“The cost, you assured me, would be destruction not death. That hasn’t been the case. And yet, you demand more money you won’t have an issue dipping into a vat of blood.”
Another pause and Cole threads his fingers through mine.
“Don’t stop talking,” I whisper, begging them through the wall to feed me more.
“A busload of people here or there isn’t much. It’s not like we had another nine-eleven. I’m making sure the demand is there so our troops will stay busy. It’s basic macroeconomics. Are you familiar with the simple bell curve?”
“You killed those Americans in Spain. You might as well have detonated that bomb with your own middle finger as a fuck you to your own country,” the man clips and all the oxygen leaks out of my body. Cole squeezes my hand but I barely feel it.
It was Randolph. I knew he was linked but I had no idea it would be him.
Randolph keeps spilling. “We needed to make a statement. How was I to know there would be a fucking bus full of tourists from Idaho there?”
The man’s tone takes another dive into a deeper and more dangerous zone. “Consider this your only warning, if more humans die—from any-fucking-where in the world—I’m out. Find yourself another manufacturer to do your dirty work.”
I can barely breathe as there’s movement in the neighboring condo. No, don’t leave. Not yet.
Randolph mirrors my thoughts. “Wait. I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.”
“Nice try. Already disgusted with myself that I ended up in bed with you. I don’t want to be in any deeper. You disgust me. I have no idea how you sleep at night.”
No, no. Don’t leave!
Cole lets go of my hand and grabs my cell—the only one left between the two of us after the last couple days. After pressing a button, he speaks into the phone. “Asa. You heard? Yeah. I need someone to tap into the CCV of this building. Ambrose—I want an ID and bio. If you can’t do it, I’ll log into my CIA profile to do it myself. I need a picture for facial recognition.”
Cole pauses and I can’t find the words in my brain … not even one to express the piercing pain in my heart. But I can find others because I know exactly what needs to be done next.
“Money,” I mutter and look at Cole. “We need to follow the money.”
He holds a finger up and continues speaking to Asa. “Yeah. I want to know every single move he makes electronically. He’s storing funds somewhere and we need to find out where they’re going.”
A slew of tones come across the wires and I smack Cole in the arm to get his attention. “He’s making a call.”
“Asa, hang on.” Cole pops his earbud back in just in time because it’s not a long conversation, but holy hell, what he says next drops my jaw.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Randolph bites. “I tried, but couldn’t negotiate for more. Marie Kasey needs to disappear. For good. And I need to know who else she’s talked to. Make it happen in the next twenty-four hours. I want it done before I land in DC tomorrow night.”
Chapter 19
Do You Trust Me?
Four Years Ago
Cole
“Never?”
She doesn’t answer, but just like my Bella, she doesn’t cower and doesn’t back down. She definitely holds her own. Even after she informed me she has never.
As in, she’s a virgin at the age of twenty-three.
I try not to move a muscle but it’s really fucking difficult seeing as though I’m hard as a rock and my blood is pumping so fast I might as well have just finished a triathlon.
She bites her lip and exhales, her small tits heave inside the bra I was about to rip off. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t move from where I’m lying on top of her, trying to control my lungs and will my blood to leave my cock the fuck alone since he’s pressed against her pussy which has never seen any action. We’re only separated by her panties and my boxers.
I try to wrap my mind around this. This is not what I expected from Isabella Donnelly. We’ve worked together for two months, and I can honestly say, if I ever thought I experienced sexual tension in the past, I was wrong. No woman has ever consumed my thoughts, had an effect on my decisions, or driven me to such a state of frustration I’ve wanted to put my fist through a wall