by Hadley Quinn
Good God.
Scarlett took two steps toward him and stopped. Her blue eyes studied him for several long seconds and she raked her teeth across her lower lip. “Maybe we can help each other,” she finally said.
Instead of waiting for an answer, she reached for his waistband and began to inch down his shorts. He had to admit she was fairly attractive, but it was the principle of this entire matter that convinced him otherwise.
That, and her career choice.
He gripped his waistband so she couldn’t get any further. Their eyes met, and for an instant, Cole could see the rejection plain as day.
But she shrugged and said, “Suit yourself. I’ll take a raincheck, though.”
She headed for the door and let herself out. Cole locked it behind her when it slammed shut, then he grabbed his phone and pressed a button.
Van answered after the first ring. “Hey, man, long time no—”
“Don’t ask any questions, just bring Leah to my apartment. Now. I’ll explain when you get here.”
The three seconds of silence on Van’s end were almost tangible through the phone. “Yeah, okay,” he finally answered, and then he hung up.
Chapter Eleven
“So why do we have to go all the way into Edison to go to dinner?” Leah asked with a curious smile.
Van had suggested that they go grab some food together, but when he just now mentioned they were heading to Edison, she was confused.
“We’re gonna see a friend first,” he answered, glancing at her from the driver’s seat of his truck.
A friend? She stared through the windshield as they exited the parkway. The only friends she imagined him seeing were Paul or Cody and she supposed that was okay. She really thought just the two of them were going to hang out, but spending time with Van’s friends would be fine too.
But when they got to the Jefferson Apartments and hit the fourth floor, Van hung a left instead of a right at the top of the stairs.
“Where are we going? I thought…”
Fuck. He stopped in front of Cole’s apartment. She’d only been here once before, but she knew it was his place without a doubt.
“Cole?” she asked as Van rapped on the door.
Her brother gave her a look. Not just a look that said, “Yep,” but a look that said, “Yeah and don’t ask questions.”
Still… “What the hell is going on? Tell me. Now.”
Van sighed just as the door opened. Cole opened it all the way, and even though she felt her brother grab her arm and guide her inside, Leah suddenly felt very lost.
“What in the fuck is going on? Tell me now,” she demanded.
“Have a seat,” Cole instructed, pointing to the couches.
“I’m not going to sit until—”
“Sit. Down.” He looked really pissed off right now. How was that her problem? Why the hell was he yelling at her?
“I brought her because I trust you, but that doesn’t mean you treat her like shit,” Van warned him.
Cole completely ignored him and looked at Leah. “So your friend Scarlett followed you all the way from Miami here to Jersey. She told me she was sent by Damien Glenn to check on you. Do you have any knowledge of this?”
Leah barely felt herself reaching for the couch to sit down. Van sat next to her, and as Cole sat on the other couch, she could feel both men watching her. “What do you mean Scarlett is here in Jersey?”
“Exactly what I said. She’s here. I’ve talked to her three different times.”
Leah ducked her head. “Shit,” she whispered to herself.
“Shit what?” Van asked. “Tell me what’s going on, Leah. Are you in trouble? Who the fuck is Scarlett?”
Leah took a deep breath and released it. “She’s a friend from Miami. We worked at the same place.”
That’s all she gave and Van didn’t seem satisfied. Cole wasn’t either, that’s for damn sure. His eyes were burning through her like scorching lava. She could only assume he was pissed from being dragged into this mess and she couldn’t blame him. If Scarlett was here in New Jersey…
“Look,” Leah sighed. She took her time thinking of the best way to explain things, but she didn’t want to get into a great deal of detail right now. “She’s right, something could be wrong.”
“How?” Van exclaimed. “What’s going on? What’d you do, Leah?”
“It’s not something I did,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s just… Okay, here’s the thing. When I turned eighteen and was out of foster care, I moved to Virginia with a guy. I told you that.” She looked at Van and he nodded. “But what I didn’t tell you was that…my boyfriend once worked for…”
“Worked for who?” Van asked impatiently.
“A huge crime boss,” Cole interjected.
Leah looked at him, wondering how he knew that. Scarlett wouldn’t have told him that.
But it was Van that exploded. “What in the fuck?! Are you serious?”
“Hang on,” Cole held his hand up to him. He looked at Leah. “Damien Glenn wants to know where you are. Does that mean anything to you?”
She hung her head again. God, what had she gotten herself into?
“Leah, look at me,” Cole demanded.
She didn’t want to, but she did. Maybe she should just go back to Damien and face whatever was in store for her.
Cole didn’t look upset anymore, which was actually a relief. She didn’t want to admit it, but the guy rattled her like no other.
“You gotta tell me what’s going on, Leah,” he said. “I can help you if you just tell me the truth. All of it.”
“I just… I… It’s so much,” she whispered with frustration.
“I have all night,” Cole said. “I swear.”
“I do too, sis,” Van said quietly. “I’m here for you. For anything, okay?”
“You’ve been through so much already,” she said, her voice almost breaking. But she wouldn’t let it. She needed to tough this out no matter how hard it was. Maybe coming back to Jersey with Cole had been a mistake. When she’d heard on the plane what had happened to her brother and Dani over a year ago, she felt horrible for them. How could she burden him with more?
“It’s going to kill me if something happens to you, Leah,” Van said. His dark brown eyes were pleading with her and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep things to herself anymore. “You can tell us anything, okay? Tell us the truth. Tell Cole what’s going on so he can help you. You can trust him. I trust him. I wouldn’t have asked him to find you if I didn’t trust him.”
She glanced at Cole again. God, the man was intimidating. She had never wanted him to know that, but he was. He was sinfully sexy, too. Opening up to him was going to be humiliating. He was going to think of her as a stupid kid who couldn’t take care of her own problems.
“This is really hard for me,” she said quietly.
“Take your time,” Cole told her, this time in a gentle tone. There was no sign of him being upset anymore. Hopefully that had passed because she wouldn’t be able to bear it.
She leaned forward onto her knees and took a deep breath. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“How ‘bout age seventeen,” Cole suggested. “With Alex.”
She looked him in the eye again and that’s when she knew. He knew. He absolutely knew!
“Oh my God,” she exhaled a shaky breath.
“Leah, fuck, tell me what’s going on,” Van told her. “Please, this is killing me.”
She started to cry. That was so not what she expected from herself, but after the morning she’d had maybe it was a continuation of it.
“Do you want me to say it?” Cole asked softly.
She scoffed because of her own inability to say the words, but the truth was, she was grateful for the offer. Did he seriously already know everything about her? The guy was too mysterious as it was.
“I don’t know everything,” he seemed to read her mind, “but I do know you had a baby when you were seve
nteen, right?”
Another set of tears slid down her face but she nodded. She took a chance and looked at Van. He was completely speechless.
“And…you gave her up for adoption, right?” Cole continued.
Leah nodded. “I thought it was best,” she sniffled.
“We’re not judging you,” he told her. “We just want to help, okay?”
She nodded again. “Okay. It’s just… I just thought I’d carry that secret to my grave.”
“Yeah, I understand,” Cole nodded.
“Leah, I am so sorry,” Van whispered. He scooted closer to her and slid an arm around her shoulder. “No we’re not judging you. Never. God, I wish I’d been there for you.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and Leah could tell he felt absolutely horrible.
“It’s in the past, Van. You couldn’t. I understand.”
“Still, it doesn’t make sense why I could never track you down.”
Leah sighed to herself. She wanted to cry some more but needed to stop. She knew exactly why she’d never been reunited with Van, but now wasn’t the time to explain how easily she’d been manipulated by people.
“Leah, Alex Mills…” Cole trailed off, waiting for her to expound.
“Alex’s dad worked with Damien,” Leah announced, assuming he already knew. Cole didn’t look surprised, but she wasn’t sure if he was just masking it. “They were in business together, and Alex said he sometimes worked for Damien too. I didn’t know he was linked to anyone like that. He was just…we were…he was my boyfriend. It never came up. He was four years older than me, I didn’t ask. I was happy with him. I was looking forward to him taking me away from my shitty life like he’d promised me.”
“And then you got pregnant,” Van stated.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “And that’s when Alex told me about his dad and the type of people he worked with. I had already decided to give the baby up for adoption. That was my choice. I had so much of my life to figure out as it was…I just didn’t think I could do it. My foster family honestly didn’t even know. I hid it from them. I didn’t want them to have a say in anything I did, and I didn’t want any legal issues, so I did everything I could to keep it quiet. Alex paid for me to have the baby with a midwife, in private, and had a lawyer find a family for her. When I turned eighteen, he took me to Virginia with him.
“Later on—after we’d been in Roanoke for two years—I found out how ruthless this Damien Glenn guy was. Alex seemed really uneasy after mentioning his father was having trouble with Damien. And then…his father died all of a sudden. Alex said it was an accident of some kind, but he didn’t go into detail. He made arrangements to return to Miami to be with his mom for a few days and attend the funeral. He insisted he wanted to go alone, so I let him. But his demeanor never settled with me. He just wasn’t the same. Something was going on.”
“Did you ever meet his parents?” Cole asked.
“No.”
“Where is Alex right now?”
She released a heavy sigh. “I honestly don’t know where Alex is. He went to Miami, and then I didn’t hear from him for three days and I was worried. Finally I did the only thing I could and I scrounged up enough money for a flight there. All I had to go on was the name of a couple clubs I knew Damien owned, ones that Alex said he did food and beverage ordering for a few years back. So I went to one and that’s where I met Damien and his girlfriend. I ended up getting a job at one of them—in hair and makeup.”
“Wait, hold up,” Van cut in. “Hair and makeup? Uh, what kind of club are you talking about? You told me you worked in a hair salon.”
Leah shrugged. “I did. It just happened to be in a strip club.”
“So what’d you find out about Alex?” Cole asked.
Leah studied him for a few seconds, trying to determine his mood. He was completely expressionless right now, which worried her more than when she could read him, but he was definitely trying to keep her on track.
“I didn’t find anything out about Alex,” she answered softly. “But I didn’t exactly get too far before someone figured out I was there looking for him.”
“Damien?” Cole asked.
“No, Scarlett.”
Cole arched an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side. That was a sexy look for him and Leah had to glance away.
“So who is Scarlett,” Cole stated rather than asked.
Leah looked his way again. “She used to be Damien’s girlfriend, but he moved on to another one. He goes through them like underwear, but from what I gather, Scarlett was with him for several months. They’re still friends.”
“I mean who is she really?” Cole asked. “She has thrown all kinds of vibes my way. I want to know the truth. Who is she for real? Does she really just work for Damien at his club?”
“She became a good friend to me,” Leah said. “In a big city where I was scared and overwhelmed, she kind of took me in. I even stayed with her for a few days until she found me my own apartment.”
“She’s someone you trust, then?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well why should you?”
She gaped at him. “Because she’s been nothing but nice to me.”
“Doesn’t mean you can trust someone.”
“I want to know who the hell this Scarlett is,” Van interrupted. “She’s here in Jersey? Why?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Cole said, his gaze settling on Leah again.
She didn’t respond.
“Leah?” Van prodded. “Talk.”
“There’s nothing to say about her—”
“Bullshit,” Cole cut in. “She told me she was sent by Damien to track you down. Does he want you back in Miami? Just be straight with me. Does he know the kid you gave up is in Somerville?”
Her heart dropped into her stomach but she automatically glared at him.
“I followed you this morning,” Cole stated upon seeing her reaction.
“Fuck you,” she growled at him. “I’m supposed to trust you when you pull shit like that? No fucking way.”
“Followed you where?” Van asked. He groaned out loud. “I wish I could be included in this fucking conversation. Seriously!”
“Van, I just—” Leah started but stopped.
This morning was terrible. Absolutely terrible. It was the first time she’d seen Emilia and it was heartbreaking. The counselor had suggested she completely cut off any connection to her daughter when she gave her up, but having the address was too tempting to pass up.
“I know where my daughter lives—the family that adopted her. I wasn’t going to, but I couldn’t help it. I just wanted to know she’s okay.”
“Does the family know you’re aware of where she is?” Van asked. “And how did you even find that information?”
Leah shook her head. “No. I’m not supposed to know. It was a closed adoption. And…Damien gave it to me.”
“What?” Cole asked. “Damien Glenn knew about her and actually told you where you could find her?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “It completely caught me off guard, though. I know she’s with a good family, and I don’t have any intention of ruining that, but I just…wanted to see her, I guess.”
“And why or how did Damien know about her? And furthermore, why’d he give you an address? To do what?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “About two days before you showed up, Damien hinted he knew about Emilia. I have no idea how, I swear to you, but he stopped by the club one night and something he said… He wanted me to know he knew.”
“What’d he say?” Cole asked.
Leah had to think for a minute. “I don’t remember exactly, but it was something about Alex and secrets that weren’t very good at being hidden. He was fishing a bit, but didn’t really say anything outright.”
“So he knew about you two?”
“That’s what I gathered. He didn’t say or do anything other than just that comment, but I
started to get really worried that it was about more than just us hiding a relationship from him. And then when I was bold enough to ask him where Alex was, he got all cryptic and silent and wouldn’t tell me a damn thing. When you showed up a couple of days later and told me about Van… I just felt like it was also the right time to come back. I had never planned on checking on Emilia but I guess staring at that address too many times…”
“And what about Scarlett?” Cole asked.
“What is your obsession with her?” Leah scoffed. “Yeah she’s hot but seriously—”
“You think that’s what it’s about?” Cole laughed sarcastically. “Do you understand what it’s like to be in my position? I find you in Miami, I have a brief conversation with Scarlett, you agree to come back with me, she follows not far behind, and now she’s coming at me with all kinds of requests. She throws lies at me right and left. I’m not stupid. You think I like being in the middle of all this? She showed up here practically bugged with a fucking wire, for shit’s sake.”
“How do you know?” Van asked.
“I opened her shirt and saw it,” Cole admitted.
Leah raised her eyebrows. She’d already pictured those two banging each other, but just the thought of him opening her shirt—
“And she was here just a couple hours ago, insisting again that I need to be involved in this clusterfuck. I’d really like to know what her part is in all this.”
“Well she’s just a friend to me, and since she hasn’t contacted me, maybe she’s just interested in you,” Leah shot back at him.
Chapter Twelve
Cole was exhausted. The lack of sleep and the whirlwind of information was wearing him down. Whatever was going on, Leah was still keeping secrets from him. He was beginning to think he couldn’t trust anyone right now.
“It’s late. I’m tired,” he said. “I want Leah to stay here with me until this shit gets sorted out.”
He was specifically addressing Van, whose expression darkened instantly. But Cole felt like it was the only option he had at this point. He needed more time with her. Either she’d open up to him willingly, or he’d make it happen skillfully.
