the house caught their attention. Cole immediately put his arm across her, as if to protect her from whatever was inside. “Go back to the car,” he whispered harshly.
She took a couple of steps away, intending to comply, but then stopped when she heard a child crying. Cole was prowling around the windows, glancing inside, but then he paused at one in particular to watch.
Leah couldn’t stand it anymore. The child was still crying, louder now, and she rushed up to the window that Cole was observing through.
Her heart pummeled to the bottom of her stomach. There was no unseeing what she’d just witnessed and it cut through her with both physical and emotional pain.
“Leah—”
He’d tried to push her away, to keep her from seeing, but it was too late. The view was through a kitchen window, but across the hall was an open bedroom door. A woman threw a little girl on the bed and struck her across the face, pointing a finger at her angrily and then covering her mouth up so she couldn’t make any more noise.
Then she hit her again.
Cole was on his phone instantly as he left the side of the house for the back door. Leah could only stand there in shock, unable to breathe.
Finally she took a huge gulp of air, gasping like she’d been suffocating for a while. She was brought back to the day her mother was killed, standing at the front door and unable to move. Why was fear so paralyzing?
Time went slowly, it went quickly…she had no idea. For a moment she didn’t even remember where she was as she watched this woman yell at an innocent little girl, and then pull her onto the floor by her long brown hair.
Emilia.
Then she remembered Cole. Where the fuck was he?!?
She was just about to break the damn window to get inside when she saw him. He approached the bedroom door cautiously, pointing his gun at the evil bitch that had to have the soul of Satan to hurt a child like that.
He’d been talking to her, her hands were up away from her body, but he motioned for he
r to get on the floor. Leah couldn’t see Emilia right now, but she wanted to puke at that moment. She ran around to the back of the house where Cole must have entered, just as lights and sirens appeared at the front. She didn’t care, didn’t know what else was happening, but went straight for the bedroom.
Satan’s mistress was facedown on the floor, her wrists zip-tied behind her back. Cole was near the wall, talking softly to a very scared three-year-old cowering in the corner.
“You’re okay, baby girl, I’m not going to hurt you,” he spoke gently. His gun was still in his hand but it was hidden behind his back. His other arm was motioning for her to come to him. “We need to go see your mommy and daddy, okay?” he added. “Come on, Emmy, let’s go find mommy and daddy.”
She stepped toward him and he scooped her up in his arm as she wrapped her tiny hands around his neck. Leah wanted to die at that moment, and it took everything inside of her to not lose control. The front door slammed open and several bodies entered; she was shoved out of the way and had weapons drawn on her, but she didn’t care. It only took a couple of seconds before they realized that the real offender was already detained.
Leah walked out of the house, numb but completely ripped apart at the same time. It didn’t even feel like this was her life—it couldn’t be. She felt despair, misery, helplessness, grief and…relief. All at the same time.
She was crying, she knew it, and an officer led her away from the house, asking if she was okay. Leah could only nod, and when Cole walked out of the house with Emilia still holding on to him for dear life, the last bit of her heart crumbled to pieces. Maybe it was his presence—strong, valiant man coming to the rescue of an innocent little girl—or maybe it was the sorrow she felt for Emilia Denton, the precious life that was linked to her biologically but would never belong to her in any other aspect.
Everything, in conjunction with each other, was going to completely shatter her world.
She slowly slipped into a state of obscurity, sinking to her knees in the grass to parallel her feelings of defeat. When would life stop with the disappointments? When was she ever going to feel like she was going forward instead of backward?
“Leah, come here.” Cole’s voice somehow reached a part of her that was not completely gone at that moment. “Can you walk with me?”
She couldn’t even feel her legs. Were they there? What the hell happened to her body?
Suddenly she was slowly lifting into the air. Oh God, was this death? Had she died? Died and…smelled Cole’s heavenly scent? Oh that was definitely worth the trip through death. It was right against her face…she was pressing her face against it…him… wait, since when did her dreams include him actually wearing a shirt? That was cloth against her cheek, not skin.
She opened her eyes just as she was being set on a tailgate. No, the back of an ambulance. She blinked, trying to focus for a minute.
“Yeah, I think she blacked out for a second,” she heard Cole’s voice.
“Miss?” another voice asked.
“No, go away,” she pushed her hand through the air, willing someone away. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.”
Leah took a breath and settled her eyes on Cole. He was standing there in front of her, watching closely.
“Is she okay?” Leah asked. “Emilia. Is she okay?” She looked around but didn’t see her.
Cole sat on the edge of the ambulance with her. “She’ll be okay. Eventually. She’s with child protective services, they’ll take her to the hospital and reunite her with her parents. The police just caught wind of this address—that bitch has worked for Mills before—so you were right on the ball, hon.”
Leah barely nodded as she chewed on her lip. Her heart still felt extremely heavy right now.
“How about you?” he asked softly. “I know you’ll get through this, you’re strong, but is there anything I can do for you right now?”
She slid out of the ambulance and staggered toward the rental car. “Just take me back to Jersey.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
If there was ever a case that completely drained Cole to the core, it had been Leah’s. He’d walked into that as a favor to a friend, did his job and found her, but opened up a monster of a mystery that had begun two decades prior.
Sometimes ‘expecting the unexpected’ could be a bitch of a joke.
After sleeping most of the flight home, he’d dropped Leah off at Van’s. She wanted to be with him as soon as she could and check on Dani. Cole didn’t even bother to stick around. He saw that she got in the door safely and then drove off. He had some of his own unfinished business to take care of and he was somewhat dreading it.
Was it too late to save his sorry ass?
He hadn’t even left Julia a message before he left town. After the impromptu fight at the Divehouse, the news from Maggie, and another last minute flight to Miami, he knew very well that he’d broken his promise to call. A hasty attempt from the airport had been about all he could manage, but then Sam had called and he had to take his call before he could leave a message for her.
He showered and changed at home and headed for the diner. She didn’t answer when he called from his truck, so making a visit was his only option. She wasn’t working, so he walked down the street to her apartment building and rang her door number.
“Yes?” her sweet voice answered.
“Jules, it’s Cole. Can I come up?”
No answer.
“Julia, I’m really sorry I haven’t been around much. I can explain. I promise.”
“I’m sure you can,” her reply came. “I just…I have company right now. Maybe another time, okay?”
He didn’t like the sound of that, but he knew better than to jump to conclusions. “Okay. I’ll just wait out here then.”
Another pause. “Seriously, Cole. Come back later.”
Someone came out of the front door, so Cole grabbed it to let himself inside. He took the stairs two at a time until he stopped on the second floor and knocked on her door.
“Julia,” he said into the doorframe. “Just let me apologize in person, okay?”
After five seconds, the door opened twelve inches. She looked completely startled to see him there. “I told you to come back later,” she hissed, obviously trying to keep him from seeing into her apartment. “Now is not a good time. Trust me.”
His brows creased because she looked worried. Never a dull moment in his life, but he still wanted to fix whatever was wrong.
“Julia, who’s at the door?” a deep voice asked.
Cole instantly went rigid, and noticing the expression on Julia’s face, she looked nervous.
“Don’t worry about it, Dad,” she emphasized, giving Cole a look.
Cole relaxed a little. She was afraid of him running into her father? Or…was she afraid of her father seeing him? Either way, he owed her the respect to just walk away. If she didn’t want the two of them to convene, then so be it.
“Okay,” he nodded. “I’ll be down the street grabbing some food. Come join me when you can.”
She nodded, just as the door was pulled open further. Another run-in with law enforcement was the last thing Cole needed right now, especially after the week he’d just had.
“Nicholson,” Buchanan practically growled.
“Sergeant,” Cole nodded with a polite smile. “Having a visit with your beautiful daughter today?”
Doug narrowed his eyes at him. “Interrogating her on the man she may potentially be seeing. I now see why she’s been so secretive about seeing you against my previous wishes.”
“Dad,” Julia sighed, reaching forward to grab Cole’s arm. She pulled him into the apartment and shut the door. “Come on. I haven’t been secretive about anything. You just like to put in your two cents’ worth a little too soon and I was trying to avoid it.”
He obviously didn’t like the sound of that. “Hmph. You’re my daughter. It’s my right as a father. Especially when I have guys like this to weed out,” he mot
ioned to Cole.
“Well that’s not fair,” Cole smiled. “I would never say anything disrespectful about you to your daughter.” He leaned forward and facetiously added, “Even if it’s the truth.”
Buchanan’s face turned a shade darker but Julia interrupted by saying, “Hey, both of you, shush it. I refuse to be in the middle of this. I’m a grown woman and I can make my own choices, okay? You two either learn to tolerate each other, or I’ll kick both your asses to the curb. Got it?”
Cole was amused, mainly because he was feeling a bit arrogant at the moment. He didn’t feel she would ever do that, but the threat was damn cute coming out of those pretty lips.
He couldn’t help it. He kissed her right in front of her dad. “Deal.”
If life had taught him anything, it was that he couldn’t make choices for other people and he couldn’t make others like him. Whatever Doug thought of him was his own right, but Cole didn’t have to let it affect him. The first thing he would’ve done upon seeing Julia was kiss her anyway.
And then strip her clothes off, but that would be going too far in front of her father.
“I have work to do,” Doug muttered under his breath. “Bye, honey.” He gave her a hug and opened the door, briefly glancing at Cole while shaking his head.
The door shut behind him.
“Well, that’s what I was trying to avoid,” Julia exhaled. “Do you not listen? What, you think I was hiding someone in here?” she scoffed.
He smiled at how flustered she was. “Well you kind of were, but the truth is… I just couldn’t wait to see you.”
Her expression softened and she tried to hide a smile until she couldn’t any longer. “Fine, you’re forgiven.”
“Good, now that our first fight is out of the way—”
“Technically second,” she corrected.
He thought for a moment and nodded his head. “Okay, now that our second fight is out of the way, it’s time for making up. Like serious, serious making up.”
He pulled her close to him and she smiled. “Oh? Like how serious are we talking?”
“Hmm, so serious that if you have to work today, you’d better cancel because woman, you may not be walking straight.”