I look around, expecting his friends to circle us. My muscles tighten, ready to defend myself.
But nothing happens. He shuts the car off, and we just sit in silence. I swallow the lump in my throat. My hands shake, ready to reach for the door handle and run.
“Don’t,” he says calmly as if he knows what I’m thinking.
My head snaps to look over at him, but he stares straight ahead. “I’m not going to hurt you.” I snort, and he turns his head to look at me. “Not today, anyway,” he adds, and that nervousness bubbles up again.
He smiles at me, a soft one, and I fist my hands in my lap because I know he can feel my fear. Men like him feed off it. I reach out and yank his sunglasses off his face. It’s raining, for Christ’s sake; he doesn’t need them.
A set of baby blue eyes stare into mine.
He reaches out, and I jump in surprise. I expect him to laugh, but he doesn’t. Instead, his eyes drop to my cardigan as he takes a lock of my hair between his fingers. He twists the strands around it. “Red really is your color,” he says softly, and then his eyes are back on mine.
Warmth spreads down my back as he threads his fingers through my hair. I whimper, half scared to shit. The other half turned on.
What is wrong with me?
He leans into me, stopping his face just inches from mine. I let out a long breath, trying to stop my racing heart. “Cole …” I whisper his name.
He smiles at me. “Don’t be afraid, Austin. If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you last night. And I sure as hell wouldn’t do it while Celeste knows you’re with me.”
I close my eyes and whimper, trying not to show my fear, but it’s leaking from my pores. His car reeks of it.
“Look at me,” he orders, and I open my eyes. He’s still in my face, his hand still gripping my hair. “Although, I did imagine sneaking into your room and making you pay for what you did. But thought better of it.”
I swallow. “What do you want from me?”
He tilts his head to the side as if to think about his answer. “For you to understand.” He pulls away from me, and I suck in a long breath. Sitting back in his seat, he looks straight ahead over the concrete barrier that comes up to the hood of the car. “See that man?” He points out at the building across from the parking garage.
I have to squint, but I see a man standing in his office. The glass windows showcasing everything. His hands in his hair. His suit jacket on the floor and white button-up untucked. His suspenders hanging from his waist. “What about him?”
“That is Jeff’s brother.”
“Jeff?” I look at Cole.
“The guy we killed last night,” he answers without any remorse.
“Oh,” I say, looking back at the older man. And my breathing picks up. This is just another way for him to pull me in. Get me involved. “I don’t wanna know …”
“This man killed his wife.” He ignores me. “He beat her repeatedly. All the time. But he was smart about it. As smart as a bastard like him can be. He never touched her arms, legs, or face. He only touched where he knew she could cover up.” I look back at Cole. “One day, she had had enough and went to tell the one person she thought she could trust. His brother, Jeff.” He runs a hand through his dark hair as he stares straight ahead at the man. “She begged him to help her. Her husband kept her close because she had no family. Well, she had someone, but …” He trails off. “Anyway, so she turned to his family and asked for some money to leave her abusive husband. He told her to give him a few days.” His hand grips the steering wheel. “But he went to his brother and told him what his wife had asked him to do. So when he got home, he beat her. He beat her, not caring where the bruises showed up because he knew she wasn’t gonna survive this time.” My throat tightens. “Then after he beat her to within an inch of her life, he took a knife and slit her throat.” He speaks with no emotion, and tears sting my eyes. “He didn’t even give her a proper burial. He carried her to the old cemetery, dug a hole, and dropped her in it.”
I reach out and touch his arm. “I’m sorry …”
He yanks back from me, and his eyes meet mine. They have fire in them, and his breath has picked up.
I lower my eyes to my lap. “Who was she to you?”
“She was Eli’s older sister.”
“Eli?” I ask, looking up at him through my lashes.
“My best friend,” he says, his eyes back on the man who runs around aimlessly in his office.
I don’t remember that name from last night at the cemetery. “Why not kill him?” I ask.
“He doesn’t deserve death yet.” His eyes meet mine. “Death is no different than anything else. It too must be earned.”
I look over at the man, and he has his cell in his hand. He keeps putting it to his ear and then pulls it away. Repeating the motion. “What do you think he’s doing?”
“He’s trying to contact Jeff.”
I look over at Cole, and a soft smile covers his face. “They are business partners. And without Jeff, he’ll lose everything. Jeff was the mastermind behind their shit show.”
I look back at the guy who stands in his office. He reminds me of watching a hamster in his cage as he runs on his wheel, getting nowhere. He just keeps circling around, that phone still in his hand. “So you go around killing people who kill others?” I ask.
He snorts. “No. Jeff was … an exception.”
I run a hand through my hair, trying to understand what is going on and how I feel about it. “You still killed someone …”
“It wasn’t like he was innocent,” he snaps.
I narrow my eyes on him. “You cut my arm.”
He places his hand in my hair again, but instead of leaning into me, he yanks me across the center console. I gasp at the feel of his nails digging into my scalp. “I’ll do whatever I have to do, sweetheart. And I watched the video. You’re not as innocent as you claim to be.”
“I’ve never killed anyone,” I snap.
He chuckles, and his free hand comes up to my throat. “But you want to.”
My heart starts to pound. “You don’t know me …”
“You’re a Lowes, after all. Remember? Everyone in our town knows what kind of man your father is. Including you.”
I clamp my mouth shut because I know how terrible he can be. And I can’t count how many times I’ve wished him dead.
He leans in, his nose running along my jawline. I shudder. “We are all the same, Austin. Some of us just choose not to pretend.”
CHAPTER FOUR
COLE
I PULL AWAY from her, and my eyes fall to her lips. Bringing her here was a mistake. Having her in my car alone with me was a mistake. But I made them anyway. I’m known for fuckups. No one expects much from me. Well, no one except Lilly. But she isn’t hard to please.
I run my thumb over her bottom lip, wondering what it would feel like between my teeth. Or wrapped around my cock. Either one would do at the moment. She licks her lips, letting me know what she is thinking, and that’s enough for now.
I sit back in my seat and throw the car in reverse. Pulling out of the parking spot, I don’t look back once at the bastard who is going to pay for killing my best friend’s sister.