9. Zoey
9
ZOEY
Last night was more than Zoey could ever have wished for. Cole had taken care of her like she was the most important person in his life. Tonight, she was meeting Brock, the man who’d saved Cole. Zoey was nervous about meeting Jessica—she sounded so strong and empowering.
Bella had reassured her a million times that Jessica would like her. She still couldn’t shake the nerves, and they planned to meet downtown, near where Zoey used to live on the streets. Tonight, she would walk by the alley where Al had died. He’d lost his life because of her. Paul and Cole tried to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but it still bothered her.
Zoey took a couple deep breaths and looked in the mirror. Her lips were swollen from kissing Cole the night before. She’d never experienced that kind of passion, and she couldn’t wait to spend another night with him. He’d been so in tune with her body. No man would ever make her feel the same again, and she didn’t want to be with anyone other than him. Zoey knew she was falling fast and deep for Cole and last night she had almost blurted out that she loved him. Luckily, she’d kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to scare him away by telling him too early.
This morning, he had brought her breakfast in bed. He’d made her french toast and bacon with a side of fruit. She’d once told him as a joke that she wanted breakfast in bed for her work on the house. Her jaw had dropped as he walked in with a serving tray and her food. Each bite had been delicious. The man wasn’t only sexy as hell, he could cook.
Tonight, they were going to a local Irish pub called The Muddy Pub and Grill. It was a place Ian and Cole liked to hang out. It was laid-back and had good beer and even better food.
Zoey held Cole’s hand as they walked toward the entrance of The Muddy Pub. She didn’t realize how hard she was squeezing his hand until he stopped and pulled her in his arms. “Brock and Jessica will love you.”
Before she had time to respond, he pulled back and opened the large wooden door to the pub. He placed his hand on her lower back and nudged her through the door. “I hope you’re right,” she mumbled as she stepped through the open door.
“Stop worrying. You and Bella have become great friends. I don’t understand why you think Jessica or Brock won’t like you.”
Everyone had talked so highly of the couple, she was worried she would make a mistake or that they wouldn’t like her. She didn’t want to do anything to affect Brock and Cole’s friendship. “You’re right. I’m probably being stupid. I just want them to like me.”
Her heart beat a mile a minute as they walked through the pub. Cole’s hand on her lower back helped calm her nerves. She wasn’t the best at making friends, but now that she had Bella, she didn’t want to do anything to mess it up. Cole’s friends liking her meant a lot. She took a deep breath as he walked her to the large table at the back of the pub.
A couple sat with Bella and Ian. They laughed at something the other man at the table said. The woman sitting next to the man rolled her eyes before laughing along and placing her hand on his. He turned and smiled at her, and the expression held so much love.
A waitress walked up to the table and pulled out her pad. She was a few inches taller than Zoey’s five-eight. Her blond hair was pulled back into a long braid down her back. She rested her hip against the table and laughed at something Ian said. Bella held out her hand and the waitress shook it.
“That’s Amanda. She served two tours in the navy. Last year, her unit drove over an IUD, and it took out her convoy. She’s trying to work herself back into society. It’s not always easy and she struggles a little more from the accident.”
Zoey’s heart went out to her, and she immediately wanted to pull the woman into her growing circle of friends. When the woman turned and smiled at Cole, it wasn’t flirtatious. It was a smile to a friend, and Zoey couldn’t help but smile back. As she walked closer, Zoey noticed a big red scar down the side of Amanda’s face. It didn’t take away from her beauty, but Amanda reached up and ran her hand over it self-consciously.
“Hey! I was just grabbing their drinks. What can I get you?”
Cole leaned forward and gave Amanda a one-armed hug as he still held onto Zoey’s hand. “You look good, Amanda.”
She huffed. “You mean the scar doesn’t look so Freddy Krueger-ish today.”
Cole narrowed his eyes. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I know. Sorry. It’s hard not to think about it. What can I get you two?”
It looked like Cole wanted to say more, but Zoey could tell she wanted to drop the subject. “Hey, Amanda. I’m Zoey. I will have a jalapeno margarita if you can make it.”
She smiled warmly at Zoey and let out a relieved breath.
“I will have whatever’s on tap,” Cole ground out unhappily. He went to say more, but when he started to open his mouth again, Zoey squeezed his hand.
The waitress quickly left. Zoey knew there was more to Amanda’s story. The woman needed help, but Zoey could only imagine she wasn’t going to ask for it. She wanted to follow her and ask her what she could do, but Cole placed his hand on the small of her back and pushed her toward the table.
She smiled when they reached the edge of the table. Everyone stopped talking and looked at them. Her worry set back in. Starting the conversation always felt awkward, but when she got talking with someone, she could talk for hours.
“Hey, guys,” Cole said to his friends. “You know Ian and Bella. This is Jessica and Brock. She’s worried about meeting you, so be nice.”
Zoey could feel her face turn red. She hadn’t expected him to say that to Brock and Jessica.
“Hey, Zoey, it’s nice to meet you,” Brock said.
“It’s so nice to put a face with the name. I’ve heard such great things about both of you.”
Cole pulled out the chair across from Jessica. The woman smiled at her before saying hello. Her warm smile eased some of the butterflies in Zoey’s stomach. Cole settled into the seat next to her and rested his arm across the back of her chair.
“Everything will be fine,” he whispered in her ear.
Zoey couldn’t hold back the smile. Cole worried more about her than anyone else. She knew he wanted everyone to get along, but he told her he wanted her to have fun and not worry about what anyone thought. Sometimes that was easier said than done; little voices in her head sometimes made her second guess the things she said.
The waitress returned and placed the drinks around the table. Zoey took a sip of her margarita and enjoyed the heat from the jalapeno.
“How did you guys meet?” Jessica asked.
“I purchased a house off the auction block.” Cole took a sip of beer before he continued. “I went to take a look at the house, and when I went into the master bedroom, she shot at me.”
“Wow, you guys started out with a bang,” Brock said. “Sorry, couldn’t help the bad joke.” He laughed.
Cole let out a laugh and finished telling the story to Jessica and Brock about his uncle and his mother. He even told Brock about his brothers showing up. When he mentioned their names, the vein in the inside of his neck pulsed. He was still pissed at his brothers. Zoey wasn’t sure how she felt. They had gotten the bounty off her head, and no one had shot at her or come after her.
“Are you still having Brock monitor everything?” Brock asked.
Cole nodded. “Yeah, everything went away too easily. I kinda feel like the other shoe might drop, like everything is too good.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tighter.
Ian placed his beer on the table. “I still can’t believe your brothers pointed a gun at Zoey.”
Zoey was surprised by how angry Ian’s words came out, he was also mad she had a gun pointed at her. It had happened so many times in the past four months, she was more worried about something happening to Cole than to her.
“Yeah, I don’t know what I will do if I ever see either of those two men again,” Cole said. “You never point a gun at a woman. He could have explained they needed both drives. What they did was uncalled for.”
She knew one thing: no matter what they said, she wouldn’t have given up the thumb drive. They’d taken it the only way she would’ve given it up.
“You know if you need anything, the team would be here in a second,” Brock told him. “And if we are away, you know Ghost and his team is not far away. They would help. Don’t take this on your own. If something doesn’t feel right, follow your gut.”
Zoey was in awe of Cole’s friends. She didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t Cole’s issue as much as hers. She was the one to take the video and a copy of the dirty accounting books.
“If we need help, I will call, but you guys are still in the military. I’m not going to jeopardize your jobs,” Cole said. He held up his hand when Brock was about to say something. “I’m using Brock, and if I can’t handle what comes at us, I will call, but it will be bad if I call you in.”
Zoey stiffened. Jesus, he’d thought the threat wasn’t over either. She could tell Cole had been on edge, but not how much until then. She didn’t want to add to his stress, so she’d kept her feeling about the uneasiness in her stomach to herself.
Cole turned toward her, his pupils dilated. He looked tense and ready to attack. She worried that if someone did come after her again, Cole and his friends would get hurt because of her. Zoey didn’t know what to do, but she wanted to spend as much time with Cole as possible.
Just talking about the what-ifs, Zoey scanned the interior of the bar, although she wasn’t sure what for. Her training as an accountant hadn’t given her the ability to read a room. Over the last half hour, she had noticed Brock and Ian looking around the room. They had picked a table in the back corner, giving them a good view of the whole restaurant. She hadn’t realized that until right then. She thought back to the previous night, when Cole had asked the waitress to change their table to one in a back corner. “You guys pick tables to watch a room. Do you always do this?”
Jessica smiled at her, making her feel at ease for the question. “Yes, Brock hates when we can’t get the seat in the back so he can watch the place.”
Brock squeezed his wife’s hand. “I don’t like when I can’t fully protect you.”
“Because someone’s going to grab me at the ice cream shop,” Jessica joked.
Brock’s brows drew together. “You were taken at a bar, your friend had a bomb strapped to her at the grocery store, and someone tried to put a sleeping agent in the ice on a plane.”
Jessica frowned for a second. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have joked about that.”
On the way over, Cole had told the story about Jessica smelling the ice in the cups from the flight attendant and it smelling wrong. He was able to signal his teammates not to drink anything on the plane. The airplane would have been hijacked, and Jessica had helped save many lives that day. Zoey was in awe of the woman, and meeting her in person was even better.
“Cole told me earlier about the plane. I can’t believe how brave you are.”
Jessica shifted in her seat. “Instincts kicked in when it was the heat of the moment.”
The night continued, and Zoey relaxed. Jessica and Brock were terrific people, and she understood why Cole liked them so much. Bella thanked him again for helping save her from the crazy people who’d kidnapped her and taken her to San Francisco. She was enjoying herself, and when she saw Amanda walk into the bathroom, she wanted to talk to her. Not sure if it was the second margarita, she had a little courage.
When she excused herself, Jessica joined her. “You know us women can’t go by ourselves.” She turned to her husband. “We’ll be back.”
Bella waved and stayed with the three men.
Jessica gripped Zoey’s arm and leaned in. “Are you going to talk to the waitress? You saw the way she was acting, didn’t you?”
Zoey wasn’t sure she understood the meaning behind Jessica’s question. “You’re not going to stop me. I think she needs help, and even if it’s an ear, I’m going to try. I’ve been the one thinking nobody was here for me, and I don’t want to see someone else go through that.”
A smile spread across Jessica’s face. “I like you. No, I noticed it earlier too, and I’ve been waiting for her to take a break. Now let’s go find out before Brock figures out what I’m up to.”
The two women headed toward the bathroom and waited outside the stall for Amanda to finish. When she walked out, she had tears running down her face. She quickly wiped them away when she saw Zoey and Jessica. “Oh, I didn’t hear anyone come in.”
“Why are you crying? Who did this to you?” Jessica demanded.
Amanda stepped back and flinched.
Zoey stepped forward and took her hand. “We were both worried about you. Something seemed off, and we wanted to know if you need help.”
She let out a sigh. “The only help I need is a plastic surgeon. No… sometimes, the customers can be rude, but in time, it will get easier.”
“Fuck them,” Jessica said. “You’re beautiful, and if they can’t see it, who cares? They only say mean things to make themselves feel better.”
“That would be easier to think if I didn’t have this down my face.” She pointed to the scar.
After taking a quick glance around the empty bathroom, Zoey said, “You are gorgeous, and when you find the right man, he won’t even notice the scar. Is that all that’s bothering you?”
The woman glanced back at the door. She crossed her arms across her body and let out a sigh. “Nothing is the problem. I’m just having a bad day.”
Zoey didn’t believe her, but she wasn’t going to call her out. Instead, she reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. “Here is my number. Call if you need anything or even someone to hang out with.”
Jessica grabbed the piece and quickly wrote down two numbers. “That number is mine, and the other is a man named Brock. If you need help, he can help, no questions asked. Tell him I gave you the number.”
“Thank you,” Amanda said before rushing out of the bathroom.
“She’s hiding something.”
Zoey nodded. “But she doesn’t know us well enough to let us help.”
The next thing she knew, Jessica was hugging her. “You’re one of the good ones. Cole’s lucky to have found you.”
Excited to have made another friend, Zoey laughed. “I’m happy I shot at him.”
Jessica laughed and grabbed her hand, then they walked back toward the table.
When they arrived back, Brock looked up at his wife. “Did she need help?”
Jessica smiled and sat next to her husband. “She wouldn’t tell us what’s wrong, but we gave her our numbers and Brock’s number. I’m not sure she will call.”
“Wait. How did you know?”
Brock looked at his wife. “She’s been eyeing the waitress since we arrived, and I saw her go into the bathroom, and all of a sudden, you wanted to go. When she was at the table earlier, I could tell she was hiding something, and I saw Jessica pick up on it.”
Zoey shook her head. “I wish she would’ve told us something.”
“She will.” Cole paused. “When she is ready.”
“I hope she does…”
Ian set his beer down. “It was great catching up, I think it’s time to head out.”
Zoey looked down at the silver watch Cole had bought her. Three hours had passed. “Wow, time flew.”
Everyone got up from around the table, and Jessica handed Zoey a piece of paper with her number on it. “Call me whenever. If you make it out to California, the other women would love to meet you. Maybe you and Bella could come out and stay with us.” Cole grunted, and she added, “You’re always welcome over, Cole.”
The men threw a stack of bills on the table—more than enough to cover the tab. She knew it was to help Amanda out. Cole and his friends had hearts of gold.
Zoey’s cheeks hurt from smiling as they walked out of the bar.