Chapter 27
27
COLE
We walk into Pebble Bar at seven forty-five. Christa isn’t here yet. I knew she wouldn’t be because she likes to make an entrance, and that usually means she’s at least ten minutes late. Since Chris and Con are with me, we decide that Chris will be sitting at the table when Christa gets here. I made sure to slip the hostess a fat tip to ensure we got a private booth way at the back. Con and I won’t make our presence known until their drinks arrive.
I check my phone one more time while I wait. Still no word from Layla. I didn’t expect to see a response to my endless voicemails or texts, but a man can hope. I stopped trying to contact her a couple of hours ago. It’s pointless until I have all the information.
“There she is,” Con whispers. We are sitting at the opposite end of the bar, hidden behind a post. She starts to glance around but Chris pops up and waves, and she heads straight in his direction with a huge smile on her face. Fucking gold-digging bitch. I’m glad my brothers are finding out what kind of woman she is before either of them hooked up with her.
I count down the minutes until I see the server approach their table with a tray of drinks. A low growl slips from my throat, “Let’s go.”
“Be cool, man. We’re just going to talk to her,” Con says as he stands and starts walking beside me.
“Yeah, I got it.”
I slide into the booth and get nice and cozy next to Christa before she even knows I’m there. Chris is on the other side. Con stands sentry at the end of the table.
“Hello, sweetheart.” My hand lands on her bare thigh, my fingers curling into a brutal grip. She jumps as her head swivels my way.
“Cole.” She flashes me a megawatt smile.
A low growl rumbles out of my chest. “You’ve been a very bad girl, Christa, and now you’re in a world of trouble.”
Her smile falters.
“I thought I told you to fuck off last night. To get the fuck out of my life and my building, but that’s not what you did, is it?”
“I…I did. I left like you asked me to.”
“Hmm.” I squeeze her thigh a little tighter, causing her to whimper. “Maybe, but did you talk to anyone on your way out?” She opens her mouth, but I cut her off as I grasp her chin and angle her face toward mine. My face is so close to hers, I can practically taste her gasp. “Think very carefully before you answer, Christa, because you’re already in a lot of trouble here. If you lie to me, I’ll fucking destroy you.”
I release her chin but keep my hand on her thigh. She’s going be bruised tomorrow but I have no fucks to give right now.
“I ran into your friend, the brunette I saw you with at dinner, as I was leaving. She got off the elevator right after you so rudely slammed the door in my face. She was obviously there for the same reason I was, because she wasn’t wearing a lot more than I was. It pissed me off.”
“What the fuck did you say to her?” My voice drops to a lethal level, and Christa obviously knows enough not to lie to me when I’m like this.
Fire flashes behind her blue eyes and she smirks. “Not much. I was still in the process of putting my coat back on.” Fuck. “I just said, he’s all yours, honey. I may have mentioned that you were pretty worn out, but that you were always up for round two, and that I hope she enjoyed sloppy seconds.”
Pressure builds at the base of my neck and spreads until it envelopes my skull in a crushing grip. My hand reaches for her throat, but Con is there to stop me, forcing me out of the booth as he steps in front of me. Chris has a grip on my arm. “I suggest you get your ass out of here before we let him go,” Con growls.
Christa doesn’t waste any time. She scurries out of the booth as fast as she can. Before she leaves, she glances back and says, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Not half as sorry as you will be, you fucking bitch,” I snarl. I’m gutted. It took months to convince Layla I wasn’t a player, and the first time she stands me up, this happens, proving she was right. It’s all bullshit of course, but she doesn’t know that. I wish she had more faith in me, but I can’t blame her, given my past and hers.
We all slide back into the booth. “What do you want to do?” Chris asks. “We have to fix this with your girl.”
“Right!” Con chimes in, completely ignoring me. “It’s not every day our brother falls in love. There’ll be no living with the jerk unless we fix this. Where do we start?” Then, finally, they both look at me.
“Fuck if I know. This is all new to me, and I don’t even know where she is. All I know is that she is in France.”
“Well, France isn’t a very big country; how hard can it be? You need to go get your girl and make her listen to reason,” Chris says, likes it’s not a monumental task.
I think about how to find her, then I remember her assistant is still here. She has to be in contact with Layla at least on an emergency basis. Then I remember that tomorrow is Saturday and my heart drops. There isn’t anything I can do until Monday. All I can do is keep trying to get through to Layla in the meantime.
Con drops me off at my building. I’m walking through the foyer when Trevor calls my name. What the fuck now?
“Um, Mr. Hendrix.”
I turn and head in his direction. He doesn’t say anything, he just points over my shoulder. I spin around to see a tiny girl with dark hair curled up on the sofa at the other end of the reception area. Jesus, it’s Aria .
My long legs eat up the distance between us. I crouch down and gently touch her shoulder. “Aria, sweetheart, wake up.” She blinks her eyes a couple of times. They are rimmed with red. She’s been crying.
“Cole.” Her tiny chin quivers and her eyes fill with tears.
“Shit. Come here, sweetheart.” I open my arms and she launches herself off the sofa and crawls onto my lap just as she starts to sob.”
I stand and nod a thank you to Trevor for taking care of her and then get her upstairs as fast as I can. “Shh,” I whisper as I carry her in my arms. She has a death grip around my neck, but she doesn’t have to worry, I’m not letting her go any time soon.
I fumble to get the door open before kicking it closed behind us. Once we are inside, I take a seat on the sofa and get her seated on my lap. She still won’t let go so I leave her be. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
She shakes her head. Christ, I have no experience with kids. I’m not sure what to do.
“Did someone hurt you?” She shakes her head again. Well, that’s good at least.
“Did something happen to your gran?” She nods and starts to cry again. Fuck.
“Where is your gran, Aria? How did you get here?”
She finally releases her death grip on my neck and wipes her eyes. She’s remarkably strong for such a tiny little thing. “Lanie came. She fought with Gran. She fell and hit her head. The ambulance had to come. I got to ride with Gran to the hospital, but then my…Lanie came there too. She wanted to take me away. I tried to call Layla, but Lanie took my phone away. Layla gave me that phone. It’s mine.” She manages to take a quick breath before she blurts out the rest in a panic.
“I got scared, so I ran away when she wasn’t looking. I took the subway here, but then the man said Layla wasn’t home. I asked for you, but you weren’t home either.” She starts to cry again. “He gave me some juice and told me I could wait for you. Where’s Layla?”
“She’s in France, sweetheart. I’m sure she must have told you she was going. Do you remember talking to her about that?” I have no idea if Layla told her or not. She wasn’t exactly in a great state of mind when she left, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t leave this kid without making sure both Aria and her grandmother knew she was going away.
Aria sniffs a couple of times and then sits back as the light bulb goes on. “I forgot. She said she was leaving this afternoon. Can I call her?” Her bright blue eyes look up at me pleadingly. I don’t know what to do. Layla won’t take my calls, so calling her from my phone is out of the question. Also, I’m not sure I can keep a nine-year-old runaway in my penthouse. Somebody must be looking for her by now.
“It’s really late in France. How about we call her in the morning? In the meantime, why don’t you try to get some sleep. I’m going to call the hospital and check up on your gran. Does that sound like a good plan?”
“Okay,” she nods. “Is it okay if I just sleep here on the couch until you go to bed?” She doesn’t want to be alone. I get it.
“Sure, squirt. Let me get you a pillow and a blanket. Why don’t you take your shoes off and get comfortable. Do you need anything else? Are you hungry or thirsty?”
“No, thank you,” she says as she slips off her sneakers and tucks them neatly under the coffee table. She is already half asleep by the time I get back. I slip the pillow under her head and tuck the blanket around her. Then I do something I’ve never done before; I lean over and kiss the top of her head. This kid has somehow wheedled her way under my skin.
I spend the next hour trying to get through to Beatrice Crawford, who has been admitted to the Brooklyn Hospital Center. Finally, after explaining myself more than a dozen times, a groggy-sounding Bea comes on the line.
“Hello, this is Beatrice Crawford.” She sounds exhausted and her voice is weak.
“Mrs. Crawford, this is Cole Hendrix. I’m a friend of Layla Bancroft.” Fuck, how do I explain this. “You may have seen me or at least my car a couple of times when we’ve brought Aria home.”
“Oh, yes. Aria has mentioned you. She’s very fond of you, Mr. Hendrix.” Good. This is good.
“I’m very fond of her too. She’s a great kid. I’m calling because I found Aria in my lobby this evening when I came home. As you may know, Layla and I live in the same building. You may also know that Layla is away on vacation.”
“Oh dear, yes, I remember. What the heck is Aria doing there? My neighbor was supposed to pick her up hours ago.” The woman sounds completely confused.
“I’m not sure what exactly happened, Mrs. Crawford. Aria mentioned that her mother showed up at the hospital and tried to make Aria leave with her. When she refused and tried to call Layla, her mother took her phone away. Aria was frightened, so she ran away from her and ended up here. She’s fine. She’s asleep on my sofa. I just wasn’t sure how to handle this situation.” I wait for her to tell me what the fuck to do, but if she says I have to take her back to her mother, this conversation is going to take a turn for the worse. There’s no fucking way I’m giving this sweet little girl to a meth addict. I don’t give a fuck if she’s her mother or not.
Bea sighs. “Would it be too much trouble for you to keep her overnight, Cole? I need to get to the bottom of what Lanie is up to, and I don’t think Aria should be around for that.”
“Absolutely. I can keep her as long as you need me to. She’s safe with me. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
She sighs again. “A new daughter, but I don’t think you can help me out with that. Fortunately, I only sustained a nasty bump on the head. I should be released tomorrow morning. Thank you, Cole.” We exchange numbers. “I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know when it’s safe to bring Aria home.”
I disconnect the phone and set it down on the coffee table. I’m exhausted, and right now I have more to worry about than Layla. I look at the little girl sleeping on my couch. She’s breathing deeply, but the look on her face tells me her dreams are far from peaceful. I don’t want to move her, and I don’t want her to be alone out here either. So, I do the only thing that comes to mind. I kick off my shoes and slump down into one of the chairs across from the sofa. It doesn’t look like I’ll be getting much more sleep tonight than I did last night.
The next morning, I groan as I crack my eyes open. Sunlight is streaming across my face, blinding me. What the hell. Then I remember where I am when I try to move and my body protests bitterly. “Jesus,” I groan as I tip sideways and almost fall out of the chair I’ve been sleeping in.
A giggle comes from across the room. I shade my eyes with my hand as I peer across at the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Aria is sitting cross-legged on my ten-thousand-dollar sofa, with sleepy eyes, mussed hair and a huge grin on her face. I’m not a morning person, but waking up to that is not a bad way to start your day.
“Morning, squirt,” I mumble as I try to shake off the effects of sleeping in a fucking chair all night. “How long have you been sitting there staring at me?”
She shrugs. “A while. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
My neck cracks and I wince as I sit up a little straighter. “You should have. This chair is a crap place to sleep.”
“Don’t you have a bed?” she asks earnestly. Fucking cute .
“I do,” I answer as I stand and stretch. “I thought you might get scared if you woke up alone, so I slept out here. Would you like some breakfast?”
“Oh. Sure. I can help if you want.” She hops off the couch and makes herself at home in my kitchen as she pulls the large refrigerator door open and peers inside. “I already told you, I’m only scared around bad people. I know you’re not a bad person, Cole. I wouldn’t have been scared.”
“Right, I forgot about that. Silly me.” I walk into the kitchen behind her. “Are eggs and toast okay, or would you like something else? I might have some Cheerios around here, but I’m not sure if the milk is still good. To be honest, I don’t eat here that often.”
“Whatever you have is fine with me. I’m not picky.”
“Good, take a seat at the island and I’ll have our breakfast ready in a jiffy. Would you like some orange juice?”
“Yes, please.” She hops up on the stool and grins back as me. “Did you talk to Gran? Is Lanie gone?” Her smile falters.
“I did. She says she’s doing well. She should be going home today. I’m just waiting for her to call to let me know what’s going on with your mom.”
“It’s Lanie, and I don’t want to go back if she’s there,” she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. Decision made. I smirk.
“I won’t take you back if she’s still there. Don’t worry.”
My phone rings and my heart lurches. I practically lunge for the phone that is sitting on the island beside Aria. I exhale sharply when I see Bea’s name.
“Hi, Bea, how are you this morning?”
“Good morning, Cole. Unfortunately, things are a little more complicated than I expected. I need to deal with Lanie. Would it be too much trouble for you to keep Aria until tomorrow evening? I should have everything in hand by then. I know it’s a lot to ask.”
“Od course, it’s not a problem at all.”
“I’m sorry, she doesn’t have anything with her.”
“I’ll buy her whatever she needs. Don’t worry about it. Are you at home?”
“Yes, I just got home. Things are, well…quite frankly, a bloody mess if I’m being honest.” She sighs.
“Do you need a cleanup crew or maybe a lawyer? I can help you out with both.” I don’t know this lady, but I do know that she has been through more than her share with her daughter, and a person who is struggling with lung cancer shouldn’t have to deal with this shit.
“No. Thank you. I’ve got it under control. Can I talk to Aria, please?”
“Yeah, sure. I was just about to make her breakfast.” I hand the phone to Aria and leave her to talk to her grandmother.
The next two days pass in a blur. Turns out Aria is the perfect distraction. It’s actually been kind of fun having a kid around. Chris and Con dropped by to see how I was doing and ended up in a rousing game of hide-and-go-seek with Aria, which of course she won because she’s tiny and they are—not. We all ended up ordering pizza and watching Frozen , both Aria’s choices. They can’t say no to her any more than I can.
“Are you going to marry Layla?” Aria says out of the blue as I’m driving her back to her grandmother’s house Sunday evening. My eyes snap up to look at her in the rearview mirror.
“Uh…I don’t know.”
“But you love her, right?” How the fuck does she know that?
“I do, but she’s mad at me right now, so I’m not sure how things are going to turn out.” I’m being honest here.
“Did you do something bad? Maybe you need to tell her you’re sorry.” I glance up again. Big blue eyes stare back at me.
“No, I didn’t do anything bad, but she thinks I did.”
“Did you tell her that?” What the… I’m starting to get frustrated with this line of questioning. The last fucking thing I need is relationship advice from a nine-year-old.
“I would, but she won’t answer her damn phone,” I growl.
“Oooh, hooo, you said a swear. You owe me a dollar.” She giggles.
“Better start a tab,” I grumble.
“Do you want me to tell her you didn’t do anything bad? She’ll listen to me.” It’s not a bad idea.
“You can tell her whatever you want, squirt. But don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. Layla and I will work this out.”
Thankfully, we pull up to her house, which puts an end to this conversation. I step out of the vehicle and open her door. She gathers up her new backpack and the teddy bear I bought her and makes her way up the broken steps to the front door where her grandmother is waiting for her.
“Gran,” she squeals as she rushes up the steps to hug the old lady.
“Hi, honey, did you have fun?”
“I did. Cole bought me a new backpack and some new clothes and this cute teddy. I also met his brothers, and we played hide-and-seek and watched Frozen .” She rattles on as her grandmother reaches around the little girl, still hugging her, and squeezes my hand.
“Thank you for everything, Cole.”
“Like I said, it’s not a problem, ma’am. Aria’s a delight to have around. Everything okay here?”
“Yes, Lanie’s been dealt with. Things are back to normal.” She leans down to her granddaughter. “Did you say thank you to Cole?”
The kid turns and launches herself at me. “Thank you, Cole, for taking such good care of me and for all this stuff too.” My heart does a weird loop. Damn this kid.