Counting On Cole (Wilde Ways #8) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,15
back of the SUV. Cole put his hands on the vehicle’s door frame and ducked his head to follow her.
“You okay?” Chase asked softly. “I swear, man, you kinda look like you lost your best friend.”
He immediately schooled his expression. “Not even close.” He slid in beside her. His leg brushed against hers. She scooted over to the side, putting more distance between them even as Chase hurried back to the driver’s side.
No, he hadn’t lost his best friend. He’d lost something even more important.
Her.
I lost her two years ago. And I don’t think I will ever get her back.
The SUV shot forward.
***
“He tried to kidnap me.” Evie stared straight ahead as the SUV swept into the parking garage of her brother’s building. She was far too conscious of Cole sitting beside her. The man seemed to take up way too much space. He was big and looming and, dammit, warm. Warmth seeped from him and surrounded her, heating her chilled skin. “Some jerk tried to grab me right off the street.”
“We weren’t followed to that restaurant.”
Her stare whipped toward Cole. In the darkness of the parking garage, it was hard to make out his features. “How can you be so certain?”
“Because I was looking for tails. There weren’t any.”
“Like you couldn’t have missed them,” she muttered. Someone was awfully confident.
From the front seat, there was the sound of a throat clearing. “That’s like Wilde 101, ma’am,” the driver announced. “If you can’t see a tail, you don’t deserve to be lead on a case.”
Her head was spinning. “What is Wilde?” Though the name was ringing a vague bell in her mind, she was just too dazed to fully piece things together. Almost kidnapped. Right off the street.
“It’s our security agency.” The driver was certainly being helpful. “Didn’t Cole tell you about it?”
She strained to see Cole’s features in the dark. “No, he didn’t tell me about the agency.” She licked her lips. Adrenaline coursed through her body. It was practically pulsing from her pores. “He did mention a team, though. I’m guessing you’re on that team?”
“Chase Durant, at your service. I’m normally more of a shadow lurker on a case like this one, but when James called and said you needed fast transport, I got you out of there ASAP.”
“James? He’s another, uh, team member?”
“James Smith,” Chase supplied. “Though I don’t know how much you’ll be seeing him, either. But he’ll always be close.”
“He a shadow, too?” Evie asked.
“More like a ghost.” Humor trickled through Chase’s words.
Humor that she didn’t get. Evie frowned. “Did I miss a joke?”
Cole reached for her hand. His touch sent an electric surge right through her. She tried to pull her fingers back, but he held tight to her. “What are you doing?” Evie asked.
“Making sure you didn’t break any bones when you slammed your fist into his face.” Carefully, he stroked her fingers. “Great hit, by the way. I was impressed.”
“Then my mission in life is complete. I impressed you. So happy.”
His hold tightened a little more. “What can I do to make you not hate me?”
Her breath caught at his low question. “I…don’t.” Truth. “I don’t hate you at all.” Now sadness tugged at her. “In fact, I need to say thank you. You saved me back there.”
“You saved yourself. Nice elbow attack, then perfect follow-up with the fist.”
Silence.
The vehicle rounded a corner and stopped near a large column in the parking garage.
He let her hand go. “I don’t think anything is broken.”
She pressed her palms to the front of her jeans.
“If you weren’t followed, then that means the would-be kidnappers knew where you were going.” His voice was oddly careful, and she knew why, even before he asked, “Just how much do you trust Leopold?”
“He’s a nice guy. One of the really good ones out there. He wouldn’t do this.” A slow exhale. “But we meet at that restaurant every Sunday night at the same time, so if anyone had been watching me for a while, they could have already known my routine.”
A whistle from up front. Then Chase chided, “You should always vary routines. Where you walk, where you eat, where you shop. Don’t ever let anyone know too much about you.”
She knew that. And right after the abduction two years ago, she had varied everything but… “I thought I was safe. I thought that part of my life was all over.” The bad part.
She’d been wrong.
“What happens now?” Evie could feel the tension gathering between her shoulder blades.