Cole (Hunting Her)

by Eden Summers

  I make quick work of my underwear, blouse, and jacket, then shimmy into my pants. I’m striding from the bedroom, finger-combing my hair when I find him in the kitchen, his back to me as he stands in front of the coffee machine watching dark liquid gurgle and spit into two mugs.

  “How was Layla?” I cock my hip against the counter, giving him space.

  “Predictably upset.” He grabs the filled mugs and approaches, placing one in front of me. “There’s no escaping her suffering until I can get Stella back.”

  He’s different now. Hardened. Focused.

  “I know she’s hurting, but it’s unfair for her to blame you for this.”

  “Blame keeps her occupied.” He sips his coffee, not holding my gaze. “It’s a better alternative to letting her mind run wild with thoughts of what her daughter could be going through.”

  “But it upsets you, right?” I cock my head, forcing myself into his line of sight. “You seem different after the phone call. Are you worried about facing her again?”

  He huffs out a breathy laugh. “No.”

  “Then what is it?”

  He eyes me over the rim of his mug and leisurely takes another sip, as if waiting for me to figure out the answer.

  “Cole?” I raise a brow.

  He places the mug on the counter, giving me his attention. “I’m worried about you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “Nobody will appreciate this new turn of events between us.” A subtle grin tilts his lips. “Vowing my life to a Fed isn’t a typical day at the office.”

  “Wait.” I bristle at the declaration, my mug clattering to the counter, coffee sloshing over the rim. “You’re going to tell them?”

  “Layla may have stopped screaming at me but she’s going to expect answers. They all need to know.”

  My heart grows claws, the sharp tips digging into tender tissue.

  “This isn’t the right time.” I’m still treading water with my own feelings. I need to get used to this reality first.

  “No, it’s not. But it’s necessary. They already know you slept in my bed last night.” Those deep blue eyes hold mine as if trying to give me strength. “They’re fully aware something has been going on between us. It’s time they learned to trust you.”

  I shake my head. They can’t trust me. Not yet.

  God, I don’t even trust myself right now.

  “They’re going to attempt to tear you limb from limb,” he continues. “If not physically, then mentally.”

  “Jesus Christ.” I release the air in my lungs with a heavy heave. “You didn’t want to break that to me a little more gently?”

  “There’s no time for gentle. They’ll be here soon.”

  My throat threatens to close.

  They’re going to kill me.

  “You’ll be fine.” He takes another sip, those eyes still intently coaxing me to be stronger.

  “Fine?” No, not fine. Anything but fine. “Hunt wanted me dead before we started sleeping together. Finding out we’ve committed to some sort of permanence will… I don’t know. It’s just not the right time. Can’t you let me get used to us first?”

  “For starters, there’s not some sort of permanence. This is infinite, little fox.” He places his mug on the counter and bridges the space between us. “I also know you’re going to take your sweet-ass time getting used to this, and I have no plan to coddle you with postponements.”

  “Well, I hope your impatience is worth my death.”

  His grin returns. “Hunter is protective. He knows you’re a threat and not because of your badge. He was well aware of your hold on me before I was. Same goes for Luca, although, unlike Hunt, he’s slightly conflicted about hurting women.”

  “Slightly?” I roll my eyes. “Your gushing words of comfort fill me with confidence.”

  He chuckles, soft and breathy. “You can handle it.”

  “You’re joking, right? We haven’t even touched base on Decker, who I dragged to hell and back to get information on you and your family. Which is why Keira will never trust me.” I swallow to ease the ache in my throat. “It’s too soon, Cole.”

  “It’s no longer up for discussion.” He wraps a hand around my wrist and pulls me in for a hug. His lips find my temple, his gentle warmth enveloping me. “You can be quite endearing when you’re vulnerable. It’s not my favorite facet of you, but it’s growing on me.”

  “This isn’t funny.” I lean back to meet his gaze. “What are you going to say exactly?”

  “I don’t have a script, little fox.” He glides strong fingers through my hair, teasing my scalp. “But they’ll be told you’re here to stay. And that they now have to answer to you.”

  My heart lurches. “Again. That’s not funny.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re an extension of me. They will answer to both of us.”

  He’s sincere. Batshit, loco serious.

  “You’d be throwing me to the dogs.” I step back, demanding space.

  “I’m placing you on your throne.”

  Hell no.

  Luca doesn’t approve of me. Decker despises me. Hunter wants to slay me alive. And I have no clue what the women in Cole’s life are capable of.

  “Nobody is ready for this.” The weak defense is murmured from my lips.

  He reaches out, his hands sliding up my forearms, over my shoulders to my neck. His fingers work their magic at the base of my skull. Teasing. Coaxing. “Holding off will only delay the confrontation.”

  “I’m good with a delay.”

  He grins, half-hearted and incredibly sly at the same time. “You can handle this. The faster we put this behind us, the sooner we can focus on the bigger picture.”

  The bigger picture.

  I slump my shoulders, my perspective finally settling on what matters most—Stella and Tobias. The only thing that matters is those kids.

  “Okay?” He leans in, placing his forehead to mine.

  My stomach lurches. I’m not merely drowning in the deep end. The water here is one unending rip filled with bloodthirsty sharks and pummeling waves.

  “Okay.” I suck in a breath. “But I came to Sacramento in an attempt to make things easier, and it seems I’ve done the opposite.”

  He huffs out a laugh. “You never make things easier, yet I keep coming back—”

  A knock raps at the door, flooding me with panic. “I thought you said we had half an hour.”

  He gives me a quick kiss and starts for the hall. “It sounds like the attack dogs came early.”

  He’s such a masochist, deriving pleasure from my suffering. Yet in the same heartbeat, I know he’s taunting me out of a desire to create strength.

  I’m about to be attacked. My choices. My loyalty. My life. He needs me to be resilient.

  I square my shoulders at the sound of the door opening, bracing for the upcoming onslaught.

  But it’s not his sisters’ voices I hear. It’s men, their grumbled undertones unfamiliar.

  No, not entirely foreign—just initially indistinguishable. The longer they mumble, the more I remember.

  I dash for the hall, finding Cole at the door, his profile a tight line of hostility.

  “Our father wants to see you,” the unseen man says. “Now.”

  I don’t stop running, not until Cole raises a hand at me in warning, his gaze snapping to mine.

  “Stay there.” There’s no fear in his eyes, only angered determination before he returns his attention back to the men. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  The response sickens me. If Emmanuel’s sons had to dispose of one body today, there’s nothing to stop them from getting rid of two.

  “Don’t go.” I creep forward, my throat drying when the men come into sight.

  They’re both tall, broad, lethal, their hard stares and tight lips exuding malice.

  “You know the drill,” the blond with the beard says. “No weapons.”

  Cole reaches behind his
waist, flipping the back of his suit jacket to retrieve his gun.

  “No.” I grab for his arm, but he counters by snatching my wrist to guide the weapon into my palm.

  “It’s okay.” His features don’t soften as he meets my gaze. “I’ll call you when I can.”

  “No, you won’t,” the taller man mutters. “Leave your cell behind, too. We don’t want any distractions.”

  My panic increases, hollowing my stomach. They want Cole entirely vulnerable, with no ability to escape.

  “Look after this.” He retrieves his cell from his jacket pocket, holding it out to me.

  I’m too numb to take it. Too busy scrambling for a way to stall while his gun remains a heavy weight in my hand.

  “Please listen to me.” Cole’s team is meant to be here soon. Any minute now there could be a wall of backup to stop this from happening. All I need to do is buy time. “You’re meant to be meeting your sisters. Don’t leave until they show up.”

  Cole slides his cell into my pocket and leans close, kissing my cheek, using his proximity to murmur in my ear, “The password is your birthday. Call Hunter.”

  I shake my head and whisper, “If you go with them, you might not come back.”

  “And if I don’t, then the same can be said for those kids.”

  Every organ in my body twists, demanding action.

  I can’t let him go. He can’t stay either.

  I have to find a middle ground and I don’t know how. I just need a little more time to figure this out.

  “Let me go with you.” I step away from Cole, pushing in front of him to block the doorway as I face Emmanuel’s sons. “He’s not leaving on his own.”

  “Nissa,” Cole warns.

  “Stop wasting our time.” The blond stares over my shoulder. “We’re not taking anyone except you.”

  Strong hands fall on my hips, the pressure building to move me out of the way.

  “No.” I raise the gun in both hands, mindless of what else to do. “He’s not going anywhere. Not like this.”

  The men don’t move. Don’t even flinch.

  They remain standing there as if I don’t exist, their attention focused on Cole.

  “We retrieved those children for you,” the guy with the dark stubble says. “We cleaned up the mess you left behind in the penthouse. And our father has even offered you an opportunity most people would sell their soul for. Yet this is how we’re repaid?”

  A hard body settles in behind me. “Lower the gun, little fox,” The growled demand brushes the back of my neck, making me shiver. “Trust that I’ll sort this out.”

  I ignore him, switching my aim from one brother to the next. I can’t trust anyone when there’s no humanity to be seen in the men before me. “You’re going to bring those kids here and end this.”

  “Get your bitch under control,” the blond snaps.

  “Anissa, lower my gun,” Cole sneers this time, his arm wrapping around my stomach. “Because if he calls you a bitch again, I’m going to have to kill him.”

  I need more time. Just a few more minutes. I don’t know how to win in their world. I haven’t learned the ropes. The only thing I’m familiar with is intimidation and threats. Whoever calls chicken is the loser, right?

  “Now, Nissa.” Cole’s hold tightens. “Before they lose patience.”

  The darker-haired man reaches into his suit jacket, completely undaunted by my threat. Is he going for a gun?

  Shit. He probably knows I won’t shoot, and I have no doubt he will.

  “Okay.” Fuck. I raise my hands in surrender and stumble as Cole pulls me back into the penthouse.

  “Behave.” His hand sweeps over my wrist, giving a gentle squeeze. “Get in contact with the others. Make sure nobody meddles. Including you. I’ll return with those kids soon. Be ready to leave.”

  I’m scraped hollow as he turns his attention to the threat and walks directly toward it. Fearless.

  My insides scream at me to do something. Anything. But I’m clueless when my only experience involves avenues Cole would despise me for taking.

  I can’t alert the authorities.

  I can’t make threats revolving around the law.

  The three of them walk to the elevator, the two men flanking Cole as he presses the call button and waits for the doors to open.

  I’m a trembling mess of internal suffering by the time they step inside the small space and swing around to face me with matching expressions of cold calculation.

  I hold my breath, holstering the gun in my waistband while the doors close. As soon as they’re gone I run after them, diving deep into my pocket to snatch Cole’s phone. I press the button to call for another elevator, then unlock the cell by entering my birthday.

  My pulse is erratic as I scroll through the contact list to find Hunter’s name and connect the call, the ding of the elevator’s arrival filling me with temporary relief.

  I dash inside, slamming my hand against the lobby button as the line connects.

  “Yeah?” Hunt says in greeting.

  “It’s Anissa.” The elevator jolts into movement, slowly descending. “Emmanuel’s sons showed up and took Cole.”

  “Wh—you—Torian.” His gruff words are cut short, the garble undecipherable.

  Shit. “I can’t hear you. I’m in the elevator. They made him leave his gun and phone behind.”

  “Get—there—wait.”

  Goddamnit.

  I hang up and stare at the descending numbers on the indicator screen, silently begging them to move faster. Once I stop at ground level, I reef the doors open and run barefoot to the front of the building, rushing to the city street, spinning in a full circle in the middle of the sidewalk.

  Cole’s nowhere in sight. Not in the passing cars. Not walking nearby.

  They can’t have disappeared. I wasn’t far behind them.

  The cell vibrates in my hand, Hunter’s name appearing on the screen.

  “Cole’s gone,” I answer in a rush. “They took him.”

  “Yeah, I got that part. You don’t know where they’re going?”

  “No.” I rake a hand through my hair, my toes throbbing from the frozen cement. “They didn’t say.”

  “Well, I’ve got eyes on the kids. They haven’t moved. My guess is they’re bringing him here. So you can tap out.” His voice fills with annoyance. Disdain. “Mind your own business, and leave Cole to me.”

  27

  Cole

  I’m taken to the hotel’s underground parking lot where a black sedan idles a few feet outside the elevator, the windows tinted.

  “Do you plan on telling me where we’re going?” I stop a few feet from the vehicle, not overly enthusiastic about being at their mercy.

  “It’s a surprise.” Salvatore opens the back door. “Get in.”

  His audacity is becoming more than a thorn in my side.

  He’s nobody.

  Nothing.

  Yet he dares to throw his weight around, and his brother is stupid enough to call my woman a bitch.

  I’d slit their throats right here if they didn’t have me by the balls. Instead, I calmly step forward, biding my time until I can gain the upper hand as I take a look inside.

  Emmanuel sits on the far back seat, his wrinkled face smiling up at me. “Let’s go for a drive.”

  I fucking hate this guy. I’m unsure if I’ve hated anyone else more. But strangely enough, I have an unwanted appreciation for his unprecedented level of cockiness.

  “Are you going to be more hospitable about where we’re going?” I place a hand on the roof, another on the open door and check the interior. There’s no sign of Stella or Tobias. No blatant show of weaponry either.

  “I have something you need to see. Call it an incentive.” He pauses, holding up a finger as if to warn me from taking his words as a taunt. “A gift,” he clarifies. “All I want to do is show it to you.”

  He can call it a gift, a bribe, or a fucking curse for all I care. In the end, it
will only ever be a delay in getting those kids.

  I slide in, sticking to my side of the car as the door is slammed behind me.

  “Your seat belt, please.” Emmanuel watches me patiently. “It’s going to be quite a drive.”

  I keep my mouth shut and fasten the belt as Salvatore climbs in behind the steering wheel while Remy takes shotgun.

  “Good.” Emmanuel nods in appreciation. “Let’s go.”

  We exit the underground parking lot to stop out the front of the hotel and wait for passing traffic. That’s when I see her. Barefoot. Her face pale with panic.

  Nissa stares at the car, her focus on Salvatore, her hand sliding beneath her jacket.

  “Is she going to be a problem?” Emmanuel asks.

  I try to ignore my anger at him recognizing her even though he wasn’t upstairs, but my aggression is unescapable. It consumes me, increasing my need to protect her.

  “She pulled a fucking gun on us,” Remy grates as we accelerate onto the road. “She’s lucky to still be breathing.”

  The hair rises on the back of my neck, the distinct prickle crawling its way down my spine. Nissa runs after us, her hand still inside her jacket, her hair flipping around her face.

  “She isn’t a problem.” I feign disinterest, unwilling to reveal her true value just yet. “What’s this gift you have for me?” I turn to meet Emmanuel’s kind, lying eyes as Nissa haunts my periphery. “Has your wife grown tired of the kids already?”

  “On the contrary. She’s become quite attached.”

  I stiffen.

  “There’s no need to fear, Mr. Torian. I assure you, they’re in good hands and will be returned to you as soon as our business dealings are taken care of.”

  “Where are they?”

  We turn a corner, and I fight to ignore relief when Anissa disappears from view.

  “Where you left them. But it’s come to my attention that we’re running out of time. I heard news of a scene between you and that woman at the hotel bar, and I must admit I was a little disappointed when rumors of your FBI fling proved true.”

  “Disappointed?” I scoff. “I thought a man of your underhanded capabilities would understand the benefit of having an agent in their pocket.”