“You, too.”
“How in the world did you know I was here?” Madalina asked Cole.
“I didn’t. I came here to talk to Lianne, see if she’d heard from you. And get some other information. Any information that might help me find you.”
“Come sit down. Madalina and I have had enough sleep for tonight,” Lianne said. Sniffling into a new tissue that she snagged on the way, Lianne sank onto the love seat and curled into her blanket. She aimed the flashlight toward the floor, giving everyone enough light to see by.
“Thanks. I know it’s late—hey. Is that the dragon?” Cole paused as Madalina guided him through the gloomy house.
She glanced across his body to the small table. The dragon was just visible next to the laptop. “Yes. We spent hours trying to find information about it earlier, before the lights went out.”
Cole picked up the dragon, lifting it higher as if that might help him see better. He turned the object this way and that. After a brief inspection, he said, “It’s a little hard to see in here. Can’t make out too much detail. It’s heavy, though. Definitely made of stone.”
“What are you thinking, Cole?” Madalina didn’t understand the complicated look on his face. Couldn’t read his emotions right then or interpret his reaction. It could have been the shadows, perhaps, throwing off her perception.
“I’m not sure what to think right now.” He set the dragon on the table, then met her eyes.
Madalina might not have been able to discern his reaction to the dragon, but she did not mistake the lingering heat in Cole’s eyes, the blatant way he raked her with his gaze. She, too, was having trouble shaking the desire to be nearer, to feel his heat and the strength of his body. “What do you suggest we do?”
Cole rubbed his fingers over his chin, the short layer of whiskers rasping against his skin. “Actually, I think you and I should retreat to a hotel. Lay low for the rest of the night and give me time to think things over. I need to make a few phone calls, see if I can’t tap into some contacts and get more information. While I’m doing that, you should call your parents and ask point-blank questions. Find out what they know, if anything. Also find out if your grandfather left anything else behind that they maybe forgot to mention. Even the smallest thing might have an impact.”
“Madalina did try to call her folks earlier, before the power went out,” Lianne said. “So far, nothing.”
“I left a message. They’ll call as soon as they get it. But I can try in the morning, too. Every half hour. Maybe I’ll get lucky,” Madalina said. “As far as the hotel, that sounds like a good idea.”
“All right. We should get moving,” Cole replied.
“But it’s the middle of the night and the power’s out. What hotel nearby will even be able to rent you a room? I think she should stay here. She’s been safe so far,” Lianne said.
Madalina tipped a look at Lianne, who was watching them with obvious curiosity. She didn’t need to ask to know what Lianne was thinking right then. Madalina wouldn’t have known what to say, either, if Lianne asked her what was going on with her and Cole.
“So far,” Cole repeated quietly. “Things may or may not remain that way. I’m not sure how they’re tracking her, but if they manage to pick up her whereabouts again, then I’m better equipped to protect her. This time they won’t be walking out the door with her behind my back.” His jaw flexed as if he was still angry about the Chino abduction. “We can drive one city over and get a room.”
Madalina couldn’t fathom being separated from Cole again. She didn’t hold it against him that the Chinese men had managed to get their hands on her with him in the same house, and knew without a doubt that he would be able to protect her better in a face-to-face confrontation than if she and Lianne went at it alone. She said, “I think he’s right. We’ll go get a room and let the storm blow over. This way, I don’t put you at more risk than I already have.”
Lianne quirked her lips and gave Madalina a knowing look. “All right. Just be careful. I don’t like any of this.”
“We’ll be fine. You get some rest—if you can,” Madalina said. Disregarding the chance that she might catch Lianne’s cold, she kissed her friend’s forehead and gave her a quick hug. “Cole has my phone. Let’s find yours before we go so I know you’ve got a way to contact me or the police if you need them.” The trio used both flashlights to search the kitchen. Lianne found her phone on the floor under the table, where she’d knocked it off during the earlier fall.
“Don’t open the door for anyone you don’t know, okay?” Cole said to Lianne.
“I won’t. Oh . . . what should I do with the dragon?” Lianne asked, glancing at the table where the dragon sat.
Cole paused to look at the dragon, an indefinable expression crossing his face.
Madalina watched him rather than the dragon. He seemed conflicted in the seconds that followed, but over what, she didn’t know. She would ask later, once they were alone.
“Can you keep it here? Until we know more, I don’t want to tote it around with us. Especially after everything that happened today,” Madalina said.
Cole looked like he might argue, but in the end, said nothing. He raked a hand through his hair and turned from the table.
“Sure. I’ll put it in that little cupboard above the fridge.” Lianne picked up the dragon and cradled it to her chest.
“Thanks. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what the plan is,” Madalina said.
“Mind if we take a flashlight?” Cole asked Lianne. “We might need it later.”
“No, absolutely not. Take it. I have more if you need them.”
“This will do,” Cole said. He gave Lianne a quick smile.
“Thanks, Li,” Madalina added. She exchanged another look with Lianne, whose expression read: You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s gorgeous. Madalina understood the sentiment all too well. She handed Cole her flashlight.
After a final farewell, she followed Cole onto the back patio. He reached for her hand. It was heavenly to feel the rough-hewn calluses on his palm and the strength of his fingers twining with her own. A shudder swept through her. Giving her hand a squeeze, he glanced back to meet her eyes, as if he, too, was affected by such a simple thing as hand-holding, then led her into the rain toward the back gate.
“Ready?” he whispered. “Here we go.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The rain had waned to a drizzle, the thunder a distant growl. Madalina unlocked the gate with the key she’d stuffed into her pocket earlier and, after stowing it back under its usual rock, followed Cole through the trees onto the walkway. He wasted no time; breaking into a jog, he guided her along the snaking sidewalk, checking the area around them with relentless sweeps of his gaze.
She didn’t get too nervous until they had to break the cover of the trees. When the foliage fell away, leaving them exposed on the golf course, Madalina shuddered. She felt like a proverbial sitting duck. Fighting off uncomfortable aches and pains from the accident, from long jogs she wasn’t used to, and the debacle with scaling the fence, she picked up a little speed when Cole did, thankful to have had the foresight to change into sneakers.
Cole guided her to the edge of the golf course and into a parking lot provided for the golfers. His black Jaguar sat at an angle across two parking slots, indicating he’d left the vehicle in a hurry. He handed her into the passenger’s seat, then followed the curve of the hood to the driver’s side.
In moments, he sped away from the golf course.
“How in the world did you track down Lianne?” Madalina finally asked. She rubbed her thumb across her palm, missing the rough texture of his skin on her own.
“It took me a while. I didn’t know Lianne’s last name, so finding the information on the Internet was frustrating. I couldn’t locate any record of who owns the building you lease your shop out of, and all my at
tempts to find a Lianne in Whittier came up empty. I thought of looking on your phone, realizing you’d probably have her listed in your contacts, but it’s password protected. In the end, I had to access old newspaper articles, figuring you two would have had something in there about the grand opening of your store. Sure enough—after hours of flipping through scans, I might add—I came across it. Both your names were there, which made it a lot easier to track down Lianne’s address.” Cole navigated the dark street to the first intersection. The stoplights were blinking, indicating the obvious blip in the power supply. In the middle hours of the night, he had little traffic to contend with. He followed several main thoroughfares, checking the mirrors often.
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you again,” she admitted. “I had no idea how to find you. We looked, too, but there were too many Cole Wests and none in the places I thought you’d be.”
“I’m not listed in any online directories.” He drove until they came to a street where the darkness gave way to streetlights and lit-up buildings. “This is better,” he muttered half under his breath.
“Did you have to sign up with a company to block your number? Or use one of those do-not-call lists?” she asked, relieved to see lamplight flooding the streets and sidewalks. The night seemed less sinister somehow.
“Something like that. There’s a place right up here that might be suitable. This look good for tonight?” Cole gestured toward an upscale hotel with large arches in the front, and neatly manicured grounds.
“This is fine. Think anyone’s been following us?” Madalina hadn’t been able to detect a tail, but she wasn’t an expert and she hadn’t been as alert as usual, distracted as she was with Cole and her own thoughts.
“Not that I can see. We’ve thrown them off the scent for the moment. It won’t last, but I think we’ll have a few hours to get some sleep without worrying that someone will bust through the door.” He parked the Jaguar not far from the brightly lit front entrance.
“I feel like I’ve asked you that question a hundred times in the last two days,” Madalina said as she got out of the car.
With a wry smile, he exited the vehicle and opened the trunk to pull out their duffel bags. “You’ve been through a lot, Madalina. You have a right to be paranoid. Are you sure you’re all right after the accident?”
Madalina met him at the front of the car, and when he insisted on carrying her bag himself, she fell into step at his side. “Just sore and a little achy. Nothing I can’t handle.” She didn’t want to admit that she was probably sorer from the endless running than from the actual accident itself.
“If that changes, you tell me. We’ll get you to a doctor right away.” He scanned the night as he held the front door open.
Madalina stepped into the foyer with a murmur of thanks. The marble floors, silver-trimmed mirrors, and enormous floral bouquet on an antique table hinted at the classy nature of the establishment. She waited while Cole once again secured a room, watching the smooth way he handled the transaction. He was all business, occasionally glancing at her, then the doors, always on the lookout for trouble.
In the elevator, she caught him staring. She returned a lingering look, heat stirring under her skin. Madalina couldn’t remember a man who so thoroughly affected her like Cole did. She argued with herself that extreme circumstances brought people closer together on many levels, and that’s what she was experiencing with Cole. He’d been her rock through some very difficult times, and although they’d started off on rough footing, Cole had proven to be loyal and dedicated and honest. The attraction part of it wasn’t anything more than simple desire. Cole’s chameleon capabilities—from stylish and devilish to rugged and deadly—would have affected many women the same way.
He arched a brow, as if silently asking what was on her mind.
She arched a brow in return, not about to give up her personal thoughts—most of which currently revolved around him. Cole didn’t press the issue. He escorted her out of the elevator and into a broad hall with only five doors. This hallway was unlike most others, where numbered rooms sat to each side. The entrances were separated by arches and columns and sometimes small sitting areas. She had the impression they were in a mansion rather than a hotel.
Cole approached a door flanked by two baroque-style vases sitting atop pedestals. The floral arrangements in each vase reminded Madalina of classical paintings, where the flowers were always vivid and romantic and striking.
“This isn’t anything like the last hotel,” Madalina noted as she stepped into the suite. Her breath caught at the gilded furnishings, ceiling medallions, elegant chandeliers, and the sheer size of the room. A king-size bed stood beyond two floor-to-ceiling columns, offset by a gas fireplace, a small but pretty dining area, and a complete kitchenette.
“I figured we could use an upgrade.” Cole closed the door and stowed their duffel bags next to the wall by the luxurious bathroom.
“This is crazy,” she murmured to herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the glamour; it was just a reminder that Cole appeared to be used to these kinds of accommodations. If his pay scale was any indication, he did very well for himself and didn’t seem to hesitate to spend money on a higher-class style of living.
“You like it?” he asked, double-checking the locks on the door. There were two, and he engaged both.
“I’ve never stayed in a hotel this nice.”
He set the key card on a side table, along with the flashlight and the gun that he liberated from the back waistband of his pants.
“I don’t mind the finer things in life,” he said, following her deeper into the suite.
Madalina ran her fingers across the round, solid wood dining table on her way to the balcony doors. Two lamps on either side of the bed provided plenty of light but didn’t penetrate all the shadows. “I just realized there’s a lot I don’t know about you.”
He followed her through the room, coming up to stand behind her at the sliding glass doors. The view beyond the small balcony consisted of glittering lights and the dark shape of trees.
“I wouldn’t think so after only two days. But you do know that I’m dedicated to seeing this through. I’m in it all the way now, and I won’t stop helping you until we’ve figured out a way to get you out of this mess.”
The nearness of his raspy, appealing voice so close to her ear sent a fresh wave of shivers through her body. “I know,” she said, and meant it.
“I’m sorry they grabbed you at the house. I didn’t like that I couldn’t see beyond the garage and should have compensated by going out front or something.”
“They were so quiet that I never heard them coming. I think they probably had the sliding door already unlocked, because otherwise, I would have heard them trying to get in.” After a moment, she added, “It’s not your fault, Cole. You tried to talk me out of going, and I insisted. I should have listened.”
“Your peace of mind matters, too. I would have wanted to know if the bastards had broken into my parents’ home as well, so you weren’t alone in that sentiment.”
Madalina caught his reflection in the glass. She saw the way he slanted a look at her profile, the intensity in his gaze.
Turning around, she stared up into his eyes. “It’s complicated, the things I feel,” she confessed, and was surprised to discover she wasn’t only talking about the situation with her pursuers.
“Tell me,” he said, his voice part request, part command.
Cole stared at Madalina’s eyes, her mouth, waiting for an answer. He knew he was playing with fire, baiting her in a sense, to divulge all her emotions and feelings when he should be concentrating on one thing and one thing only. His failure to keep her out of the hands of the agents might have cost them both dearly if she hadn’t been lucky enough to escape. Hearing about the accident had sent a shiver of shock and something more through him. He would hate to see such a livel
y spirit extinguished too soon.
Distracted by the absent drag of her tongue across her lower lip, he closed the distance between their bodies by five inches. His chest wasn’t quite touching her own. He didn’t know if she was aware of how sultry and come-hither she looked right then, with her direct, almost challenging stare and flushed cheeks. Reminding himself that he had a task to do did nothing to alter his dominating stance or strict attention on her face while he waited to see what she had to say.
“I’m caught between extreme distress and a fierce need to fight back. I don’t know if I’ll have peace of mind for a while after seeing how quickly someone’s life can be turned totally upside down. The whole thing is out of my control, sort of like—” She paused, cutting the sentiment off before she finished.
“Sort of like what?” he asked despite himself. You don’t have time for this, Cole. Go to sleep. Forget about her. He stood there regardless, waiting.
“Sort of like how I won’t know what’ll happen once we turn the information over to the police,” she finally said.
Cole instinctively knew that hadn’t been what she’d wanted to say. “They’ll probably put you under watch—although I don’t expect that to work very well.”
“The Chinese agents have a way of getting around even the most stringent safety precautions,” she said.
“Is that your way of saying you forgive me for letting them get their hands on you?” he asked in a quiet voice. He thought he saw her sway closer, yet their bodies were still an inch apart.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” she whispered.
The heat between them had been building since the beginning. Since the very first whack of her purse and their brief exchange of words. He’d felt it standing behind her at the roulette table, in the car on the long drive to California, and when he’d shown up at Lianne’s back door. Now, standing here watching her watch him with unveiled desire, he couldn’t resist the temptation to touch her. He cupped the side of her throat, dragging his thumb along her pulse. The way her lips parted at the initial skin-to-skin contact thrilled and enticed him. By the gentle hold on her neck, he pulled her closer. Bringing up his other hand, he cradled her jaw and stroked his thumbs toward her earlobes, all the while maintaining electric eye contact that turned him on as much as her palms when she inched them up his chest. Tilting her chin slowly to the right and up at a slight angle, he leaned in to staple a line of kisses from her collarbone to her chin, leaving a nip in his wake before starting over on the other side. He absorbed Madalina’s first shudder and coaxed another from her with small grazes of his teeth just under her jawbone. The way her nails curled into his chest drew forth a low noise of pleasure, a rumble that encouraged her to do it again. And she did. Not quite a rake with her nails, but a furrow that would leave a temporary red mark under his shirt.
Escaping Vegas (The Inheritance Book 1) Page 12
