Cole(68)

At the end of it all, I chose Cole.

Everything was different now.

The first time Cole and I were together, I felt possessed by him. And I claimed him back. That night had been intense, but it was just the beginning. We’d grown closer and more connected each time we were together. After last night, there was no going back.

I was his. He was mine.

There should’ve been a red alarm going off in my head. Cole was dangerous, so dangerous, and I should’ve been hysterical or curled up in a fetal position sobbing. Last night had not been a normal night, for anyone, but here I was—disturbed mostly by how undisturbed I was. The only thing alarming to me was how nonchalant Cole had been last night.

I looked over and found him right next to me. His eyes were closed, those long eyelashes resting against his cheek and his head turned slightly toward me. He was beautiful, like a fallen angel, but so lethal at the same time. The bandage over his shoulder was a stark reminder of that fact.

A shiver went down my spine. He’d never hesitated last night. He was calm the entire time, only showing some impact after he was shot.

“What are you thinking?” He spoke as he opened his eyes, looking right at me.

He was looking into me.

I didn’t hesitate. “You scare me.”

There’d been a twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes. It fled now, and he lifted his head slightly. “I do?”

I nodded, moving my head against my pillow. “We were attacked by six men last night, and I feel like it was just another day for you. Yeah. That scares me.”

He grew pensive, lowering his head back to his pillow. His voice dipped low. “Because it was.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. He had more to say. I wanted to hear it all.

“I told you about my family, but I didn’t go into detail.” He closed his eyes, just for a second. When he opened them, I saw his ghosts. They were right there, and he remembered each and every one of them. His voice grew hoarse. “They killed my dad first. He was going to my sister’s piano recital. They gunned him down in the streets. That was a message from them. They were coming for us.”

“Cole.” I laid a hand against his cheek.

“My mom was the next week. That was the joke on us. We thought it was done. The Bertals declared war when they killed my dad, but we never realized what was coming next. How could we?”

A tear slipped from my eye. It slid all the way to my jawline and lingered there. I didn’t dare talk. Not yet.

He kept going, his words biting now. “She was in the fucking grocery store. My brother Ben was with her, but he’d gone to the magazine section. He liked to check out the babes.” He lifted his mouth into a half-grin, one that didn’t reach his eyes. He wasn’t seeing me. He was looking through me, remembering. “They didn’t know Ben was there, or they would’ve gone for him. Maybe. She was asking a grocery clerk about bread when they shot her. Twelve times, point-blank range. Ben ran out the back, and they never heard him. They couldn’t hear anything except their own gunshots. Twelve fucking bullet holes in her.”

“Cole,” I whispered. My throat felt closed. “You don’t have to tell me.”

His hand covered mine on his cheek. He saw me again. “I do. I need you to know who I am.”

So he told me.

His brothers were gunned down, one after another, one a week. Then his older sister, the one who’d had the piano recital where their father was killed. They went into hiding after the first brother was killed, but it never mattered.

I heard the pain in Cole’s voice, and I couldn’t do a thing to appease it. He’d been stripped of his family.

I had to listen, and I couldn’t do a thing. Not a damn thing to take that pain away.

Then he got to the last. Two little sisters, twins.

They were in a safe house, but no matter where they hid, the Bertals found them. One sister hid in a closet, clinging to a stuffed manatee. She loved that manatee.

Cole laughed, but even that sound broke my heart. It was more a brief reprieve, like laughter from a dying man when he reads a fortune saying he’ll live a long and prosperous life. It was a hollow sound, but he kept on. The other sister had gone to the roof. They found her clinging to the side of the house. Who would look over the roof’s edge? They had, and she wasn’t shot. They’d stepped on her fingers until she let go.

“I was next until Carter went off the books.”

“What do you mean?” It hurt to breathe.

“He was supposed to guard me, but he saw what was happening. There was a rat in the family, so he took me away. He didn’t tell anyone. I lived because he defied orders.”