“No ma’am. I’m sure you’ll hear from him soon,” he said, before heading back to the kitchen.
“Cole, sit down and eat some lunch. Kassie didn’t send you here to work yourself to the bone,” Edie chided.
“I hoped if I skipped lunch, I might leave a half hour early,” he explained.
“Oh, have you met a girl? Tell us who, and we can give you all the deets,” Barb demanded.
“No. I’m volunteering at the hospital later. Do you know where I can pick up some flowers?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s one of the nurses from the Winters Foundation,” Barb deduced. “I knew it wouldn’t take long before they sniffed you out.”
“Actually, I’m visiting a patient. I wanted to bring something to cheer up her room,” he said, wiping down the counter. “I’m not sure why Kassie asked me to help you. It seems like you have everything under control.”
Edie shook her head. “We’re only serving about half the people we used to. I have to say, Kassie said she’d send someone down to help everyone feel safe. She didn’t tell us she planned on sending down a model. A few more days of this and we’ll have to work overtime to feed everybody.”
“The flowers, ladies?” he asked, trying to keep them on track.
“Oh, honey, bouquets seem overdone. Why don’t you get her a box of candy or a trinket of some sort?” Barb told him.
“I don’t know her good enough to pick out something she likes,” he admitted.
“Then wait until you do,” Edie advised. “It’ll make it feel more special.”
“No. I’m not courting her,” he rushed, hoping Kassie Winters didn’t overhear the conversation.
“Why don’t you go over to Ty’s and bring her a chocolate lava cake or Bryanna’s for her harvest cookies. They’re a big hit in the fall,” Edie advised.
A large man with black and silver hair entered and gazed about the room. Cole noticed the hidden gun inside the holster under the stranger’s coat. The man’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Cole, and he proceeded toward him.
On instinct, Cole placed Edie behind him and used his arm to move Barb out of the way. The man appeared menacing as he watched Cole move the ladies.
“Don’t come any closer,” Cole barked, pulling his gun.
The man scoffed, then grabbed Cole’s weapon two seconds later. Cole charged the man, determined to take him down. A fist connected with his jaw as he slammed the intruder in thegut with his. Both of them fell down and Cole rolled to his feet. “Everyone, clear the premises,” he ordered.
A few seniors headed toward the door while others peered on. The intruder launched himself toward him, and Cole skirted out of the way, shoving the perp into a wall. The man went down and Cole struggled to retrieve his weapon as Brody bit the man’s leg. The man growled as he threw the dog off him. Brody’s hackles grew higher as he growled and snapped at the man.
Cole stepped back, held his gun up, and turned to the two women who stood with their mouths open in surprise. “Call Leo, ladies. He’ll want to know about this and call the police,” he said, panting and motioning Brody off.
Cold, hard steel butted against his side. “I suggest you lower your weapon before I take my knife to your gut,” a woman warned.
“Now, Victoria, he’s Leo’s new man. It all happened so fast. We didn’t have time to tell him it was only Ivan,” Edie chastised. “You’re scaring the poor boy.”
“He hurt my Ivan. Nobody gets away with harming what’s mine,” Victoria’s voice came out deadly.
“Tori, put your knives away. If you didn’t make me see the blasted eye doctor, I might’ve disarmed him,” the man said in deep Russian.
Cole felt a moment of stark cold fear. They told the truth about the Russians on the mountain.
“If you touch Ivan again, I will chop you up into tiny pieces and cook you on the grill over there. Do I make myself clear? Leo will have to find another man. You’re no longer welcome here,” the woman called Victoria said, completely calm.
Cole signaled for Brody to stay, positive he could handle the woman on his own. He turned slowly, pretending he didn’t pose a threat. He stared at the beautiful redhead, old enough to be Kassie’s mom.
“I think we have a misunderstanding here,” Cole began as Victoria’s foot caught him in the nuts. All speech left him as he barely held onto his weapon. Cole struggled to breathe as his knees hit the floor.
“Oh, dear,” Edie tittered. “You’d better call Kassie and have her send an ambulance. Ivan and Cole are both impaired. I’ll call Saint.”
Victoria slid her knife back into a sheath, which appeared invisible before bending down to check her husband’s leg. She muttered in Russian as her eyes narrowed on Cole.
