Cole
He’d only been in work for a couple of hours and already he was missing Maya. There was nothing he wanted more than to go home and climb into bed with her again, and several times he caught himself about to get up from his desk and do exactly that. He sighed and slumped back in his seat. He knew he had a job to do, but the day was going to drag until he got to see her again. Perhaps he could call back home after he’d spoken to her brother, just to keep her updated on what was going on. He grinned to himself and clambered to his feet. The excuse seemed plausible.
His team hadn’t stopped riding his ass since the moment he got in. Kit had mentioned that he had a soppy look on his face and Ice had deduced it had to be because he’d gotten laid the night before. When Cole hadn’t denied it quickly enough, that had given them all the ammunition they needed to tease him mercilessly for the rest of the morning. He could hardly wait until they met their mates. He was going to remind them of all the crap they’d given him.
Cole pushed open the door to the interview room where Maya’s brother, Noah, was sat waiting for him. Noah glanced at him lazily as Cole entered, then curled his upper lip in distaste. Cole switched on his dictation machine and placed it on the table.
“I’m sure you know the drill by now, Mr. Danvers. I’m recording this interview and anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have waived your right to have an attorney present during questioning. Is that all correct?”
Noah shrugged.
“Speak up, please.”
“Yeah,” Noah said. “That’s right.”
“Good. So—”
“I’ve already told that other guy everything I know,” he said with a scowl. “What’s the point of this?”
“The point of this, Mr. Danvers, is to compile all the information we need in order to do our jobs properly. Currently, we don’t have everything we need, which means you are making our lives complicated, and I’m a man who likes a simple life, understand?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Noah said. “I told him everything yesterday, so you’re wasting your time.”
“Nasty business this kidnapping,” Cole said. “Who came up with the plan?”
Noah hesitated before he spoke. “I did.”
“Really? Funny, you don’t strike me as all that intelligent, so how did you come up with it? I mean, to kidnap someone, you’ve got to know who to target. You have to do your background research on how much money that person has.”
He off on his fingers.
“Not only that, you need to know if the person you choose has family who love them, family who will do just about anything to get them back, including pay a king’s ransom. Do you expect me to believe thatyoudid all that work?”
Noah frowned as if he hadn’t thought about all of that. “Yeah, I did all that,” he said after a moment.
“I see. Tell me, how does your sister fit into the plan? Becausesheseems slightly more intelligent than you, no offence. She seems like someone who’s got her head screwed on right, someone who could have come up with a plan like that.”
Noah sat up straighter in his seat and the glare he shot Cole would have made a lesser man cower. It was so intense, Cole’s wolf took it as a challenge and he had to fight hard against the growl that was threatening to slip free from his lips.
Easy boy,he warned him.Nothing to get worked up about.
“My sister has got nothing to do with this!” Noah spat. “So leave her out of it.”
Cole feigned incredulity. “Nothing to do with it? I find that hard to swallow. If she had nothing to do with it, what was she doing there?”
“Jesus, don’t you guys talk to each other?” Noah said.
He was getting rattled now. Just the way Cole wanted him. It almost made speaking ill of Maya worth it. Almost. He kept his thoughts hidden.
“Let’s say that we don’t.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Look, Maya followed me there when she heard me and Kenny talking about it. End of story.”
Cole curled his upper lip in his best impression of a sneer. “I’m not buying it. If she had nothing to do with it, then why did a heavy with a gun pay a visit to her condo yesterday?”
“What?”
“Climbed right on up the fire escape steps then broke in through her bedroom window.”
