grip. She watched with fascination as his gaze focused on the door, a predatory hawkishness taking over the earlier warmth and humor.
He set her down gently and nudged her behind him. “Stay here.”
She watched him glance through the peephole before slowly opening the door.
Andie didn’t know what she’d expected to find but when she peeked around Cole’s large frame, any trace of fear evaporated. “Spence! What are you doing here? And why are you trying to break down my door?”
Chaos seemed to break loose. Poor Kate must have been cowering in her apartment, or maybe watching the scene from her peephole as Spencer attempted to barge his way through the partially open door, an attempt that was quickly and efficiently thwarted as Cole held the door firmly in place, even as Spencer crashed into it while yelling. “Andie, do you have any idea who this guy is? What’s he still doing here?”
Meanwhile, Andie couldn’t get over the shock of seeing her reclusive best friend on her doorstep. “Seriously, Spencer, I can’t believe you’re here.”
Cole was looking from her to her best friend who was still backing up and then wheeling forward trying to break through.
Andie finally intervened. “Cole, he’s my friend. You can let him in.”
Spencer was in the middle of another attempt to break down the door when Cole opened it and Spencer came racing in. That was when she saw that Spencer hadn’t come alone.
His friend Hunter was behind him…and he did not look pleased. His glare wasn’t directed at her—in fact, he hadn’t even glanced her way. He seemed too busy giving Cole the evil eye to say hello his girlfriend’s sister.
“Hunter, what a nice surprise.” It was a valiant, if unsuccessful, attempt to distract him from Cole. Not that much of anything could really distract from the big, brawny, tattoo-covered giant in her doorway. He didn’t exactly blend in to his surroundings. But then, she had to suppose that when he was working undercover, he fit in just fine.
Yet another reminder that he wasn’t from her world and he wouldn’t be sticking around.
Her stomach clenched making it temporarily difficult to catch her breath. Now was not the time to dwell on her new crush. She eyed Spencer and Hunter who were side by side in her hallway and now both glaring at Cole.
“Um, do you guys want to come in?” Her voice sounded weak even to her own ears. But really, there was more raging testosterone in that one little hall than in the entire borough of Queens.
“Andie,” Hunter said, his voice ominously low. “I need you to pack a bag. You’re coming home with me.”
Cole shifted slightly but the movement was enough to block Andie from Hunter’s view. “She’s not going anywhere.”
Yup, there was that growling, gravelly voice she loved. But right now it wasn’t exactly gruff in a good way. It sounded far more threatening when it was paired with that ferocious scowl.
“Who’s going to stop her?” Wow. She didn’t know Hunter could be so tough. She’d come to think of him as her sister’s big, loveable, gruff private eye. But this guy in her hallway was way more Dirty Harry than Dick Tracy.
“This man is not who he says he is.” Hunter’s accusation made Cole tense up and she could feel tension radiating off him. It sounded like Hunter knew more than he should and it was just a matter of time before Cole did something drastic to find out what he knew. Cole had no way of knowing who this guy was or what he was doing here.
This could turn messy real quick and there was no way any of these three men would be calm, cool, or reasonable right now. Not when their manly hackles were all riled up trying to save poor, defenseless Andie. She let out a little snort of amusement at that thought. Men could be so dumb sometimes.
Slipping around Cole, she put one hand on his arm as she faced her friends. “Everybody in this hallway needs to take a beat and count to ten.”
They all stared at her like she’d lost her mind. She was used to it.
“Everyone calm now?” She met each of their gazes in turn. When she was done, she gestured toward the living room. “Great, now let’s chat.”
She led the way to the living room and ordered Hunter and Cole to sit. They sat across from one another, still glaring like two boxers in their corners waiting to go at it. Spencer