And he said that if I ever came near her again, he’d tell her all the dark and dirty details from my past. That he’d make it so that she’d never want me near her again.
But when Harrison could use those “dark and dirty” parts of Cole, he’d sure been quick enough to call.
Cole had never found Evie to be particularly standoffish with anyone. In fact, she’d been the opposite. At least with me. She’d been warm and open, and she’d drawn him to her before he’d ever thought of holding himself back.
So while Harrison had been bullshitting about that part, Cole knew he’d been serious when Harrison said that he couldn’t leave Evie’s safety in just anyone’s hands.
He knows I will do anything to keep her safe.
Because Harrison knew exactly how Cole felt about Evie.
Or, the bastard thought he knew.
“Cole? You haven’t answered me, and I’d appreciate your honesty.” Her hands twisted in front of her body. “If he forced you to be here, I’m sorry.”
She was apologizing to him? Hell, no. He stalked forward until he’d eliminated the distance between them. She tipped back her head and stared into his eyes.
“Never apologize to me.” His words were rasped. “I’m a selfish, controlling bastard, and I’m the one who should apologize to you.”
She shook her head—
“And something else you should know about me.” His hand lifted. He just had to touch that silken skin of hers. His fingers trailed down her cheek before he brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen forward. “No one forces me to do anything.”
“So he didn’t go to…to Wilde, I think it was?”
“Wilde, my current employer. And, yeah, cards all on the table, he did. He contacted my boss, Eric Wilde, and demanded that I be put on the case. Said he’d pay any price.”
Her thick lashes swept down to cover her eyes. “I see. It wasn’t a matter of force. It was money. And I understand, I do. But if you didn’t want to be here, the last thing I would ever try is to make you come back when you clearly want to be—”
“What I want right now is to have dirty, hot, mind-melting sex with you.”
Her lashes shot up. Her stunned gaze held his. “You didn’t just say that to me.”
He stepped back from her. Put his hands at his sides. The better to not touch her, for the moment. “I did. I was on an honesty roll, and it kind of slipped out. But it’s probably good that you understand where my head is at.”
Her mouth was open. She had an adorable little gaping thing going on.
Why stop now? “Let me try being a bit more honest. I was jealous as all hell back at that restaurant. You nailed it. From the minute I found out that you had a date, I hated the SOB. To be clear, I’d probably hate any guy you ever dated. But that’s my problem.”
“Why…why would you be jealous?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“I…no.” She shook her head. “You left. You left me.”
One of the worst mistakes of my life. “I’m here right now. I won’t be going anywhere. You can count on me to keep you safe, I swear it. Don’t think for a second that I’m here because I had to be forced to take this job. I could have told my boss no. There are plenty of other bodyguards out there.”
She licked her lower lip. “Why didn’t you say no?”
God, I freaking love her mouth. “Because it’s you. Because I don’t trust anyone else when it comes to you.” Not even his own teammates because they didn’t feel the same way that he did. They didn’t know how scared Evie had been when he’d pulled her out of the closet in LA. How her body had been ice cold and racked with shudders but how she’d followed his every command perfectly and bravely in the dark. How she’d had him laughing the very next day, even though he should have been the one to help her. The one to chase the shadows from her eyes.
Others wouldn’t get how sweet she was. How kind. They wouldn’t understand how fragile her heart could be. He knew too well.
After all, he was the bastard who’d broken it.
“I’m not asking to go back,” he told her quietly. The time for going back was long over for them. “I want to start again now, and I want to go forward.”
***
“They have to be done.” Harrison jerked his head all determined-like and turned on his heel, as if he’d return to the den. “I’m going in there.”
Chase just side-stepped into the other man’s path. “Nope, not done.”
“Get out of my way.”
No, thanks. “I have some questions for you. I can’t help but feel like I’ve been dropped into the middle of a scene without getting all the right direction, know what I mean?”
Harrison shook his head.
“What? You didn’t do drama as a kid? You weren’t a theater brat? Huh, with your sister being a Broadway choreographer, I expected more from you. For the record, I was a theater brat.” Because he’d always loved pretending to be someone else.
“She’s my step-sister. Our parents didn’t marry until I was twenty.”
“Huh.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“How old was she?”
“Sixteen.”
“Huh.”
Harrison’s expression darkened. “I don’t get what the hell you’re—”
“She’s gorgeous now. I’m guessing at sixteen, she was probably just a younger version of—”
“Watch what you fucking say about my sister!”
Chase backed up a step. “Easy, bro. I was just testing the waters.”
“Testing what damn waters?” It sounded as if Harrison had choked on something.
“Testing to see if you felt brother-like for her…or perhaps something more.”
Harrison’s eyes became slits.
Chase forged onward. “See, there’s this whole weird, angry tension thing happening between you and Cole, and I’m trying to figure out exactly what is causing it. Like I said, I was dropped in the middle of a scene without any direction.”
Harrison swung away and stalked toward the bar. He grabbed an empty glass, and his knuckles turned white around it. “Allow me to provide you with direction.”
“Please do.” He was waiting for it, ever so patiently.
“My sister was kidnapped two years ago. I hired Cole to get her back.”
“Huh.”
“I don’t like when you say that.” He whirled. “What?”
“Was a ransom demanded?”
“Yes,” Harrison hissed.
“How much?”
“Five million dollars.”
“Huh.”
“You are a sonofabitch.”
Sure, he was. “It’s just that I’m doubting you paid Cole five million.”
Harrison looked down at the glass. His hold eased on it. “You think I wasn’t going to pay for my sister to be released?”
“I’m only figuring…it was certainly cheaper to use Cole.”
“It was safer. I’ve heard about how badly these cases can go. I could’ve paid them the money, then never gotten my sister back. At least, not alive. Cole did the job he was hired to do. He got her back. But…”