When he finished, she blew a breath into the phone. “God, Cole. My heart is so happy and sad at the same time. I’m glad she has you right now.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“She needs you to watch over her and hold her hand while she grieves. Just keep doing that.” Her voice softened. “I look forward to finally meeting her.”
“This is almost over.”
“Matias selected the team for the heist you’re planning with the hacker. They’re on their way to you now. He’s bringing the best. Obviously, I’m not with them.”
“You’ll be on the next mission.”
“I know. Get back to your girl, and I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
“Night, Rylee.”
“Night, Cole.”
He made two more calls, touching base with Matias and Romero. If the gardai or Vincent Barrington’s men showed up here looking for him or Lydia, Romero would know. The kid was linked into the apartment’s security system, as well as multiple security cameras throughout the surrounding blocks.
With that comforting news, Cole returned to Lydia and grabbed some much-needed sleep.
The next morning, he was all business. From the moment they woke, stepped out of the apartment, caught a cab, boarded Matias’ private plane, and lifted off the tarmac, every thought in his head and measure he took focused on the safety of Lydia and the team.
It wasn’t until they were high in the air that he released a sigh of relief.
Lydia sat beside him in the front of the jet, staring out the small window as they ascended through the clouds. She hadn’t spoken much since she woke, and her limbs barely moved. Almost as if she were in a state of catatonia.
“Lydia.” He rested a hand on her denim-clad thigh.
She turned to him, the skin around her eyes red and puffy despite not having shed a single tear today. “Don’t ask me if I’m okay.”
“I won’t.”
“But you want to know how I’m doing.”
“For sure.”
“It changes by the second. I feel strong one moment and utterly paralyzed the next.” She rubbed her breastbone, wearing the weight of her heart in the shadows on her beautiful face. “I don’t want to cry, and I don’t want to pretend I’m fine. So I’m balancing on this plateau in emotional limbo.”
“It’s okay to cry,” he murmured.
“There’s a time and place.” She gripped his hand and squeezed. “I want to do that with you, when it’s just us. Which is weird because I’m not a crier. I was a ball of rage when my dad died, and I was a pillar of strength for Mike when Shannon died. But now, God, this is so much harder. It feels too heavy to carry. But I know I can. I will. Because of you.” She unbuckled her seat belt and twisted to face him fully, resting a hand on his whiskers. “You’ve seen me at my worst. As if all the things I did to you in Texas weren’t bad enough. Now you’ve seen me cry for ten hours straight.”
“If that’s your worst—”
“I puked all over your feet in the shower.”
“I was there.”
“Exactly,” she said quietly. “You were there. You’re still here.”
“I’m committed, Lydia.”
She said nothing and drew her gaze away, her smooth cheeks and pert freckled nose illuminated by the window light. Then she leaned toward him and rested her mouth against his shoulder, her hands curving around his ribs.
He encircled her slight body with one arm and pulled her onto his lap. “I want you to meet my friends.”
“They should want to kill me, not help me.”
“I told them your drone was a bluff. You already know who they are and what we do. They appreciate a good deception tactic.” He stroked along the length of her tumbled hair. “You’re exactly the kind of person they want fighting alongside them, not against them.”
“I want to meet them.”
He stood, taking her with him, and led her to the rear of the cabin.
Matias had assembled a six-person team for this operation. Seven, if he counted Romero, who remained in Colombia surrounded by his equipment. Matias had an elaborate computer lab built for the kid, complete with his own geek squad.
He reached the cabin’s lounge area, and six pairs of eyes greeted him, spreading a feeling of weightlessness in his chest. He’d been gone fifteen months, and he fucking missed these assholes.
As he opened his mouth to start the introductions, Lydia beat him to it.
“Matias.” She stretched out a hand toward the black-haired Colombian. “Thank you for the ride.”
Matias unfolded his hulking frame from the couch and rose to his full height. “It’s a pleasure, Lydia.” They shook hands, and Matias motioned at the others. “This is my wife, Camila, and her sister, Lucia. The token white guy is Tate.”
“I fucking hate this guy,” Tate said to Lydia. “If I weren’t in love with his sister-in-law, I would’ve snuffed him already.”
Lydia’s eyes widened, her lips parting in shock.
Cole smiled at the interaction. He didn’t know how much she’d retained from the other night when he walked her through the backgrounds and relationships of all his friends. But she knew their roles and connections to one another. No doubt she’d heard some terrifying rumors about Matias. His brutal, mafia-style code of respect made him the most feared cartel capo in Colombia. But when he wasn’t striking terror into the hearts of his enemies, he was annoyingly charming.
“Ignore them.” Kate climbed out of the adjacent seat and gripped Lydia’s hand, holding on for a long moment. “I’m Kate, the resident doctor-in-training. I’m just here to patch up any injuries.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Same. I’ll be honest. We’ve all been so curious about you. Cole’s not the most forthcoming guy, so to see him with you…” She cupped a hand around her mouth and stage-whispered, “with a woman, well, it’s a little tantalizing.”
Laughter rumbled through the cabin.
Lydia found his gaze, and he thought if she weren’t hurting so badly, she might’ve smiled.
“This is my husband, Tiago.” Kate flicked a finger behind her. “Don’t mind his death-glare. I promise his body-count has gone way down in the past two years. He’s almost rehabilitated.”
A smile slid across the lounging male’s face as he yanked her onto his lap and sank his teeth into her neck, making her yelp.
Tiago Badell, the once-notorious Venezuelan crime lord, had to put forth a lot of effort to integrate into their tight-knit family. His past with Lucia and Kate wasn’t pretty, and his demeanor radiated an air of cruelty that hadn’t diminished with time. But they trusted him. He wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.
“Here. Sit.” Camila gave up her seat and moved to Matias’ lap. “Hang out with us. Tell us about your brother.”
Lydia stiffened, and he touched her back, trailing a knuckle down her spine.
“You’re not ready. I get that,” Camila said softly. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet him.”
“You don’t have to talk at all.” Lucia pursed her lips. “Or you can tell us some of Cole’s dirty secrets in your Russian accent. We’ve known him for years but not the way you know him.” She winked.