Chapter Twenty-Five
Cole
She wants to go to see the DA on her own.
That’s not going to happen, but I’m not having that battle with my wife at Cat and Reese’s house, with them standing across the island from us and Royce Walker staring at us. I focus on him now. “If we back out of this, we need to know you’re really bringing this man down.”
“A DA looking out for himself and hurting innocent people in the process is not someone that sits well with my team. All of my people have, and do, risk their lives to save innocent people. He’s devious, but I have people on my team that have taken down warlords that would make that man cry. We’ll get him, but the idea here is to do it without him taking down you and your team first.”
“That would be a plan I approve of,” Reese says, glancing at Cat. “Keep the book you’re writing about the murders that started this off the grid.”
“Whatever you need,” Royce says. “Tell me.”
“I’d like to go to North Carolina where the real killer was arrested and interview people down there,” Cat says. “Is there any reason I can’t do that?”
“As long as you focus on the killer and the process of catching him and leave this DA out of the picture,” Royce says, “you should be fine.”
Cat glances at Lori. “Want to go to North Carolina with me?”
“After I know Ashley is safe,” Lori says. “If she ends up in some sort of witness protection, Cole will need me here.”
Cole will need me here, I repeat in my mind. I always fucking need her, and the closer the better, which is just another reason she and I need to talk about the DA.
“Is that where this is headed?” Lori asks, directing her attention to Royce. “To Ashley landing in witness protection?”
“I can’t answer that question,” he replies. “Not because I don’t want to or have been silenced, but because the Feds aren’t talking right now. They want to hear her story first. And yes, they said that.”
“Do they think she’s guilty of something?” Cat asks.
“My read is that they think she knows something they need to know,” he says. “That doesn’t spell guilt. She may not even know she knows it. Or maybe she does and she’s protecting him.”
“I don’t get that read,” Lori says. “She’s angry, hurt and confused.”
“I’ll talk to her tomorrow,” I say. “I’ll make sure she’s not holding back, under client-attorney privilege, which I’ll formalize.”
Royce’s phone buzzes with a text message and he glances at it and us. “I need to run, but let me return to the DA for a moment. I believe Reid Maxwell can be an asset. The financial backers behind this DA are at the root of his power. Reid manages the kind of corporate power that can make or break a man. I’m going to be talking with him in detail.”
“As am I,” I say. “I’ve told Reid to go at this DA for the settlement. On that, I won’t waver. This is for the families of the victims. And while we’ll assure the DA we’re backing off otherwise, the lawsuit is staying in place.”
Everyone agrees and once Royce departs, I waste no time saying our goodbyes. Even then, it’s far too long before Lori and I settle into the back of a hired car to take us home. Home. My home is with this woman. That’s damn surreal. I pull Lori close to me, my hand on her thigh, just beneath the hem of her skirt. It’s only then that I allow what I’m really feeling to surface and take hold. I’m angry. Lori should not have insisted on going alone to see the DA without talking to me.
She covers it with her own and glances over at me. The minute her eyes meet mine, the flicker of a street light illuminates my face and she narrows her gaze on me. “You’re angry.”
“We need to talk. We’ll probably fight.” I lower my voice. “Fight and fuck, remember? We never said we wouldn’t.”
“Right,” she says tightly and tries to move away.
I hold her steady. “You’re moving away in anticipation of the fight that hasn’t happened?”
“I’m warming up for battle.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
I cup her face and whisper. “I’ll warm you up.” I lean in and kiss her, my tongue doing a slow slide that has her panting into my mouth.
“That’s unfair,” she whispers, eyeing the driver.
I scoot us further behind the seat, and kiss her again, my hand sliding up her skirt to her panties, where I brush my fingers. She grabs my arm and mouths, “No,” right as I shove aside her panties and drag my finger along the slick seam of her body, pressing two fingers inside her.
“Cole, damn it,” she hisses, as the driver calls out, “We’re here,” and the damn car pulls to our building.
I force myself to remove my fingers, tugging her skirt down, and pressing my cheek to her cheek, my lips by her ear. “Let’s go fuck the fight out of our system.”
I open the door and offer her my hand. She stares up at me, glowering with the promise I will be punished, which can only mean a little shouting and a lot of fucking. That works for me. She declines my hand and exits the car. I pull her to me, kissing her before my arm wraps around her shoulders and I tip the driver. We walk into the building and Lori doesn’t try to pull away, but I can feel her anger just as readily as I can feel her need. We enter the elevator and we are not alone. Not one but, a group of six join us, and I step to the back of the car, pulling Lori in front of me, settling her backside to my hips, the thick pulse of my erection pressed to her backside. My hands at her waist, inching upward, my thumbs stroking the sides of her breasts.
She catches my hands and tries to turn, but I hold her firmly in place. We arrive on our floor with the car still packed. The minute I release her, she dashes forward. I snag her hand from behind, ensuring she doesn’t escape through the crush of bodies. Once we’re outside the car, I fold our arms at the elbows and put us in motion toward the door.
We don’t speak and she doesn’t pull away but she’s going to. The minute she gets the chance, if she starts to dart away, or tries, I’ll catch her. We reach the door and I pull her in front of me, my body holding hers in place. I stick the key in the lock, and I turn it. Lori opens the door and rushes inside. I grab the key, lock the door, and pursue. She’s already disappeared around the corner. I peel away my jacket and then I’m on the hunt.
I catch up with her just in time to find her entering the kitchen, putting the island between me and her. “Sex isn’t getting you out of this,” she promises. “We fight and fuck. The fight comes first.”
“Tonight we fuck, fight, fuck.” I move toward her.
She moves away. “No, Cole.”
“Yes, Lori.”
She darts around the counter and once again, I’m on the opposite side of her. “You know I’m going to grab you, and undress you, and fuck you, right? That’s happening.”
“You don’t want me to talk to the DA alone. I am. That’s happening.”
“Let’s negotiate naked.”
“The only way I’m negotiating naked with you is on my knees with you halfway to completion.”
I laugh. “Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“I can live with that. Come over here.”
“No.”
I arch a brow. “What happened to you on your knees and me halfway to completion?”
“I’m going to see the DA alone.”
I round the counter and this time when she tries to escape, I don’t let her. I snag her hand and pull her to me, trapping her between me and the island. “Talk first,” she says, her hands on my chest.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’ve already been between your legs in that car. Talk after.”
“No.”
“Yes.” I turn her to face the island and drag her jacket off her shoulders, but when I would remove it, I tangle it around her arms, and then turn her to face me again. “You were saying?”
“This changes nothing. I need to convince the DA—”
I lean in and kiss her, a deep stroke of tongue before I say, “Nothing you say to the DA will matter if I don’t convince him I’m pussy-whipped and doing what you want.”
She laughs. “Like anyone would believe that.”
“Sweetheart, anyone that’s with us five minutes knows I’ll do anything for you.” I reach up and rip the buttons off her shirt.
She gasps, and I swallow it with my mouth over hers before I repeat my words, “I would do anything for you.”
“Then let me go alone.”
“As long as I get to storm in and convince him you went on your own and then negotiate that settlement.”
“That’s your plan?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
I pull her bra down and tweak her nipples. “Do we agree?”
“Yes,” she agrees.
“Then either you’re going on top of the counter with your legs on my shoulders or you can go down on your knees and make me promise.”
“I have no hands.”
“Your point?”
She bites her lip and says, “I want that promise.” She goes down on her knees.