by Lisa Childs
No, Cole held all that fury for someone else.
The woman who’d broken his heart and deprived him of five years of his daughter’s life? Manny hoped so, but then he felt a stab of guilt.
He hadn’t wanted to cause trouble. He only wanted to protect his friend from a woman who had already hurt him once. Manny wanted to make sure she didn’t get the opportunity to hurt Cole again.
Then again, Manny wasn’t the only one trying to take that opportunity away from Shawna Rolfe-Little. But no matter how she’d treated Cole, she didn’t deserve to die.
Manny uttered a weary sigh and pulled his cell out of his pocket. His fingers shook as he tapped the contact for the woman he loved.
“What’s wrong?” she asked the minute she picked up. She knew him so well.
“I think I just royally screwed up,” he admitted.
He didn’t have to worry that Teddie would think less of him for his mistake. Because she knew him, she knew that his heart was always in the right place—even if his head and his mouth were sometimes late to the party.
“I’m really worried about Cole.”
“I saw the news,” Teddie said. “They reported an incident at the Bentler estate, that two people were taken to the hospital.”
He should have called her earlier. “I’m fine,” he assured her.
“But Cole isn’t?”
“No, he’s fine.” Physically. “All of the team is okay, and we didn’t lose the person we’re supposed to be protecting.”
“That’s good,” she said. “But please be careful.”
He heard the love in her voice, and it warmed his heart. He was so damn lucky that the woman of his dreams loved him as much as he loved her.
He could only wish that Cole could finally find the same happiness that he and their other friends had. But he was worried that Cole might not survive this assignment with his heart or his life.
Chapter 7
Cole could not see anything except that picture of Emery Little in his mind as he barreled out of the library. The guy’s eyes had been dark, like Shawna’s.
But, as Cole had already noticed, Maisy’s were blue. He’d started getting suspicious then, but when Shawna had made the comment about her age, he’d brushed aside those suspicions. And he’d just assumed that Emery’s eyes had probably been blue. But they hadn’t been.
Wasn’t it genetically impossible for two dark-eyed parents to have a blue-eyed baby? He couldn’t remember his biology classes well enough to be certain of that. But he was certain that Maisy’s eyes weren’t just blue—they were the same blue as his. As his father’s. As his grandfather’s.
Her eyes were Bentler blue.
Because he wasn’t looking where he was going, he didn’t see her until he’d nearly bowled her over. Instinctively he reached out and caught her before she fell.
His mother clutched his arms to steady herself. Then she tried to smile at him through the tears streaming down her face. With her long blond hair and flawless complexion, she didn’t look old enough to be his mother. Tiffani had been just a college intern at his father’s business when his parents had met—a meeting she’d once drunkenly admitted to orchestrating. Drinking, which was something she used to do often, had always brought out her honesty, like how she’d decided in college that she’d rather marry money than earn it herself.
That honesty had cost her a relationship with Cole’s father and with him. But while he didn’t always respect her, he still cared about her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned over her tears. “Has something happened?”
She shook her head. “Nothing since this morning,” she said as she wiped at her face, smearing her usually perfect makeup. “It’s been quite an emotional day.”
“You were that close to Emery Little?” he asked.
“No,” she replied. “Not at all. I’m talking about Shawna. How we nearly lost her.”
Cole didn’t have her. He’d given her up six years ago. Was that why she hadn’t told him about Maisy? Had she been that angry with him over the breakup?
“And poor Astin,” his mother continued. “It’s so frightening that we nearly lost him, as well.”
We. His father had died years ago but his mother continued to live with his grandfather even after she’d remarried. She continued to live off his grandfather.
Of course his father had left her nothing after learning that she’d gotten pregnant on purpose, that she’d done that just to trap him into their loveless marriage. His father had loved Cole, but he had never loved her. And he’d made that painfully clear to both of them when he’d left his entire estate to Cole.
His grandfather must have felt sorry for her because he let her and Jeff live with him. Of course what were a couple more when he had the entire rest of his family living off him?
He hadn’t said anything aloud, and yet his mother reacted as if he’d spoken his thoughts.
She shuddered and dropped her hands from his arms. “You look so much like your father,” she murmured. “Just as judgmental as he always was.”
And now he felt even more regret for hurting her. Before he could reach out for her again, she whirled away and headed back down the hall toward the front stairwell. Where had she been going? Back to the library?
He never remembered her being much of a reader. But then maybe she’d been seeking out Manny for another conversation. She might have been one of the people who’d pointed out Maisy’s resemblance to him.
He doubted she had anything beyond suspicion, though. She wouldn’t know for certain. Only Shawna would know for certain. And possibly one other person.
Cole couldn’t risk talking to Shawna again—not so soon after he’d given into temptation and kissed her. It had been nothing, just a brush of his lips across hers. But it had shaken him to his core.
And he’d wanted more. He’d wanted to crawl into that bed with her and hold her like he used to—with nothing between them but the frantic pounding of their hearts. But that wasn’t possible anymore.
There was too much between them. Too much heartbreak, too much resentment and too much loss. She hadn’t even buried her husband yet. Or whatever she intended to do with his ashes…
Maybe she intended to keep them as a constant reminder of the man. Had he meant that much to her?
Not so much that she hadn’t closed her eyes and welcomed Cole’s kiss and leaned into it. He could have deepened it, could have ignited the passion that had always burned so hotly between them.
But she was vulnerable right now, and he couldn’t confront her—not when he was so angry. No. There was only that one other person he could talk to now. The other person who might know…
He continued through the foyer but unlike his mother, he didn’t climb the winding stairwell to the second story of the mansion. He crossed over the marble floor of the foyer to the double doors of the parlor and continued to the room that opened off it.
His grandfather’s office. Cole knew he was there. His grandfather wasn’t one of the elderly who needed naps. Even after his heart attack, he’d admitted that he struggled to rest. Sleep felt too much like death, he’d told Cole and his doctor. He would have plenty of time for sleep when he was dead.
Cole had a feeling he might not have to wait long. Smoke furled out from beneath the doors. He pushed them open to the smog and the sweet scent of his grandfather’s expensive cigars.
Xavier jumped guiltily and dropped the stub into the glass of scotch he also held. “Damn it, boy, you scared me.”
That was only fair since Cole was scared, too.
“You should have knocked,” Xavier admonished him. But then he focused on Cole’s face and drew in a shaky breath. “What’s wrong now?”
“You tell me,” Cole challenged him. “You tell me if Maisy is my daughter.”
His grandfather leaned back in his big, leather chair and chuckled. “How the hell would I know that?”
“Because you know everything.” At leas
t that was the way it had always seemed to Cole, who’d always come to his idol for all the answers.
He hadn’t consulted with Xavier before breaking his engagement, though. He knew his grandfather would have advised him against it. Since the first time she’d met Xavier as a little girl, he had always had a soft spot for Shawna, too.
Xavier sighed and shook his head. “If only I did.” He thumped a fist on his desk, making the cigar jump up in the glass of scotch. “Then I’d know who the hell is trying to hurt our girl.”
“Our girl?” That was what he’d always called her—when Cole had first brought a young Shawna Rolfe home to play. “She’s not our girl anymore.”
“That’s your own damn fault,” Xavier said. “You broke it off with her.”
“Was she pregnant when I did?” he asked.
Xavier shrugged. “I don’t know, son. If she was, I could understand her not wanting to say anything to you—not with how your father felt about your mother.” He shook his head and shuddered. “You’re so much like him.”
His mother had just said the same thing, but his grandfather’s words struck him harder. “What do you mean?”
“He was stubborn,” Xavier said. “And he, too, thought he was indestructible.”
“I may have thought that once,” Cole admitted. When he’d first joined the Marines, he’d been convinced nothing would happen to him. Then he’d had too many close calls and lost too many friends to count on anything. “But I learned the truth.”
His grandfather studied his face for several long moments before nodding in silent agreement.
“And I want to learn the truth now,” Cole said. “About Maisy. Is she mine?”
Xavier shrugged. “The only person who can answer that question for you is her mother. You need to talk to Shawna.” His gaze narrowed and sharpened on Cole’s face. “Why aren’t you with her? You’re supposed to be guarding her.”
“Nikki Payne is protecting her and Maisy right now.”
“Nikki? That little slip of a woman?” Xavier scoffed.
Cole was the one who chuckled now. “Don’t let her hear you say that or she’ll kick your ass. She’s probably the best damn bodyguard Cooper has.” Or Cole wouldn’t have trusted her to protect Shawna and her daughter.
Or was Maisy their daughter?
“I don’t care how damn good she is,” Xavier said. “She’s not you. You’re the one who should be protecting Shawna and Maisy.”
“Why?” Cole persisted. Because the little girl was his?
Xavier had to know, but his blue eyes were downcast, as if he was unwilling to meet Cole’s gaze. “Because you’re the best,” he said.
And Cole laughed. Xavier had no way of knowing if that were true. He was new to this whole bodyguard business. “You don’t know that.”
“I know that you’re the best person to protect them,” Xavier clarified.
Fear struck Cole’s heart. Was his grandfather trying to tell him without actually saying the words? Was he a father?
Panic gripped him at the thought. What the hell did he know about being a parent? About doing the right thing? He damn sure hadn’t had very good examples of that in his life, not in his family at least. Yes, his father had married his mother when she’d gotten pregnant, but he’d never loved her. She probably hadn’t ever loved him either, though.
And his grandfather had been married three times—to the mothers of each of his three sons. The first two marriages had ended in divorce, and he’d outlived the last wife. She passed away years ago.
His family wasn’t good at marriage. Cole had been crazy to ever propose to Shawna in the first place. Bentlers weren’t much better parents than they were marriage partners. His father had been so busy making money and living on the edge that he hadn’t had much time for Cole. And Grandfather had enabled his children instead of making them self-sufficient.
At least Cole had his friends as examples. They did the right thing. Cooper had a happy marriage, and he was a parent. And a damn good one. But Coop had a good example in a mother that everyone in the Payne Protection family business considered theirs, whether she was biologically or not.
Whether Cole would be good at parenting didn’t matter. What mattered was finding out the truth. Finding out if he actually was a father.
Maisy was in her mother’s bedroom, in her mother’s bed. He couldn’t talk to Shawna now, in front of the little girl, even if he trusted himself to confront her when he was still so furious with her. He still hated himself for the things he’d said to her when he’d broken their engagement, and he’d done that to help her avoid pain.
But if he found out she’d kept his daughter from him…
He wasn’t certain he would be able to protect her—from him and the things he might say. And even if she’d betrayed him that badly, he didn’t want to hurt her anymore.
*
A chill chased over Shawna, rousing her awake with a shiver. She hadn’t been sleeping very soundly, though. She couldn’t shut off her mind, couldn’t stop remembering all the horrible things that had been happening—to Emery, to Astin and to her.
And nearly to Cole.
What if she’d struck him with the car? He could have died never knowing that he was a father, that he had an amazing little girl. That they had an amazing little girl.
Where was Maisy?
Shawna felt around the tangled blankets, but she didn’t find anyone else in her bed. The little warm body that had been burrowed against hers was gone. But that wasn’t the only reason she’d suddenly gotten so cold.
The drapes rustled as a cold breeze blew through them. Needing fresh air despite all the oxygen she’d had at the hospital, she had opened a window earlier. But knowing how the temperature dropped at night, she’d only cracked it a tiny bit—not enough for the wind to be blowing the curtains like that. Why was it open so much wider?
She shivered and not just from the cold. Where was her daughter?
“Maisy?”
Had she gone back to her own bed? Usually it was the other way around. Maisy started out in her own bed and wound up in Shawna’s. At least at home. They hadn’t been staying with Xavier long enough to develop a pattern here. Maybe that was why the little girl had gotten confused.
Or maybe she’d just gotten up to use the bathroom. Shawna suspected that she’d had way too much to eat and drink throughout the day. Shawna had been too distracted to keep a good eye on her.
Of course she’d been preoccupied with the funeral and with nearly getting killed. If she hadn’t been trapped in the garage, she would have done a better job watching her daughter. Usually she was a very good mother who would do anything to protect her daughter, even hide her paternity.
Shawna sat up and peered around the dark room. She couldn’t see anything until the wind sifted through the drapes again and moonlight partially illuminated the room.
She gasped as she saw the shadow near the bed. It was too tall—too big—to be her little girl. But there was definitely someone else in her room.
“Cole?” she asked.
But she wasn’t sure the person was big enough to be him. Cole was so broad. If it was him, he was taking this bodyguard thing too far if he felt as though he had to watch her sleep. “Cole?”
The shadow didn’t answer her, didn’t reveal his identity. Cole would have told her who he was.
Fear chilled her more than the wind, and her hand shook as she fumbled around for the lamp beside the bed. But before she could find the switch, a strong hand closed around her wrist.
A leather glove bit into her skin. And then something bit into her neck—a noose dropped over her head. She reached for it with her free hand, but before she could jerk it away, it tightened. The fibers bit into her throat.
She tried to scream, but her throat was already raw from the carbon monoxide. And now it was choked as she fought for breath—as she fought for her life.
*
Nikki was pissed. It was going to happen.
She was going to get all maternal despite her best intentions. She should have known. She’d already fallen for Lars’s nephew before she’d even known Blue was an Ecklund. Well, at least before she’d known for sure. She’d suspected, though. She’d actually thought he was Lars’s kid.
She thought maybe that was why she fell for Blue because—she’d fallen for Lars despite all her best intentions. She glanced down at the diamond on her finger. She hadn’t just fallen in love. She’d gotten engaged, was getting married.
And now—or at least someday—she was going to want kids. Because little Maisy Little was getting to her just like Blue had. Her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around Nikki’s hand and around her heart. She needed to get back to her post outside Shawna’s door.
Maisy had distracted her when she’d come out of the bedroom, looking all befuddled and sleepy. Still mostly asleep, she’d stared blankly up at Nikki.
Although she didn’t babysit them much, Nikki had enough nieces and nephews to know little kids barely made it through the night without at least one bathroom break. So she’d brought her to the one next to Shawna’s bedroom. After she’d done her business, though, the little girl hadn’t wanted to go back to her mother’s room; she’d wanted to go to her own.
So Nikki had brought her to the room that must have been recently redecorated. The pink paint smelled fresh and all the dainty furnishings looked brand-new, too. She’d tucked the little girl into the princess bed with its wispy pink canopy. But Maisy had grabbed her hand and wouldn’t let go.
“You can go back to sleep now,” Nikki assured her.
But those little blue eyes were wide open. They were the same deep blue as Cole’s. She had to be his kid. Did he know? Suspect at least?
Those blue eyes widened more with fear.
“What’s wrong?” Nikki asked her. Not that the kid hadn’t been through a whole hell of a lot for a five-year-old. She’d lost the man she’d at least thought was her dad, whether he was or not. And she’d nearly lost her mom. Nikki squeezed her hand gently with reassurance.
