The pounding of her heartbeat sounded very, very loud. For a moment, she remembered being on the street near the restaurant. The sound of screeching tires.
The fear and fury she’d seen on Cole’s face as he lunged for her.
Cole could be scary. He could be fierce. He could kick the ass of bad guys and get the job done. The problem? While he did all of that, he might just break her heart again. Because even though she hadn’t answered him, the truth was that…yes, she still wanted him.
“I will protect you,” Cole vowed roughly. “I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. But if we go down this path, you decide now. You follow my orders. You trust me.”
That part was going to be tricky.
She licked her lower lip. There were other bodyguards out there. Plenty of them. But…
She’d never forget being in that closet back in LA. She’d never forget Cole’s voice calling out to her and telling her that she was safe. That he was going to protect her. He’d broken down the door to get to her. Carried her out of her nightmare.
And…
“Do we have a deal, Evie?” Cole asked. He seemed to hold his breath.
She’d said they were going forward. When it came to kicking ass and taking names, Cole was a master. “We have a deal.”
Some of the tension slid from his shoulders. He let out a quick breath.
“Good.” His voice was still grim. Rough. “Now let’s talk logistics.”
***
Evie huddled close to her brother. Their heads pressed together as Harrison whispered something to her. From across the room, Cole’s eyes narrowed.
“You could’ve mentioned to me that you were involved with our new client.”
He didn’t turn his head at Chase’s low words. “Didn’t see it as relevant.”
“Huh.”
“I hate it when you say that. You know that instead of saying ‘huh’ you’re supposed to tell me what you really think. We’ve gone over this before.”
“You slept with her.”
“Don’t see how you need to know that. FYI, Chase, I don’t kiss and tell. That shit isn’t cool. Should’ve learned that in high school.”
“You still want her.”
I will always want her. “What I want right now is for you to shut your—”
“I can see it when you look at her. If you don’t want the world knowing, you might want to get better at hiding how you feel.”
Finally, Cole glanced his way. “Just how do I look at her?”
Chase lifted his eyebrows. “Like you’re starving, and she’s the best feast you’ve ever seen.”
“You’re telling me that I look at her like I want to eat her?” His voice carried only to Chase.
“Eat her. Fuck her. Own her.”
Cole locked his back teeth. “Watch it,” he gritted out. His hands fisted.
“No, you need to watch it. I don’t trust the brother, and I don’t think you do, either.” A pause. “I think he might hate you, by the way.”
Cole looked back at Evie and Harrison. “The feeling could be mutual.”
“Then explain to me why he called you in. I don’t buy his BS about her not trusting anyone else—”
“It’s simple,” Cole responded quietly. “Harrison knows that when it comes to Evie, I would kill anyone who tried to hurt her.” Because, once upon a time, he’d gone to Harrison and Cole had said…
I fucking love Evie. I want a second chance.
He hadn’t gotten that chance, not back then.
I’m taking it now.
Chapter Four
Or…second chance fun, anyone? AKA…the time Cole tried ever so hard not to be an asshole.
“I want a list of your enemies.”
Evie stiffened at Cole’s words. Harrison had been whispering to her, making sure she was okay and that she wasn’t super pissed that he’d gone behind her back to get Cole.
Super pissed? Really? Ya think?
But at Cole’s curt order, she cleared her throat. “I don’t…I mean, there are some dancers and actors who might say I’m a bitch because I can be pretty demanding when I’m working a choreography set, but I don’t think I really have any enemies. Certainly not someone who would hate me enough to try and kidnap me.” God, she hoped no one hated her that much. If so, that was a whole load of hate.
Cole shook his head. “I’m not just talking about you, Evie. I’m also talking about your brother.”
Harrison had been touching her shoulder. Now his hand tightened on her. “The email referenced my father. My dead father. This is about him, not me or Evie.”
“Could be.” It was Chase who agreed. Chase stood next to Cole, with his arms crossed over his chest. His golden eyes gleamed. “But in cases like this one, it’s standard procedure to investigate other avenues. The perps could be trying to throw us off by mentioning your dad. So we need to know who you’ve pissed off recently. Who you’ve both angered.”
Evie took a steadying breath. “What are you asking for…exactly? Like the names of ex boyfriends?”
Cole nodded. “We already have a list going on them, but more information would help the investigation.”
Helpful, huh? Why did it just feel like humiliation for her? “I haven’t dated anyone in probably about six months. I was working on a production that just wrapped, and I didn’t exactly have a lot of time for extra things.”
His stare glittered at her. “I need the names of the guys you’ve rejected.”
“Some men can’t take that shit,” Chase agreed flatly. “Dicks.”
“I don’t think this is about rejection.” Evie shook her head. “This ties back to the first abduction. It’s about money, not about someone’s feelings for me.”
“We can’t overlook any avenue of investigation.” Cole didn’t look away from her. “We have to be thorough. Yes, it seems that it’s the same. But we have to rule out that it’s not some new bastard who knows about what happened to you before—”
“And sees an opportunity to imitate the crime,” Chase finished grimly.
Great. So she could have new kidnappers?
“They’re going down, Evie. New or old, doesn’t matter. They’ll be stopped,” Cole promised. He seemed so very certain.
But they’d gotten away last time. Vanished into the air. Just as Cole had seemed to vanish.
Harrison cleared his throat. “I have enemies in my business. Real estate isn’t exactly a friendly game.” Harrison still had his hand curved over her shoulder. “My father made plenty of enemies, too. The way the asshole said in his email that we had to pay back what my father owed—sounded to me like it might be tied to some deal that went south.”
Cole nodded. “Our agents are tearing into your father’s financials even as we speak.”
She felt Harrison stiffen.
“The first time you were taken,” Cole told her softly, “I was a mercenary hired by your brother. I’d been part of Delta Force, but I was working freelance when Harrison reached out to me. I assembled my own team, and we got you out.”