Cole pulled out his cellphone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Flint.”
When Maya’s brow creased, Cole elaborated. “The agent who questioned you earlier. We got statements from your brother and his friends and of course, one of the questions we asked them was if there was anyone else involved. They said no, but with this new information, we can lean on them a bit more, and hopefully get them to admit to who they are working for.”
Before Cole placed the cellphone to his ear, he froze. After a moment, he cocked his head to the side as if he was listening for something.
“What’s wrong?” Maya asked.
Cole placed his finger over his mouth in a shushing motion, then got to his feet and moved far more stealthily than Maya would have thought possible for a man of his size. He headed for her bedroom and placed his ear up against the door. Maya couldn’t imagine what he was listening for because she hadn’t heard a thing. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing when he burst in through her bedroom door. Three loud bangs that sounded a lot like gunshots erupted, and a startled yelp burst from her lips. Before she could react, a series of crashes, shouts, and grunts followed, none of which sounded like Cole.
Maya didn’t even have time to move away from the window before a man came crashing out of her bedroom door and slammed into the wall opposite. Cole appeared a moment later, and in a move so fast Maya barely had time to track it, he had taken a gun out of the man’s hands, then pinned his hands behind his back with his cheek squashed up against the wall.
Maya gasped. “Oh my! What…who…”
“Maya, babe,” Cole said calmly. “Can you grab me my cellphone?”
It took a few moments for Maya to compute what Cole had asked for and once she did, she hurriedly grabbed his cell off the couch and took it to him. The word ‘babe’ rolled round in her head, sending a little thrill through her. Seriously, what was wrong with her right now? A man had broken into her home with a gun, and all she could think about was— She shook her head, clearing the thought.
Cole used his shoulder to keep the man pinned against the wall and secured both his hands with just one of his own, despite the man’s struggles. He took the cellphone then deftly punched in a number before lifting the phone to his ear.
“Do you know this gentleman?” he asked.
Maya briefly glanced at the man’s face before shaking her head. “No, I’ve never seen him before.”
Cole nodded. “Babe, can you do me another favor?”
Maya nodded.
“Can you grab a towel or something then use it to pick up that gun for me?”
She hesitated before hurrying into the kitchen to grab a dish towel. Her hands shook as she went back out into the hallway. Cole spoke quickly but calmly into his cell, too quietly for her to make out the words, before hanging up the call and sliding the phone into the back pocket of his jeans.
Maya clutched the towel in trembling hands as she crept towards the weapon on the floor, shooting furtive glances at the man Cole had restrained against the wall. She’d been scared at the warehouse earlier, but this was on another level—a completely different type of fear. This man was in her house, her sanctuary—with a gun. He could have killed her with that weapon. Would have, if Cole hadn’t been here.
She bent in front of the weapon and tried to stop her hands shaking as she picked it up with the towel, being careful not to touch it with her bare hands. She held it out gingerly as she got to her feet. She’d never held a gun before, much less fired one, and she was terrified it might go off by accident in her shaking hands.
“Good girl,” Cole said. “Now, can you place it over on the coffee table for me?”
Maya was quick to comply, glad to set it down again, and hurriedly took a step away. The further away from that horrible weapon she was, the happier she’d be.
“Who sent you?” Cole asked the man.
Maya froze. Whosenthim? She had assumed the man broke into her apartment to steal from her, right up until he’d been disturbed. But the look on Cole’s face told her he believed it was much more sinister than that, and her head started to swim.
“Fuck you,” the man spat. “I ain’t telling you shit.”
Cole must have thought that this man was somehow connected to her brother, and the botched kidnap attempt. But surely they couldn’t be connected. Noah wouldn’t bring someone this dangerous into her life, would he? She swallowed. What were the odds that the two events were merely a coincidence?
She didn’t know what to think anymore. She had known that her brother was involved with some bad people, but this? It was inconceivable. Had this man been there to kill her, or was she supposed to be some sort of insurance policy to ensure her brother didn’t talk?
Cole tossed the man onto the ground on his stomach and pinned him in place with a knee to his back. The man writhed and wriggled to try to break free of the hold that Cole had on him, but he was going nowhere.
Cole looked up and met her gaze. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m pissed!” she all but snarled, surprised by the vehemence in her voice. “How dare he come into my home with a gun! Ugh! I’m so mad right now!”
