her eyes. “I’d hardly say I snagged anyone.”
Jenna nodded toward Andie’s phone. “What does he want?”
“To take me out sometime this week.” She stared at the message and tried to summon up some excitement—at least half as much excitement as her sisters.
“You should go for it,” Jenna said.
Andie nodded. Maybe. Probably not. There was something about him that she hadn’t liked. Maybe because he’d tried too hard. It wasn’t like she always went for the guys who didn’t seem to like her—she had far more confidence than that. But she hadn’t felt that spark the way she had with Dagger. She normally considered herself a good judge of people but she hadn’t been able to read Anthony.
Dagger, on the other hand…. While he might have worn a perma-frown, he had kind eyes. They were warm and brown and held far more emotions than he probably knew. And when he was sketching, she’d watched the scowl dissolve and his features had softened.
No one in her right mind would call the man soft, but he hadn’t been nearly as intimidating without that scowl.
Jenna, clearly on Team Anthony even though she’d never met the guy, wouldn’t let the topic drop. “So what did he talk to you about?”
Andie shrugged. “He said he wanted to look at my photos. I’d been trying out the new camera Margaret gave me and—” As she talked she’d automatically reached for her camera but her hand stilled next to her bag.
Her stomach dropped in horror. No. No, no, no! She couldn’t have lost it. Tossing her bag to the side, she fumbled with her jacket as if it might have been hiding under there.
“What’s wrong?” Mack asked.
Andie groaned as she accepted the obvious. “I lost it.”
“Maybe you just left it at the shop,” Jenna said.
Maybe. “Yeah, I’ll call them tomorrow.” She groaned again. “I feel terrible. Margaret just gave it to me.”
“She can definitely afford to buy you a new one,” Mackenzie said.
Andie nodded. Margaret definitely could, but that wasn’t the point. It had been a thoughtful gift from her mother, a woman she was just starting to get to know. She didn’t want another camera, this one was meaningful.
Mackenzie took a handful of popcorn and turned to her with a mischievous smile. “You could always go down to the shop in person tomorrow.”
Andie grinned as she sipped her drink. Not a bad idea. Maybe she’d be seeing Dagger sooner than she’d planned.
Cole limped into the bar on the corner, ignoring the questioning looks. He had to act quickly. He tried to think over the blood rushing in his ears. Between the pain in his leg and the rush of adrenaline, it was nearly impossible to think straight. He wedged himself into a booth in the back and took out his phone.
He had to tell Eddie what happened. The phone only rang once before Eddie picked up and Cole hastily filled him in on the fact that he’d been shot. Before Eddie could ask, he added, “Just a scratch. Nothing to worry about.”
A painful scratch, but it wouldn’t kill him. Probably didn’t even need stitches.
There was a momentary silence when he finished. Then Eddie cursed softly under his breath. “Do you think you’ve been made?”
That was Cole’s first thought too. He supposed it was possible that he’d been targeted by another gang. Possible but unlikely. He was a lowly member, and relatively new. Besides, there were no turf wars going on at the moment—at least not that he’d heard of.
The Corada gang could have enemies he wasn’t aware of, but what were the odds that they would know where he worked, that he left out the back entrance, and when he was working?
He rubbed his forehead as he tried to focus on the facts before him. “It looks that way. I’m not certain though.”
“We can’t take any chances.” Eddie spouted off some stuff about protocol but Cole couldn’t focus. He had a sick feeling in his gut. One he’d learned to listen to during his years undercover.
Something was not right. And it had something to do with that photo. That third man. Who was it? And why was he in a suit? That person was the answer, he was sure of it. If he had been made—and it sure looked that way—that man had something to do with it.
He looked down at the camera that he still clutched in his hand.
“We need to bring you in,” Eddie said.
“I need to know how they found out about me before