Cole
Iswirled the bourbon around in my glass, the ice clinking against the crystal. I was sitting in my dark living room, just me and the demons in my head. The clock on the wall was ticking, the sound loud in the room.
Usually, I’d be assaulted by memories. Of Delta Team.
Both the good memories and the bad. I had so many memories of us laughing and joking.
Zillman had possessed a real knack for bad jokes.
But I could never get their deaths out of my head.
Watching them ripped to shreds by bullets, hearing their groans and shouts.
My own pain roaring through me as I tried to get to them.
I’d been shot three times and slashed in the face that night.
After the shooters—all members of a drug cartel—had left, I’d crawled to each of my friends.
They were all dead and dying. The best men I knew betrayed and led into an ambush.
I hadn’t even been able to recognize Green.
Zillman had been torn up by the bullets.
I’d heard Ramirez’s final rattling breath.
It had taken him painful minutes to die.
I’d dragged myself out of there. Covered in their blood, knowing that the client who’d hired us had sold us out. The three men who’d been like my brothers had bled out in the dirt in the middle of nowhere Mexico.
I took a huge sip of my drink, barely registering the burn.
But tonight, it wasn’t memories of the guys haunting me.
All I could think of was velvet-brown eyes, generous curves, and a pretty smile. I wondered what that red-brown hair would look like on my pillow. What sounds Lili would make if my hand or mouth was between her legs.
“Fuck.” Lifting the glass, I downed the rest of the bourbon.
I sensed movement to my right and tensed. Landon emerged from the shadows, and I huffed out a breath. “Sneaking up on me could get you killed.”
He snorted and crossed his arms. “I know Darkwolf likes to hunt his prey, he doesn’t rush to kill.”
“Did you pick my lock?”
“Yep.” He dropped onto the couch. “Where’s Lili? Is she sleeping in your room?”
Damned if the idea of her in my bed didn’t make my cock take notice. “I got a room for her in the casino.”
Hopefully, she was sleeping.
Away from me. Safe from me.
Landon made an unhappy sound.
I shifted in my chair. “What?”
“She’s been terrified and hurt, was clearly upset, and you left her alone.”
I hunched my shoulders. “It was for the best.”
“Best for who? Her or you?”
“Both of us.”
“You like her.”
I snorted. “She’s way too young for me.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-four.”
“That’s a twelve-year age gap, Cole, you’re hardly robbing the cradle. You like her. You watch her like a hawk, and even I can see that you’re attuned to her. I don’t think she even realizes how you watch her.”
I knew how old Lili was because I’d found out everything I could about her. Hell, I was a borderline stalker. I’d asked around the fight ring about her. Not so I could use it against her, so I could keep her safe.
“Her father’s a piece of shit.”
“No arguments there,” Landon agreed.
“I’ve always tried to keep an eye on her from afar. A woman like her…She’s too young and too sweet to be at the fights.”
“Bet you lost your mind when you heard she was the prize for the fight.”
I growled. “I wasn’t letting fucking Anton Kamensky get his paws on her.” I shook my head. “Goodyear earned himself a whole lot more trouble with this stunt.”
Landon leaned back. “You’re taking your time with him. Thought he’d be dead by now.”
My hands clenched on the armrests. “He doesn’t deserve to die quickly.
I want him afraid, to feel everything he has is slipping through his fingertips.
” I shook my head. “He’ll pay for giving the order to kill my team.
We were supposed to provide security for his company in Mexico.
We had no fucking clue they were moving drugs for him.
” I ground my teeth together. “As far as I knew, we were working for a respectable company.”
“Nothing respectable about Chadwick Goodyear.”
“I know that now, but the people he does business with don’t seem to care.” I blew out a breath. “Once we’d seen the drugs, once we refused to help move them, he sold us out to the cartel. Made us cannon fodder.” He needed me and the guys dead so we wouldn’t share about his illegal operation.
“You’ve known he was behind it for months now.”
“I’ve been messing with him. Slashing his tires, scratching up his fancy cars, setting off the alarm at his gaudy mansion.” I leaned forward. “Death would be too fucking quick for that motherfucker.”
Landon leaned back in his chair. “You’re enjoying toying with him.”
“He’s getting twitchy and looking over his shoulder. He’s increased his security.” Like that could stop me. “I plan to watch him piss his pants in fear, always feeling my breath on the back of his neck. I’m just getting started.”
“And winning Lili was just another way to get at him.”
“No.” I ground out the word. “I would have gotten her out, no matter what.”
Landon groaned. “Because you like her. I’ve never seen you even pause when it comes to a woman. Why don’t you spend some time with her?”
“You know why.” Dammit, I wanted to shout the words.
“I don’t.”
“Landon, I’m a former merc and assassin. I’ve killed so many people. I beat people bloody in the underground fights, all to keep my fucking demons under control. She deserves better. She’s too sweet.”
My friend made a sound. “Fuck that. You aren’t too old, or too dark, Cole. You deserve some damn happiness.”
“Drop it. She’s safe. She’s leaving.” It was for the best. I shoved to my feet and strode to the bottle of bourbon on my kitchen counter. I poured a healthy splash, then knocked it back.
“You pushed her away because you’re so fucking scared to take a risk. To be happy.”
I slammed the glass down. Landon had no idea what he was talking about.
Just then, my cellphone started ringing. It vibrated on the counter and Nash’s name appeared on the screen.
Nash was part of the Avernus security team. I frowned. It was two o’clock in the morning. After Bastian’s wedding celebration, he should be curled up with his woman, asleep.
Snatching it up, I pressed the phone to my ear. “Nash.”
“You put a woman up in a room at the casino.”
Ice slid down my spine. “Yes. Lili.”
“I just got a call from my security team.” He paused. “There’s been an incident.”
My chest locked. “I’m on my way.”
“Cole—”
I ended the call and strode to the front door.
“What’s happened?” Landon followed me.
“Something’s happened with Lili.” As soon as I was outside, I broke into a run. It was one I’d perfected with my team in the field, a loping gait that I could keep up all day.
As soon as we pressed our palms to the lock on the door and stepped into the main casino building, Nash and two of the security team were waiting for us.
Nash was an inch or two taller than me, with a muscular body, and a bearing that broadcast he used to be in the military. His dark hair was messy, which told me he’d climbed out bed to deal with this, and a short beard covered his jaw.
The grim look on his face made my stomach knot.
“Is she still alive?” I asked.
Nash nodded. “But they took her.”
I barely resisted punching the wall. “How they’d get access?”
“Stole the ID card off one of the housekeeping staff.”
It was a silent ride up to the seventh floor.
The door to Lili’s room was open, and the head of casino security, Theo Garrett, stood in the doorway.
He was in his late fifties with gray sprinkled liberally through his dark hair.
He had the same muscular build I did. I shouldered past the older man and entered.
There was a discarded bathrobe on the floor and a smashed lamp. My insides felt like they were lodged in my throat.
Then I saw the blood smear on the wall.
I dragged in several breaths. Then a few more.
Fuck. She was hurt. My hands clenched into fists. My raw knuckles twinged.
“Cole.” Nash gripped my shoulder.
“Cole, get a lock on it.” Landon’s voice was low and calm. Like he was talking to a wild animal.
“You won her in a fight tonight?” Nash asked carefully.
“Her name’s Lili Armstrong. Her father’s a trainer. He owed Chadwick Goodyear money and offered Lili up to settle the debt.”
Nash cursed ripely. They all knew about Goodyear.
“Kamensky wanted Lili, and Goodyear made her the prize to encourage him to win the fight. I decided that wasn’t happening.” I looked around the room. “I was going to get her car and things in the morning, then she was leaving town.” I met his gaze. “I thought she was safe.”
“Two guys in suits busted in, dragged her out. On the security footage, she looked dazed.”
“They’ll belong to Goodyear,” I clipped out. “I want to see the footage.”
Nash looked at Landon, something passing between them.
“Nash, I want to fucking see it.”
He nodded, then pulled out a tablet. I watched as he pulled up the feed from the hallway security camera.
When I saw the men half carrying her down the corridor, rage coiled in my gut.
It was like a damn cobra, ready to strike.
Her head was lolling to her chest, and she was only wearing my T-shirt.
Her legs were bare and she wasn’t wearing any shoes.
There were clear spots of blood on the tee, but I couldn’t see where she was hurt.
“I was supposed to get her safe.” Dark calm descended over me. “I have to get her back.”
Nash gripped my shoulder again. “We’ll help you.”
Landon nodded. “Whatever it takes.”
“Let’s get down to the security room,” Nash said. “Find what they were driving and where they took her.”
I was supposed to keep her safe and I’d failed.
I wouldn’t fail her again.