4. Cole
4
COLE
Cole pulled two steaks out of the refrigerator and sighed tiredly. The day had been filled with more excitement than he’d had in a while. Bella’s rescue had provided a rush of adrenaline he had been missing since his time in the military. Nevertheless, something about Zoey made him want to throw caution to the wind and do whatever was necessary to protect her. He snorted to himself. They’d just met, and he would do anything to help her. He wanted to know everything about her. In the car ride to the house, he’d said they were playing a game to break the tension in the car by saying things they liked. That wasn’t entirely true, though. He wanted to know everything about her, and he’d used the game to find out her favorite things. Purple was her favorite color, and she liked daisies instead of roses.
His phone vibrated on the counter, and he let out another sigh as Ian’s name flashed across the screen. Cole knew he should’ve called Ian back a while ago to let him know everything was okay, but Cole wanted to spend every second he had talking to the wildcat. His mind wandered back to the fact that she was stripping down in his shower. His dick stirred as he thought about the water running over the swell of her breasts.
Maybe I can ignore Ian for another day. The phone started to vibrate again. Cole knew Ian and Bella would be on the first flight back, and Cole wanted them to spend time together. They deserved every minute of their vacation, and he wasn’t going to be the one to stop it.
“Why aren’t you enjoying your time away with your fiancée?” he asked as he preheated the oven for the potatoes.
Ian huffed on the other side of the phone. “Dude, you can’t tell me you were shot at and going after the person who pulled the trigger. What did you expect me to do? Wait for the medical examiner to call?”
“I’m an ex-Navy SEAL. I think I can handle one wildcat taking a shot at me. Now a mob of three gangsters were a little more challenging.”
“What?” Ian yelled.
Cole punched holes in the potatoes with a fork before throwing them in the oven. “Everything is under control. I’m at my house, and no bullet holes.” Cole snickered.
“We’re heading back first thing in the morning,” Ian said.
“No, I have everything under control, and if—and I mean if—I need you, I promise you will be my first call. Zoey is already on edge enough. I don’t need you and Bella coming and making things even more complicated.” Really, he wanted her to himself and wasn’t ready to share her with his friends quite yet.
Ian didn’t reply immediately. “Fine, but you know I’m here for you. Besides Bella, you’re all the family I have.”
Even though Cole had two other blood brothers he didn’t speak to, Ian felt like the only family he had. When Bella was in trouble, Cole did everything to help, including calling his oldest brother and asking for help. He hadn’t talked to Bryson in years, and now he owed him a favor. He would do the same thing again if it meant keeping Ian and Bella safe.
“If I need anything, you will be the first call I make. Until then, enjoy your time with Bella and don’t worry about me. I have everything under control.” Except my dick. He didn’t plan to tell his friend about that, though.
“Fine, but call Brock. This girl seems like she is in trouble. You know he would help you in a heartbeat. Hell, he’ll be pissed if he finds out you didn’t call for help.”
“I need more information out of her before I can call him.” He heard a gasp behind him before he finished his words. Those words wouldn’t sound good if taken out of context. “I gotta go. I will call you if I need anything.” Cole swiped end on the phone and turned to see Zoey staring daggers his way.
He loved her spunk. She hadn’t given up, even though he could only imagine how unfair the world had been to her. Cole didn’t know how long she had been on the street, but he had a feeling it hadn’t been long. She wasn’t jagged like others he had seen on the road. Zoey had a layer of innocence, and he wanted her to keep that and not let her see how fucked up the world really is.
“It’s not what you think.”
She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes further. “Really? To me, it sounded like you were going to get information out of me and give it to someone. I thought you might be one of the good guys, and here you are—working an angle.”
Cole pulled out a chair and pointed. “Sit.” When she didn’t move, he continued. “I will tell you everything. Have a seat while I finish making dinner.”
Zoey frowned. “The only reason I’m staying is because I want a piece of that bread.” She walked over and sat at the counter. She had combed her long blond hair, and Cole liked the idea of her wearing his clothes. It made him feel like he’d helped a little in making her more comfortable.
He cut off a couple pieces of bread and poured olive oil into to a dish with minced garlic, so she could snack on something as he cooked her food. Her tongue peeked out and ran across her dry lips as he placed the bread in front of her. When she didn’t pick it up, he told her to eat while he worked.
She let out a moan and closed her eyes as she popped a piece of bread into her mouth. Cole watched as she ate. It was the most erotic thing he had seen, which was strange because they were both wearing clothes. He shook his head to get his thoughts and body under control. “You didn’t hear my whole conversation.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“Let me start from the beginning. Earlier, I told you my partner and I flip homes. The house you were in earlier is our next project. What you don’t know is Ian and I have been friends longer than our flipping business. We met years ago in BUD/S.” When she gave him a puzzled look he continued. “Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL school.”
“As in a Navy SEAL?”
“Yes, I was a Navy SEAL. A few years back, I was medically discharged, but that’s a story for another time.” He closed his eyes and tried not to think about being captured and tortured for days in North Korea. If it weren’t for their friend Brock, Cole and Ian would have died. “Ian called when I left the house earlier today, and I told him briefly what happened.”
“You mean that I shot at you?”
Cole’s lip turned up. “Yes, and I told him it looked like you needed help, so I was going to help you. I hadn’t called him back, so he was worried about me. That was him on the phone. We have contacts in the government who can help you. He wanted to know if I used them.”
Zoey closed her eyes for a second. “No, I’ve already put you through enough. I got myself into this. Now I need to get myself out.”
“Sometimes, we need help getting out of trouble and have to ask for help or take it when it is offered. Why don’t you want me to help you get out of this or whatever is going on?”
Cole finished putting salt and pepper on the steaks before putting them in the frying pan. He wanted Zoey to think about his question and not give him the first answer that came to mind.
“I’m not used to asking for help or accepting it. My mother did everything to raise me, and nobody helped. Now all I’ve done in the last three months is take, and look where that got Paul—stabbed! And Al is dead. Now if I bring you in, I might get you killed. I’m not even sure why I came here.”
“Eight years ago, I was on SEAL Team Five. We were on a mission in North Korea to bring back information on a missing SEAL team the CIA had uncovered. The information was false, according to a CIA mole in North Korea. When our team arrived to save the missing SEAL team, the North Koreans ambushed us. They tortured my team for five days. It had felt like a year. Ian and I were the only two to survive the torture. Later, information came out that the CIA mole had flipped sides and had been helping North Korea. Do you think I got out on my own?” Cole turned and flipped the steaks to the other side and pulled out the potatoes. He considered locking Zoey in his panic room while he hunted down the men after her. It wasn’t logical, but nothing he did seemed to be logical today.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“How about with why the men are after you?”
She shook her head.
Cole let a sigh. “How about we start simple? What’s your last name?”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“My last name is Walker. Now let me know yours, and we can see if anyone has put a bounty out on you. Those men I met in the alley earlier didn’t seem like very nice men and normally not ones I see doing the dirty work.”
He pushed the plate with steak, potatoes, and salad toward her. Cole wished he had apple pie in the fridge to make her happy, but he wasn’t much of a sweets person and didn’t have anything for dessert. He planned to change that tomorrow.
“You know how to find things on the dark web?” she asked.
Her question was another stall tactic. Cole didn’t care how long they would need to talk for her to trust him with her personal information. “No, but I know a guy.”
“You know a guy?” Her laughter filled the kitchen. “That sounds like something a mobster would say.”
“My guy has nothing to do with the mob. He is a well-respected military veteran. I promise I won’t use any of the information he finds against you. I just want to help.”
“That’s what my friend said when she got me the job with them.” Zoey took a bite of steak, and when she finished chewing, she added, “Thomas.”
“Is that your last name or who you worked for?”
Zoey slowly took another bite of her food. Cole didn’t care she was taking her time answering him and analyzing every word before it came out of her mouth. She didn’t trust him, and that hurt a little, but he didn’t push. He waited, knowing if he demanded answers, she would stop talking. That was the last thing he wanted.
“My last name.” She pointed to the food. “This is really good. I know I’ve only eaten garbage for the past three months, but this steak is perfect.”
Cole tucked away that bit of information she hadn’t realized she’d let slip. He’d been right when he assumed she’d been homeless for about three months. Now he had to get her to trust him enough to tell him what she was running from.
“Can I have my friend look to see if he can find anything?” Cole knew he was pushing, but he wanted Zoey safe, and Brock would get him one-step closer to finding out what is going on. “I will let you listen to the phone call.”
“Why do you think this Brock guy can help?”
“Brock can find anything.”
“He sounds like a hacker.”
Cole let out a sigh. “Honestly, some of the things he does is probably illegal, but he’s effective. Brock knows people high up in the military and can get things done quicker than I’ve ever seen. If it weren’t for him, I would be dead. I owe him my life, and still every time I need something, he is there for me and asks nothing in return. He hates to be thanked.”
“I don’t want to bother him. He sounds busy, and I got myself into trouble.”
“We all do something we wish we could change. Brock isn’t going to judge you. Do you want to hear what he has to say?”
When she nodded, he pulled out his cell and clicked Brock’s name.
The phone rang three times before he answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Brock, it’s Cole.” He tapped the speaker button on his phone so Zoey could hear the conversation. “I have my friend Zoey Thomas on speaker with me.”
“Hello, darlin’.”
“Hi.”
“Are Ian and Bella okay?” Brock asked quickly.
Zoey’s eyes went to him, asking what he was talking about. He would tell her about Bella later. First, he needed Brock to start working on Zoey’s issue. “Bella and Ian are fine and off in a cabin, celebrating their engagement.”
“They deserve happiness after what they went through. I’m glad you called, but I have a feeling y’all didn’t call to talk.”
Cole spent the next five minutes telling Brock about the house he’d bought and how he’d found Zoey. She hadn’t said a word since hi. Cole hoped she would tell Brock something so they could get the people off her back.
“Zoey, you need to let Cole take you to the shooting range.”
He didn’t wait for Zoey to reply. “Already planning on it tomorrow and then to the gun store.”
“From the sounds of it, you have some bad people after you, Zoey. Do you know what they want?”
“Yes.”
He waited for her to elaborate. “We need more than a yes.”
“I witnessed my boss kill someone.”
Brock let out a whistle. “Let’s start with your boss’s name.”
“Clyde Walker.”
Of all the names he’d expected to come out of her mouth, Clyde’s was not one of them. That made things much trickier.
“You’re telling me you watched Clyde kill someone?” Cole asked.
“Yes.”
Brock cleared his throat on the other side. “Cole, I have to ask if you want me to take care of this. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve wanted to take him down for years.”
Zoey gave Cole a strange look, and he rubbed his hand down his face. “Yes, find out as much information on my uncle as possible. It’s time I take down my family.”