Chapter Eleven
Cole
Iwake Sunday morning, groggy, and to a beam of light, Lori’s soft curves are pressing into my body, and my cellphone buzzes on the nightstand. I reach for it and eye the screen to find Reese’s number. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “Because something has to be wrong for you to call me this damn early.”
“It’s eleven o’clock,” he says. “It’s not early. In fact, I gave you time to sleep. Get your ass up.”
Lori raises up on her elbow. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” I repeat to Reese, letting her know that I have no answer to that question.
“Nothing is wrong,” he says. “A lot is right. The ADA you met with wants to meet with Cat today.”
I repeat the news to Lori. “On a Sunday?” she asks.
Reese clearly hears her and responds, “Yes. On a Sunday. Obviously, Cat’s article stirred the right hornets’ nest. They want to explore her tips which, of course, came from you guys.”
“Exactly,” I say, watching Lori crawl out of bed, her naked ass in the air, which is a damn good way to wake up for the rest of my life. She rushes across the room toward the bathroom. “Why not ask us? Or better yet, just review the court proceedings?” I ask, watching Lori disappear into the other room.
“Why wouldn’t he go to you?” Reese says. “Because that means admitting the answers were right in front of him. Cat is meeting with him at four. She wants to review the case with you guys, get her sources straight, and go prepared to get this case handled. Can you be here at two?”
“We’ll be there. I’ll have Savage join us, and give us an update on anything he can offer.”
We disconnect, and I stand up, pulling on my pajama bottoms before I text Savage about the meeting. The minute I hit send, I stuff it in my pocket, and I’m on the prowl for my wife for about ten reasons, five of which require her to be naked. I enter the bathroom to find her just finishing up with her toothbrush. “What happened?”
“We’re going to Cat and Reese’s at two to help Cat prep for her meeting.” I grab my toothbrush. “And I’m making sure I can tell you a proper good morning.”
“It was pretty proper about two hours ago,” she says, sitting down on the side of the tub to watch me, and as silly as it might seem to some, this act, just living life with this woman, cuts and heals at the same moment. It reminds me that she’s a part of me now, and already I barely remember when she was not. I don’t want to remember, which is exactly why I need today with the ADA to go well for Cat.
I give Lori a wink, and she replies with a charming, almost shy smile that brings my bad down about three notches and manages to make me hot and hard at the same time. I brush my teeth, splash water on my face, and take her hand. “Coffee. You on the island counter. Now.”
She laughs. “What about the ADA?” My cellphone buzzes in my pocket. She laughs again. “And why are your pants vibrating.”
I shake my head and laugh, reaching for my phone to find Savage’s confirmation of the meeting, even as I pull her with me toward the stairs. God, this woman. Only she could take me from where I was last night to vibrating pants and laughter.
For the few hours that Cole and I are home, he is several shades cooler, as far as his mood goes. Though he’s still all about heat and fire. In a good way. Those demons from last night are no longer front and center, but more backseat riders now. That is until we’re both finally dressed in jeans and T-shirts, in a fa?ade of casual that feels quite normal as we enter a private hire car on our way to prep Cat for her meeting. It’s then that Cole withdraws into silence, his mood darkening, his hand on mine, gripping tightly.
We arrive at Reese and Cat’s right at two to find Savage arriving as well, right along with his boss, Royce Walker. Royce, like Savage, is a big brute of a man, who’s in his mid-thirties with long hair tied at his nape and a hard-set jaw. “Bossman is former FBI,” Savage says, as Cat and Reese greet us at the door. “And he has some interesting information everyone needs to hear.”
That gets everyone’s attention and we quickly gather in the half-moon-shaped den in Cat and Reese’s apartment, windows on almost every side of us. Cole and I take the love seat, Cat and Reese on two chairs opposite us, and Savage and Royce on the couch between us. Royce starts off the conversation and gets right to it. “Here’s all you need to know for the meeting,” he offers. “We sent out alerts to law enforcement and I got a hit. There was a murder/rape two weeks ago in North Carolina that matches the murder/rapes here. We’ve alerted the FBI, since this now crosses state lines, and they’re taking a look at the cases.”
“Someone is dead,” I say at the same moment, Cat says, “Another murder. Oh God.”
“That means the killer is presumed to be in another state,” Cole says, his fingers flexing on my knee.
“And is there any solid lead on who it might be?” Reese asks as both men go for facts, while Cat and I have settled on emotions.
“To Cole’s questions,” Royce says, “yes. The killer is presumed to be in another state, still in North Carolina, or perhaps on the move again. And in my many years of law enforcement, I would venture to say he won’t be back, especially after Cat’s article this morning. He’s on the move. He’ll keep moving.” He looks at Reese. “I’m told there’s a suspect. He was a student at the college where the women were killed, and he moved to North Carolina even before the trial started.”
“Can I tell the ADA this information today?” Cat asks. “Or when will the locals be informed, if they have not already?”
“They have not,” Royce says. “But they will be shortly. As for today, I’ll go see your ADA. I can go with you or you can sit this out.”
“I’ll join you,” Cat replies. “I want to tell my readers I heard his vow to do the right thing, myself.”
He nods and then looks between myself and Cole. “I’m sure you have ideas Cole about where this takes you and Lori.” He eyes Cat. “Where are we meeting?”
Cat gives him the location and he stands with all of us following. A round of handshaking occurs before Savage says, “Great damn news.” He rubs his hands together. “What’s next?”
Cole looks at Cat. “Call me when this meeting is over because I’m what’s next. I soft-served yesterday. Today, I’ll be letting him know that we’re suing the DA for inaction that endangered Lori’s life.” He looks at me. “And we are going to sue them.”
“Agreed,” I say. “Because someone else in North Carolina is dead. We’re suing for that person and her loved ones.”
We share a look and he wraps his arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple, and while this is not the gift of final closure, it’s a start. I know that Cole will sleep a little easier tonight, and those demons of his will be a little quieter.
Hours later, I’ve spoken to my mother and confirmed she’s safe and having a lovely time in the Hamptons. At present, Cole and I are sitting on our living room couch eating pizza when his phone rings and Cat is his caller. He places her on speaker phone. “The ADA assures us that they were already looking into new suspects.”
Cole snorts. “Of course, we know that’s a load of lies, but okay. I’ll call him now.” He says a terse goodbye with a promise to call her back and then kisses me. “I want to do this now, before the bail hearing in the morning.”
“I want you to do it now. Roger, as crazy as he is, Cole, remember, what he did was what you wanted to do. He wanted to hurt someone he thought hurt someone he loved, even if he saw me as hurting his sister indirectly.”
“He gets no sympathy. None. As far as I’m concerned—”
I lean in and kiss him. “Make the call.”
He cups my head and kisses me before standing up and punching a number into his phone. I listen as he does what he does, the attorney, not the man, working, and he’s crazy good at being that attorney. When it’s done, he calls Cat and says simply, “He understands that I’m coming for them. He’s going to make that clear to the DA tonight.”
He disconnects and looks at me. “They’re going to press to have Roger Adams held for mental evaluation.”
“Then all is well.”
“No,” he says. “All is not well, Lori.”
I stand up and walk to him, wrapping my arms around him. “It is for me. I have you.”
He tangles fingers in my hair. “And you’re not getting rid of me. Ever. You know that, right?”
“Promise?” I ask.
“I promise, but do you really need to ask that?”
“Death,” I say, thinking of my father, and the near miss with my mother’s stroke, “is a dark spot for me. Someone else is dead. It has a way of making you appreciate every moment. I think that’s what we need to do Cole. We need to appreciate every moment. We need to get past this and live, every moment, now.”
He lowers his forehead to mine. “Every moment, for now. Yes. We will.” He pulls back to look at me. “After Monday. After I know Roger can’t get out and come after you again.”
“All right then. We make a deal right now. Roger is dealt with and then we, together, box up the past and seal it away. Deal, Cole?”
He inhales and blows out a slow breath. “Lori.”
“Okay. Deal. I’m making it for both of us.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. That’s right. Now. Let’s go to bed.”
His lips curve. “It’s six o’clock.”
“And your point?”
“That we have plenty time before we have to sleep,” he replies, picking me up again and heading toward the bedroom.
And this time when he sets me down on the mattress, I shove at him, push him to his back and climb on top. Because right now, I think Cole needs to learn the same lesson he taught me; that sometimes, even when you don’t have complete control, life can be pretty damn good.