Chapter 2 #3
Coulter sent a quick voice-to-text to another secured line regarding Alex’s current hotel reservation and the need to clear her name from their system. The message was delivered at the same time the frustrated woman spoke up again.
“What was that all about?”
He set the phone down onto the console between them. “I know you have a lot of questions.”
“Gee, you think?”
Her snarky retort had his lips twitching with the urge to smile. It was crazy and almost certainly made him a masochist, but damn. Coulter genuinely loved the way this woman always, without fail, called him on his shit.
“Like I said, just sit back and enjoy the view.”
Alex opened her mouth to no-doubt continue the argument, but a look of warning her way stopped her cold. Visibly enraged, she clamped her lips together and sat back with a huff. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and Coulter braced himself for her impending wrath.
Like always, however, Alex did the opposite of what he expected. Instead of yelling at him or shouting about how unfair he was being, she became utterly silent.
For the rest of the ride to his hotel, neither of them said another word. She kept quiet, staring out the passenger window while he drove as fast as possible without getting pulled over.
Thirty very long minutes later, they were finally entering his over-sized, over-priced hotel suite. Coulter shut the door and secured the locks before facing the star of his every dream.
“Would you like something to drink?”
Alex shot him a scowl. “No, I don’t want something to drink. What I want is an explanation.”
“And you’ll get one,” Coulter promised. “But if we’re going to have this conversation, I’m definitely going to need a drink.”
Big. Strong. Filled to the rim with liquid courage. Enough to support him in his efforts to reveal his deepest, darkest secret.
With unhurried steps, he moved across the plush carpet on his way to the suite’s mini bar. He took his time, doing his best to stall. Because dammit, this wasn’t the plan.
Before tonight, he had full intentions of taking what he was about to tell her to his grave. But he knew Alex, probably better than she knew herself.
The woman was like a dog with a bone, and there was no way she was letting this one go. Right now, all she wanted was to learn the truth.
Unfortunately for him, it was the only way Coulter saw a way out. For her, not him. He was in this thing with Crawford until the end. With any luck, that ending included the man spending the rest of his life in prison.
Or better yet—
Dead.
Dead men couldn’t cause pain or suffering. Corpses didn’t kidnap or sell innocents for whatever twisted games Crawford’s buyers had in store for their winnings.
So yeah, you’re damn right Coulter wanted the guy dead. Too bad his boss had other plans.
“You know what? Fine,” Alex spoke up again. “Make it two.”
He glanced at her from over his shoulder as she set her purse and jacket onto a nearby chair. She plopped herself down onto the couch, crossing her long legs with a sigh and waited for his return.
Ignore the slit.
The thought struck as his gaze lowered to the exposed skin of her silky thigh. He cleared his throat and looked away.
“You said Crawford was at your gallery recently?” He held a glass in each of his hands as he made his way back over to her.
“Last week.” She leaned up and took the glass he’d just offered. Not taking the time to savor, she tilted her head back, swallowing the entire contents in one, long gulp.
Coulter’s lips rolled inward to keep from smiling as he sat on the cushion beside her. “Did you know he was planning on stopping by?”
She set the empty glass on the coffee table and faced him more directly.
“Nope. Now it’s your turn. You said you’d explain whatever that was back there as soon as we were here.
Well guess what?” She glanced around. “We’re here, so no more stalling or putting me off.
I want to know why you were at that party tonight, and why the hell Gordan Crawford thinks your name is Cole Morris. ”
This was it. The minute the words were out of his mouth there’d be no going back. His blue stare held hers a moment longer as he committed her beautiful face to memory. After tonight, once she learned the truth about who he really was, there was a good chance Alex would never speak to him again.
“Cole Morris is the alias I’ve been using for the past several months.”
“Alias?” Her dark brows dipped in the center as she let out an unladylike scoff. “Why in the world would you need an alias? You’re in marketing or whatever. I mean, if you were a member of Tac-Ops, I’d understand. But you’re not, so—”
“You’re right.” He nodded. “I’m not a member of Tac-Ops.”
Short for Tactical Operations, Tac-Ops was his brother’s specialized hostage rescue team.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what I just said.”
As much as he loved her smart mouth, Coulter knew he needed to tell her the rest.
“Alex, the truth is, I’m a deep-cover agent with the CIA. Six months ago, I was assigned to the task force created for the sole purpose of taking Gordan Crawford down.”