Cole(98)

Dawn looked back at me. “Cast iron skillet. Figured it was the best to knock him out.” She let go, and the pan fell to the floor with a clang.

I frowned, trying to make sense of everything. Sia’s words came back to me, “He has security guards on you.”

“Are you a guard?”

“No.” She grinned, looking almost ready to teeter to the ground herself. She raked a hand through her hair, making it more of a mess. “Just the building’s shut-in. It paid to be nosy this time, huh?”

I wanted to laugh, but all I could do was cry.

Liam…





I should’ve run. I didn’t.

I should’ve hidden. I didn’t.

I should’ve cried. I couldn’t.

I should’ve raged, thrown something. My hands never left my side.

I should’ve done something, anything.

But I sat in my apartment, and I waited. That was what I did.

Jake and Sia showed up not long after Dawn knocked Dorian out. She called them, and they came down. Jake called an ambulance, and the cops right after that, and soon the parking lot for The Mauricio was filled with flashing red and white lights and uniforms walking around. The police took Dorian into custody, but I had no doubt Cole would get him eventually. Someone found Ken and loaded him into the ambulance. Dawn went with him, crying because apparently she always brought supper down to him every Tuesday night. They sat and ate spaghetti together, every week for the last seven months.

The paramedics tried to take me with them, too, but I refused. They checked me over and couldn’t find any new injuries that alarmed them enough for a trip to the hospital, so I stayed back. There was a conversation I wanted to have. And I wasn’t moving until it was done.

So here I was, a few hours later, and I finally heard the elevator start. My panel beeped, and then the door opened. Sia and Jake had been here earlier, but I made them leave. I knew it wouldn’t be long before Cole arrived, and I didn’t want them here.

I had them leave my bedroom door open, though. I wanted to hear him coming.

And in a way, I did, but I didn’t.

I heard the elevator.

I heard when he overrode the code to open my door.

I heard the door open.

I didn’t hear him.

There was no sound—as he walked down the hallway, passing the kitchen, turning by the living room—until he was standing in my bedroom doorway. Suddenly he was just there, and even though I was expecting him, my heart still jumped in my chest.

This man, who stared back at me with a fierce light heating up his eyes, his hands balled into fists against his legs, didn’t look anything like the tender lover I’d heard whisper “I love you” earlier. No. I saw the killer I always knew was there, who I had witnessed myself, but it was more than that.

I searched for some guilt in Cole. I held my breath just a moment, and I saw it. I felt it.

I saw the rage barely blanketed under his control. I saw the ruthlessness in him. I saw the cold blood that someone with his life would need when they pulled the trigger, or when they had someone else pull the trigger.

My gut flared up, and I knew. He could’ve done it.

I asked, hoarsely, “Did your family kill my husband?” My throat barely worked, but I didn’t think it was because of Dorian’s hand. I blanched. I couldn’t hold back the real truth. I asked one more time. “Did you kill Liam?”

And I waited.

His chest rose as he drew in a silent breath. He never broke eye contact, and maybe that was why it hurt so much—because I saw it as I heard it. It felt like he was delivering my sentence when he said one word: “Yes.”

I only had one response in return. “Get out.”





Five Ways To Mend After That Guy Got Past Your Walls



Okay, ladies. It happened. You tried to safeguard yourself against him, but he weaseled past your walls. Where do you go from here? Hopefully, he reciprocates your feelings. You’re together now, and you get to enjoy romantic strolls in the park, holding hands, the joys of touching in a darkened theater. Those are the good days. Those are the days you’re hoping for, but what if things aren’t ending with happy ever after? In that case, you need to move on (again). This is what you do:



* Booze. Lots and lots of booze. Normally you’re probably careful about your alcohol intake. This is the time you can throw that out. Write it down, then rip it apart. Burn the paper. In this circumstance, the more booze, the better off you are. Just be safe, of course. No driving, no drunk dialing, and know your limits!

* If alcohol doesn’t work for you, go the healthy route. Focus on exercise. Get a gym membership. Become a runner. Power-walk your ass off. If you can’t numb the heartbreak, use it to fuel something productive. Get high off those endorphins, ladies!