by J. L. Drake
“Holy…!” I exclaim with a smile when I walk into the world’s biggest bathroom. Deep red and gray run throughout the whole room, right down to the tile in the four-person shower. It has eight jets and three showerheads. A large oval tub sits in the corner with a view of the mountains. It’s gorgeous. I stop gawking long enough to use the restroom and steal Cole’s toothbrush.
“Ew!” I hiss when I notice dried blood on my pants and on the hem of my shirt. It’s probably Cole’s, but the idea of it being York’s has me tearing my clothes off and throwing them in his hamper. I spot double doors and decide I need something to wear.
Rows of t-shirts, uniform shirts, heavy knit sweaters, and pants line the walls. Clearly, this is his military closet. Everything is so perfectly placed I’m almost intimidated to touch anything. I realize I’m taking too long, so I grab the closest t-shirt and shrug it on. It’s dark green and has ARMY written across the front and LOGAN on the back. It’s huge and comes down to my knees. I roll one side up and tuck the knot under the shirt, keeping it in place so it isn’t like a tent on me.
I open the door to find him propped up in bed, reading on his phone. He looks sexy with his messy hair and the sheet covering one leg. He glances up and does a double take. A lazy smile runs over his lips.
“Morning,” he says, his voice raspy.
“Didn’t mean to take so long. I took a wrong turn in there,” I joke.
He chuckles as his eyes rake over me.
“Sorry.” I look down at his shirt. “There was blood on my clothes.”
“Don’t be. I never thought that shirt could look sexy until now.”
I smile, not sure what to do now. Last night was intense, and our emotions were high.
“Come here, baby.” He holds out his hand. He pulls me onto his stomach, guiding me to straddle his waist. His fingers run through my hair as he watches my face. “What are you thinking?”
“Honestly?”
“Always.”
“I’m nervous what happened yesterday might affect us.”
“How so?”
“You’re losing a man who’s been with you for…how long? You guys have a great thing here. I don’t want to be the reason something bad happens.” I fumble with the hem of my shirt. “I begged Mark to erase that tape.” I feel him flinch. “He told me he couldn’t, that he could lose his job.”
“Smart man,” he mutters.
“I saw the look on his face when he watched it.” I look up. “I didn’t want to see that on yours.”
He twirls a piece of my hair around his finger, thinking. “I’ll be honest with you. It took me to a dark place I haven’t been before. Mark walked in with York right as I finished watching it. I don’t remember how I got my hands wrapped around his neck or how I got him against the wall.” I swallow, remembering it. “I could tell York didn’t give a damn about the consequences for doing what he did—it happens to some of us. We see things in our business that harden us. Some deal with it differently than others. The signs were there, though—all his comments to you, his lack of respect for rank. I’m just sorry I didn’t see it until it was too late.”
“Honestly, I’m fine.”
“You weren’t fine, Savi. You were being threatened in a place that’s supposed to be safe. You had a man who you were supposed to be able to trust force himself on you, hurt you.” He closes his eyes, struggling with his words. “Christ, he was going to―”
“Please,” I place my hands on his bare concrete slab of a stomach, “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Other than being a little sore and frightened, I’m fine, and he’s gone.” I lean over, feeling like I need some more contact with him, and kiss his chest. “This is where I feel safe, whose hands I want on me, whose lips I want to taste…” He shivers at my distraction.
“Savannah,” he moans.
“He may have hurt me, Cole, but you saved me.”
He reaches down, grabs my hips, and flips me over, devouring my mouth. His nails run down my thighs and around my behind.
He yanks my hips off the bed and grinds into me. “Feel what you do to me?”
I do; it is digging into me hard. “I can help with that.” I lean forward, pull off my shirt, and unhook my bra, then toss both aside. My…I’m bold this morning. I think I need to feel something, something that will push aside the fear that’s weighing heavily at the back of my brain.
“Oh, baby,” he moans, savoring the view. He runs his hands down my sides, then along my stomach, and finally over my breasts.
I bite my lip to stop from crying out. It has been too long since I’ve been touched.
“You’re fucking beautiful, Savannah.” He leaves hot trails with his tongue.
My fingers find his hair and grab on, making him kiss harder.
“Mmm, you taste so sweet.” He slips one hand into my soaked panties and runs a finger between my folds.
I arch my back, wanting more. “Ohhhhh…”
He closes his eyes. “I love how responsive you are.” Just as his finger is about to make a pleasurable dive, there’s a knock at the door. We both jump.
“Go away,” he calls out between kisses.
“Logan, your parents just arrived, and Dan is looking for you,” Paul says, instantly sucking all the fun out of the room.
Cole squeezes his eyes shut, cursing. “Yeah, all right, thanks.”
I sit up and push him back. I need to return to my room and have a cold shower. I grab the Army shirt and tug it over my head.
“I totally forgot they were coming.” He sighs, hands on his hips.
I step up on my tiptoes and give him a playful kiss. “To be continued,” I tease, smacking his butt and giving him a grin.
He hooks his arm around my waist to pull me back to him then turns me to face him. “Are you really all right?”
I run my hands over his shoulders. “I am.”
He leans in and gives me a quick kiss.
I pull off a piece of muffin and pop it in my mouth while listening to Cole’s mother, Sue, discuss her Christmas plans.
“Savannah, you should see what the town does for the week of Christmas. All the businesses decorate their stores, and each night for five days one place holds a party,” Sue explains, beaming.
“It’s a really big deal if your store is selected to hold one of the parties,” Abigail adds. “Of course, Zack’s was picked. He is every year.”
Mark appears at the patio door. “Savi, would you mind grabbing Cole for me? I would myself, but—” He points to his soaking wet boots. It has been raining all morning.
“Of course.” I hop up from the table to find him.
“Yes, Mark, you stay right there. I just had the floors cleaned,” Abigail warns as he pretends to move his foot inside, laughing.
I make my way down the hallway toward Cole’s office and hear voices when I get closer.
“Where is he now?” Daniel shouts. I freeze outside the door.
“Downstairs,” Cole answers. York is still in the house! Where downstairs? “He’s not talking, just says he wants to talk to her.” My stomach twists.
“No way. He’s crossed a line he can never come back from.” Daniel pauses. “Does Savannah have any idea about her father?”
I step closer to the door, not caring I’m eavesdropping.
“No, and there’s no reason to say anything until we’re absolutely positive we’re right.” I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Daniel clears his throat. “This is bad, Cole, not only for the reputation of this house, but he knows the details of her file. He could easily leak what—”
A chair scrapes on the floor and makes me miss what Daniel says. Damn it!
“…plus the blackmail, and God forbid The American gets wind of her whereabouts. She’ll be plucked out of thin air so quickly we won’t have a chance in hell of getting her back—not this time. With his reputation, he’ll send her back one limb at a time, using the local news station, just like the la
st one.”
The walls start to shift as I process his words. Suddenly, the door opens and Daniel stares down at me, horrified. “Savannah!”
Cole appears behind him.
“Mark,” I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience, “is-is looking for Cole.” My voice is barely above a whisper.
I turn on my heel and walk down the hallway, each step feeling heavier than the last, Daniel’s words “one limb at a time” bouncing around my head. Then there was the comment about something being leaked. What was that? I sink into my chair at the table.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, dear.” Sue reaches out and touches my hand. “You’re freezing.”
“Savannah.” I turn at the sound of Cole’s voice. He is visibly shaken. “Can we talk?”
Mark peeks his head in the door. “Hey, Logan, I need—”
“Savi, please,” Cole cuts him off.
Everyone is staring at me. I need to get some space to process what I heard. I feel myself shutting down and my walls building up.
“Mark needs you right now,” I say, finding it hard to look at him…or anyone at that moment.
“What if I need you?” he counters, as his mother turns her head back and forth between us. What is he doing? He’s risking his career and his reputation right now.
“Son, deal with Mark.” Daniel rests his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Give her a minute.”
Cole doesn’t move right away, not until his father gives him a nudge toward the door. As soon as he is out of hearing range, Sue looks at me with an inquisitively arched eyebrow, to which I can merely shrug.
“Savannah,” Daniel starts to say, but I stand. I need some space.
“Excuse me.” I take off toward the door, grabbing a jacket on the way, and head out into the pouring rain.
I don’t know where I’m going, but the forest looks inviting. I walk for a while, weaving in and out of the trees. The sound of the rain on the leaves soothes my aching head. I grow tired of the constant battle with the slippery ground—flats are not made for hiking. The rain starts to taper off as I come to a small clearing by a brook. I tuck my raincoat under me and sit to rest under a tree, finally allowing myself the freedom to cry as I let my brain go over what I heard.
Cole
Cole sits at his desk, watching the live feed into York’s cell. He’s sitting on his bed, strumming his fingers on his thighs. What happened to him? York’s a known ass, but he’d never hurt anyone before. Fuck, what if he had succeeded in raping Savannah? The thought is crippling to him. Cole rubs his face, feeling drained.
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” his father says from the doorway.
Cole’s hands drop away. “No.” Was he? He cared for her a lot, but love?
His father grins and shuts the door behind him. “Son, I had that same look on my face when I first fell for your mother.”
“I’ve only known Savi for what, a month?”
“Sometimes it only takes one look to fall in love.”
“Yeah, well, I know we shouldn’t even be talking about her like this.”
His father sighs as he crosses the room to take a seat in front of him. “Normally, I’d say no, we shouldn’t be, but I know you’d never step over the line for just anyone. I see the way she looks at you too. It’s not a one-sided feeling. Christ, you could see her relax when you wrapped your arm around her chair at dinner last night.”
Cole leans forward, resting his arms on his desk. “What am I supposed to do? I love the way I feel when we’re together. Her smell lingers on my clothes, and it drives me mad all day. I love who I am with her. Her words were the only ones that got through to me last night. If she wasn’t there, I think I would have killed York. She can bring me to my knees with one look, and her lips…” Cole stops when he notices his father’s expression.
“Welcome to being in love, son,” he chuckles. “Good fucking luck.”
Cole shakes his head. Oh, shit. I’m screwed.
“Even if that’s true, how am I supposed to be with her here in this house? The guys will lose respect for me if I get involved with one of our victims—I mean ‘guests.’ It’s a huge violation.”
“Yes, but if you truly are in love with her, you have to take the risk. Don’t let your job stop you from living your life. But that’s a decision only you can make. As for the guys, they’ll see you’re not in it for a quickie—never been your style—and we raised you better than that.” He smiles. “You both have some huge obstacles to overcome when she finds out the truth. It could be a game changer. What if she wants to go back to New York? This—” he indicates, waving his hands, “isn’t for everyone.”
“I know.” Cole tosses his pen aside. “For the first time, I’m totally lost on what I should do.”
“Take some time and think about it. It isn’t something you can decide right away. You’ve got a lot to deal with right now, and she’s not going anywhere.”
Cole nods and picks up his radio, changing the channel to seven. “You have visual?”
“Ten-four. She’s two-point-four miles west of the house.”
“She’s a little wanderer,” Daniel says with a chuckle.
“What’s she doing?” Cole asks, wishing he could see her.
“Sitting by the brook. Been like that for the past thirty.”
“All right, stay with her, but keep your distance.”
“Copy that.”
Daniel stands, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Come on, let’s go find your mom. She needs her Cole fix.”
Cole follows him out of his office. “So, tomorrow, Frank will be arriving with a few others to take statements. They believe York is tied in to the poisoning, but they don’t have enough evidence yet to charge him.”
“What time tomorrow?”
“Thirteen hundred.”
“Maybe we can get your mother to take the ladies into town to help get Savannah through this.”
“Yeah.” Cole shudders at the idea of Savannah leaving the house again, but it would be good for her to have some girl time.
Savannah
I close my eyes, feeling the thumping of my brain inside my skull.
Why was my father being blackmailed? Maybe he was involved in buying weed? If so, big deal; who isn’t? Christ, most of the people in politics have a hook-up.
The American’s history is something I can’t even process yet.
Then there’s York. Where is he downstairs? I thought I had seen the bottom floor. Would he really sell me out? He couldn’t hate me that much, could he? Maybe he was in it for money? Either way, I wish I could talk to him, find out what’s going on in his crazy mind. Is he the one who poisoned me? I never did hear if they found the how or why of it. I feel myself going into shutdown mode. I want to stop thinking at all, but I can’t help it. This is what I do when I suffer an emotional overload. I fight it, but it’s no use, and I feel myself drifting off to sleep.
I awake, suddenly shaking. I’m frozen to the core. Snowflakes prick my cheeks like tiny needles, one by one, bringing me out of my fog. When my eyes adjust, I see it’s getting late.
I have no idea how long I slept after mulling everything over. I’m still confused. I now realize there is way more to what happened to me than meets the eye. Problem is—I’m not sure I want to know all the details. Along with the truth come many lies, and I think it might be more than I can handle.
A rustle in the trees sounds to my left. I tense and then remember.
“Which one of you has he sent to babysit me today?” I call out, leaning my head back against the tree. Snapping twigs and heavy footsteps become louder as the tall, dark figure comes into view through the falling snow. “Ahh, are you here to slap a tracking device on me now?” I half joke, a little drunk off my emotions.
“Come on, Savi, it’s starting to snow harder.” Keith holds out a hand.
“I don’t want to go back yet.”
“You’ll freeze.”
“I�
��m not cold.”
He raises his eyebrow, obviously not buying my protest. He then pulls out his radio. “Beta Seven to Logan.” He waits with a smug look on his face.
I roll my eyes.
“Go ahead, Keith,” Cole’s voice comes over the radio.
I don’t break my stare with Keith. I’m not scared of him.
“Ms. Miller is refusing to come back to the house, despite the fact she’s soaking wet and it’s starting to snow. Permission to use Code Forty-Five?”
Forty-Five? What the hell is that?
There’s silence for a moment then it crackles. “Give her the radio.” Keith hands it to me.
I sigh, taking it out of his hand. “Good afternoon, Cole,” I say calmly.
“Savi, please go back with Keith before you freeze to death.”
“I like it here. I was rather enjoying the silence before you sicced your watchdog on me,” I tease and look up at Keith, grinning. “No offense.” He bites back a smile.
“Savannah, you see Keith’s left shoulder? Well, if you don’t get your backside off that ground and start walking toward the house, you’re going to be hoisted over it and carried out.”
My jaw drops, my temper rising fast. I hand the radio back to Keith, wrap my arms around my knees, and stay perfectly still on the ground. Yeah, I can be one stubborn ass sometimes.
“Well?” Cole hisses impatiently.
“Permission to use Code Forty-Five?” Keith asks through a grin. He’s loving this.
“Permission granted.”
Everything gets blurry as Keith scoops me up, tosses me over his shoulder, and starts marching through the woods. I try to protest, hitting his back and shifting around, but all this does is make his death grip tighter. After a few minutes, I am suddenly struck with how I must look. I begin to crack up, and before I know it, I’m in a full-blown laughing fit and struggling to breathe. When we get to the clearing, he drops me to my feet. I stumble backward and roll on the ground. I have to hold my sides, they hurt so badly.
Keith joins me in my laughing fit as he pulls me to my feet. “Was that fun for you?”
