agreed.” He gives me one more squeeze before dropping his hands and turning away. “I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow and I need to know everyone under this roof isn’t going to kill one another when I leave.” He turns back one more time as he reaches the door. “You’re a woman of your word. Now, get out there, fetch your new phone, and take in some fresh air. It might not be the shores of the Mediterranean, but you could use some color.”
And he’s gone.
Well. If he wants me to run roughshod over his household, he can think again. He’s forgotten how skillful I am at blending in. I’ll do whatever is necessary to survive my time in the Carson home with the least amount of drama possible.
But first, I need that phone. Then I need a shower.
I move slowly out of my self-imposed prison for the first time in the light of day and get a look at the rest of Cole’s home.
It’s not fancy, but I didn’t suspect it would be. Besides dressing for an undercover role, Cole might be the least fancy man I know, and that’s saying something since I pretty much only know men.
I move toward the voices wafting from the back of the home that looks out to trees so thick, Cole’s home might as well be a castle surrounded by a wall of foliage.
Trees, trees, and more trees.
I almost make it to my target—my new, encrypted cell and the rest of Cole’s family, the likes of whom I’d rather avoid like a modern-day plague—when an off-key chime rings through the space.
Abbott tears around the corner and almost runs me over followed by Red, who glares at me. “I was gonna feed you leftover weenies but the boy is making you lunch. Don’t expect that kind of service when he goes back to work.”
He doesn’t give me a moment to answer and shuffles off in his coveralls after Abbott. When I turn the corner, I find Cole standing in front of the stove in a large farmhouse kitchen—almost as expansive as the family room.
I’m about to ask him where my phone is when I hear voices.
Feminine voices, to be exact, mixed with that of a child—an enthusiastic one.
Cole’s gaze twists to me. Then he takes me in from head to toe as female voices come from the front door. “Good to see you up, sweetness. I opened a can of soup and I’ll make sure to give you your payment for getting up, but first, you’ve got some visitors.”
“Visitors?” I shift to see who could possibly be here for me.
Two women, both petite and beautiful in their own right, are parading toward me carrying bags for days. On their heels is a small child about the size of Abbott—blond and tiny with too much energy. The child runs past us but the ladies’ eyes are on me when they greet the man standing at my back.
It’s the strawberry blonde who speaks first. “Cole, you didn’t tell me how thin she was. We could’ve gone down a size in everything.”
His hand lands heavy on my hip. “She’s lost weight. I’ll make sure she gains it back.”
“Isabella.” The tiny brunette with bright blue eyes addresses me carefully. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
“Baby.” Cole’s lips brush my hair but nothing close to the kiss he promised to withhold until he figures my shit out. “This is Grace Cain. She was with you after you were shot until the medics got to you. She kept you from bleeding out.”
“Ah, Grace.” I exhale and try to smile.
I’m not a woman who’s afraid of anything. But that night … I’ve done all I can to not think back on it. However, this woman’s young face and dramatic eyes bring it all back. Her image was the last I saw before I lost consciousness. I don’t even recall being transported to the hospital.
I clear my throat. “I understand I have you to thank for not dying on the banks of the Chesapeake—”
She shakes her head and those bright blues cloud just shy of a spring shower. “Call me Gracie. And don’t thank me. I would’ve handed over my own blood had I been able to. Noah is walking and talking and planning our future because of you. Keeping you alive so I could thank you properly was the least I could do. I wanted to visit you in the hospital but—” her eyes dart over my shoulder