Tears filled my eyes, and I blinked them back angrily. Of course he didn’t know. Perhaps he suspected, but he’d never said anything to me. He blamed himself for everything that had happened, and I’d been too much of a coward, and too broken-hearted, to go and see him in jail. I hadn’t been able to stand the thought of the pain I would have seen in his eyes when I’d told him what I’d done. Cole had told me in confidence about what Ryan had planned, and I’d gone and told my cop-father. I had never broached the conversation with my dad about what he’d instigated, but I knew he must have either followed Cole himself, or gotten someone else to keep an eye on Cole.
He’d been arrested because of me.
I’d ruined his life.
“Please, Ryan,” I begged, “Cole doesn’t need to know about that.”
“You mean you haven’t told him. Tsk-tsk. What sort of relationship could you possibly have if it wasn’t one built on trust?”
“We don’t have a relationship. Cole has been seeing Taylor—the same girl from when we were at school. Maybe it should be her house you’re lurking in.”
I instantly regretted what I’d said. However much I hated Taylor, she had a son, and I wouldn’t want any harm to come to either of them.
“No relationship? What kind of person leaves a key under a mat for someone who they’re not in a relationship with?”
I should have just given Cole the key. I deeply regretted not doing so now. It had just felt like such a big step, giving him a key to my place, and I hadn’t wanted to say or do anything to ruin the happy little bubble we’d been in.
I guess I shouldn’t have worried. It had burst eventually anyway.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Cole – Present Day
I WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET Gabi after my lunch shift finished. She’d said she was having lunch with a couple of old friends, and so I’d planned on turning up a little early and surprising her. We’d been keeping our relationship fairly quiet, with only a couple of public appearances, but I wanted that to change. I wanted to shout about her at the top of my lungs, and I had a feeling she felt the same way. I didn’t want to pressure her into telling people about us—perhaps a part of her was worried others would judge because of me recently getting out of prison—but I felt like we just needed to rip the Band-Aid off and let everyone know.
I turned up at the restaurant and peered through the large glass front before I headed inside. I couldn’t see Gabi anywhere, but I did recognize Jasmine sitting across from another woman at a table near the back. Perhaps Gabi was in the bathroom.
Entering the restaurant, I felt everyone turn and look at me. I’d done my best to smarten up after my shift, but I couldn’t hide the way I looked. I knew I had a hard edge about me now. Growing up in the system and then spending most of my adult life behind bars, it was hardly surprising.
Jasmine’s gaze flicked to me as I crossed the restaurant, and then the woman she was sitting opposite turned in her seat to see what Jasmine was looking at. Instantly, my heart sank. Taylor. The last person I wanted to see. I only barely remembered seeing her the other night, but knew I’d been drunk when I had. I remembered talking about Gabi, and her leg, something I felt like I’d betrayed Gabi over just by speaking to Taylor. I really didn’t want to see her, and hoped she hadn’t said anything to Gabi. I should have told Gabi myself that I’d seen her at the bar, but things had taken off between us when I’d gone to her house the next morning, and after that it hadn’t even occurred to me again.
Until now.
Taylor gave a wide smile and got to her feet. “Oh, my God, Cole. What a coincidence.”
I frowned. “Is it?”
She rose from her chair and stood on tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. I jerked back, alarmed by the sudden invasion of space. But the waft of her perfume conjured a memory in my head—her kissing me, her hands all over me.
Oh, shit.
“I thought you were going to call me after the other night,” she said, her hand lingering on my chest. I took a step back, dislodging the contact.
“Why would I do that?”
Her fine blonde eyebrows lifted. “Umm, because that’s what a decent guy does after he gets all hot and heavy with a girl, Cole.”
I scowled. “Since when did you mistake me for a decent guy?” Jasmine was looking awkwardly between us. “Where’s Gabi?” I demanded. “I thought she was meeting you guys here.”
Jasmine got to her feet as well, so we were all standing around the table, drawing curious glances from the other patrons and the couple of waitresses working. “She left, Cole. Sorry. I think Taylor said something that might have upset her.”
“What?” I snarled at Taylor. “What the hell did you say?”
She flicked up her hand in defense. “Hey, I didn’t know the two of you were an item again. I mean, really, Cole, you shouldn’t go hitting on other women if you’re supposed to be dating someone else.”
A second memory of that night suddenly swept over me ...
I’d been sitting in Taylor’s car, dreaming about Gabi, and that we were making out. I’d felt like her hand was on me, pressing down against my cock and making me hard. I’d wanted her so badly, just to claim her for my own again, to fuck away all of the hurt and pain from the last ten years. I’d wanted to hear her moan and gasp my name.
The pressure against my cock had grown firmer and the rhythmical stroking had made me buck my hips in a drunken response. And then a mouth had been on mine, kissing me, fingers around the back of my neck, thighs straddling my hips.
I remembered confusion washing over me. I hadn’t understood where I was, or what was going on. A tongue had pushed between my lips, and I’d realized the person kissing me hadn’t tasted like Gabi.
I’d opened my eyes at that point and found myself surrounded in a halo of golden hair. Blue eyes had smile down at me seductively and narrow hips had ground into mine.
Taylor!
“Jesus fucking Christ, Taylor,” I’d exclaimed, suddenly sober. “What the hell are you doing?”
She’d pouted, “We’re making out, Cole. What do you think we’re doing?”
I’d pushed her off me then, throwing her back into the driver’s seat. I would never normally have gotten rough with a woman, but the idea of her hands on me while I was semiconscious had made me sick.
I’d shoved open the car door and staggered up to my front door, Taylor’s voice chasing after me. “Cole, wait...”
The memory retreated and I was left staring at the woman in question.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Taylor! What the hell is wrong with you? I never hit on you. We were talking about Gabi, and I was so drunk you drove me home. I was passed out in the car, and I woke up to find you all over me.”
I could still feel the pressure of her fingers rubbing my erect cock, the taste of her mouth against mine. Even though I’d been dreaming about Gabi while it had been happening, I felt sick and guilty that my body had responded to Taylor’s touch. My mind replayed the events of that evening. Had I led her on? Given her the wrong impression that I was interested in her? I couldn’t see how—we’d talked about Gabi all evening—but perhaps just by sitting and drinking with her she’d thought I wanted more.
I wasn’t completely blameless. Hadn’t I used her, too, all those years ago? Perhaps it was no surprise she thought I still liked her. I’d been locked away not long after. Had she thought I’d been harboring feelings for her this whole time?
Taylor flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “It wasn’t like that. You were giving me the eye all evening. You kept staring at my tits, and I knew you really wanted it. I was only playing. As soon as I started touching you, you got hard for me.” She reached for me and I smacked her hand away.
“You know what, Taylor, if that was the other way around, and you’d gotten drunk and woken up to find me all over you, I’d be arrested for sexual assault.”
She laughed. “Since when did you become such a drama queen? Most men would
love to have been in your position.”
“No. Consent is consent, and you didn’t have mine. My guess is you didn’t tell Gabi that, though, did you?”
Her cheeks flamed red under her tan.
“Jesus, Taylor,” said Jasmine in disgust. “You really are something else.”
“Where’s Gabi?” I demanded.
“She left,” said Jasmine. “I don’t know where she went. I’m so sorry, Cole.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It’s the other one who needs to be sorry. I swear, the only thing saving you right now is that you have a kid, and I wouldn’t want to see another boy grow up without a mother.”
Taylor hung her head.
I didn’t have any more time for her. I needed to find Gabi. I couldn’t even imagine how devastated and angry she must be right now. Did she think I’d willingly slept with Taylor? Just the thought of the sort of pain she would be in right now stole my breath.
Turning from the two women, and ignoring all the curious stares which followed me out of the restaurant, I stormed from the building and out into the parking lot.
I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed her number. It rang several times, and for a moment I thought she wasn’t going to answer—not that I blamed her, the caller I.D. would be showing my name—but then someone picked up.
“Cole!”
But it wasn’t Gabi’s sweet voice answering the phone, but a man’s, and my stomach dropped as recognition sank in.
“Ryan? What the hell are you doing with Gabi’s phone?”
He laughed and every muscle in my body tensed. “I’m at her house. We’re having a little get together, aren’t we, Gabi?”
I heard her voice in the background; she sounded frightened.
“Gabi!” I shouted, as though I hoped she might hear me.
“The thing is, Cole,” he continued, “the two of you owe me for your little escapade ten years ago. You cost me a lot of money, and now I want payback.”
The line went dead.
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I wanted to throw the phone and punch walls, but there was no time for any of that shit. Ryan had told me where they were, which meant he wanted me to be there, too.
I jumped in my car, leaving Taylor and Jasmine staring out of the restaurant window after me, and drove as fast as I could to Gabi’s house.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Gabi - Present Day
COLE WAS ON HIS WAY—SOMETHING I couldn’t decide if I should be happy or worried about. It wasn’t that I wanted to be left alone with Ryan, far from it, but I didn’t want Cole to get into an altercation with the other man. Plus, part of me still couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Cole. The memory of what Taylor had told me was so raw, I felt like someone had scraped out the inside of my heart and replaced it with shards of glass. I wouldn’t be able to look at him without wanting to simultaneously collapse into a weeping heap, while launching myself at him and battering him on the chest, demanding to know why he’d done it.
I also knew that when Cole arrived, Ryan would take great delight in telling Cole the truth about what I’d done when we were teenagers.
In the end, it hadn’t mattered that Cole had slept with Taylor again. When he found out I was the person responsible for getting him arrested, he would never want to see me again.
“So, Gabriella,” said Ryan. “How about you and I get to know each other a little better while we wait for lover-boy?”
“Stay the hell away from me!” I threw back.
Where was my dad? I was worried he’d come home and get himself shot. I couldn’t just stand here and allow Cole, or my dad, to walk into this situation. I needed to do something.
But what? He was holding a gun, and I had nothing. More than anything, I hated feeling helpless, and right now that was the overwhelming emotion swamping me. Cole was going to arrive, and Ryan would make him do something that would most likely get him put back behind bars.
I was at the mercy of a man with a ten-year grudge, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Please, Ryan,” I said, holding up both hands and taking a step backward, reducing the distance between myself and the door. “This is crazy. You’re not going to shoot me. Why don’t you just let me go, get the hell out of here before Cole arrives, and we’ll forget this whole thing ever happened.”
“Sorry, Gabi. Not happening.”
“Please,” I said again, glancing around for something I might be able to use as a weapon should I get my hands on it. My dad’s taste in décor was simplistic—a couple of picture frames on the walls, a rug on the floor, and that was about it. There was nothing I could snatch off a shelf and use as a weapon. I suddenly wished I’d tried to add more of a woman’s touch to the house during my time here, but I’d had other things on my mind.
I edged another step back.
“Gabi,” he said, a warning tone to his voice. “Just where do you think you’re going?”
“Nowhere,” I said, standing still. “It just makes me nervous when someone waves a gun in my face.”
He jerked his head toward the couch. “Take a seat, Gabi.”
“I’m fine standing.”
He raised the gun higher, so it pointed at my head instead of my stomach. “I said, take a seat.”
Reluctantly, I was forced to walk farther into the room, and I lowered my backside to the couch.
Ryan came and sat next to me, uncomfortably close. I had learned how to disarm a man during my time in the Army, but I’d had two legs then and had been at the peak of my physical fitness. I worried that if I made the wrong move, I’d only end up getting myself shot.
“So,” he said, “while we’re waiting, I thought we could catch up. I hear you had an unfortunate accident recently.”
I stiffened, my mouth running dry.
“You know, I’ve never fucked a girl with one leg before. Is it freaky? Does Cole like it? Is it one of his kinks?”
I couldn’t even look at him, but stared at my hands in my lap. “Fuck you.”
“Now, now. I’m the one with the gun, here. I suggest you speak nicely to me.”
I wanted to cry, but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
He laughed. “I don’t need the gun, do I? I can just take off your leg, and then you’ll have no way of running off.” He laughed a big, belly laugh, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, finding himself hysterical at something that wasn’t even remotely funny.
Ryan was dangerous and unstable, and I had no idea how this was all going to end.
The roar of a car engine came from outside, the squeal of brakes in the driveway as it came to a standstill. Oh, God. Cole.
The front door slammed open.
I opened my mouth to yell a warning. “He’s got a—”
Something slammed against my temple, knocking me sideways. The other side of my face hit soft cushions as I fell to one side, bright lights dancing around my vision.
Another male voice. “Gabi! What the hell is this?”
I came around enough to realize it wasn’t Cole who had arrived, but my father.
“Dad,” I sobbed. “Go, run!”
But it was too late for that. “What the hell did you do to my daughter?” He snarled at Ryan. My heart pounded, and I stared at my dad, trying to spot any signs that he might have been drinking. That would be the worst thing, if he was drunk and stumbling and capable of making terrible decisions, but it appeared that his good run of late had paid off, and he was either sober or doing an excellent job of acting sober.
Ryan had jumped to his feet when my dad burst in. But now there were two of us and only one of him, and only one weapon, he couldn’t keep it trained on both of us at once.
“I’m going to guess this is the cop who cost me all that money ten years ago,” Ryan said. “Looks like fate, or destiny, or whatever, is on my side today. Maybe you’re all supposed to end up dead.”
“And then you’ll go down for a very long time,”
said my dad.
“Mr. Weston, isn’t it? Bill? Or Bob?”
“Bill,” my dad confirmed. “Now, I suggest you put that weapon down, young man, before someone gets hurt.”
Ryan laughed. “Someone getting hurt is the whole point of the gun. You cost me a lot of cash ten years ago, and now you have to pay.”
My dad glanced over at me. “What’s he talking about, Gabi?”
“Ryan organized the drug run you busted Cole on ten years ago.”
He frowned. “I didn’t bust Cole.”
“Well, no, not you personally, but you told the rest of the police department about Cole being mixed up in something with the band, and how he was using his foster parents’ truck to move stuff around.”
My dad shook his head. “I never told anyone else, Gabi. I didn’t even manage to get hold of Cole’s foster parents. I’d ... I’d been drinking too much, and forgot, and then by the time I remembered again, Cole had already been arrested. But I had nothing to do with it.”
I stared at him in shock. Was he just saying this to try and protect both of us from Ryan, or was he telling the truth. “Really?”
He focused his gaze on mine. “I swear to you, Gabi. I wasn’t the one who reported Cole. The police department had been keeping an eye on the band for a while before Cole was arrested. It was part of the reason I made you promise to stay away from them. Someone on the county taskforce screwed up, and arrested Cole rather than waiting for the money to make its way back to the real perpetrator. By the time they tried to make something stick to this scumbag, he’d cleaned up all the evidence.”
I couldn’t believe it. I’d been blaming him, and myself, all of these years, but my father had never betrayed my trust. It was just a coincidence.
“Perhaps I should have done more,” he continued, “but despite everything, I’d believed Cole was a good kid. I was as shocked as everyone when he was arrested. I wasn’t even on duty that night, Gabi.”
Dangerous Encounters: A Romantic Suspense Boxed Set Page 21
