I closed my eyes and licked my lips, remembering how he tasted. I imagined that he was filling my mouth with his warm, salty flavor, letting me drink from him as he had done so often by this point.
His weight lifted off the bed, and a moment later, I felt a towel wiping my stomach where he’d just finished himself on me. Once the towel was gone, his weight returned, and he pulled me against him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight against his chest.
Again, I felt safe and comforted. My body relaxed against his. Our pulses ran in sync with each other. Our breath aligned. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the muscles of his chest.
Darkness rushed over me as the murmuring voices from Cole’s TV returned. I heard the voices that sounded like they were talking to each other again. There was more laughter.
I smiled and snuggled against the strong, muscular man protecting me, but there was something soft in his place, like a pillow instead of his firm chest. I furrowed my brow in confusion.
The laughter grew louder, and the voices seemed more present, as if I had been moved into the room with the TV. Though they were louder, I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Their words were still muffled.
I could feel myself falling again, and I realized that what had just happened to me had simply been a dream. I wasn’t in Cole’s bed. I wasn’t even on his couch in the living room.
I tried to remember where I was. I couldn’t force myself to open my eyes to look, so I simply relaxed, letting my training take over. If I didn’t fight it, I could start to make sense of it.
“I think she’s starting to wake up,” I heard one voice say.
“She’s a tough one, boss. She would have had us if you hadn’t stepped in,” another voice said.
I was beginning to remember where I was. I had been at Cole’s, but there had been some sort of fight. Apparently, I’d been too much for the voices I could hear. I squirmed on the couch or whatever it was I was lying on.
“Rise and shine,” Fang’s voice called from the front seat.
My eyes shot open, and I knew exactly where I was. It had all been a dream.
Chapter 19
Cole
I reached for my door without pulling out my keys first, and I wasn’t surprised to find that it was already unlocked, even though I had locked it behind myself when I left. I pushed the door open and drew my gun.
“Sasha,” I called into the empty apartment.
Everything was just as I’d left it that morning, but it still felt empty without her there. I carefully walked through the living room to the kitchen. I peered into the bedroom. I checked behind the door and opened my closet. With the barrel of my gun, I pushed aside the clothes hanging there. No one was waiting for me. I checked behind the curtains in my bedroom windows. I walked into the bathroom, checked the linen closet, and checked the tub even though my shower door was mostly clear.
“Sasha,” I called again, just in case she’d found a hiding place I hadn’t thought about.
I walked back into the kitchen, heading for the balcony, and noticed that one of the drawers was still open. The gun that I usually kept in it was gone.
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed.
I looked at the counter. There was a glass sitting with a couple of melting ice cubes in it. A bottle of whiskey sat beside it. I considered pouring some for myself and using the same glass, so it would be like kissing her as I placed my lips where hers had been. I needed to keep my wits about me, though. There would be time for drinking once everything had been handled.
I was starting to get the picture of what had happened after I left. She’d obviously called Fang to let him know we were on our way to his hideout, giving him the opportunity to wipe the place clean. There was no way the office we’d gone to would have been that clean if it hadn’t just been cleaned out in preparation for our arrival.
He’d offered to come pick her up. Or had she requested it? Either way, on her way out the door, she stopped and grabbed a gun for protection. Then, to gather up her nerve, she grabbed a drink. It hadn’t been that long ago. The ice was still in the glass.
She had obviously begun to suspect the same thing I did about Fang and his goons. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have grabbed a gun. She wouldn’t have needed a drink to convince herself to go through with it all.
Sasha was in trouble.
I slid my gun back under my belt and grabbed my phone. I called Dante at HQ.
“Shoot,” he answered on the first ring.
“Have you guys heard anything out of Sasha? Has she been by?” I asked, sounding a little more panicked that I would have liked to.