Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
T he fingers pressing into my throat loosened, and I sucked in ravenous gulps of air, filling my lungs. I coughed, the burn scorching my esophagus.
“Drop the fucking knife.” The violence in Cole’s eyes made my chest hurt. I wasn’t sure who I should fear more. Him? Or the intruder? He dug the barrel of the gun deeper into the side of my attacker’s skull.
My assailant started to surrender, lifting his hands in the air, but he had yet to release the blade. I had a bad feeling.
Feral cruelty descended over Cole’s features. “Back the fuck up from her.”
With slow steps, he walked backward. Once. Twice. On the third step, shit hit the fan.
Pivoting, my attacker swung out with his knife at Cole, aiming for his stomach. Cole dodged by jumping back a few inches, but the blade still sliced through his shirt, grazing his lower belly.
Something snapped inside me. Terror. Rage. Instinct. Who knew what propelled me forward. Using both my hands, I latched on to the arm clutching the weapon, using every ounce of strength I had left in me to keep him from striking out at Cole a second time .
“Get off me, trash,” the intruder seethed, throwing me into the wall with a force that knocked me breathless, and I dropped to the floor.
“Arie,” Cole growled.
My head felt so damn heavy from being banged around that I couldn’t lift it to see what happened next, but I knew Cole and the intruder were fighting. I wanted to curl into a little ball, find a corner, and cower there, but I couldn’t leave Cole alone. If anything happened to him…
The thought of him hurt or worse stimulated a courage I didn’t know I had. Adrenaline could supply the body with hidden untapped energy. It was wild.
As was this whole fucking nightmare.
And boy did I want this to be nothing but tormented dreams. God knew I had enough of them.
Flattening my palms on the wooden floors, I pushed up, my head feeling as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Would the ringing in my ears ever stop? My vision blurred, but I sat up, pressing my back into the wall.
I couldn’t hear Cole and the invader.
And I couldn’t see them either.
Where the hell did they go?
Worry spiked in my blood as I whipped my head left and right, searching the kitchen. My head protested at the quick movements. Get to your feet, Arie. You need to help Cole. You need to pull it together.
Using the wall to bear most of my weight and steady myself, I inched to my feet. I had to take a few moments to boost my fortitude, and then I used the wall to walk, keeping one hand braced in case the dizziness took me.
I made it to the open sliding doors leading to the pool when Cole appeared.
His eyes searched my face. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?”
I shook my head. “No,” I croaked, unsure which question I was answering.
Cole pulled me into him, and I let him, wanting the strength of his arms and body. Mine couldn’t stop trembling. I fucking hurt everywhere, but I endured the pain so I could be comforted .
My face pressed into the side of his neck. “He was looking for Crew.”
“Did he say anything else?” he murmured into my hair.
His scent surrounded me. I shook my head and immediately winced. “No, I told him he wasn’t here.”
His fingers cradled my face, pulling away to look at me. “Good, you did good, Killer.”
“What did he want from your brother that required a knife?” I asked, my voice still hoarse and my throat scratching on fire.
Cole slid the doors shut and locked them. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is you’re safe.”
“Am I? Safe here? Because I’m not sure. If he can get in the house, can’t others who are looking for your brother?” What kind of shit was Crew messed up with? If I ever met that particular Riley sibling, I had some choice words for him.
“Arie—”
Shaking my head with more force and meaning, I backed out of his arms. “Don’t defend him. I don’t want to hear it, Cole. I can’t do this. I have too much at stake, too much to lose, and people who depend on me. I can’t get tangled in whatever mess your brother has created.”
“It won’t happen again. I promise.” His eyes flashed with more than determination.
My arms wrapped around me, the throbbing at the back of my head no longer dull but roaring. “I don’t know how you can promise something like that, but if it happens again, I’m gone.”
F or a week, I carried the bruises of my attack. The ones on my neck were the worst, and when they turned a nasty shade of yellow, I at least knew the healing stage was near the end. Then Cole could stop looking so guilty and angry all the time. He wavered between the two emotions whenever his eyes landed on the marks, a reminder of the night coming back each time.
In the mornings, I checked on Dad, who didn’t seem to notice my absence, not like I imagined, and it had me thinking. Was it possible my staying so close to home held him back? If he was forced to do things on his ow n, would he thrive instead of sink like I’d assumed? I didn’t know if it was guilt that held me home or my father’s needs anymore.
I’d never felt so baffled about my life. What the fuck am I doing anymore? Everything seemed simple when all I did was work and study. I had no time to mull over anything else. My dreams had been uncomplicated. Freedom only gave me too much time to reflect on the past, the future, feelings, and internal reflections.
Only I would be given an unforeseen paid vacation and spend it stuck in my head, worrying about insecurities, hardships, and unfairness.
What is wrong with me?
I read the same line again for the fifth time and still had no idea what it said. Frustrated, I closed the book with a snap and lifted my sunglasses on top of my head. The sun toasted my skin, glistening with sunscreen, as I lay out on one of the lounge chairs with my second book. Unlike the first, I had difficulty losing myself in the pages. It had nothing to do with the story.
Setting the novel aside on the little poolside table, I reached for my watered-down bubble tea. All the ice melted an hour ago, and the brown sugar boba pearls were getting gloppy. I sipped on the sweetened tea. Overripe coconuts, hints of jasmine, and the sweetness of hydrangeas perfumed the air from the lotion slathered on my skin. It made me feel like I was on a tropical island, the ocean serenading me in the distance.
I traded the glass of boba for my phone, wiping the condensation off my hand before unlocking the screen. Frankie had sent me a lewd text regarding Cole’s meat and whether I’d had a taste. Rolling my eyes, I sent the middle finger emoji in response.
She was the only person who knew the truth regarding my agreement with Cole.
While I grinned at my phone, a shadow fell over me, blocking my sun. I didn’t have to look up to see who interrupted my peace. After the break-in, I figured things might be awkward between us, but to my surprise, the following morning, Cole hadn’t been moody or distant.
“You’ve been out here for a while,” he said, peering down at me.
I ignored the way my heart kicked up and glanced at Cole. “How else am I going to avoid you?”
He hit me with that make-me-weak-in-the-knees grin I loved and loathe d, the gold flecks in his eyes dancing. “I’ve been told I’m impossible to ignore.”
“By who? Your mom?” The jab hardly left my lips when his fingers circled my ankle, tugging me to the end of the lounge chair. I kicked him with my free foot, not hard but with the intent of causing him to release me.
He did no such thing.
I squealed as he grabbed my waist, hauling me out of the chair and over his shoulder. It didn’t take a genius to predict his next move. I went flying through the air, landing in the center of the pool with a splash. Water rushed over me as I sunk to the bottom, and I pushed off with my toes, surging to the surface. Coolness sliced over my heated skin.
Pushing my hair back, I trod water, my eyes landing on Cole. “You’re going to pay for that later, Riley.”
“Promise?” He offered me a hand from the side of the pool.
I swam over, thinking a few laps would be nice before I got out. I mean, I was already wet, and it was better to make good use of the situation but not before I enacted my revenge.
His fingers closed around mine as I put my hand in his, and the second he leaned back to pull me out of the pool, I yanked, throwing Cole off-balance. He tumbled over my head, diving into the water.
My laughter still rang out when he emerged looking like a damn male siren, tan skin glistening with waterdrops and muscles on display. I swallowed, no longer making a sound.
Leaning against the pool’s edge, I closed my mouth before I started drooling and cleared my throat. “I thought you needed to cool off.”
He shook his head, water spraying over me.
I couldn’t stop the silly grin on my lips. “You fell for the oldest trick.”
“Or did I?” He arched a brow, swimming closer. “Perhaps it had been my plan all along to get in the pool with you,” he suggested, his arms boxing me in as his hands gripped the edge of the pool.
Why did pools make everything sexier? Something about being wet with another person turned things up. “Dumb plan.”
“It worked. I know you better than you think, Quinn.”
He’d been like this all week. Just when I started to think I understood him, he threw me for a loop. I decided to give up trying. He was like no one I ’d ever met, and I wondered if perhaps he was on meds. It wasn’t my business as long as he kept his promise and I didn’t die because of Crew’s shit. “Oh, you think? How many tattoos do I have? You’ve seen me naked, but how close do you pay attention.”
“You were naked,” he stated obviously. “I wasn’t paying attention to anything except finding a girl naked in my pool.”
My lips twitched at the memory. “I have three.”
Intrigue crossed over his features. “Where? Show me?”
“You’ll just have to search for them yourself. What about you? How many do you have?” I inquired, feeling a bit flirty. Who am I?
His feet could easily touch the ground at this part of the pool. “Too many. Do you want to count?”
I clung to the side, my eyes on him. “Not particularly. I’d rather keep my hands off you.”
“What fun is that?”
“The safe kind,” I retorted. “Okay, fine. How about this one?” I traced the ink marked into his shoulder, trailing down his entire arm. It even extended to his hand and fingers—a tangle of branches that spread out almost like lightning.
The water moved him closer. At least, I thought it was the water. “I hate to break it to you, Quinn, but it doesn’t have any great meaning.”
Now that I paid attention, none of his tattoos had any color, and it suited him. The dark ink usually matched his personality but not today. Today he was full of color, life, and dangerously playful. I took inventory. There were so many, but a few that stuck out to me were the rose on the back of his hand, the feather below his ribs, the butterfly at the center of his chest, and the numerous ones on his fingers. They were a part of him. “So, you’re just one of those pain junkies.”
“There are worse things to be addicted to,” he replied, dropping his tone.
My nose wrinkled. “Worst pickup line ever.”
His chuckle was rough, pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose. “I’m starting to think it’s not my lines but you. You’re not normal.”
“I could have told you that.” My fingers splayed over his golden chest. “Your father doesn’t have a problem with the ink?”
“I never said that. ”
I’d told myself I wouldn’t touch him, and here I was with my nails tracing down his ribs. There were tattoos all over him, but my fingers no longer followed the ink and now roamed freely. I tipped my head back deliberately, my lips begging him to kiss me. Did I want him to kiss me? It was pointless to deny I enjoyed having his mouth on mine.
His lips cruised along my chin, slowly moving over my jaw up to the spot behind my ear that had me moaning and leaning into him. His fingers wandered over my back, toying with the strings of my bikini top. I felt the tie loosen, the knot breaking free. It wasn’t the first time I’d been topless in this pool with Cole. Probably wouldn’t be the last either the way things heated between us. The material fell away from my body as the water rippled over my breasts, my pebbled nipples brushing against Cole’s chest.
He tossed it aside, and I heard my top hit the water somewhere in the pool. “Payback, Quinn,” he murmured in my ear, his lips curling against my lobe right before he shoved away from me, leaving me topless at the edge while he treaded feet away from me with a shithead grin.
I frowned. “Asshole,” I muttered lightheartedly, splashing water in his face, which only had his smile brightening.
Forgoing the thin top, I turned and hoisted out of the pool, and dripping wet, sloshed to retrieve the towel I’d left under my chair. Of course, I ran into a snag. The striped beach towel I’d brought outside wasn’t where I’d left it. “Damn it, Cole,” I said under my breath, whirling with my arms crossed. “This isn’t funny—” The protest ended on a gasp.
Spread out at arm’s length in front of me was the towel I’d been seeking, but it wasn’t Cole holding it.
“Looking for this?” a man with a deep voice asked. He lifted his dark brow that had a scar running through it.
I eyed the gorgeous stranger with his onyx hair, tall height, powerful build, and familiar scowl. He was definitely a Riley.
But which one? Crew or Brody?