Shattered (Broken Trilogy Book 2) (8 page)

Oh shit.

As much as I’m bundled up, I am cold, and I feel the hairs rise on my arms. Derek and I stop to see if Luka is in his office. His door is closed, so my guess is he is in a meeting. We move on, and before I can think, Derek opens my father’s office door.

“Mayor Fox?” Derek says in a direct voice.

My father’s grey eyes look up and lock with mine.

Holy…

Chapter Six

Dad.

He blinks a few times before he stands, rounds his desk, and stops a few feet from us. I hear rather than see Derek shift my way.

“Savannah?” my father whispers in disbelief. His face is white as a sheet. “Is that really you?”

“Hi, Dad.” I feel the words catch in my throat.

His hands outstretched, he makes his way toward me but hesitates as he comes in for a hug. As soon as his arms are around me I feel…uncomfortable? Weird? Strange? I don’t know, but I don’t like it.

“I can’t believe you’re alive.” He pulls back and grasps my shoulders. “Look at you.”

“Dad, we need to talk, and I don’t have much time.”

He looks over at the door. “Did anyone see you? Do you think you were followed?”

“No, it’s okay. I have some questions that need answers, Dad. Like who’s blackmailing you? Do you know why I was taken? Why was my ransom so low?”

“Whoa, slow down, dear.” He smiles at me, still with his hand on my shoulder. He thinks for a moment, then says, “Tell you what, we need a proper place to talk about all this. Meet me for an early dinner this evening.” He smiles at Derek. “Both of you. Come to the house so we can talk without worrying that the media or anyone else will see you. I'll answer your questions then, but not here. It’s not safe. You really should go.” He suddenly looks uneasy and makes a show about looking over his shoulder.

I glance at Derek, who doesn’t like the idea and is obvious about it, but he takes his cue from me and agrees unhappily. “Umm, yeah, okay.”

“Great, four sound all right?” Dad asks, as I check the time. It’s a little after one. “I’ll call ahead and have dinner ready for us.”

“All right, we’ll meet you there.”

My father turns to Derek. “Thank you for bringing her here.” He extends his hand for a shake. Derek takes it quickly and moves toward the door.

“Savi.” Derek flicks his head for me to follow.

“See you at four, Dad.”

“All right, dear.” He kisses my forehead. “Be careful. I love you, sweetheart.” He sounds so sincere my earlier uneasy feelings evaporate. Wow…it’s been a long time since my father uttered those words to me and meant them. There’s no media here to make a show for.

“Me too.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Derek explodes as soon as we make our way across the street. “That guy is as fake as a three dollar bill, Savi. What are we doing letting him call the shots here? Why—”

I cut him off. “Derek, it's okay. We have no choice. My father was right; his office in broad daylight isn't the right time.” Giving him a look, I walk away from him, my own thoughts in a jumble. It was such a shock seeing him again. I need time to process all this myself, and Derek doesn't know my father and how complicated it is being in his position in the Mayor's office.

Derek starts making calls out on the patio as soon as we arrive at our hotel. Derek chose this hotel because it is so close to my father’s home. I stare out the window, seeing his penthouse condo across the street with its dark gray curtains. I always thought they were so heavy and dreary for the room, but he insisted on keeping them.

I shower and change into pants and a cream colored blouse. I curl my hair and add earrings and a few bangles to my outfit. I may have been gone for some time, but I know my father will still expect me to dress appropriately, and I will not disappoint.

“Yes, honey, I’ll see you soon. I love you too.” Derek speaks quietly with his back to me.

I pick up my purse and slip the tiny phone into my bra. I didn’t know Derek was seeing someone. He must have noticed the look on my face, because he smiles and rolls his eyes.

“She’s the prettiest brown-eyed girl I’ve ever met.” He laughs. “And now she’s begging me to bring her home a souvenir from New York.”

“Oh, really?” I grin. “You should stop by Draped in Lace. They have—”

His hands fly over his ears, cringing. “That’s not something I want to buy my six year old niece!”

“Oh!” I laugh. “In that case, the gift shop downstairs may have something.”

“That’s where we're headed. I need your help.”

After twenty minutes of looking at every knick-knack the gift shop owns, Derek finally decides on a snow globe of the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink at Christmas. It makes a beautiful gift any six year old girl would love. I know because I have…had one.

Convincing him to stop for coffee, we take a seat near the back and enjoy a few minutes before we have to leave. My nose scrunches at Derek’s strong black coffee as I blow the steam off the top of mine, adding a little more cream and sugar.

“My parents brought me to New York when I was eleven,” he says, breaking our silence. “My sister and I were so excited to see the Rangers play the Kings. That’s when Gretsky was playing for them. My parents planned this whole day of fun for us, batting cages in the morning, lunch at Times Square, then the game and ice cream afterward.” He smiles, remembering. “Man that was a good trip.”

“I bet.” I sip my coffee, happy we’re talking about anything else but the real reason we’re here. “Where are you from originally?”

“Washington, born and raised,” he says proudly.

“Are your parents still there?”

His face falls a little. “My old man died a few years back, heart attack. My mom is there, though, with my sister and my niece. My sister left her husband around the same time Dad died, so she moved in with Mom.” He pauses. “I try to step up when I can, so my niece has at least some sort of male figure in her life.” He glances at me. “Sounds like Frank is moving me back to Washington, which is good because I was planning on transferring anyway. Shadows and me,” he shakes his head, “well, let's just say we
ain't
a good mix.”

I feel sad, as I do like Derek. He’s been a friend, but it's obvious for whatever reason the guys don’t like him, and I understand that. Trust goes hand in hand with everything in their line of work.

“Oh, Derek, I hope you’ll be happy there.” I didn't say Cole had already told me.

He grants me a smile. “I’ll miss a few things.” He winks.

“Mmm.” I chuckle, finishing off my coffee.

“Let’s go back up to the room,” Derek mumbles, as he checks his phone for the hundredth time. I know he'll be glad to get this over with.

It takes him two times to open the hotel door with the key card. I pretend not to notice, but I can see he’s jumpy.

“You all right?” I ask as he pulls down the handle to open the door.

“Yes
I
am,” he mutters, letting me walk in first.

Two steps past the threshold, I'm met with a set of intense dark eyes that steals every last ounce of air from my body.

Oh...

We stand two feet apart staring at one another. My heart pounds loudly as he flexes his jaw dramatically for me to see. Instead of feeling nervous, I feel the inner pull that he brings out in me. My tongue darts out and does a swipe along my lower lip. His eyes narrow and I see that familiar flicker. He feels it too, I can tell, but I need to stay strong if I am going to do this. I draw in a deep breath.

“Cole.” My voice comes out raspy.

“Savannah.” He says each syllable slowly.

“And...I’m gonna leave now,” Derek whispers backing out of the hotel room. Neither of us talks until we hear the door close.

“When did you get here?” I ask, turning my back to him and calmly placing my purse on the bar top.

Suddenly both of his arms trap me and his mouth is at my ear. “I’m so angry at you right now…!”
He is actually vibrating
.

“Cole—” He bites at my neck, giving my nerves another jolt.

“Do you have any idea how scared I’ve been these last twelve hours?” he hisses as runs his hand along my stomach. “I want to handcuff you to me right now and drag your ass back to Montana.” His other hand grabs my ass, squeezing it and making my hand drop back against his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I close my eyes as his hand slides in the front of my pants, running just shy of where I want him to be. “Because you would have said no.”

He whips me around, grabs my waist, and hoists me onto the bar top. He moves between my legs and clutches my lower back, hauling me into him. “Damn right, I would have. You’re mine, and I protect what’s mine.” He reaches over, clasping my chin, and gives me a rough but sensual kiss. By the time he pulls away I’m nearly panting with built-up lust. “Christ, Savannah, are you out of your mind? What if something happened to you? Then what?”

My mind scrambles to think clearly. “Cole, I’m fine. I’m meeting my father to get some answers.”

I feel his hands pull away from me, and he runs them roughly through his hair. He closes his eyes, muttering something to himself I can’t make out.

“Logan, we have eyes on the building, and we're not the only ones.” Mark stands in the doorway. “Hi, Savi.” He smiles, raising one eyebrow, but his cheeky smile fades fast when he takes in Cole’s expression.
Of course Mark is here.

“Which building? And who else is here?” I ask, looking from Mark to Cole.

“How many?” Cole’s voice is all business.

“Three.”

“Will someone answer me?” I try again. “Cole?”

Cole sighs as he thinks. “All right, double our men on theirs and have the snipers ready on my command.”

“Snipers?” I nearly shout. “What the hell is going on?” I can tell I’m not going to get anywhere with these two, so I quickly shift off the bar before Cole knows what I’m doing. I grab my purse and head for the front door.

“Where are you going?” Cole calls out to me, signaling for Mark to block the doorway.

I turn on my heel and find him right in front of me. “I’m sick and tired of people not answering me, Cole. Ask your
man
to move! I’m going to talk with Derek. At least
he
acknowledges me when I speak.” I eye up where Mark's foot is, ready to stamp on it.

Yeah, I can tell he doesn’t like that comment, but right now I don’t care. I feel like I am treading water with no end in sight. Everyone knows things but me, and it’s infuriating. I spent seven months with no control over my life, not knowing from one minute to the next what would happen to me, and I will not live like that again. I turn and stare Cole down, because at this moment I am friggin’ angry, and I want answers.

Cole looks at me for a moment, his expression tight. “All right, Savi, hold on. As much as I’m against this—you meeting your father this evening—Frank felt it was about time we got some answers, and maybe this is the way to do it.” His jaw twitches.
Oh boy, he is mad.
“So, you and
Derek
will attend your father’s dinner, but with a wire and plenty of backup.” It’s not lost on me the way he says Derek’s name like it’s acid on his tongue.

“Wire?” I swallow. “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“Extreme?” he shouts, his hands flying to his hips. “Extreme is you running off to New York with
Derek Rent
to confront your father with the Cartel hot on your trail! Extreme is you not seeing what’s going on here!”

“The Cartel knows I’m here?”

“When will you get it, Savannah? They have eyes everywhere!”

“Christ, Cole, fill me in, then!” I shout, taking a step toward him. “Please, for once in my goddamn life, will someone tell me something? I’m tired of living in the shadows, only seeing the grey and black!” I take another step until I am right in front of him. “Don’t I deserve that much?”

“You deserve the world, Savi.” His whisper catches me off guard. I shake my head and try to remain on track.

“Don’t be sweet right now, Cole.” I pause. “Please,” I lower my voice, “don’t try to steer me off course. My father did all the time.”

“I wasn’t trying to.” His hands slip around my waist, pulling me in. “It just came out. It's how I feel, and when all of this is over I intend to give it to you.” His voice is low but still harsh. I can hear his frustration. “Look, baby, there
are
some things you need to know that are going to—”

“Logan,” Mark says. I forgot he’s still here. “We need to prep Savannah.” He opens the door further, and in walks Keith.

Oh, fuck me!

“How mad is he?” I whisper to Cole.

“Let’s just say not as mad as me.”

“I am sorry, Cole.”

“Let’s just get through this.” He kisses the top of my head and turns me around to face Keith.

Keith is holding a small box. He stops in front of me and speaks quickly, not looking directly at my face. “This is your tracking device.” He opens the box and reveals a silver bracelet with a white stone in the middle. “It’s undetectable.” He quickly snaps it around my wrist. “Don’t,” his eyes finally meet mine, and they are cold, “take it off.”

“I won’t.”