“Cole,” I warn. “Listen—”
“No, you listen. You made your choice. Now deal with it.” He glares at Sarah. “Get in the car.”
He stalks to the passenger side of the Porsche, and I follow as he opens the door and helps her inside.
I’m poised to plead my case when he turns on me, his eyes filled with animosity as he says, “Keep your mouth shut. Breathe one word of this and you’re going to have a problem on your hands.”
“You’re threatening me?” My hackles rise, the hair on my neck tingling in response. “What are you going to do, Cole? Kidnap me again?”
He smiles, the curve of lips different than anything I’ve witnessed from him before. There’s no flirtation or superiority. It’s pure hostility. One hundred percent venom. “No, Anissa. Our days jetting across the globe are over. You won’t be treated that kindly again.”
Like so many times before, I’m assaulted with the wrong emotional response.
I should be shocked at the audacity of him calling my abduction a kindness. I should be pissed that I’m being treated like the bad guy. I should even be so entirely fearful for Penny’s life that his menace doesn’t matter.
Instead, I’m left empty at what he called me—Anissa.
My full name.
Without abbreviation or flirtation.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
5
Cole
I walk past Anissa, skirting the hood of my car to slide into the driver’s seat.
I’ve never had to clutch tighter to my threadbare restraint than I do right now.
Tonight has been a fucking nightmare.
The party at my restaurant was meant to draw Robert from the shadows. I had an extensive team of hired men scattered throughout the neighborhood to catch that fucker. But what I hadn’t expected was the revelation that Benji, my own brother-in-law, has been working with him.
It doesn’t matter that I know my sister was the driving force behind the betrayal. Benji made the decision to follow Layla’s lead. He was the one in my inner circle, playing me like a fool. And he will be the one who pays the heavy price.
I’d already been on edge, not only due to the threat of Robert, but because Anissa had gone against my directives to stay hidden, choosing instead to flitter around the fucking city all damn morning before outsmarting the men I had following her.
Nobody had been able to find her until she turned up out the front of the restaurant. Right where I didn’t want her to be.
I shouldn’t give a shit. Not one iota.
After watching Easton walk from her bedroom last night, it should be easy to forget her. Instead, all I want to do is spend my days destroying his life, and making her watch.
I’ll show her how pathetic he is. I’ll make him wish he’d never laid eyes on her, let alone his filthy hands.
But seeing her here now, after the bullshit of the last twelve hours, only makes my blood boil.
I fight the instinct to gun the engine, escaping in a screech of tires, and pull from the curb slowly, pretending she has no effect on me as she stands on the footpath, her eyes pained.
“Tell me everything,” I demand of Sarah. “Don’t leave out any details.”
“I seriously don’t know what to tell you. One minute I was driving; the next, Penny was yelling. I caught sight of the truck plowing toward us for a split second, then I blacked out on impact. I didn’t see the driver. And Penny was gone when I gained consciousness.”
“What did the police say?”
“They think it’s gang-related. The security guard you had tailing us is dead, and I overheard them talking about the murder of an innocent bystander who tried to help Penny. This has to have been Robert.”
Fuck.
Luca is going to lose his shit.
And Robert… that fucking prick will make Penny regret her freedom.
“I have no idea what’s going on between you two.” Sarah fastens her belt. “And I know she’s a Fed. But Agent Fox was really only trying to help.”
I ignore her, pressing the button on my steering wheel to activate my cell. “Call Hunt.”
The car speakers come alive with the ringtone as I inch toward the banked traffic. I blare my horn until the long line parts enough for me to cut through and head in the opposite direction.
“We’ve got a situation,” Hunt growls in greeting. “And I can’t find Sarah. She’s not answering her fucking phone.”
“I’m here,” she speaks up, repositioning herself in her seat with a wince. “I’m okay. But Penny’s gone.”
He releases a long breath. “Thank fuck you’re okay. I’ve been calling—”
“I tried calling you, too. I left a message.” She sits taller. “Listen, we were hit by a truck. I got knocked out, but when I came to she was gone.”
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine. But Penny isn’t.”
“She’s here. Well, she was. Decker just drove her and Luca to the hospital.”
“What happened?” I press my foot harder, speeding along the street.
“I’ve got no idea. I can’t figure out the mess. Even the guards at your gate are clueless. All I’ve got is a damn war zone in your neighbor’s house with nobody here to tell the tale.”
“And Benji,” I snarl the name. “Where is he?”
“He’s with me, helping start the clean-up. I told him to call Keira and Layla. They’re going to spend the night in a hotel, but they want the kids out of your house asap.”
“I’ll get them. I’m on my way now. Find out what hotel they’re at and text it to me.”
“Will do. And Cole…” There’s a pause. “Our problem has been taken care of.”
Our problem—Robert.
Sarah glances at me, her bruised face relaxing.
“Entirely?” I turn the nearest corner, easing my foot off the gas.
“Yeah. Entirely. It’s only a matter of getting him off the grid.”
I shoot Sarah a grin as she exhales in relief. “Good work.”
I disconnect the call, my night finally seeming to change for the better. At least momentarily. I still need to make an example of Benji. There’s no way around it.
I’ve given too many free passes for betrayal lately. I can’t do it again.
I’ll punish him in a way that ensures everyone knows I’m not to be fucked with. And I’ll make sure Layla knows she’s to blame.
I pull onto my street, my attention narrowing on Decker’s car parked in front of my neighbor’s house, Benji’s car positioned directly opposite.
I slow, a skitter of foreboding crawling down my neck at the sight of Mavis’ house illuminating the early morning darkness. I hope the old girl survived whatever went on in there. Then again, it might be better if she didn’t. She’d never feel safe again. Not all alone in that big house.
“What do you think happened?” Sarah asks.
“I don’t know. We’ll get the details soon enough.” I grind my teeth through the mental onslaught of possibilities. That fucker came too close. Way too fucking close. “Once I grab the kids and drop them off to my sisters, I’ll call the doc and make sure you’re checked over.”