He lifts his head and gazes at me with dark eyes but remains silent.
“Dylan didn’t drug me and try to get me into his car so he could take me on a sightseeing drive.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“Stop saying that. You are.”
He leaps to his feet and starts to pace at the end of my bed, hands on his hips, jaw clenched, eyes flashing. I watch him for a moment, wondering why he’s so agitated.
“You said you ‘stopped’ Dylan. What does that mean?”
“I shoved him.”
I take in his raw knuckles, his wrinkled slacks, the stains on his shirt. “You shoved him.”
“Yes.”
“Into a hole you dug?”
He stops pacing and looks at me but doesn’t answer. His blue eyes are fathomless.
“Cole?”
“Yes?”
“What happened to Dylan?”
After a moment of hesitation, he speaks. His voice is deadly soft.
“He was fired.”
We stare at each other across the room. I think of Chelsea, how she looked at me when I woke up. The darkness in her eyes. The resolution, like we’d passed a milestone we couldn’t go back from.
I remember how Cole touched her shoulder when she left. The glance that passed between them like they a shared a secret.
And I understand that being fired by Cole is on a whole other level than his human resources department can handle.
I wait for shock or fear to come, or any negative emotion at all, but the only thing I feel is a twinge of relief that I won’t have to deal with that sleazebag Dylan anymore.
One door closes, another opens, and now Cole and I are on different ground than we were before.
Shared ground.
Strangely, it feels as if I’ve finally found my footing.
I say quietly, “They’ll find out. The police. Whatever you did, they’ll find out.”
He mistakes my meaning. Moistening his lips, he looks away. His voice turns gruff. “You want to talk to them. I understand.”
“No, listen to me. I don’t care about Dylan, I care about you.”
He snaps his head around and stares at me in crackling silence, his eyes ablaze.
“Those security cameras will have recorded you coming and going from the restaurant. Him too. If he’s missing, it’s only a matter of time before the police start tracing his steps, asking people where he went, getting footage from traffic cameras… Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You don’t care about Dylan?” He says it slowly, like he can’t quite believe it, his mouth moving over the words as if they’re from a foreign language.
“The only thing I care about is that you’re okay.”
Our held gazes are an invisible chain of molten fire between us, heating the air, burning with urgency. I want to leap out of bed and run to him, but I don’t have the strength.
“You’re not thinking straight.”
“I am. I knew that guy was wrong from the second I met him. A predator. And we both know I’m not the first girl he tried that with. As far as I’m concerned, good riddance.”
Cole stares at me, dark brows drawn together, eyes piercing, every inch of him taut.
“If you’re about to say I’m not thinking straight again, you’ll regret it.”
In contrast to his feral energy, his voice is soft and stroking. “I wasn’t about to say that.”
“Good. Did Chelsea tell you about her little sister, Ashley?”
“She did.”
“And are you and Chelsea friends now? Because I need you to be.”
“Why?”
“My bestie has to like my boyfriend.”
He closes his eyes, exhales, and shakes his head. “We can’t have a relationship, Shay.”
“You just admitted you’re obsessed with me. Personally, I think that’s a fantastic baseline to start a relationship with.”
He opens his eyes and scowls. “It’s not. It’s unhealthy. And you’re conveniently leaving out all the other things that aren’t so fantastic.”
“Like that you did something to protect me?”
“Most people would consider that ‘something’ immoral. Not to mention illegal.”
“I’m not most people. Are you going to come over here and kiss me or not?”
“No.”
I lie back down, close my eyes, and sigh. “Probably not a good idea anyway. My breath is disgusting.”
When the silence continues on too long, I sneak a peek at him. He’s standing in the same spot, staring at me with a mixture of disbelief and confusion on his face.