They know each other. Trace fucking knows Cole and never thought to mention it?
I yank my hand from his and wrap my arms around my shaking body. “How do you know each other?”
“We used to work together,” Trace says in a hollow voice.
“Auditing for the government?” I gape at him, silently begging him to tell me this is all some kind of joke. “You own a casino. I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell me you knew him?”
He and Cole share a look, communicating something that’s beyond my realm of understanding. Or rather, beyond my security clearance.
The deployment in Iraq. The silence at the government building. The fake funeral. The removal of tattoos.
“You’re not an auditor, are you?” I ask Cole on a thin breath, shaking from head to toe.
“I can’t say, Danni.” Cole doesn’t remove his glare from Trace.
“You lied to me.” My skin tingles, and disorientation sweeps through me as I turn to Trace. “You lied, too. You knew Cole and never told me.”
More tears fall, and I bury my face in my hands. I need to step back. I need to think.
“What is that?” Cole rushes forward and grabs my wrist, his eyes zeroed in on the engagement ring. “No.” His whisper crashes into a pained guttural noise. “No, no, no!”
He yanks his arm back and stumbles. Every visible muscle in his body goes taut as he spins away and paces like a caged animal, shoulders heaving, hands stabbing through his hair. The tortured sounds coming from him threaten to bring me to my knees.
When he whirls back, he looks absolutely destroyed. “You missed me so much you fucked my best friend? And now you’re what? Getting married?”
Best friend.
How deep does the deceit go?
My shoulders curl forward, wracked by an onslaught of grief and betrayal.
“I didn’t mean that.” Cole rushes toward me and frames my face with shaky hands. “I’m not upset with you. I put you in a terrible position and kept things from you. I had no right to expect you to wait around for a dead man.”
The ache in his voice crushes me, and I feel his terrified pain as if it were my own. Because I never stopped loving him.
None of this is my fault, and he knows that. He’s raging and losing his shit for one reason. The woman he loves is engaged to someone else.
“How long, Trace?” He lowers his hands and claps his gaze on the silent, brooding man at my side. “How long did you wait before you preyed on her?”
“He didn’t prey on me!” I stand taller. “I worked at his casino for four months before we got together.”
“Three years.” Trace shifts beside me, his tone calm and steady. “I was in love with her for three years before I made contact.”
Three years? The ground spins beneath my feet.
“She started dating,” Trace says. “I did exactly what you wanted me to do. I kept the men out of her bed.” His voice hardens. “Which I would’ve done anyway because I love her.”
Anger boils through my veins. I could easily direct it at both of them, but I bare my teeth at Cole. “You disappeared for over four years. You died! And you didn’t want me to find happiness again?”
Cole turns away, a hand splayed over his mouth. His posture coils tightly, and he releases a low growl, full of warning.
Before I can blink, he spins around and slams a fist into Trace’s face.
Trace falls back but remains on his feet. As blood trickles from his lip, he doesn’t move to wipe it away. With his arms at his sides and his expression blank, he shows no signs of fighting back.
Cole, on the other hand, rears back his arm again.
“Stop!” I ram a shoulder into his rigid body, causing his strike to hit air. “You were dead! You had no claim on me!”
“You thought I was dead,” Cole seethes, flexing his fists at his sides. “But Trace knew.”
My mind spins as the last six months tumble into a new light.
What would your fiancé think about the dipshit you were with tonight?
I’m not going to fuck you.
It’s just not in the cards for us, sweetheart.
If Cole was in this room right now, where would I fall? Would you shove me aside to get to him?
Trace chased away every man who came near me. He purchased the restaurant I danced at. Set my schedule so I never had a weekend off to date. Refused to date me himself. Pushed, pushed, pushed me away, all while being overly-fixated on my attachment to Cole.
Because he was watching me for Cole. And at some point—long before I met him—he fell in love with me.
Under the malicious waves of comprehension, it dawns on me. The set up with Marlo wasn’t to hurt me. It was a last-ditch attempt to stop himself from stealing his best friend’s girl.