Chapter Thirty
Lori
We wake to no news about Ashley at all.
By ten in the morning, I’m already dressed in a blue suit dress and Cole is in a perfectly fitted blue pinstriped suit, looking good enough to eat. Unfortunately, there is no time for me to show him how much I approve. By eight, we’re seated on a private jet to Houston. Once we’re settled into our seats, I let the magnitude of the words “private plane” hit me. “Are the skills of these pilots regulated?” I ask.
Cole laughs and laces his fingers with mine. “Our pilot is an ex-special ops guy. I’ve flown with him. We really do need to consider flying lessons for you.”
“No,” I say. “I’m fine.”
His cellphone rings, while a flight attendant offers us coffee that I eagerly accept, as does Cole. “Alex,” he says. “Yes. We’re coming to you for unexpected reasons. I still want you to meet Reese and see the offices, but if you can do dinner tonight I can make sure it’s worth everyone’s time for you to come to New York.” He listens a minute. “Yes. We’ll leave Friday morning so you can hitch a ride if you want to. I have a private plane.” I doctor my coffee my way, as he adds, “Yes. Perfect. We’ll see you there.” He disconnects. “Dinner tonight at a spot by the courthouse. He’s in court this afternoon.”
“How do you know Alex?” I ask, sipping my coffee as he does the same.
“We met at a judge’s retirement party, and we both had a challenge with a particular ADA. We ended up exchanging notes and we became friends. Not close friends, but friends. He’s a good guy, and a killer in the courtroom.”
“How old is he?”
“Thirty-six.”
“How long has he been practicing and where?” I ask.
“Since he graduated, and he went with a big firm but left to work on his own two years ago. That’s not always easy going. It takes money to operate, and it can pressure you into taking cases you don’t want to take.”
“And that’s been an issue for him?”
“Yes,” he says, “and why so many questions?”
“You and Reese are perfect together. I just don’t want a third wheel to mess with the mojo.”
He laughs and kisses me. “You and Cat protect our mojos, but thank you, sweetheart. We need Alex and he’ll be in Houston anyway.”
“But partners make decisions.”
“He won’t be a controlling partner. At least not initially.” He sobers. “I don’t want to be in Houston and I might have suggested you be a backup for that office, but I don’t want you in Houston, either. Not if it can be avoided.”
There is something dark and turbulent in his stare. I reach out and touch his cheek. “I’m thankful to get to see this part of your life, Cole.”
“The past. You’re seeing the past, Lori.”
“I know, but it’s still a part of you.”
“It’s the past,” he says again. “You, now, you’re the future.” The engine revs to life and before I can ask anything else, Cole kisses me, and the plane is moving. In a matter of minutes, we’ve lifted off, on our way to Houston. On our way to Cole’s life before me.
Once we arrive in Houston, we settle into a hired car. “Once we get to the office,” I say, “I’m going to have to deal with the asshole running the place into the ground.”
“I’ll introduce myself around and see who knows what about Ashley,” Lori offers.
“I hate that I don’t know more about who she was friends with.”
“Trials are consuming, Cole,” she reminds me. “You knew about the man in her life. It was a whirlwind romance. I doubt anyone knows him. From what we know, he wasn’t someone that let that happen unless he wanted it to happen.”
He doesn’t respond and I understand. If I were in his place, I’d blame myself, too. Cole and I are alike in this; we need to protect those around us. I love that he wants to protect me, but I will never let him hold the world up alone, just as the recent days have taught me that Cole will never allow me to hold it up on my own either.
A few minutes later, we step inside the Houston high-rise that houses the offices and when we exit to the lobby, I stop as I stare at the name Summer and Brooks etched into the wall, with a list of partners beneath it. “Did it used to say Brooks and Brooks?”
“No,” Cole says, his hand settling between my shoulders. “My father would never have shared that honor with me or anyone. And I didn’t want my name on the wall while he was in charge.” He turns to face me, his hands on my shoulders. “I’m not him,” he says solemnly.
“I know that.”
“You will hear stories.”
“About you or him?”
“Him.”
“Then why do I sense there is more?”
“It’s hard to hear what a monster he was, and not wonder if it’s in the blood.”
“I don’t plan on gambling away all of our money like my father. I’m quite confident you don’t plan on becoming an arrogant ass.”
“Now I’m not arrogant? Because you said I was.”
“Okay,” I concede, “you are, in fact, arrogant, but lovably so and if you act like an ass, I’ll kick you in yours.”
He leans in and whispers. “As long as I get to spank yours.”
As many intimate, erotic things as I’ve done with this man, I still have these shy, wonderful moments with him that curl my toes and heat my cheeks. “I love when you blush,” he adds, with a low laugh, lacing his fingers with mine. “Come. Let’s go rule this part of our world together.”
It’s not long before I’ve met the front office and administrative staff and a few attorneys Cole seems to be fond of before he ends up behind closed doors with the man who we have long known wants to organize a hostile takeover. I don’t actually meet the man. I’m distracted by conversation elsewhere when it happens.
Being on my own is not uncomfortable. Everyone is friendly and while Cole believes I will hear horrible stories about his father, I hear praise for Cole. He’s nothing like his father is a common statement. Help is another. Most people are aware that there has been a decline in the office in Cole’s absence. A few people ask about Ashley and how she’s doing with us in New York, but no one really knows her. She was a loner, at least at the office.
On the pretense of Ashley asking me to find a missing item for her, I search her desk and still find nothing. She cleaned it out well before she left, or someone cleaned it out like they did her apartment. Cole is in his meeting for so long that I hole up in his old office that is empty but for the furnishings now. It’s after five and I’ve settled onto the couch with my MacBook when Royce calls me. “Do you have news on Ashley?” I ask eagerly.
“Where is Cole? He’s not answering his line.” Cole walks into the room, owning it the minute he arrives, power radiating off him that I’ve come to understand. He’s not quite come down from a battle, but he won the fight. “Royce,” I say to him and he shuts the door, walking my direction.
“Put him on speaker,” he says, joining me on the couch.
“I’m here,” Cole says. “I know you’ve been calling. I’ve been in a meeting. Where do we meet up with your man?”
“I’ve been told to step back from this,” Royce announces.
I frown and my eyes meet Cole’s as he asks, “By who?”
“The CIA and the FBI,” Royce says. “We won’t stop pushing, but we need to be discreet and back off. You guys need to back off before you end up pulled into this in a way that won’t allow you an exit.”
A chill runs down my spine. “Okay, but what does that mean for Ashley?”
“She’s safe,” Royce assures us. “Maybe she won’t be if we bring attention to her.”
“Did they say that?” Cole asks, his tone sharp.
“Yes. They say they’re protecting her.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“Protection,” Royce says, “can mean many things. Come see me when you get back.”
“Tomorrow,” Cole says. “We still need to go by her apartment. A neighbor might know something about that man she was with.”
“Let my men handle that,” Royce says. “We will handle it and Cole, I wouldn’t want my woman anywhere near this.”
Cole sucks in air. “I’ll call you when we land tomorrow.” He disconnects. “We aren’t done. We won’t give up.”
“Agreed,” I say, making sure he knows I’m standing by him, holding up the world right now.
He studies me a moment. “How was your afternoon?”
“No one spoke of your father. I got the impression the living asshole in charge of the office affected them to present day and stirred the past. They want help.”
“That’s why we need to recruit Alex.” But he’s not thinking about Alex. He’s watching me.
I lean forward and brush his jaw. “They said what I know and one day you will, too. You’re not him.”
He is stone in response, but even in the hardness of his stare, I can see the demons of his past. The pain that lives there and in this place for him. Abruptly, he pulls me to him and kisses me. “We can’t be home soon enough. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Home.
Our home.
The place we don’t have to hold up anything but each other.
He stands to offer me his hand when his cellphone rings again. He glances down at the screen and frown. “No caller ID.” He answers. “Cole Brooks.” His eyes jolt. “Ashley?”
I jump to my feet. “Is she okay? Where is she?”
He puts her on speaker. “I have Lori here, too. Where are you?”
“I love you both,” she says, her voice strong, “but you need to back off. I’m okay. I’m leaving. I have to go.”
“Witness protection?” I ask, sharing Cole’s concerned look.
“Yes. And I’m not supposed to say that. You will force me to hide even deeper. I can’t contact you. Cole, you’re like a brother. Lori, you were fast becoming a sister. But I’m gone now. Forget me or you’ll get me killed.” She disconnects.