Lie by Night: An Out of Darkness novel (Entangled Ignite) (22 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Cole stared at the couple, dumbfounded. How could he not have seen it? Their bright blue eyes, perfect, blond hair, and aristocratic, good looks supported Grant’s claim. He and Cherise were siblings. Unbelievable.

And yet…more pieces fell into place.

Cole turned to Emma, ignoring the persistent, dull pain radiating from his ribcage. Damn but he was getting too old for a brawl with a steroid-enhanced goon.

Thoughts of his own pain fled at her look of despair.

She took a hesitant step toward Alistair, heedless of Grant’s pronouncement, her gait unsteady. Cole wrapped his arm around her waist, but his support went unnoticed as well. He replayed the past few minutes over in his mind. He’d felt her stiffen when Cherise said it was finally over.

Because it wasn’t over for her. In fact, she’d just destroyed her best source of information.

Grant stepped toward them, frowning as he perused Emma’s face. He started to speak, but closed his mouth when Cole shook his head. Instead, he pulled Cherise further aside to allow Emma and Cole unfettered access to Alistair.

Emma crouched next to the unconscious, old man, her slender body hunched as if from a blow. A lone tear trickled down her cheek. It ripped Cole’s heart out.

He swallowed. He’d failed to protect her by leaving her to face Alistair alone. Failed to help her get information about Jacob. And yet, she’d chosen him, plunging the drug into Alistair and erasing any knowledge of Jacob’s location.

“Emma?” He knelt beside her, ignoring the pain that shot through his ribcage. Hesitantly, he rested his hand on her shoulder.

She lifted her head, searching his face. “Cole?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” He rubbed his hand slowly up and down her back.

“He knew. I think he knew where Jacob is.” Another tear ran along the path of the first one. She sniffed.

He slid his fingers down her arm to grasp her hand, grimacing at the sight of his blood-stained hand holding hers. He tried to pull back, but she gripped his fingers tightly, and he fought the desire to flinch at the pressure on his cuts.

“I’ll help you find him. I’ll never give up. I promise.”

She studied his face.

“I promise.”

A long moment passed. Then she took a breath and nodded. “Okay.”

Okay? He felt something inside him loosen. She never ceased to surprise him.

“Oh, Cole.” She turned her hand over to cup his. “Look at your hand.”

“It’s fine. Nothing a few stitches won’t fix.”

He stood. When she lingered next to Alistair, he reached for her. “Come on. He can’t help us now, but he can’t hurt us, either.”

“And he can’t stop us from finding Jacob,” Cherise chimed in.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

“Us? There’s no
us
,” Cole responded without thinking. Heat rose in his cheeks. He felt the guilt of their night together as if it were yesterday.

Cherise was Grant’s sister. The reality of her being in their lives, a living, breathing reminder of that miserable, dark, forgotten night, settled heavy in his chest.

Cherise dropped Grant’s hand and stepped toward Cole and Emma.

“Cole?” She raised her hand as if to touch him but appeared to think better of it. “That night. The night Jacob and I fought. Nothing happened.”

Cole stared. His confused mind couldn’t think of one damned thing to say. That night had defined a good portion of his life for the past six months.

“I drugged you. You slept. I watched television.” Cherise lifted one shoulder. “That’s all.”

That’s all?

“Why?” Anger crept into his voice.

“Because Alistair didn’t want you getting closer to Jacob. Too much potential for the two of you to connect the dots and disrupt his plans for Jacob.” She clenched her hands at her sides.

“The floral perfume?” Cole asked.

Nodding, Cherise explained, “It created a momentary mental fog so I could put a stronger, longer lasting drug in your drink without you noticing. It was in my ring.”

When neither Cole nor Emma spoke, Cherise shot a nervous glance at her brother.

He stepped in. “You have to understand, Alistair controlled our entire lives. Except when we ran.”

Cherise nodded. “Even then, he always found us.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about Cherise.” Grant glared at Alistair’s unconscious body. “There was damn little I could do, but I protected her when I could.” He looked at Emma and shrugged. “I understood your need to protect Jacob better than you realize.”

Emma nodded.

“Nothing happened?” Cole clarified, still focused on that night. Emma squeezed his hand.

“Nothing. Not even a kiss.” A sultry grin replaced the uncertainty on Cherise’s face. “After all, I have it from a reliable source that I’m not exactly your type.”

She turned to Emma, and her smile fell. “Jacob never knew about the drugs or the sale of dangerous information. He thought he was serving his country. I’m sorry. I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but I did care for him. I still do.”

Before Emma could tell her Jacob had in fact discovered the truth, the police arrived. Standing off to the side, she watched while Alistair and his men were taken into custody and the others gave statements.

The Westons’ nightmare might be over, but she and Jacob were still living theirs.

…

Cole and Emma drove through the night in Joey’s black SUV, headed for home. They’d explained things to the police and then left the rest of the investigation in Joey and Kyle’s capable hands. At Emma’s insistence, they’d visited the emergency room. Between the cuts on his arms and hand, Cole boasted nine stitches and two cracked ribs.

Grant and Cherise had arrived just after them, thankfully placed in an exam room on the other side of the busy ER where a doctor examined Grant’s torn cheek. Emma supposed she’d have to be pleasant to Cherise, but she didn’t have it in her to start today.

She should have been exhausted, but instead, an edgy energy rushed through her veins. Her restless hands toyed with the fabric of her jeans. She and Cole needed to talk. She just couldn’t figure out where to start. Or was it that she wasn’t brave enough to start? After all, she’d been nothing but a big pain in the butt ever since the island. Worse yet, Cole still didn’t know everything.

He pulled into the driveway of his house, a house she’d come to love over the past days. A house where she thought she just might belong. For a long moment, they sat in the driveway unmoving. Finally, Cole faced her, his eyes gleaming deep blue in the moonlight.

“I, uh, hope this is okay. I mean, if you don’t want to stay…”

“No, no, this is fine.” She attempted a smile. “I want to stay.”

Silence.

“Well, okay.”

“Okay.”

They spoke at the same time. Emma looked away first. She opened her door and headed for the house without looking back. Cole’s footsteps sounded just behind her. When she reached the front stoop, she paused. A chill wind blew through the branches of the surrounding trees, hinting of the first snow.

When he reached around her to unlock the door, his chest brushed against her back. He felt good—warm, sturdy, sexy. She fought the urge to melt into him.

The door swung open. Emma walked into the family room and watched as Cole dropped their luggage on the floor. The flight from Paris seemed a lifetime ago. So much had changed in a few hours.

He advanced slowly, halting in front of her. Quietly, she examined his face in the moonlight, searching for some hint of what he was thinking.

She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I…”

“I’m sorry…” His apology overlapped hers.

They laughed self-consciously. He rubbed his bandaged hand along his jaw. “Emma, I’m sorry I doubted you. Sorry I doubted Jacob. And I’m sorry my doubt almost got you killed.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who’s sorry. I…”

“Emma…”

He attempted to interrupt, but she forged on, determined to clear things up between them. “No, let me say it. I lied to you even after we agreed to tell the truth.” She bit the inside of her lip.

“You mean after you sort of agreed to tell the truth, if you didn’t think it put Jacob in any danger?”

She looked at him, startled. She hadn’t actually said
those
words.

He grinned. The first carefree smile since they’d left France. “Honey, you made your intentions very clear. It may have frustrated the hell out of me, but I respect your loyalty to your brother.” His smile faltered. “And I know what it cost you to inject Alistair with the serum.”

He captured her hands. “I admire you. Everything about you. And whatever the future holds for us, I will look for Jacob until we find him.”

She squeezed his uninjured hand. “I know. I trust you.”

They stood in the moonlight, absorbing the possibilities, both the good and the bad, reading the truth in each other’s eyes. They were in this together, and it felt right.

A glint appeared in his eye. “Oh, and I’m really, really sorry I made fun of you for dragging that crazy Mace on a string everywhere.” He inclined his head. “I underestimated the power of the Mace in defeating bad guys with big guns.” He raised his bandaged hand and brushed his fingertips against her face. “That Mace is powerful stuff.” His husky tone indicated his mind was definitely not on her weapon of choice.

She hated to break the mood, but the time had arrived to expose this last truth—and to test the strength of their relationship. “Um, you have no idea.”

Inches from kissing her, he paused and drew back. Without breaking eye contact, she withdrew the hot pink canister from her pocket. Unhooking it from its tether, she placed it in his hand.

A quizzical expression crossed his features. He stepped back and flipped the light switch. She blinked as bright light filled the room.

He looked at the Mace closely for the first time.

Inhaling deeply, she pointed to the base of the canister. “Open it.”

With a glance at her, he unscrewed the end of the container, careful to keep both ends turned up as he separated them. A wry grin split his face when he saw the microchip nestled inside.

“Cole.” At her serious tone, his face sobered. “We have to be careful who we tell about this. Even though Alistair is no longer a threat…” Her voice trailed off.

“Jacob had reason to believe someone was guilty of treason. Someone likely connected to Alistair.” He finished her thought.

She nodded, adding, “Someone possibly connected with Weston Security.”

He shook his head. “Emma, I don’t believe that.”

“But you don’t
know
it. I’m not willing to risk Jacob’s life on something neither of us can be sure of.” Although her words were firm, inside she pleaded with him to understand.

“
We’re
not willing to risk Jacob’s life.”

Relief flooded her. “Thank you.”

“Only you, Zach and I will know about the chip, until we learn more about the contents. Okay?”

“Okay.” Tears filled her eyes. They were in this together.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Emma stood in front of the bedroom window, staring into the night as Cole completed his phone call. Snow had begun to fall, promising to blanket the world in a cocoon of white by morning.

He watched her from the edge of the bed, distracted from the call. What was she thinking? He had to replay Zach’s last words in his mind before he could respond.

“Sounds good. See you in the morning.” Cole tossed the phone onto the night stand and rose stiffly.

“Zach’s plane arrives at 8:00 tomorrow morning. You and I will already be at the office and he’ll come straight there. Figuring out the chip’s contents and the connection to Jacob will be our first priority.”

Emma nodded. He fought the urge to reassure her yet again. She seemed confident that with the three of them focused on locating her brother, they would indeed discover his whereabouts. Cole prayed they would find him alive—there was no guarantee Alistair hadn’t killed Jacob as soon as he suspected her brother knew the truth about his operation.

Shaking off the dark thoughts, Cole continued. “Oh, and Zach offered you a job. He said Weston can use someone with your, uh, research skills.” He grinned.

“What?”

“Actually, he said a woman of your, and I quote, ‘impressive ingenuity’. Apparently Kyle and Joey gave him an earful about your amazing Mace on a string and how it saved the day, not once, but twice.”

Emma’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.

Cole held up one finger. “First when you slipped it into my pocket.” A second finger joined the first. “Then when you sprayed the guy with the snake tattoo.” He paused. A third finger went up. “Actually three times, because you kept information safe that might aid us in identifying Alistair’s contacts.” Just the thought of that critical information hanging literally by a string in her now grungy jacket…well, suffice to say he was beyond relieved it had survived the last week.

Although he kept this last thought to himself, she gently punched his uninjured arm, an exasperated look on her face. “I know that wasn’t the safest place for the chip, but I didn’t know where else to put it. There was so little time between receiving it and rushing off to find Jacob.” She massaged the spot she’d just slugged, sending shivers of desire through him.

“Well, your hiding place worked and hopefully now we have more ammunition for destroying what’s left of Alistair’s network.”

“And bringing any other innocent young men home.”

He stepped toward her, invading her space just a bit. “And bringing innocent men home.”

A mysterious smile appeared on her face. “Let’s not talk about Alistair anymore tonight.”

He swallowed at the possible implications of those upturned lips. “You must be exhausted.”

She nodded.

“Let’s go to bed.”

“Wait.”

He offered a mock frown. “You have more surprises for me?”

“What I said at the condo, when I slipped the spray in your pocket?”

Oh. She’d said she loved him. “Yeah.” When she hesitated, he said, “Listen, it’s okay. I know you needed a reason to get close to me. To slip me the canister.”

She toyed with his top button. “So it’s okay that I kind of threw myself at you so I could slip the Mace in your pocket?”

Cole swallowed when the top button came undone. He nodded.

“And there was something else.” Nimble fingers went to work on the next button.

“There was?”

Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. His heart beat rapidly in his chest. The next button opened.

“Oh yes.” She traced one finger along his collar bone, dipping beneath his shirt. He reached to still her hand, pressing it flat. Emma raised her eyes to his. “I love you.”

His eyes widened.

She nodded. “The night we met? You weren’t the only one who knew. I knew. You were the one.” She reached up to press a soft kiss to his lips, lingering as she whispered. “I love you.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, the rich brown now black with passion—and love. An unfamiliar feeling unfurled within him. Despite his injuries, his exhaustion, his concern over her brother’s fate, tonight, staring at her beautiful face, one thought consumed him.
So this is joy.

“And I love you.” His deep voice both confirmed and promised. Unbelievably the joy intensified.

“Cole,” his name escaped on a sigh.

Overwhelmed by emotion, they were content to stand, fingers entwined, lips mingling, and simply savor the moment. As the kiss deepened, his good hand slid up to cup her neck. His fingers tangled in her hair. Gently he removed the band and set the silky locks loose around her shoulders.

She spread his shirt wide, revealing bandaged ribs, hesitating only a moment before she pushed the shirt off his broad shoulders. It dropped forgotten to the floor.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her inexorably toward the bed, where he sat, spine straight to minimize the ache in his ribs. His eyes gleamed as he drank in the sight of her.

“Cole.” She stopped, tears shining in her eyes. “Look at you.”

He frowned. “Men prefer that when their women look at their bare chest, the emotion in their eyes isn’t pity.” He raised his eyebrows to emphasize his point.

“Cole!” A becoming flush brightened her cheeks. “It’s just the bandages, the stitches…you’re so bruised. Maybe we should wait until you’re not in pain…”

“Hell, no.” He started to get up, but she placed her hand high on his chest, pushing him back on the bed. For a moment they both remained motionless, and then, running her fingers through her hair to fluff it suggestively, Emma knelt beside him on the bed.

“Well, I suppose you could take it easy and let me do all the work.” She punctuated her words by reaching down to grab the hem of her turtleneck and pull it inch by inch upward, revealing her toned stomach, then her black lace bra, before finally removing it and tossing it on the floor. She shook her head, her hair falling in sexy waves about her face. “I have a very, very impressive work ethic.” Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip.

Swallowing hard, he raised his hands to brush the tresses back and pull her gently toward him, closer and closer until he could nibble on her ear, whispering, “Get to work woman.” He bit down softly on her lobe, then soothed the skin with his tongue. The shiver that ran through her body sent desire pouring through him.

“I welcome the opportunity to experience this impressive work ethic.” He barely recognized his own raspy voice.

She stared deeply into his eyes. He felt her uneven breath against his face, proof of her growing desire. Then, with a wicked smile, her greedy fingers began their loving assault.

…

The moon shone brightly through the window, the soft sounds of Emma’s breathing blending with the howl of the winter wind as it blew snow against the panes of glass. Cole toyed with the strands of her hair as she curled next to him in sleep. Exhaustion had claimed her immediately after they finished making love.

And no wonder. After all, she’d done most of the work. The faint sheen of perspiration on his body slowly dried in the night air. Impressive work ethic indeed. Hell, she’d almost killed him. He looked forward to returning the favor when his ribs ceased to ache with every sudden movement.

As he drifted toward sleep, his aches and pains faded, leaving only the memory of their lovemaking. And, damn, he felt good.