Counting On Cole (Wilde Ways #8) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,71
he loved her. She’d said she loved him. They were going forward.
“No secrets,” he murmured. “Because they will just come back to bite us in the ass.”
She didn’t particularly want anything biting her in the ass. “I don’t have any secrets from you.”
“When I get back, I’ll tell you everything.”
Does that mean you’re keeping secrets from me? Now her stomach twisted. “Why does this sound so bad?”
His lips thinned.
Oh. Because it is bad.
“Your brother is on his way over. I briefed him. I didn’t want to go with the retrieval team. I wanted to stay with you while the others went after Gia, but Harrison begged me to—”
“No,” she cut through, adamant. “You go with the team.” Because, yes, the others were good. Absolutely. But I trust Cole. “You get her back. Then you come home to me.”
His eyes glittered. “I don’t want you unprotected.”
“You’re putting two guards on me, and my brother is on his way over.” A pause. “Don’t forget, I can also protect myself. Besides, I won’t be leaving this building until you get back. No one is going to get me.”
“They’d fucking better not.” He turned away.
She grabbed his arm and hauled him right back toward her. “No one had better hurt you, either.” Evie yanked his head toward her and planted an open-mouthed, passionate kiss on him. The kind of kiss that made her want to hold tight to him and never let go.
But I have to let go. Only for now. Just now.
“You stay safe,” she commanded against his mouth. “Don’t you dare come back with so much as a scratch on you.”
He eased back and nodded. “I’ll have those perps tossed in a cell before you know it. They won’t threaten you or anyone else again.”
She tried to smile for him. Worried it was a very feeble effort. Stay safe, Cole. Stay safe.
“Then I will be back. I’ll tell you everything, and maybe you’ll let me stay.”
What?
But he was striding for the door. When he opened it, another Wilde agent hurried inside. Cole made the introductions.
Harvey Radcliff. A tall, athletic man who wore faded jeans and a pale blue T-shirt. He inclined his head toward her. Stood all easy and confident with an I-can-kick-ass air about him.
Then the others were leaving. She watched them go as the knots in her stomach just got worse and worse.
When it was only her and Harvey, Evie released the breath she’d been holding. The silence seemed suffocating. “You’re not a former assassin, are you?”
A ghost of a smile teased his full lips. A half-smile, not a full one. “No, ma’am,” he assured her as the faintest drawl slid beneath his words, warming them. His ebony gaze held hers. “But I was a SEAL and DEA, so I’ve certainly seen my share of action. Don’t claim to be perfect, not by a long shot, but you can count on me.”
She took his measure. The carefully cropped dark hair. The casual readiness of his body. The easy strength of his build. The steadiness of his gaze.
Some of the tension eased from her. “Can I get you a coffee, Harvey?” She turned from him.
“Not much of a coffee drinker, but I could kill for some hot chocolate.”
She swung back around.
He flashed her his half-smile. “Too soon? Sorry. Since you’d just been spending time with Ghost, I couldn’t resist.”
Ghost. That name again. She needed to get the story behind it. “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?”
“The best kind.”
***
“Your typical no-tell motel,” Cole said. They were on the edge of town. Far away from the pulsing energy of the big city. Tourists wouldn’t usually stumble this way. Not if they were smart.
He peered through binoculars to get the lay of the land. Two cars in the parking lot. Business was not exactly booming.
“Talked to the clerk inside,” Chase said as he sidled next to Cole. “A woman paid cash for room one-oh-six first thing this morning. He hasn’t seen her since then.”
Hello, room one-oh-six.
“He can’t say if anyone else was with her, mostly because the guy was as high as a freaking kite and I’m lucky I got the info that I did.”
Cole lowered his binoculars. Nodded as he considered things. “You and I will go in the front door.” He inclined his head toward Chase. “We’ll go in hard and fast and armed.”
They weren’t alerting the cops because the caller had been very specific. Cops will get Gia killed.
Besides, his team could handle things on their own. It was what