13. Chapter 13 Falling Apart
Suzanne
The fire station door closes behind Vance Adams with a soft click.
The sound echoes in my chest like a gunshot.
I'm still standing in the middle of the apparatus bay, arms crossed over my ribs, with my chin up. I held it together while he was here. Smiled the whole time. Played the part of the small-town girl who's got everything under control.
My grandmother would be proud.
Cole's watching me. I can feel his gaze like a physical weight, pressing against the cracks I'm trying to hold closed.
"Suzanne."
"I'm fine." The words come out automatically. Practiced. "He's just trying to scare me. It's what Daniel does. Send people to do the intimidating thing when he can't do it himself."
Cole takes a step closer. "That wasn't intimidation. That was a threat."
"Same thing."
"No." His voice drops. "It's not."
I turn away, focusing on the fire engine parked behind me. It's massive. Red and chrome and built to run into danger. I wonder what that feels like. To be that sure of your purpose.
My hands are shaking. I shove them into my pockets.
"Suzanne, look at me."
"I need to get back to the shop." I'm already moving toward the exit, my legs carrying me on muscle memory alone. "I've got the afternoon rush coming, and I haven't prepped the…"
Cole's hand wraps around my elbow. Gentle. Firm.
I stop.
"You're not going back there alone," he says.
"Cole, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but…"
"He threatened your shop."
"He implied…"
"He threatened you." Cole's grip tightens just slightly. "That wasn't subtext. That was a promise."
I know. God, I know. But admitting it out loud makes it real, and I can't afford it right now. Real means Daniel found me. Real means he's not going to stop. Real means everything I've built here in Whiskey Bend is about to burn down around me.
Again.
My throat closes up.
"Hey." Cole steps into my line of sight, his broad shoulders blocking out everything else. "Breathe."
"I am breathing."
"You're panicking."
"I'm not." The words catch. My chest feels tight, like someone's pulled a strap across my ribs and yanked. "I'm fine. I just need to…"
What? Run? Hide? Vance Adams didn't just walk into this town with a file full of my secrets and a direct line to the man who wants me erased?
The trembling in my hands spreads up my arms. My vision blurs at the edges.
"Suzanne." Cole's voice cuts through the static in my head. "When did you eat last?"
"What?"
"Food. When?"
I blink at him. "I don't... this morning. If you could count the one bite of that burrito, that's all I could stomach."
He mutters something under his breath that sounds like a curse. Then his hands are on my shoulders, guiding me back toward the bench near the wall. "Sit."
"I don't need to sit."
"Sit anyway."
My knees fold. I sit.
Cole disappears for a moment, then returns with a bottle of water and a protein bar from someone's stash. He cracks the water open and hands it to me. "Drink."
I do. The cold hits my stomach like a shock, but it clears my head enough to realize how lightheaded I've been.
Cole crouches in front of me, elbows resting on his knees. He's close enough that I can see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes. Close enough that his calm starts to seep into my panic.
"You held your ground in there," he says quietly. "You didn't give him anything."
"I gave him everything. He knows I'm scared."
"He knows you're smart." Cole's jaw works, but his voice stays even. "You didn't engage. Didn't argue. Didn't make promises. That takes control."
Control, right, because that's what I looked like. Controlled.
I take another sip of water. My hands are still shaking, but slower now. "What happens next?"
"Next, I'll make sure you're somewhere safe."
"Cole"
"Then we figure out how to bury this guy so deep he forgets Whiskey Bend exists."
The certainty in his voice almost makes me believe him, almost.
I set the water bottle down. "You don't understand what you're dealing with. Daniel's not some angry ex who's going to give up because a small-town firefighter told him no. He's connected. He's wealthy. He's running for office, and I'm a problem he's going to solve."
"Then he's going to have to go through me first."
"That's what I'm afraid of." The words slip out before I can stop them.
Cole's expression shifts and softens. "You think I can't handle him?"
"I think you shouldn't have to." My voice cracks. "You shouldn't be in this at all. I brought this here. I dragged my mess into your town, into your life, and now Adams is threatening your family and…"
"Stop."
I stop.
Cole's hands close over mine. Warm and steady. "You didn't drag anything anywhere. You came home to a place you thought was safe. That's not a crime."
"It is when it puts people in danger."
"The only person putting people in danger is the guy in the suit." His grip tightens. "And we're going to stop him."
Like it's that simple. Like Cole Harper and his brothers, and this whole damn town can just stand between me and the past and make it disappear.
I want to believe it so badly it hurts.
"Suzanne." Cole's voice drops, rough and low. "Do you trust me?"
The question catches me off guard. Do I? I've known him for what, a couple of weeks? Long enough to kiss him. Long enough to let him into my bed. Long enough to feel safe when he's near and exposed when he's not.
"Yes," I whisper.
"Then come home with me."
My breath catches. "Cole."
"Just for tonight. Just until we have a plan." He stands, pulling me up with him. "You can use the guest room. Smokey's a good guard dog, and I'm not letting you go back to that apartment alone after what just happened."
It's reasonable and logical. The smart play.
But the way he's looking at me, the way his thumb is brushing over my knuckles, tells me this isn't just about strategy.
I should say no. I should go back to Butter & Bean, lock the doors, and prove I can handle this on my own. Like I've handled everything else.
But my knees are weak. My hands are still trembling. And the past just walked into my present, wearing a charcoal suit and a pleasant smile.
I don't want to be alone tonight.
"Okay," I say.
Cole's expression shifts. Relief, Determination, and Something fiercer underneath that makes my pulse skip.
He doesn't let go of my hand as he leads me toward the door.
"We're leaving now," he calls over his shoulder to one of the other firefighters. "Text me if anything comes up."
"Sure thing, Harper. Are you good?"
Cole glances at me. "Getting there."
He pauses at the door, his hand still wrapped around mine. "You can use the guest room. Clean sheets. Private bathroom. Smokey won't bother you unless you want him to."
The offer is practical, safe, and exactly what I need to hear.
We step outside into the late afternoon sun. The air smells like fresh-cut grass and distant rain. It's Normal and Safe.
I take two steps toward the parking lot before my legs give out.
Cole catches me before I hit the pavement, one arm banding around my waist, the other cupping the back of my head. I'm shaking again. Harder this time. Because the adrenaline's draining and the fear's flooding in, and I can't breathe past it.
"I've got you," Cole murmurs against my hair. "I've got you."
"He's not going to stop." My voice breaks. "He's going to keep coming until he gets what he wants."
"Then we'll keep fighting."
"You don't know him."
"I don't need to." Cole pulls back just enough to tilt my face up. His eyes are burning. "I know you. And I know I'm not letting him take you."
The words hit like a vow.
I nod. I don't trust my voice.
Cole's jaw ticks. He looks toward his truck, then back at me. When he speaks again, his voice is rough and final.
"You're coming home with me. Now."
It's not a request.
And God help me, I don't want it to be.