“Blackstone will be shipping out at twenty hundred. I want your team, Frank. I want Eagle Eye.”
“Consider it done.”
“I need to make a trip to Texas too.”
“Cindy?”
“Yeah, she knows a lot. I’ll do what I have to.”
“I agree.”
Cole slams back the rest of his drink and sends out a text telling Blackstone they’re leaving in sixty minutes. He closes his eyes and shifts into survival mode.
The house is quiet; everyone seems to be busy. He finds his mother in the kitchen stirring her tea and staring out the window. She turns when she hears his footsteps, and tears leak out of the corners of her eyes. Batting them away, she tries to be strong.
“She’s a fighter, Cole.”
“That she is.” He slumps onto the stool, feeling the weight of the world falling all around him.
His mother slides a comforting hand over his shoulder. “She thought she was doing the right thing. You can’t blame her for loving you too much.”
“I don’t.”
“It’s easy to walk into the lion’s den when you don’t know the lion is there.”
“Trust me, Mother, she’s well aware he’s home now.”
“Logan.” Mark’s voice makes his head snap up. Mark’s puffy eyes give more away than he’d probably like to let on. “Umm, can I get you to look over the map with me?”
Cole nods and stands as he forces a smile at his mom and goes to walk by Mark.
Mark grabs his arm and wraps him in a hug, throwing Cole off. “I’m sorry,” Mark whispers in a sob, holding him tightly, “I’m so sorry, Cole.” Cole clings to his best friend, his brother, and finally lets out a little cry of his own.
Savannah
I keep my eyes closed, trying to hold the panic at bay. I start with Cole’s shaggy, silky hair just long enough that I can get the perfect grip to haul him to my mouth. His dark eyes, his perfect nose, his lips, his smile that…I jolt forward as the car comes to a stop. I peer out the window and see we’re in the middle of nowhere, sitting in front of two huge wrought-iron gates. I memorize the make of the security system and carefully watch Tim punch 55725 into the keypad. The gates swing open, and we start to roll forward down a long, dusty driveway.
The house strikes me as odd, though, as it looks like a home straight out of Louisiana. It has two stories and is painted white with green shutters. There are six pillars in the front, and two wrap-around balconies, one on top and one on the bottom. Lord, this place is massive.
Then it dawns on me this is my new prison. Sure, it’s a step up from the last one, but nonetheless, it’s still a prison.
There are men with rifles scattered across the yard, and security cameras pointing in every direction. German shepherds on leads are sniffing the ground. One catches my scent and starts to growl as Tim holds the door open, watching me crumble, falling apart all over again. He moves to help me out carefully. He’s oddly gentle for such a big man.
He opens the door for me and nods at the butler and waitstaff. They quickly scurry out of sight. Tim leads me upstairs to a bedroom immediately to the left. He tells me it’s my room and that anything I need will be in the bathroom. I think back to what The American said.Make sure she’s ready for me. I freeze, stuck mid-step.
“I can’t do this, Tim.” I start to shake. “Please, please get me out of here!” I turn to him with pleading eyes. “I don’t belong here. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want that man touching me…” Tim reaches for my elbow, pulling me across the room and into the bathroom. He closes the door and holds a finger up to his mouth, urging me to be quiet.
He leans in close, making me stiffen. “Cry,” he whispers, pulling back to look into my eyes with a strange expression. “When he goes to touch you, cry and say no. He won’t be able to do it. Denton is one evil fucker, but the one thing he won’t do is touch a woman against her will.”
I blink a few times and try to absorb what he just said. Denton? The American’s name is Denton. “Why?” I struggle to get my thoughts in order. “Why in the hell would he bring me here? Does he really think I would let him sleep with me?”
Tim shakes his head slowly then checks his watch. “Denton’s smart.” He taps his head. “Very, very smart. That’s why all these years no one’s been able to touch him. He’ll use mind games to control you, and before you know it, he’ll get you into his bed. Denton can convince a priest to kill, he’s that good at manipulation.”
“Why does it sound like I’m not the first woman he’s had here?”
“You’re the sixth.”
“Sixth!” I hiss, only to have Tim’s huge hand wrap around my mouth.