15. Zoey
15
ZOEY
Unable to believe her eyes, Zoey stared at the NASBA webpage. Ten days ago, she’d taken one of the exams for the CPA after two months of studying nonstop. Cole would stay up and quiz her each night. She wanted to take one exam at a time, and she was looking at her score—ninety-six percent.
She and Cole had fallen into a nice routine over the past couple of months. They hadn’t seen anything from Nathan or his mother. Work was amazing, and she couldn’t wait to tell her boss, Ivy. The previous week, Ivy had told her she had no doubt Zoey would pass and that when she did, they would go out and celebrate.
Zoey quickly took a snapshot of the screen and sent it to Cole. She didn’t expect him to answer; he was interviewing new employees. But she wanted him to be the first person she told. She couldn’t believe that four months had passed since Cole walked into her life, and each day, she fell farther for the man. She loved spending Friday nights lying on the couch in the media room, just cuddling.
Zoey couldn’t be happier about how their relationship was progressing. They had talked about kids, not something she’d ever really considered. Her life wasn’t the easiest growing up. Her mother had done a good job, but Zoey didn’t know how good of a mother she would be. Cole had the same feelings for another reason. His parents were the worst, but he and Zoey had decided that when the time was right, they would try. They weren’t in a rush, but someday, they wanted kids.
Almost every week, she and Bella got together, even if it was just to have a cup of coffee. She loved hanging out with Bella. They spent hours talking about Zoey’s plan for working with the Ross family to open a shelter in San Antonio. The only problem was her job—she couldn’t work full-time and run the shelter. Testing the waters with her boss, she’d mentioned her idea, and her boss had been encouraging, promising she could go part-time.
Next month, Kat and Antonio were flying to San Antonio to talk about options. Zoey had talked to Kat a few times on the phone and fallen in love with the woman. She was a spitfire. Over the weekend, Zoey and Cole were going to look for locations. Cole’s idea of the shelter was starting to come to fruition, and she was excited and nervous. Zoey was in shock how much her life had changed over the last few months.
It was almost lunchtime and Zoey was typing on her keyboard when Zoey heard the slight tap on her door. Without looking up, she told the person to come in. She heard the door click closed, followed by the sound of the lock engaging. Her spine stiffened, and she looked from the monitor to the woman standing in her office. Zoey immediately reached for her purse when the lady pointed the gun at her.
“Don’t even think about it, Zoey.”
Zoey clenched her fist around the arm of her chair as the woman dressed in a black pencil skirt and white blouse sat down. Her blond hair was perfectly done up. Even if she hadn’t seen photos of the woman, Zoey would’ve known who she was the first time meeting her. Those eyes were the same as Cole’s. The only difference was Cindy Walker’s were hollow.
Zoey’s building had tight security, so she had no clue how the woman had gotten into her office unescorted. No one was allowed to roam the halls. “Why are you here?”
“Nathan already told me you don’t know about my plan.”
Nathan’s alive? They hadn’t heard from him since the night Bryson showed up to the house. Bryson continued to run the family business and work for the CIA. The board had voted Bryson’s father out of the company, and he had cut ties with his mom and dad. He’d come to visit a few times, and each time he’d looked more tired than he had the last time. When he wasn’t running a mission or a billion-dollar oil business, he was looking for Nathan. Brock had put out feelers, and it was like he had dropped off the face of the earth.
“I will repeat again—why are you here?” Zoey asked while she slowly slid her chair to the side. She needed her gun; it was her only way out of the situation.
“When my oldest son turned me over to the feds, they took my money. Luckily, I’ve had leverage over my youngest for years. But now, I need money. Nathan can’t get it without Bryson finding him. So I’ve come to get money from my middle child.”
Cole had done well flipping houses, but far less than the Walker family was used to. “How much?”
“A billion dollars.”
This lady must be on crack. No way Cole has a billion dollars lying around . If he did, he would’ve told her. “Not sure where you think he will find that much money.”
Cindy smirked. “Next week, my son turns thirty-five, and he gains access to his trust fund. All he’s going to need to do is sign it over to me. Then I’m gone. He never has to see me again.”
Zoey was trying to wrap her head around the fact that Cole had a huge trust fund coming, but she still didn’t understand why Cindy needed her. “What do you want me to do?”
“You’re my leverage.” She stood and kept the gun trained on Zoey. “Now move.”
She reached for her purse.
“Stop, you don’t need your things. Let’s go.”
Zoey cursed inwardly. It wasn’t only the gun she wanted. After the night at the warehouse, she’d thrown a tracker in her purse, just in case something happened.
Cole’s mother came around Zoey and pushed the gun into her back. “Move.”
It was lunchtime, and the office was empty as they walked toward the exit. No one saw her leave, and she wondered how long it would be before someone noticed she was missing. A black town car was parked outside, and Cindy shoved her into the car then climbed in behind her. Suddenly, Zoey felt the prick in her neck.
“Don’t fight it.”
She barely heard the words before things felt slower. Her hands felt like weights, and she was losing the battle to stay conscious. Her last thought was of Cole.
Cole
Cole leaned back in his office chair. Another interview down. He and Ian had been on the hunt for another project manager for two weeks now, nobody had fit what they were looking for. He reached up and tugged on his tie. He hated wearing the thing, and he disliked coming into the office even more.
Ian looked up from the file in his hand and threw it on his desk, along with the files for the other five people they’d interviewed. He glanced at his clock—it was almost one in the afternoon, and he still had four more interviews to sit through. But they wanted someone who would fit with them.
He pulled his cell from his desk drawer, and he couldn’t help but smile when he read Zoey’s text about passing her exams. He’d had no doubt she would pass. He replied quickly: I knew you could do it. He would take her out for a nice dinner to celebrate.
Cole knew she liked working at the technology firm, but once a week, they helped at different shelters. She had met so many people who needed help, and each time, she jotted down notes of where they were. Next month, they were meeting with Kat and Antonio.
Cole hated that is mother and father were out of jail and going to every function under the moon. Bryson was still working on finding Nathan. He liked talking to his older brother, even if he was a grouch most of the time.
“I’m so sick of doing interviews,” Ian said.
“We will find someone.” Cole didn’t know if he believed the words.
“This next one was sent over from Brock. Jason, just got out of the military last week,” Ian said, not looking up from the resume.
“I know, and I hope he works out. He was highly decorated but didn’t put why he was discharged.”
“Brock wouldn’t have recommended him if he didn’t trust him.”
Bella knocked on the door and brought Jason in. He was the first candidate who’d actually worn a suit to the interview. It didn’t matter what the job was—Cole expected everyone to dress professionally or at least put on a clean shirt for the interview.
An hour later, Cole was excited. This kid was hungry and ready to get to work. Cole looked over to Ian, and he smiled. They were both on the same page. He was about to offer him the job when Bryson charged into the office. Bella was right behind him, a worried look on her face. Bryson was dressed in a black suit, his tie loose around his neck and his hair a mess from running his hands through it.
“What the fuck, Bryson? I’m in the middle of an interview, and why the hell are you not in Dallas?”
“When did you talk to Zoey last?”
“This morning. I’ve been in interviews all day. She sent me a text before lunch.” Cole glanced over at the clock. It was well past three o’clock. He hadn’t realized they’d been talking to Jason for so long. He grabbed his phone from his drawer and saw he had a dozen missed calls from Bryson and nothing from Zoey. That wasn’t normal. He quickly dialed her number, and it rang four times before going to voicemail. With a swipe, he hung up then dialed her work phone. Again, it rang then went to voicemail. “What’s going on, Bryson?”
“I got a text from a burner phone, saying you and Zoey were in trouble. When you didn’t answer, I jumped on the first flight here. I didn’t have Ian or Bella’s number.”
This could all be a misunderstanding. He pulled up the website for the company Zoey worked for and dialed the main number. He asked to speak to Zoey’s boss, Ivy. She said a woman had taken Zoey out to lunch; she’d figured they were celebrating Zoey passing her test and hadn’t thought anything about it. When he asked what the woman looked like, Cole’s heart pounded in his chest.
“She’s been out for two months. Why now? ” Cole asked Bryson.
The memory of Zoey that morning, her hair wrapped up in a towel, flashed through his mind. She had just gotten out of the shower. He’d felt like the luckiest man on the earth.
“I have a feeling it has to do with your birthday next week,” Bryson said.
“I don’t understand,” Cole answered.
Bryson stared at him for a few beats. “You really don’t know?”
“No.”
“You come into your inheritance. She doesn’t have any money. Nathan doesn’t get his until he’s thirty-five, and coming after me will be too public. They are cut out of the company, and I’ve worked over the last couple of months to shut down their streams of income. Grandfather’s money went to her through the company, nowhere else. They’re broke.”
Broke or not, she’d fucked with Zoey, and that was unforgivable.