22. Cole
COLE
“Thanks, Cole. Great session, as always.”
My client Chris held out a hand and we shook.
We were standing outside the Darkwolf Tactical warehouse.
The late afternoon sun was painting the desert golden orange.
I’d just finished a close quarters combat session with Chris and his team.
It had gone well. I’d worked with him before.
He ran a small security outfit out of Phoenix.
“You’ve got a good team,” I said.
“I do. And we always benefit from your training. See you next time.” With a wave, he walked to the dusty SUV where his guys were loading up their gear.
I watched them drive away, and instantly my thoughts turned to Lili. She was inside, up in the office keeping herself busy, but I knew she was terrified for Ava-Jane.
After the confrontation with Goodyear last night, neither of us had slept well. Lili had been restless, and I’d woken from a nightmare.
My gaze shifted to the mountains on the horizon.
It was time to end this.
It was time to make Goodyear pay and ensure Lili was safe.
Nash and his team were working overtime to find Ava-Jane and the other women. We knew their time was running out. Goodyear knew we were onto him.
I headed back inside. I could hear Lili humming from upstairs and I smiled. Quietly, I took the stairs then leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb to watch her.
I felt things inside me ease. God, she was so damn pretty. She was wearing simple jeans and a billowy white shirt with some lace detailing. Her hair was in a ponytail today. She had her jewelry stuff all over the desk, although I knew she’d done my bookkeeping earlier.
Mine.
The word echoed in my head. Now that I’d had her—my cock inside her, her asleep in my arms, her crying on my chest, her smiling at me—my damn body and brain both considered her mine.
I knew I had to kill Goodyear. I’d been working up to that for a long time. She said she understood my need for revenge. That she saw me.
But a part of me wondered if she’d still look at me the same once I’d killed him.
She deserved so much better.
She deserved a guy who’d let her live in the light. Who’d give her a damn house with a picket fence and babies.
The startling image of Lili, her belly swollen with our child, smiling up at me, hit me hard.
I blinked and realized she was staring into space, worry etched on her face.
“Hey,” I said.
“God.” She jolted, and dropped the beads she was holding. They skittered across the floor.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I didn’t hear you.” She scrambled to pick up the dropped beads.
I walked closer. “What’s on your mind?”
She sat back in my creaky office chair. “Ava-Jane, what else?” She pulled a face. “Goodyear. I’ve just been thinking about how horrible he truly is. Why is someone like that? Why not do good and help people?”
Of course, Lili would think like that. I’d seen the worst people could be, so I was usually surprised when people did something good.
I pushed her hair aside and dropped a kiss to her shoulder. She made a cute little sound and tilted her head to give me better access. I raked my teeth over her skin, then tipped her head back to reach her mouth.
She kissed me back with eager hunger.
A beeping from my pocket interrupted us. Frowning, I broke the kiss and pulled out my phone. Then I stiffened.
“Cole?” She rose slowly.
“My security sensors at the edge of my property are going off.” I felt ice sliding into my bloodstream.
“What does that mean?” She moved up beside me, peering at my phone.
I swiped the screen. I had some hidden sensors and cameras planted around the perimeter of the property. Dad had been a paranoid old bastard, and a good early detection system was one of the first things he’d taught me.
I pulled up the camera feed and saw three men creeping through the stark desert toward the warehouse. They were all wearing desert-patterned camouflage gear, had scarves covering the bottom half of their faces, and were armed. I studied the AR-15 rifles.
My gut contracted, and Lili gasped.
Another sensor went off. This one was in a different direction. I swiped again and saw another three guys coming in from the opposite direction. Another sensor pinged. When I swiped, I saw a vehicle racing up the driveway, a cloud of dust behind it.
Fuck. Goodyear had gotten impatient.
“Come on.” I grabbed Lili’s arm. We hurried down the stairs, and I went straight to my weapons locker. I pinned in the code and the doors opened.
“Holy cow,” Lili breathed.
I had a small arsenal. I grabbed several handguns, tucking them into my waistband. I grabbed ammo, then three knives, which I slid into the sheaths. Then I grabbed my rifle—a SIG Sauer MCX.
Lili’s face was impossibly pale. I pulled out a smaller, lightweight handgun—a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard—then slid in a magazine and racked the slide. I placed the weapon in her hand.
“I don’t know how to use it,” she said shakily.
“You need to flick the safety off like this.” I showed her. “Then aim and shoot.”
“Goodyear wants us dead.”
“Yes. He knows we’re coming for him and he wants us stopped. These men coming in here are aiming to kill. It’s you or these guys, Lili. If you want to survive, you do what you have to do. Got it?”
She nodded.
I hauled her close and kissed her. “I’m getting you out of here alive, sunshine. I promise.”
She pressed her hand to my chest. “And you. We’re getting out of here.”
I nodded, but the truth was, I’d do anything for her.
I’d fight in the ring.
I’d fight a goddamn army.
I’d also die for her.
“Let’s move.” I quickly shot off a message to my group chat with Bastian and the others.
At Darkwolf. Goodyear’s team closing in. Estimate twelve bogeys.
I didn’t need to say anymore.
I knew they’d come.
I’d lost my team, my brothers, but without planning to, I’d found new brothers. Men I could trust.
Now, without planning to, I also had a woman I could love.
But first, I had to keep her alive.
I dragged Lili across the space and into my close quarters combat shoot house.