Chapter 6
Baggage
Cole placed the photographs from Sienna's condo on the table in front of her.
She picked them up one at a time.
The bedroom.
Her belongings scattered across the floor.
The damaged security system.
Then the portrait.
Sienna stopped.
The photograph showed the knife exactly where Cole remembered it—driven through the center of her chest.
She stared at it for several seconds before putting it down.
"I have no idea who this could be, Cole. None."
Her frustration was obvious.
"I've given you the names of practically everyone I've ever known. I still don't understand why you think this is someone I know."
Cole sat back.
"I'm not saying you know who's doing it."
"Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying this is personal."
He tapped the photograph of the portrait.
"This person didn't break into your home to steal anything. They disabled your security system, went through your personal belongings, and did this."
Sienna looked away.
"I need you to think about anyone who might have a reason to resent you. Former employees. Someone you rejected. Somebody who believes you wronged them. It could've happened years ago."
"I've been famous since I was a teenager, Cole. Do you know how many people that could be?"
"I know."
"No, you don't."
Her voice sharpened.
"I've had people hate me because they didn't like a song. I've had people hate me because of who I dated. Because of what I wore. Because I didn't smile when they wanted me to smile. Because I didn't stop and sign an autograph when I was trying to get on a plane."
She stood.
"So when you tell me to think of someone who might have a grudge against me, you're asking me to choose from half the fucking world."
Cole remained quiet.
He understood her frustration.
Unfortunately, understanding it didn't change what he needed from her.
"Sienna—" "I have a show in a few hours."
That ended the conversation.
She walked to the dressing-room door and opened it.
Her hair and makeup team waited outside.
"Come in."
The dismissal wasn't subtle.
Cole gathered the photographs.
Sienna returned to the chair in front of the large mirror without looking at him.
He left without another word.
Pit was waiting in the hallway.
"Anything from forensics?"
"Nothing yet."
Pit took the photographs from him.
"How'd it go?"
Cole glanced toward the closed dressing-room door.
"About as well as you'd expect."
He started walking toward the backstage security checkpoints.
Pit followed.
"How deep are you in this?"
Cole stopped.
Slowly, he turned.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
Pit didn't flinch.
They'd known each other far too long for intimidation to work.
"You know exactly what it means."
Cole stared at him.
"How deep, Cole?"
"We have a job to do."
"That's not what I asked."
Cole rubbed his eyes.
"What about former employees? Anybody she fired? Anybody Patrick or Keith let go?"
"Bosch already has the list."
"Good."
Cole turned away.
Pit didn't move.
Cole could feel his friend's eyes on his back.
Finally, he exhaled.
"We have a job to do. That's it."
The lie sounded weak even to him.
Pit knew it.
Cole knew it.
Neither said another word.
Pit eventually walked away.
Cole remained where he was.
He'd spent his entire career separating emotion from responsibility.
Protect the principal.
Assess the threat.
Control the environment.
Never get personally involved.
Simple rules.
Until Sienna.
Cole eventually returned to her dressing room.
He could hear the blow dryer before he reached the door.
He opened it slightly, just enough to make sure everything was okay inside.
Sienna spotted him in the mirror.
She raised a hand.
Her stylist switched off the dryer.
"Can you guys give us a minute?"
The women quietly left.
Cole entered but remained near the door.
Sienna continued looking at him through the mirror.
"I thought of someone."
His demeanor immediately changed.
"Who?"
"There was this guy in high school."
She frowned, searching her memory.
"He used to send me flowers all the time. This was before I got really famous."
"Name?"
"Henry."
She paused.
"Henry Johnson, I think."
"What happened between you?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"I wasn't interested."
Sienna turned slightly in the chair.
"He was kind of creepy, but I never thought he was dangerous. Honestly, I barely paid attention to him."
"Did you ever date?"
"No."
"Did he ever threaten you?"
"Not that I remember."
Cole nodded.
"We'll check him out."
He reached for the door.
"Cole?"
He stopped.
Sienna turned back toward the mirror.
"Are we ever going to talk about us?"
Cole's hand remained on the doorknob.
There it was.
The conversation he'd spent days avoiding.
"What exactly do you want to discuss?"
Sienna slowly turned around.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you kissed me in Vegas."
Cole said nothing.
"Or the fact that I spent the next night sleeping in your arms."
Still nothing.
"You choose."
Cole finally faced her completely.
"What do you want from me, Sienna?"
The question came out harsher than he'd intended.
Her expression changed.
"This entire situation is complicated. Someone is threatening your life. My priority is keeping you safe."
"I know that."
"Do you?"
Sienna stood.
"Yes, Cole. I do."
"Because every time we're alone—"
"What?"
She stepped toward him.
"Finish the sentence."
Cole clenched his jaw.
Every time they were alone, he wanted her.
Every time she smiled at him, he forgot she was a client.
Every time she fell asleep against him, he imagined what it might feel like to wake up beside her.
None of those were things he could afford to say.
"My job is to protect you."
Sienna's face fell.
There it was again.
His job.
She nodded slowly.
"We're done here, Agent Bennett."
Cole's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, cut the crap."
Sienna stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Agent Bennett."
He stepped closer.
"You call me Cole when you want me close and Agent Bennett whenever you're angry because I'm not giving you the answer you want."
Sienna's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
"You want to talk about us?"
His voice lowered.
"There is no us, Sienna."
The words hurt him almost as much as they hurt her.
"There's you."
He pointed toward her.
"And then there's the man you hired to keep you alive."
"Right."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Glad we cleared that up."
Cole immediately regretted it.
But instead of fixing it, he opened the door and left.
Sienna stared at the empty space where he'd been.
She hated this.
Hated the mixed messages.
Hated that she'd kissed him.
Hated that he'd kissed her back.
Most of all, she hated that every time Cole walked out of a room, she missed him.
And all she could do was hope that somewhere on the other side of that door, he missed her too.
* * *
The Oklahoma City show ended without incident.
Henry Johnson didn't prove nearly as promising.
Bosch's background check showed that Henry had moved overseas years earlier and was working as a freelance artist. Nothing the team uncovered suggested he posed an immediate threat.
Which put them right back where they'd started.
The SUV ride to the airport was painfully quiet.
This time, Cole sat beside Sienna.
Neither spoke.
He looked out one window.
She looked out the other.
When they boarded the plane for Kansas City, Cole deliberately chose a seat beside one of his agents.
Sienna sat alone.
She told herself she didn't care.
Halfway through the flight, she stopped lying to herself.
She pulled out her phone.
Typed two words.
Deleted them.
Typed them again.
Then pressed send.
I'm sorry.
Sienna placed her phone facedown.
The cabin was dark, just as it had been the previous night.
Only tonight there was no Cole beside her.
No shoulder to rest against.
No arm around her.
She curled into the oversized seat and closed her eyes.
Maybe he'd been right.
Maybe there couldn't be an us.
A few minutes later, Sienna sensed someone standing beside her.
She opened her eyes.
Even in the darkness, she recognized him immediately.
Cole.
His hands were tucked into his pockets.
His expression was difficult to read.
Sienna quietly moved her things from the seat beside her.
Cole sat.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
His familiar cologne surrounded her.
Finally, Cole exhaled.
"I don't know how to do this, Sienna."
She looked at him.
"I can't protect you and have a relationship with you at the same time."
"Why?"
"Because it doesn't work that way."
"For who?"
"For me."
His answer was immediate.
"I need my head clear. If I'm thinking about you as anything other than my client, I could miss something."
Sienna's anger faded.
Cole wasn't rejecting her because he didn't want her.
He was afraid wanting her might get her hurt.
"Once this is over—"
"I thought there was no us."
Cole closed his eyes.
"That's not fair."
"Neither is asking me to pretend nothing is happening between us."
"Sienna—"
"I come with baggage, Cole."
Her voice softened.
"A lot of it."
He looked at her.
"My life is complicated when someone isn't threatening to kill me. There will always be another tour. Another album. Another reporter. Another scandal. Another reason why being with me isn't convenient."
"This isn't about convenience."
"Then what is it about?"
"Keeping you alive."
That silenced her.
Cole leaned closer.
"If something happened to you because I was distracted—"
He stopped.
The thought alone was unbearable.
Sienna saw it on his face.
She reached for his hand.
"Nothing is going to happen to me."
"You don't know that."
"Neither do you."
Cole looked down at their joined hands.
Sienna intertwined their fingers.
For a moment, he simply stared at them.
Then he raised her hand and pressed a soft kiss against the back of it.
"I'm sorry too."
Sienna moved closer.
Cole put his arm around her.
Not because she was frightened.
Not because she was tired.
Because he wanted her there.
She rested against him.
"If this is all I can have of you right now," she whispered, "then it's enough."
Cole's chest tightened.
Sienna closed her eyes.
"I'd rather have this than nothing at all."
He looked down at her.
Something about those words broke through every defense he'd spent years building.
Cole didn't know how any of this was supposed to work.
He didn't know what would happen when the tour ended.
He didn't even know whether he had the right to want a future with her.
But for the first time, he stopped trying to convince himself that what he felt wasn't real.
He tightened his arm around her and rested his cheek against her hair.
Sienna Carlisle wasn't just another assignment.
Not anymore.
And whatever happened next, Cole knew one thing with absolute certainty.
She was worth the risk.