“Sounds like you spend a whole lot of time watching her walk.”
Cole was already bounding for the bedroom. “Something is wrong,” Cole said again.
“Well, we did just tell her that her mother might have been murdered, then we dropped the bombshell that her step-brother—her only family—could have been behind things. But, hey, you made her one big-ass breakfast, so I’m sure everything is cool.”
Cole flipped him off, then pounded his fist into Evie’s bedroom door. “Evie!”
Footsteps rushed up behind him. “Dude, you need to use some tact.” Chase’s voice was low. “Don’t pound. Knock. Try some care.”
Cole spun toward him. “Did you or did you not just tell me that she had to see the real person that I am?”
“I…guilty.”
Cole jerked his head in a curt nod. “Lock the front door on your way out. I’ve got Evie.”
“I’m sure you do,” Chase murmured.
Cole whirled back around. The real him…he pounded again. “Evie, I know something is wrong.” He’d knocked, so now he could open the door, right? He grabbed the handle.
Locked.
He sucked in a breath. “Please don’t be crying in there.”
The front door shut behind Chase.
“Evie?” Cole’s back teeth were clenched. “It’s just us. You don’t need to put on an act any longer.” And he realized that was exactly what she’d done.
Private, quiet Evie. She didn’t like to reveal too much about her feelings to others.
He’d been such a damn ass. Standing in that kitchen. Dropping bombshells on her and wrecking her world.
The door cracked open.
Her eyes gleamed with tears. Her lashes were spiky with them. “My mother was murdered?”
Oh, hell. His heart twisted.
“Someone might have killed my mother?”
He hauled her into his arms.
Chapter Eleven
Try to keep me from Evie again. Go on, try. I dare you, dumbass.
“You’re fired.” Harrison made the announcement as soon as Evie and Cole entered his penthouse. He also grabbed Evie’s wrist and pulled her toward him. “You’re moving in here, and I’m going to keep you safe.”
He was going to what? Evie tugged on her hand. Harrison didn’t let go. What was his deal?
Cole glanced to the left where a hulking—and obvious—bodyguard stood. “By any chance,” he asked the fellow, “you have orders to throw me out?”
“I do,” the man agreed with an eager smile.
Evie’s heart seemed to jump right to her throat. “No!”
“Yes,” Harrison assured her. “I tried to call you last night. Multiple times, did you know that?”
No, because she’d been sleeping like the dead…in bed with Cole.
“I attempted to gain access to your building. I wanted to see for myself that you were safe.” He waved his left hand toward Cole. “But this bastard and his friends wouldn’t let me up to see you.”
“Cole was asleep last night,” she mumbled. He had been…hadn’t he? In bed with her?
Cole nodded. “I didn’t leave last night, sweetheart. I stayed exactly where you needed me to be.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
“Sweetheart?” Harrison snarled. “Evie, tell me that you did not sleep with him!”
Her chin lifted. “Actually, that’s the best way I do sleep.” In Cole’s arms.
Harrison stabbed his finger toward Cole and the hulking bodyguard. “Get him out of here, Tommy! Toss his ass out—the same way that jerk Chase tossed me out of Evie’s building last night!”
Chase had done that? He’d certainly been busy.
And Chase thinks Harrison could be involved in all of this mess.
The bodyguard in the straining white T-shirt reached for Cole.
“Don’t.” Cole shook his own finger at the guard. “It will just be embarrassing for you. I mean, you’ve got considerable bulk, and when I lay your ass out, it will look bad. Word will spread—because I am the type who will spread that word—and you won’t be able to get other jobs. Won’t even be able to be a bouncer at your favorite club and—”
Tommy lurched forward and grabbed for Cole.
Evie screamed and tore away from Harrison.
But Harrison yanked her back.
Cole’s head swung toward Evie. “Let her go. Now. You’re too fucking grabby with her.”
The bodyguard’s hand plowed into Cole’s side.
He grunted, and fury flashed on Cole’s face. “I warned you.” He fired off with his own punch. A left, then a right hook. The bodyguard staggered back, and Cole grabbed his arm. He did a twist that Evie could only admire, and in the next moment, using perfect pressure and pain, Cole had the guard on his knees. Cole had angled the guy’s arm up high behind him, and the bodyguard’s face turned white.
“This is what I warned you about.” Cole shook his head in admonishment. “Now you look like a dick.”
The guard wasn’t moving. Probably because if he moved, Cole would break his arm. She’d been taught that same technique but never used it.
“Harrison, your hands are still on Evie. Get them off.”
“You can’t tell me what to—”
Evie pushed away from him. “Call off your guard.”
Cole laughed. “Doesn’t really need to call him off. He’s not exactly on. But we do want to send the bozo outside.”
She glared at Harrison.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Go outside, Tommy.”
Cole finally let him go. “Outside, Tommy, you heard the boss. I saw your buddy waiting by the door. Go join him.”
Tommy practically ran outside. And, yes, Evie had seen the other guy waiting out there, too. Another new guard.
At this point, neither of Harrison’s two guards were inspiring a whole lot of confidence in Evie. Because they weren’t Wilde?
“Please tell me that you don’t think you’re going to fire me, then replace me with that dude?” Cole jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Because that’s bad planning.”
Evie put her hands on her hips. “You’re not firing Cole.”
Harrison’s eyes were hot with fury. “You were taken under his watch! He’s not competent!”
“I was recovered under his watch, too. He killed the man who took me. What more do you want?”
Harrison’s gaze snapped to Cole. “A lot more.”
If possible, the tension in the air grew even thicker.
“It was a mistake to bring him back.” Harrison nodded. “I can see that now. I thought he’d do anything to keep you safe, but the problem is that he can’t see past you. He’s too involved where you’re concerned. He cares too much.”
Her gaze slid to Cole. But there was no reading his expression.
“Thought he’d be over it by now. Or at least, have that shit controlled, but it’s working against you. He’s putting you at risk, and I can’t have that.” Harrison’s voice thickened as he added, “You are my only family, Evie. I can’t lose you.”