“Eat.” He grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward the table.
She sat with a harrumph and ate with a smile in her eyes.
Cole returned a moment later, found his plate, and carried it to the board.
“This is great, Rylee.” He took in her detailed lists and diagrams, the fork absently digging into his food. Then he went still. “What is this?”
“What?” Rylee wiped her mouth and joined him at the board.
“These words.” Cole pointed the fork at the guesswork she’d made from the hitman’s dying gibberish. “What does this mean? The bridge?”
“That’s what he said. I don’t know.” She stood taller, defensive, her expression tightening. “He said he was there because of the bridge. The rest…I don’t know. It sounded like Thursday or thirsty or—”
“Thurney.” Cole’s whisper shuddered the air, and the plate in his hand slowly tipped.
“Yes. That’s it. What—?” She grabbed the dish as it tumbled, unable to stop its descent. “Shit!”
Enchiladas and dishware exploded across the floor, but Tomas wasn’t interested in the mess. He was interested in Cole’s stark, ghost-white expression as the man spun, scanning the room for something.
“What does Thurney mean, Cole?” Tomas stood, his adrenaline spiking.
Cole’s shell-shocked eyes landed on a pile of burner phones. He snatched one and turned away as he punched in a number and held it to his ear.
Who the fuck was he calling?
In the next breath, he barked into the phone, “Call me back on a secure line.”
He hung up and stared at the device as muscles flexed across his back.
“Cole.” Liv broke the silence. “What’s going on?”
The phone buzzed, and Cole lifted it to his ear. “Your location?” A pause. “Lock it down. Where is she?” He gripped his hair, his voice plunging into a seething roar. “Fucking get her. Bring her to the safe house!” He pivoted, pacing, listening to whoever was on the other end. Then he slammed to a stop. “No, goddammit. I want her here. It’s Thurney. Yeah, you heard me. I’ll be in touch.”
He disconnected, and a sharp, icy hush lanced through the room. Tomas didn’t breathe. No one did as Cole stood frozen, staring at nothing.
Then he turned toward the table, slowly, too calmly, and slammed the phone down on the surface, smashing it into pieces. A collective flinch rippled the air.
“Thurney Bridge.” Cole raised his eyes, divisive and chilling. “It’s where I lost my life.”
CHAPTER 24
A thousand questions piled up as Tomas put together everything he knew about Cole Hartman. It wasn’t much. The man had more secrets than friends.
One question was answered, though. Thurney Bridge, wherever that was, wasn’t Rylee’s bridge.
As that detail clicked into place, her lips parted, her gorgeous silver eyes round and glassy. She had nothing to do with this. At least, not at the foundation.
Someone had connected her to Cole and put a hit on her.
Why? Who was Cole Hartman?
Tomas had learned some things about the man over the past two weeks, but nothing about losing his life on Thurney Bridge. Except he remembered a conversation they’d had in the desert.
I was sent out in the field for a while. Mistakes were made, and I was forced to fake my death to protect her. By the time I cleaned up the mess, quit the job, and returned home to her, she’d fallen in love with my best friend.
Whatever Cole was mixed up in—then and now—put Rylee and the entire team at risk.
“Are we safe?” Tomas met Cole’s eyes. “Right now, in your house, are we safe?”
“Yes.” Cole straightened and ran his hands down his face. “This is the safest place in the world.” He surveyed the room, taking in the disbelieving expressions around the table, and sighed. “The man I just called was my handler. He was also my best friend until he married my fiancée.”
“That sounds deliciously nasty.” Van didn’t smile.
“The point is, while Danni is no longer my…” Cole’s hand clenched. “While she’s no longer mine, I still protect her. She was a target during my last mission. A mission that ended with me taking a bullet on Thurney Bridge. Now she’s in danger again, and there’s nowhere I’d rather her be than in this house.”
Tomas was surprised to finally hear the name of the mysterious woman who’d leveled Cole’s world.
“Is she coming here?” Rylee tilted her pretty head, concern softening her eyes. “Did your best friend agree to bring her?”
“No.” One word and Cole’s face clouded over.
“Let’s go back to the bullet,” Tomas said. “Is that when you faked your death?”
“Yeah. I was wearing bullet-resistant clothing. High-tech stuff.” Cole tapped his sternum. “The bullet broke skin, fractured ribs, but didn’t enter my body. I fell into the river below and swam out of sight. If I hadn’t faked my death, the perpetrator would’ve killed Danni.”
“Where’s the perpetrator now?” Rylee asked.
“She’s in prison. That is a fact I can one-hundred-percent guarantee. I monitor her status. She’ll never see daylight again.”